I've started this story after revistiting a concept I've sketched out years ago but never wrote after all, since I had other things to write at the time. When I picked this up again, I thought to give it a try and write it up, especially after seeing the comics and the Korra series, which finally gave me the needed ideas.

If you see the format you can by now see by my other works, that I've specialised in letting the canon story go in interesting directions by changing on factor, which ripples through the story. I found this gave me more freedom in my writing than other ways of doing so.

After positive feedback, I decided to go on with the story. I do rely on reviews to improve the story. So if you read it, please tell me your opinion.

Chapter-specific notes are always at the end of the chapter to prevent spoilers.

I did remove something I felt didn't fit into this chapter. Please remember that this story has no regular schedule (my other story has priority) and thus the next chapter will take a while.

"Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe."

-Katara

Chapter 9: Enemies of the Fire Nation

"Yes, they are very impressive. They are best there is, after all," Zhao commented while observing the training of the Yuyan-Archers at Pohuai Stronghold.

"With good reason," Colonel Shinu, the commander of the stronghold, said while clearly being proud of his men. "Their training is strict and uses the newest methods to impart the highest archery skills to them. Selected from already superior archers of the regular army, nothing can top them once fully trained."

Zhao watched a few of the archers hitting the bullseye on their targets several times in a row. They did so without much pause for aiming. "Very impressive what discipline can achieve..."

"Certainly. These men will never waver from their oath. Well, with one exception, but he's disgraced," Colonel Shinu added, although he gave Zhao a look that said he should finally get to the point.

"Yes, they are one of the most elite units in the army of the Fire Lord, used only sparingly in battle. Exactly what I need in the search for the Avatar," Zhao finally said, returning to the reason why he was present in the first place.

"Exactly, and this is why I won't allow you to have any of them at your disposal," the Colonel said, finally coming to his point and giving Zhao an annoyed look. "Your attempt at buttering me up in honor, but my men are not at your disposal."

"May I ask about the reason why that is?" Zhao asked, clearly displeased at this unfortunate turn of events.

"Gladly. You've already pointed out they are elite soldiers. The Yuyan are one of the most valuable units of the entire army, each one having cost a fortune to train. They are not something I'm about to hand over to some hotshot Commander who's trying to prove himself," Colonel Shinu said.

"Please reconsider. The search for the Avatar..." Zhao tried to explain, only to be interrupted.

"...Is already something on a big scale. You won't make any difference with your pet project. Your request is therefore denied and only a direct order from the higher-ups can make me turn over my decision," the Colonel said, this clearly being his final decision.

Zhao growled, but knew that he couldn't go against an appointed unit leader of an elite unit with his rank. Why was it, that someone always put stones into his path? After the disaster at Crescent Isle, where he had failed at all of his goals and even had to report the devastation of the main temple, he had something to prove in order to repair his reputation, which was suffering after letting the Avatar escape a second time. He couldn't let this humiliation stand, especially after also having been made look like a fool by that weakling Prince Zuko two times as well.

After years of rising in the ranks, this now was a serious threat to his power - a fact he disliked very much.

His thoughts were interrupted when a soldier walked up to them. "Sir, urgent message from the capital!" he reported, handing a hawk message to the Colonel.

Colonel Shinu read it, his expression darkening, before giving the message to Zhao. Zhao in turn smirked when reading the message. "Well, well. It appears I've been promoted to Admiral. Therefore, my request has just transformed into an order."

The Colonel's expression remained dark, but he knew he now had to follow orders, as much as he disliked it. "As your wish," he almost growled, before leaving.

"Sir, this got attached to the message. For your eyes only," the soldier added to Zhao, handing him another message, this one quite a bit thicker.

Zhao read through the lines, his eyes widening first in surprise and then in satisfaction at his future orders. To imagine the Fire Lord promoted me so that I could lead that historical moment... Hmmm, that reminds me of something. Yes! I know I have kept the scroll after burning down all the other books and making a run for it. Interesting, that the wisdom of the world will now give the Fire Nation ultimate victory over the Water Tribes.

Zhao knew his little adventure of years ago - which he had mostly forgotten until now - would finally pay off.

...three days later...

The group around Aang didn't find their current location very reassuring. It was the abandoned city of Taku, which had been razed by the Fire Nation very early in the war and then fallen into ruins - essentially just a huge tomb that no one in their right mind approached.

Normally, they would have made a big detour around such a dire and depressing place and wouldn't have entered; leaving the dead at peace. However, it was the designated rendezvous-point with Zuko - a place where the Fire Nation surely wouldn't bother to look at - thus they did so anyway and just tried to not to disturb the ruins. Taking shelter in one of the buildings that got built directly into the rock of the hill next to the ruins, the group now had to face a different problem - one they had not foreseen coming.

"Damn! -cough- That's way worse than the time -cough- I drank spoiled milk. At least back then -cough- I only got a serious case of the runs," Toph complained, trying to find some warmth inside the sleeping bag.

Toph had come down with some sort of sickness, causing her to have a high fever, coughing fits and a running nose. Her strength had been sapped and even her bending powers had taken a time-out due to her weakened state. Of course this had pissed off Toph to no end, especially since it meant she was truly blind at the moment, but right now she was pretty much bedridden.

The bad thing was, that this sickness seemed to be contagious and Suki had infected herself with it as well, already showing all of the symptoms.

"Nnngghh, that is -cough- way worse than the last time I got the flu," Suki groaned, before accepting some water from Sokka. "-gulp- -gulp- Thanks, Sokka. Oooohhh, I feel like I'm burning up."

Katara felt Suki's forehead, giving her a concerned look. "You're not imagining things. In fact, you have a high fever, just like Toph."

"Question is, which one of -cough- us is sicker," Toph tried to snark, but it came over as a whimper. "Man, I never imagined -cough- I could feel this crappy."

Toph had every reason to complain, since she felt absolutely horrible, like something freshly shat out. The smell of vomit was still lingering, since both girls had emptied their stomachs some time ago. Despite normally not minding things that others considered gross, the act of vomiting disgusted Toph when she had to do it herself.

"This is not good. Both of them are really sick, running a high fever, and suffer from it. None of us have any knowledge about healing, not to speak about that we have nothing at hand we could use even if we did," Katara said, being very concerned for her friends.

"Where is Zuko when you need him?" Sokka wondered, nervous since Zuko already was over a day late. It was a bit ironical that after not trusting him at the beginning, they now wanted him to be present.

"Sorry I''m -cough- being such a burden," Suki apologized.

Sokka didn't want to hear any of it. "No one is blaming you. After all you can't help getting sick."

Suki tried to laugh, but it only resulted in a coughing fit. "Have I told you how considerate you are?" She then grimaced. "Kind of -cough- ironical that I worked hard become -cough- such a strong warrior of Kyoshi, only to be -cough- struck down by a common sickness."

Sitting a little apart from the others, Aang was trying to keep Momo entertained while watching the entire drama. "Man, if Ursa were here, she could help them real fast. After all, she did fix you up real well."

Katara grimaced a little when remembering the few remaining scars on her back she got as a permanent reminder to not let her idealism get her to do something stupid. "I... remember. Problem is, she is unavailable as well and we are still left with this mess! I really wish I would know how to use my waterbending for healing."

"Maybe I should look around to find a healer," Aang said, looking over the ruined city of Taku into the distance, where he could spot other settlements.

"Aang..." Katara said, not wanting to let him out of her sight.

"I know... You're here to protect me, but this is an emergency. Both of you are needed to take care of them and I'm the only one fast enough. One way or another, you won't stop me," Aang told her, understanding all too well why he didn't want her to go.

Sokka rolled his eyes and looked to Appa. "No offense, Aang, but Appa is a bit easy to notice, and flying around in a glider also is quite obvious. You could as well shout out: 'catch me'."

"Who said anything about flying with my glider?" Allowing Momo to hop off, he didn't wait for their answer before using his airbending to use his glider to speed off at an astonishing speed at ground level, leaving behind a dust trail.

"Impulsive... He's going to get himself into trouble. I know it..." Sokka grumbled, then gave Katara a look. "You don't seem to be thrilled, either."

"No. Can't he understand that he's too vulnerable right now?! He... -cough- -cough-..." Katara stopped when a short coughing fit overcame her.

Sokka paled at the implications. "Oh no, Katara! Don't tell you got it as well!?"

"Oh dear..." Katara groaned, feeling that things were getting from bad to worse.

o

Speeding towards the swamps half an hour later, Aang hoped he wasn't on a wild goose chase. That healer he'd found turned out to be half-senile and next to deaf. Only though shouting his problem to her as loud as possible did he finally manage to get a coherent answer; one he still had some doubts about.

Honestly... Sucking on frozen frogs is supposed to make them better? Either that old crow has become totally senile, or this is the strangest cure I've ever heard of, he thought while being on his way.

Still, he at least had to try. His friends were suffering and needed his help.

His life had taken a really interesting turn - and that not only meant being the Avatar. He did remember the adventures he'd been on with Kuzon, especially his visit to that female dragon, but they got nothing on his present. Never in his life would he have imagined traveling around the world with friends in order to prevent a nation gone mad from gaining ultimate victory. While the situation was dire, it still was a huge adventure they were on. Compared to his sheltered life at the temple, this couldn't be a bigger contrast.

In his tunnel vision he didn't even notice that he'd already caused way too much attention with his speeding around. The howling wind caused by his speeding around at ground level tuned out the sound of signal horns in the distance. He was oblivious of the danger he was in.

There it is! Aang stopped when seeing the swamp, exactly as described. Now he just had to find some frozen frogs.

Running down to the murky waters, Aang was careful to not enter the dangerous areas. Surprisingly, it was rather easy to find the frozen frogs - clearly there were not that many predators eager on having a snack on ice, otherwise the frogs would have found more hidden places to hide in.

"Surrender right now!"

Scared by the sudden, cold voice, Aang quickly turned, only to be confronted with several archers from the Fire Nation. He didn't have any idea how they had found him this fast, but this wasn't good. "Oh no!"

What followed was a nightmare to Aang.

Trying to grab his glider for an exit was met with failure when several arrows impacted into the wood. Whenever he tried to flee in one direction with his enhanced speed, a rain of arrows landed in his way, making clear the way was blocked. It was as if these archers could predict every single of his moves and reacted with frightening speed. He was driven further and further into the swamp, until he was with his back to a big tree.

Not good! Not good at all! he thought in panic, creating an ice shield to protect himself - a trick that Katara had figured out recently.

It was to no use when several arrows hit the same spot, shattering the ice in mere seconds. Aang wanted to run again, but it seemed the archers were done with messing around, several arrows nailing his clothes to the tree without actually injuring him. Before he knew it, he was covered by a net and soldiers with chains approached him.

Aang looked absolutely frightened, knowing what this would mean.

...back at ruins of Taku, hours later...

"-cough - cough- Ooooohhhhh," Katara moaned.

The sickness had hit her hard and she now was a mess of high fever and feeling horrible, especially after having voided her stomach only minutes ago. She couldn't even find the energy to clean her running nose, being forced to rely on her brother for this, Sokka now being the only one left who didn't get sick - if you didn't count Appa and Momo - and he looked close to the breaking point.

There was a good reason why Sokka had always been kept away from the healer's tent after all.

Sokka was at a loss what to do. Katara was the one being good at taking care of sick people, not him. Also, Aang had been gone for hours now and he got a really bad feeling that something had happened to him. Being forced into total helplessness however only made it worse for him. Suki and Toph had become delirious by now, Suki seeing white mice and laughing at their antics, while Toph swore to someone invisible that she was a good girl and doesn't have to take a bath.

"Katara, why now of all times?" Sokka bemoaned.

"Sorry..." Katara said, at least still being coherent. "It -cough- couldn't be helped."

Strange that it ends like this. Brought down by a mere sickness, she thought but wouldn't say aloud.

-clacknack-

The sound of a breaking twig shook Sokka out of his misery. Drawing his sword, he called "Whoever you are, show yourself!"

"Spirits, relax! Is that really how you greet people?" This sarcastic voice could belong to only one girl, and indeed it was Mai who appeared from the shadows.

All of a sudden Sokka was filled with new hope. Spotting Ursa, he dropped his sword and ran to her, falling on his knees in front of her. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! You are really here!"

Ursa blinked at this display, then noticed the three sick girls, all of them moaning in discomfort while she could notice the smell of sick people from this far away. "Oh dear! This does look quite serious."

"I was at my wits' end! Please help them!" It was only Sokka's feeling of masculinity that stopped him from sobbing in relief.

"Man, pull yourself together! This is downright embarrassing," Zuko said at seeing this display, holding Sokka by the shoulders to pull him back to his feet. "You know, a simple sign of gratitude would have been enough."

"Oh, I guess we just witnessed his sensitive side," Mai added with a smirk, seeing the humor in Sokka acting so much like a stereotypical emotional girl. "I guess he shares more character traits with his sister than he wants to admit."

Katara tried to laugh, only to erupt into a coughing fit.

"While I do appreciate your sense of humor, we perhaps should concentrate on the matter at hand," Iroh reminded everyone while Ursa already was busy with checking the girls, shaking her head at their condition.

Walking back to the entrance, she put two fingers into her mouth and blew a loud whistling sound. "That will tell some crewmen to come here... This is quite serious and I have a very good idea what they are suffering from. I can milden the symptoms, but I do lack the needed ingredient to help them on a permanent basis in such a short time frame. Otherwise it'll take two weeks for them to recover."

"What kind of ingredient can cause healing this fast?" Mai wondered.

"Oh, the coating from the skin of a certain kind of frog," Ursa told her, enjoying the slight look of disgust from Mai. Even if she was trying to deny it, Mai did have some typically female disgusts; frogs and getting really dirty being amongst them.

Hearing this, Katara looked ready to gag. "That's disgusting..." She then noticed Momo having climbed onto her head. "Momo, please -cough- get off my head." The lemur acted as if he hadn't heard. "Great..."

"Why don't you get off and come here? The young girl doesn't need this right now," Iroh suggested and Momo right away ran to him. However, it looked less like a wonder when the biscuit in his hand got revealed.

Ursa shook her head. "I better don't ask why you carry that with you."

"Oh, you would be surprised when things like this come in handy," Iroh said, finding the humor in it.

Zuko looked around. "Where's Aang?"

Sokka only now remembered. "Oh no... He left hours ago to locate a healer. He hasn't returned yet and I have a really bad feeling about this."

"He left on his own? In this area? This is highly dangerous!" Iroh looked alarmed at these news. "He couldn't have known, but Pohuai Stronghold is not too far away, with hundreds of soldiers stationed inside. If he's not back yet, I fear for the worst."

"Has he forgotten that he's public enemy number one?! What was he thinking?" Zuko facepalmed at such impulsiveness. Even he wouldn't have done something this stupid.

"I knew it, great..." Sokka picked up his sword and was about to run outside, but Zuko stopped him. "What?"

"No. Getting him out of this trouble is not your job this time. You also look like you could fall over anyway." Zuko looked outside. "This time it's my job."

"Not exactly, it is ours," Mai added, then saw the look Zuko gave her. "Oh no, don't even think about it. I'm in this together with you and I will fight at your side." Zuko didn't argue, knowing it was useless.

"I hope you know what you're doing and that it isn't just youthful foolishness. If you are recognized or even caught, you'll be in deep trouble and none of us can help you," Iroh cautioned them.

"Don't worry. I have an idea that makes sure no one will recognize us," Zuko said. "Although it means we need to borrow something from you, Mom."

"Oh, Aang..." Katara whispered, fearing for the worst while her fever was getting stronger.

...at Pohuai Stronghold...

"Nnnggh!" Aang groaned, but the chains wouldn't give way.

He was in quite a fix; he knew this without any doubt. He got locked up in a huge fortress, each of his limbs being chained at two pillars, effectively immobilizing him. Whoever had given the orders knew exactly what to do to render him totally helpless. What use after all was airbending, if he couldn't move? Right now the mighty Avatar was a mere prisoner.

"Don't bother. We consulted old texts that explain how to make sure an airbender can't escape."

Looking up, Aang stopped when he recognized the man who had attacked and conquered Kyoshi Island. The same man who had laid the ambush at Crescent Island, as his friends had told him. Considering all the trouble this guy had already put them through, he did remember the name. "Z-Zhao..."

"Exactly." It seemed Zhao was pleased that Aang did remember his name. "I told you, you'd remember my name. To be honest, I'm even a bit disappointed at how easy it has been to capture you. You aren't really bright if you buzz around like that - it was embarrassingly easy to track you down that way."

"Not really bright?! Once I get out of these chains, I'll show you!" Aang shout, despite the situation being hurt in his pride.

"No. Do you really think we are that stupid? You'll stay exactly where you are right now," Zhao laughed while taking a look at the glider. "Interesting invention. It'll look good in the museum of the capital as an exhibit about final victory and destruction of the Avatar... You know we could kill you right now?"

Aang's eyes went wide. He hadn't thought about this until now.

"Order is to kill or capture. You see, you being reborn wouldn't be much of a problem for us. It would take at least ten years for you to start becoming dangerous again - by then the Fire Nation would have long won the war and perhaps you even got sent onto your way again after the Water Tribes both got wiped out completely."

Aang was horrified at how Zhao could casually talk about genocide as if about the weather. It now occurred to him that the man either had to be completely mad, or actually was that evil. One way or another, Aang knew his life was in great danger right now.

He's insane... Totally insane, he thought, feeling quite afraid now knowing what kind of man had captured him.

Zhao continued "However, we won't do that yet. Orders are clear; if we manage to capture you, the Fire Lord himself wants to do the deed - killing the last airbender and Avatar makes a great legacy."

Aang paled. "The Fire Lord is coming here?"

"Once I've sent him the news tomorrow morning. Your death will be one of the keystones in our total victory... among others. Until then, have a good night." Laughing, Zhao turned to leave, only to be knocked down by a strong gale sent forth by Aang. Cursing, Zhao gave Aang an evil look.

"That won't help you! Make as much wind as you like, it won't get you out of here. This fortress is guarded by hundreds of soldiers. You've got no chance to escape and no one will come to your rescue!" Zhao then slammed the door shut.

Aang was left alone with his thoughts.

Outside the door, Zhao was angry with how this little pipsqueak was showing him no respect. Well, not that it will matter for much longer! He turned to the guards. "Regular patrols throughout this part of the fortress! Four man always guard this door!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Leaving, Zhao tried to forget this little incident. He had something else to prepare for.

Half an hour later, a supply wagon was pulled to the main gate of the fortress.

"Alright, let's do the usual check," the guard said, checking with his fellow soldiers if there was anything amiss with the cargo. However, it all checked out. "Open the gate!"

They had checked out the cargo quite diligently, but missed looking at the undercarriage, otherwise they would have seen two figures dressed entirely in dark blue hanging onto the underside of the wagon. The wagon almost was through the gate when one guard remembered looking there as well, causing the Sergeant in charge to chew out the other guards for being sloppy. However, in the confusion both figures managed to slip away and the guards could of course find nothing.

Sneaking around the shadows, both figures noticed that there seemed to be some sort of gathering going on. Zhao was standing on a balcony overlooking the yard of the fortress, clearly wanting to give a speech to his troops. Zhao waited for silence, before he began.

"We are the sons and daughters of fire, the superior element! Until today only one thing stood our path to victory, the Avatar. I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!" Zhao called, and cheers went through the crowd.

Zhao waited for silence, before he continued. "This is the year Sozin's Comet returns to grant us its power! This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Ba-Sing-Se and burns the city to the ground!"

It was obscene to witness how everyone present cheered at Zhao's speech, which promised a huge bloodbath. It was very disheartening to see how far the Fire Nation had fallen. The two figures however paid no mind to it, since it would mean reduced guard activity in the fortress itself - exactly what they were hoping for.

They'd had a good guess where Zhao would hold a high-security prisoner and started to sneak in while Zhao continued his motivational speech.

Some time later, four guards were standing at their post guarding the door to the prisoner. The man in charge looked down the corridor, nervous. "Where's Len-Cheng with his men? The discipline of these slackers needs to be whipped up," he grumbled, annoyed that the regular patrol was late.

"Ah!"

They froze when hearing this faint gasp from around the corner. "Len-Cheng?" No answer. "Len-Cheng, did something happen?" Still only silence.

"Both of you, keep guard. If anything happens, sound the alarm. You are with me," the head guard ordered, mistrustful of what could have happened behind the corner.

The guards watched their comrades walk around the corner with drawn weapons. At first there was only silence, then... -hmmpphhh- -clang- That was reason enough for alarm; one guard made a grab for the alarm horn, but... -tchack- His hand jerked away when a throwing knife embedded itself into the wood.

They drew their weapons, only to be confronted with the very people who did all this.

"Stupid chains!" Aang cursed, again trying to get loose, but the chains gave him no slack. "This is not good. I'll never get out of here."

What will Gyatso think of me? I thought I was smart, but only made it easier for them to track me down. I've let down everyone by being careless, he berated himself.

For someone his age, the prospect of impending doom normally would be a very alien idea. However, considering what he'd already went through, Aang no longer had any illusions about his future. He'd stay in these chains until the Fire Lord would arrive to kill him personally, thus robbing the world of any hope. Aang felt really strange at the prospect of death - like something unreal becoming very real all of a sudden. He didn't like it at all.

"Uuuff!" -clangglanggg- "Arrrgh!" -clong-

"Oh, now what?" Aang wondered when hearing the sound of fighting through the entrance gate.

At first there only was silence, then the massive gate opened and Aang held his breath when two figures walked in. Both people were dressed entirely in black, making it impossible for Aang to see if they are man or woman. Both were armed with swords, but the most stiking thing were the mask they were wearing. They were theater masks of a blue demon and a white lady. Aang had a feeling he'd seen these before.

"Who- Who are you?" Aang gasped.

Both persons looked at each other, before lifting their masks, revealing two very familiar people to Aang.

"Zuko? Mai? What's with these masks?" Aang wondered, right afterward wincing at how stupid this sounded.

"Well, did you really think we would try to get you out of here without disguising our identity?" Mai asked while working on lockpicking the left chains, while Zuko worked on those at the right. "Unlike you, we can't yet risk being branded as enemies of the state."

"As for these masks... They are a really good disguise but my mother threatened dire consequences if we don't return them to her," Zuko added, knowing these Masks did hold sentimental value to his mother. "And honestly, what were you thinking?"

Aang looked a bit sheepish. "Well, wasn't exactly the smartest idea I got..."

"Lectures can wait until we're safe." Finally unlocking the final chain, Mai tossed Aang his glider. "No talking while we're getting you out. After all, no need to tempt fate someone recognizes our voices." That said, they both slipped their masks back into place.

Aang knew that he would get an earful later; now they still had to get out of this place.

At first things went smooth enough.

Unknown to them, Zhao wanted to take another look at his prisoner. "I want a full transcription of my speech sent to the Fire Lord along with my message about..." Zhao dictated to an aide, but then stopped.

Unconscious guards littered the corridor, looking quite beaten up. Zhao got a really bad feeling and made haste to reach the prison. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that door was open and the Avatar gone.

"You can't be serious! Is no one here doing their jobs right?!" he cursed, feeling he was surrounded by incompetence. "Sound the alarms! Find me this pipsqueak; dead or alive is the same thing to me!"

It's like everything is conspiring against me, Zhao growled silently.

-Bwwwwwwooooouuuuuuuuuppp-

"Oh, uh! Not good!" Aang gasped when alarm horns echoed throughout the fortress.

Things then went to hell pretty fast. Before they could even reach the exit door to the yard, the guards caught up with them and a fight was inevitable. It was strange in a way that even though they were armed with swords, Zuko and Mai did not fight with the intent to kill - just disarming and knocking out. Perhaps Zuko felt that causing a bloodbath wouldn't help his case once he'd secure the throne.

Aang couldn't care less for the reasons, he just was glad he wouldn't have to witness spilled blood up close. He already was busy enough with using his airbending to slam guards against the walls or blow them down the corridor. One air blast broke the door to the yard and all three of them stormed out, only to be confronted with many, many soldiers in the yard.

"The Avatar has escaped! Kill him and his conspirators!" Zhao shouted from above, looking down at them in anger.

"Not good! Really not good!" Aang gasped, knocking away those closest them them to get some room.

They knew this was a fight they couldn't win, there simply were too many soldiers and their only hope would be to reach the gate. However, that hope got dashed very quickly when the main gate got slammed shut as part of the state of alert.

"Well, well, well... a noble effort of a rescue; nonetheless futile," Zhao called from above into the yard, seeing how the intruders had no way out. "I have no idea who the two of you are, and I honestly don't care. After all, you'll be hanged anyway."

Frantically, Zuko looked around, trying to find any way out of this before the soldiers would try to encircle them. He then spotted war material being stored a bit further away, among other things several big catapults. Seeing these, he got a really insane idea, but considering the situation they were in, every idea would be a good one.

I must be totally mad, he thought, pointing to the catapults.

Aang and Mai needed a second before they understood his intent. Both thought this would rather break every single of their bones than gaining them freedom, but considering the alternative, they gladly took this gambit and with renewed strength battled their way to the catapults before the soldiers could encircle them.

Zhao of course also got a guess what they were doing. "Damn it, stop them! Get me the archers!"

In the yard the three of them had finally managed to fight their way to one of the big catapults. "Hang on!" Aang shouted, causing a strong gale to throw them onto the catapult. Holding onto each other tightly, Zuko swiped on of his swords to release the mechanism.

"Ouuahh!" he screamed when a sudden pain hit his shoulder at the very moment the catapult blasted them off, nonetheless he bit his teeth together and held on for his dead life.

They were flying a long distance and the human body wasn't made for that kind of acceleration, all three of them seeing dark spots. Aang was trying to use his airbending to steer them away from crashing into a tree or getting slammed with full force into the ground. Nonetheless, he knew it would be a hard landing somewhere in the middle of the forest.

"Watch out, this will hurt!" he warned them when they were going down, using all he got to make the landing as soft as possible - which still meant it felt like slamming into a wall.

"Nggghhh," Mai groaned when feeling that she'd had a bad landing on her right leg.

"Ow... Everyone in one piece?" Aang asked, only to notice the arrow sticking out of Zuko's shoulder. "Oh-uh! Zuko, your shoulder!"

"Oh crap..." Zuko groaned, now feeling the arrow. "Damn, that hurts!"

Grimacing under her mask, Mai stood up. "Let's get to our boat first. I have no wish to get captured... and don't touch that thing! I have no wish to see you bleed out before I can patch that up."

Back at the fortress, Zhao was close to having a fit.

"This can't be real - a fortress full with soldiers and the Avatar in chains, yet he still does manage to escape. Has fortune decided to be my enemy?!" he seethed, feeling personally insulted by this turn of events.

"Admiral Zhao, Sir!" a Captain reported. "We've searched the area and found nothing. Regardless who these strangers are, they managed to spirit away the Aavatar."

Zhao's eyes narrowed. "Oh yes, them as well. These two just made themselves enemies of the Fire Nation. I want wanted posters out there. For conspiring with the Avatar there will be a high price on their heads."

"My men will try to describe the masks they wore as best as possible, but what should we call them?" the Captain asked.

Zhao snorted. "Exactly what the masks these coward hid behind look like. The 'Blue Spirit' and 'White Lady'. Regardless who they are, I'll make sure they'll regret this very day."

I didn't get this far, only to be humiliated again and again! Once I have put what I found in the Great Library to good use, no one will laugh at me anymore. Oh yes, I'll have the last laugh...

o

"Ow!" Zuko yelped when Mai finally fastened the bandages. She was not exactly gentle.

After all the excitement of their daring escape, things had slowed down significantly. It now was time to recover and that meant tending to their wounds - or at least Zuko's wound, since a sprained muscle wasn't something they could do anything about. Now, an arrow stuck in a shoulder, that was something they could work on.

"Oh, don't be such a baby. You've endured much worse things after all," Mai shot down any complaints.

To be honest, she had been a bit nervous about pulling out that arrow - Zuko had screamed much more when this happened - since she didn't have too much faith in the first-aid lessons Ursa and the ship's doctor had given her. Thankfully, nothing had gone wrong and Zuko didn't bleed out.

"It still hurts," Zuko still complained.

"Oh dear..." Mai decided to not comment on that. "Can you still move your arm?"

Zuko tested it. "Seems that way, but I won't tempt fate. No way I want to go down screaming in pain."

"Want me to kiss it to make it feel better?" Mai suggested.

Zuko had a feeling she was joking, but decided to call her on it. "Sure, why not?"

"Hey guys, we need to make a stop at that swamp first," Aang suddenly called from the other side of the boat, interrupting their banter, and they saw him pointing to a swamp at the bank of the river.

Mai looked at the swamp in disgust, some of her actually existing feminine sensibilities acting up. "What do you want in this dirty hole?"

"I really need to get some frozen frogs in order to make my friends better. The old healer said it works," Aang explained, knowing exactly that it sounded totally outlandish.

Zuko and Mai now did remember what Ursa had said about frogs that were a crucial ingredient for a fast cure to help the girls. Mai's look of disgust only became stronger, but she as well knew that this was a stop they should make, otherwise all this trouble would have been for nothing.

"The things we do..." Zuko said, wondering how they got from a daring escape to collecting frozen frogs.

Thankfully for them, after their little detour to the swamps, it didn't take long to return.

The small steamboat was pulled aboard and they could already see Iroh waiting for them, looking relieved that all three of them had returned mostly healthy and still in one piece. He had feared that he could lose them and seeing their return put his mind finally at ease, even if they were returning injured.

"Thank all goodness. You have no idea how hard it was to wait if you return," he told them in relief, wishing his nerves wouldn't be strained this much. "I feared you overestimated your skills. Thankfully, you've proven me wrong."

"Not that we got out of there unharmed," Mai said, visibly favoring her left leg, while Zuko made no secret of his shoulder wound.

"Oh dear, the place is going to be crowded. Ursa is already taking care of three very sick girls," Iroh realized when seeing that both teenagers were injured.

"Oh yes! I did find the cure for that!" Aang exclaimed, showing the bag in which the frozen frogs were stored. "I just hope it actually works..."

Entering the sickbay a few minutes later, Aang suddenly got hugged! He needed a moment before realizing that it was Sokka, who looked ready to have a crisis. "You are back! Oh, thank all spirits!"

"Woah, calm down!" Aang gasped, surprised how much the girls being sick and him being gone had affected him.

"Do you have any idea how much torture it is to watch them suffer and have no way to help them?" Sokka almost whined, waving his hand at the beds where all three girls were tugged in, delirious from their high fever. "Please tell me you found something to help them!"

"Yes... Hope it works..." Taking the frozen frogs out of the bag, he showed them to Ursa.

"Well, I better won't ask where you found these, but they are exactly the kind of frogs we need. I could extract what I need from them, but that would take hours," she said while inspecting the frogs.

"They shouldn't wait this long. I was told sucking on them while they are still frozen helps right away. Is that true?" Aang asked, feeling this would take too long.

Ursa knew she would regret confirming it, but Aang possibly wouldn't take a 'no' as an answer. "True, it could also be ingested orally that way... At least until they are completely unfrozen and have to be spat out. You're really going to do that?"

"I just want them to get better," Aang said, not thinking about the disgust factor.

It wasn't difficult to get all three girls to open their mouths and each to suck on a frozen frog like on a pacifier. They had no idea what they were actually sucking on. Aang sat down to recover from his adventure while Sokka, surprising enough for Aang, was absent - little did he know that Sokka had made himself scarce because he knew of the inevitable fallout. After all, he was not stupid, but Aang in his youth was ignorant of it.

The ship's doctor meanwhile was busy with applying fresh bandages to Zuko's shoulder, commenting that Lady Mai should have taken his lessons about first aid more serious, much to Mai's annoyance. She then winced when Ursa found where she has sprained the muscles in her right leg, applying a salve on it before covering it with some bandages.

The girls meanwhile slowly became coherent again while they continued to suck on the frozen frogs, the ice mostly gone by now. It was like the cobwebs were lifting from their minds and awareness returned - even though for Toph it just meant that her hearing and tactile feeling went back to normal. Katara and Suki looked around, noticing where they were, while Toph looked slightly annoyed.

"Guysch, can anyshone tell me whersche we are?" Toph tried to say while she continued sucking.

"Oh, you are aboard our ship. All three of you were in bad condition, but Aang here managed to find the cure. It is what you are sucking on right now," Ursa explained, part of her just waiting for when it would hit them what the cure was.

Sometimes I can be quite sadistic, she thought, slightly embarrassed at herself actually anticipating the inevitable outcome.

"Really? It doesch hash a strnge tastche," Suki mumbled and could swear that her tongue now felt something very different.

Of course moments later all the ice was gone and the frogs were fully re-animated. -ribbit- All three girls stopped sucking, suddenly becoming aware what exactly they got in their mouths. Their eyes went as big as dinner plates, even Toph - who normally wouldn't be fazed by such a thing - drew the line at sucking on a living frog. Their mouths opened in shock and the frogs jumped away, leaving the girls with the sudden urge to vomit.

"Oh shit!" "Urgh! Ph - ph - pffft! Pffuuaahh!" "Yuck!"

Seeing this reaction, Aang felt it best to leave as fast as possible, but the door was blocked by Zuko. "Not so fast, bucko. You now have to live with your decision."

"Even I know that making a girl suck on frog will... -cough- -cough-" Mai stopped when suddenly a coughing fit overcame her. Her eyes widened when she realized what this meant. "Oh, great... -cough-"

"Oh, it looks like you caught it as well," Ursa said, knowing right away that Mai's mood would now take a turn for the worse.

Mai eyed one of the still frozen frogs, then gave Aang a very hard look. "Better let him -cough- go now, Zuko. I don't want him to -cough- watch what I have to do, and him present raises the danger of me removing -cough- some of his vital body parts."

Inside, Mai felt like running away in sheer revulsion at the idea of what she was about to do. She still was a girl after all, and even she shared some of the things the entire female gender found simply revolting. Being forced to suck on a frog was one of these things. In her mind, her usually much-neglected feminine side was having a crying fit at what would come next.

Zuko stepped aside and Aang even used his airbending to flee as fast as possible.

...a few days later...

Over the next few days the girls were recovering from their sickness - more than enough time for Aang to make numerous apologies that he had made them suck on frozen frogs in order to cure the worst of it. He was still walking a little on eggshells around them however.

Katara had doused him in sea water when he'd made a comment that she was looking better now, Toph grumbled the whole time that he should be glad there is no earth nearby and Suki had made it clear they are not on speaking terms for the next few days. Mai, who had only been hit mildly by the sickness, was always twirling a throwing knife in her hand, making Aang very nervous.

He knew they would forgive him eventually, but it still was unnerving. He mostly spent his time with Appa and Momo, just to keep away from annoying anyone for the time being.

There were things that they missed out on while staying on Zuko's ship; recovering while their ride was cruising up the coast northward.

In a remote village, a fortuneteller told the local populace that they should not care about the nearby volcano. She claimed that someone would come and prevent any kind of disaster and that the volcano was no threat to the village. However, no one came and when the volcano did erupt, the villagers wasted precious time before they ran for their lives. After the destruction of the village, the survivors hunted down the fortune teller and lynched her in their fury.

However, that was nothing our heroes could know about.

Right now Aang was busy with bushing Appa's fur while Iroh, interestingly enough, found it fascinatingto talk about the big sky bison while scratching Momo on the head. "It really is a shame that no sky bison has been seen for many years now. With the Air Nomads gone, they were hunted as a reminder of their culture."

"It's quite depressing to think about it. Poor Appa will have it hard when he wants to find a mate," Aang sighed, feeling like his friend got screwed over big time by the time skip.

"Perhaps they are still alive somewhere - after all the world is big. -sigh- My nation does not have a good track record with element-teaching animals," Iroh sighed.

"Why?" Aang wondered.

"It is a sad story. Sozin got the strange notion that killing a dragon in battle would be the ultimate expression of power. Sadly, that meant everyone wanting to prove something emulated his idea. Nowadays the dragons have gone extinct after decades of decimation," Iroh explained.

Aang had to sit down when hearing this. "It's like I learn one bad thing after the other happened while I was asleep. Now the sky bisons and the dragons..."

Iroh looked out over the sea. "Much has been broken over the past century. Let's hope we can mend the worst of the damage once this war is finally over."

Sokka meanwhile was some meters away, leaning on the deck railing and watching the coastline go by.

The bout of sickness had greatly weakened the girls, so it would still take some time before they could again travel on Appa. Ursa had put her foot down and told them outright that ignoring a full recovery, they could suffer a relapse. None of them were eager for that, thus they would stay on board until shortly before the northernmost colony of the Fire Nation.

Not that Sokka could appreciate it, due to Suki still not feeling well enough for training and her not wanting to accidentally infect him by them getting too close for a few more days. Training with Zuko was no fun either, due to him being much better at swordsmanship and not having Suki's skill at adjusting to a less skilled opponent.

"Hm...?" He saw Toph standing beside him. "You're bored as well?"

"How did you guess?" she asked sarcastically. "Of course I'm bored. Just sitting around, no earth to play with and Twinkle-Toes walking on eggshells around us."

Sokka rolled his eyes at Aang's nickname, which Toph had come up with during her frustration about being sick. "Maybe we should take some dirt with us next time. The coast is only a boomerang throw away, but no way Zuko would let us land without a serious reason."

"Man, I expected great adventure when coming with you guys, not all this boredom," Toph groaned.

"Wait until we reach the North Pole, then you'll be bored..." Sokka mumbled, ignoring the fact that Toph's ears were good enough to hear him.

"I heard that! Do oyu have any idea what kind of hell that will be for me?" Toph was not eager at all to be completely helpless in a place where she couldn't use her seismic sense at all.

"Believe me, I'm already dreading your bad mood." Letting Toph give him some harsh looks, he returned to leaning on the railing. "Man, what would I give..." He stopped when spotting something. "Could that be...?"

"What?" Toph asked, annoyed that Sokka forgot she couldn't see. Sokka suddenly ran to the command tower. "Hey, what did you see?! Yes, just ignore the blind girl," she cursed. This was one of these times her blindness was a real annoyance to her.

"Telescope... Telescope!" Sokka babbled in excitement, causing everyone on the bridge to wonder if he was on drugs. "Ah, there!" Grabbing the item in question, Sokka dashed outside.

Putting a sea chart aside, Zuko sighed. "What is he now upon?"

Walking outside, Zuko was greeted with quite a comical sight. Sokka looked like he was dancing in excitement while observing something at the coast through the telescope. It made Zuko wonder how he could see anything while moving around this much. Regardless what he was seeing, it had to be interesting.

"Oh, Zuko." Sokka finally noticed him. "Here! Look! There, at the beach!"

Deciding to humor him, Zuko took a look through the telescope and saw a beached ship. "What's so special about that?"

It took Sokka a few moments before he understood that Zuko couldn't know. "It's a ship of the Southern Water Tribe! One of the ships of my father's fleet! I've recognized it right away," Sokka explained.

Zuko now understood why Sokka was so excited.

He understood him all too well. While he had lost his home and still dreamed of one day being able to return to it, Sokka had temporarily lost his father and all of his role models. Like he would be excited at a chance to being able to return home (without going against his principles), Sokka was excited at a chance to re-unite with his father or at least a man of his tribe.

However, Zuko realized there was something else at stake. If they could manage to make contact witht the men of the Southern Water Tribe, it would be an enormous help in the struggles ahead. Considering the time limit they were on, every help was needed and he sincerely doubted the the Northern Water Tribe would extend a big contribution unless there were serious people negotiating an agreement. As much as they would be impressed by Aang being the Avatar, such political things should be left to older and more experienced people - people like Hakoda.

Zuko lowered the telescope. "Then you go first. Should they see me first, they'd try to put an axe into my head."

As much as Sokka wanted to deny it, he knew this was a distinct possibility.

After some back an forth they decided that would be better for the moment to keep anything Fire Nation out of sight, since the reaction of the Water Tribe warriors otherwise could be unpredictable. While Sokka and Katara were both excited while climbing into Appa's saddle, Toph looked like she was ready to burst from excitement.

No wonder, since she was on earth-withdrawl.

"Oh, dirt, dirt! Wonderful dirt!" Toph sang a little later.

As soon as Appa had landed on the beach, she had jumped out of the saddle, doing a little happy dance before rolling around on the ground. It actually was kind of cute to see her acting her age. She had always taken the ground for granted and only now knew that she should treat it like a precious gift. Right now however, she just felt happy.

"Don't you think you're overcompensating a little? After all, it's not like dirt is that uncommon," Suki asked while watching Toph rolling around in the dirt.

"Oh let's have someone remove your eyes and then give them back after a while. Now got it?" Toph said, barely holding back from kissing the ground.

Suki shook her head. "There are some things about you I'll probably never get. Must be an earthbender thing."

Sokka and Katara paid Toph's antics no mind, running to the ship to inspect it.

"It's been beached for quite a while, the sea life on the underside has totally dried up and died," Sokka said after observing the hull.

Katara meanwhile had climbed on board and looked inside. "That's really strange," she said while emerging from the inside and jumping down to the beach. "It's still being maintained, but the cabin got cleaned out. I wonder what this could mean?"

"Oh, it means that I'm not actually living on the ship while I recover."

They had not even noticed the man walking up to the beach. However, the water siblings right away saw that he was no threat. It was a man from their tribe whom they knew very well, since his family's trent was right next to theirs. However, he looked worse for the wear, his chest heavily bandaged and being forced to use a staff to walk around without trouble.

"Bato?" they both gasped in surprise.

What then followed betrayed the fact that they were teenagers. Normally, teenagers would shy away from things like hugs. However, after not having seen him for two years they didn't care and ran to him to give him a hug, even if only to see that he is real, which he was.

Bato laughed. "Careful, it wouldn't be a great reunion if you accidentally fell me." They carefully let go of him. "I didn't expect to see the two of you here. Spirits, how much time has passed... Both of you have grown really tall since the last time I've seen you."

"We haven't seen any of you in so long..." Katara couldn't help but to feel a bit hurt when remembering their father leaving for the war.

"Careful, I won't go anywhere for a while," Bato told her gently, seeing how this unexpected reunion was affecting them.

"Bato, if you are here, where's Dad?" Sokka asked excitedly, not noticing how Katara's mood became a bit less joyful at mention of their father.

"As you see, I got hurt during battle. Hakoda agreed to leave me behind at a nearby monastery, where the nuns are taking care of me. Your father has taken the fleet further east and I'm soon expecting a message where to meet up," Bato explained.

"Oh, damn..." Sokka had really wanted to meet his father after two years, but now he got denied.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling your separation won't last for much longer." Bato then remembered the circumstances of them meeting. "I wonder what made the two of you travel so far from home? We are almost halfway around the world."

"Oh, they are with us."

Aang, Suki and Toph had held their distance to not ruin the moment. However, now was the perfect time to introduce themselves to the man. Bato looked over them. At first he wondered why a blind girl would travel with them, but she walked like someone who knew how to defend herself. The older girl was easier to read; she was a warrior and Bato didn't doubt that she could give many of his tribesmen a good fight. Last he saw the boy and stopped dead in his tracks when seeing his tattoos.

"Well, this comes really unexpected," Bato admitted.

Aang looked a bit uncomfortable due to the man's attention on him. "You know, there is a long story behind all this."

"Oh, I believe you right away about that and I can't wait to hear it. No airbender has been seen for a century, after all,"Bato remarked, finding this quite interesting.

"Actually, there's a really interesting story behind that as well. My name is Aang, by the way," Aang said, not exactly eager to tell the story yet again.

"Well, I can believe that, Aang..." Bato then saw how close Sokka was to the redhead girl. "Ohhh, a girlfriend? You're growing up much faster than I anticipated, Sokka."

Sokka and Suki blushed a little. "Yes, my name is Suki, I'm his girlfriend and we're right now testing out how far we're comfortable going. Is there a problem with this?" Suki finally said, hoping there wasn't some kind of tribal problem.

Bato held up his hands defensively. "Oh no, not at all. Honestly, I already felt that Sokka would stay single unless he'd look outside of the tribe. Actually, by the way you're holding yourself, you must know a lot about fighting. I respect that."

"Good. I already get enough stupid remarks for being a girl who's a warrior," Suki said, hoping there wouldn't be a problem with that as well.

Bato knew to better avoid that topic, as the girl seemed to have made some bad experiences. "No complaints from my side."

Suki felt relief that he wasn't giving her grief for her choice of career. She did remember Katara telling her what their sister tribe was like about women. Speaking of Katara, Suki noticed... did Katara actually look jealous when she's said she's Sokka's girlfriend?

Since I sincerely doubt she's in love with her own brother, she must feel left behind in that department in general, Suki concluded.

Bato meanwhile approached the final member of the group. "Oh, and who are you, little girl?"

If there was one thing besides people making an issue of her blindness - apart from herself making fun of it - that ran Toph up the wall, it was calling her 'little'. She did have her pride after all. "Hey, I'm almost a teenager!" She stomped on the ground, causing a stone pillar to shoot out, bringing her to eye level with Bato. "The name's Toph, and I hate people making fun of my height."

"Peace. I didn't mean any offense," he apologized, not voicing his opinion that Toph already qualified as a moody teenager.

Bato felt that Sokka and Katara had found a truly strange circle of friends. He then however finally seemed to remember something. "However, we should leave the beach. There's a Fire Nation ship anchoring not far away and I really don't want to invite trouble."

"You know, there's a really interesting story behind that as well," Katara admitted, hoping Bato wouldn't react negatively.

Bato stopped in his tracks when hearing this. "Somehow I dread hearing that particular story."

o

Bato had no idea what to think of the story that had unfolded in front of him, especially with their extra 'guests'.

The nuns in the monastery had every right to be nervous, considering that the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and the Dragon of the East were present, not to speak of the former wife of the Fire Lord. Only the girl was breaking the mold, being pretty much an unknown factor. Bato of course did not exactly trust them, not after what happened in the past, but with everyone vouching that there was no ill intent, he had promised not to judge them until he had heard them out.

And quite a story it turned out to be. Now looking at the four people from the Fire Nation, he re-evaluated his opinion of them.

Prince Zuko had clearly suffered a lot, as evidenced by the huge burn scar on his face, but in the course of his exile had learned to despise the war his own nation was waging. Being confronted first-hand with all the consequences was bound to do so. Zuko had made it clear that while he loved his home nation, he knew that the war was steering it into towards an abyss from where it would never recover from.

Retired General Iroh was very different from what he'd imagined him to be. For someone who had fought so many battles and was famed for breaching the walls of Ba-Sing-Se, he couldn't be further from what would first come to mind. He was a man who had realized through personal loss, that the war was not was he was told all his life. The man now seemed very anti-militaristic, although he wouldn't shy away if fighting was the only solution.

Lady Ursa was a surprise, as he had imagined the wife of the Fire Lord being a pampered, totally loyal and useless woman. Ursa was the exact opposite. She'd despised life at the palace and got disposed of like a useless tool. The years living in bitter poverty had hardened her considerably and Bato had to admit, if not for the fact his wife was waiting for him back home, he would be quite tempted.

The girl, Mai, was a bit of an enigma. Running away from a home that suffocated her with its rules to travel with the boy she had feelings for, she was still guarding her inner self well. It was a bit disheartening that the scars from her rigid upbringing made her so reserved. After all, someone who is willing to give up everything for the happiness of someone else had to have a kind heart.

Seeing people like them put his belief that the Fire Nation only consisted of war-mongering bastards into question.

The friends Sokka and Katara had gathered around themselves couldn't be more exotic as well.

First of course was Aang. Bato still couldn't believe that this boy was the Avatar, having awakened after 100 years inside an iceberg. In all the stories he'd grown up with, the Avatar was made to be someone bigger than life. However, seeing how Aang pretty much was your average 12-year old boy reminded Bato that even the Avatar had to come from somewhere.

The girl Suki had led a group of female warriors who had kept the peace on their island. Sadly however, the Fire Nation had invaded recently, forcing her into exile to protect the Avatar. The signs between her and Sokka were clear - painfully clear. The chemistry between these two reminded him of his wife. Also, while the idea of a girl being a warrior might be unusual to him, her body language screamed to take her very serious.

Last but not least, Toph Beifong. He had of course noticed the girl's blindness, but she was capable of moving around without much problem. She might look like a helpless little girl, but after that demonstration of her earthbending earlier, Bato knew she was far from it. Of course, leaving her home after being promised to some stranger was very understandable.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to make such interesting friends and experience this much adventure," Bato finally said after the recounting of the incident at the prison rig.

"Trust me, we didn't either," Sokka admitted, finding it a little difficult to believe that a few months the most excitement had been fishing together with Katara. "On the other hand, you probably didn't expect being away from home for so long, either."

"True. Thank you again for telling me how my family is faring." Bato then gave the four from the Fire Nation a look. "You know, had they not vouched for you, I would have been tempted to attack despite my injuries."

"Believe, we know how that feels. Well, at least we imagined an angry mob chasing us away when entering your village, not just one untrained guy," Zuko admitted, ignoring the look of annoyance Sokka gave him at this reminder.

"Oh, I found it amusing to watch you handling him with such ease," Mai added, unable to help it. It always was amusing to see Sokka's expression at this reminder.

Sokka looked ready to shout, but Suki's hand on his shoulder calmed him down.

Suki was calm, but gave Zuko a knowing look. "Oh, perhaps he was untrained back then. Last I heard however, he keeps up with you quite well, although it is kind of an unfair advantage you got trained by a master swordsman."

Just by watching this I can already predict it won't be too long before these two can't get enough of each other. Bato poured himself a drink. "As unusual as your help is, it surely can't hurt. Maybe with the Avatar learning the elements, we do have a chance in this war after all."

Katara sighed. "Bato... about that. Things are about to get much, MUCH worse."

"How do you mean?" Bato wondered, seeing how Katara actually looked scared.

Aang looked pained, answering for Katara. "Well, I got into contact with Avatar Roku, and he told me what the Fire Nation is planning to do. They used the power of a comet to become much stronger, destroying my entire people with this power. The same comet is returning at the end of summer."

-splink- Bato dropped his cup when hearing these news. "You mean...?"

Sokka grimaced. "If the war isn't over by the time the comet arrives, we have lost. Then everything was futile and the Fire Nation has conquered the world. We are now on a time limit."

"But, he can't..." Bato was trying to find words.

Ursa shook her head, knowing too well that Ozai would. "You don't know Ozai like I do. He wouldn't hesitate to use the comet's power to cause as much death as possible, if it means gaining final victory. Like he has discarded me, he would destroy the Earth Kingdom as something he sees as an obstacle."

"Believe me, she is not exaggerating about my brother," Iroh added, remembering how his brother had turned out when growing up. "He does see the continuing resistance of Ba-Sing-Se as a personal insult against him."

These were shocking news to Bato. Everything Hakoda and his men had done up to now seemed so meaningless compared to the doom lurking at the horizon. "Great spirits..."

"Yes, that's what I thought as well. My brother would use the comet's power to literally raze down the Earth Kingdom. Should that happen, no one would be left to stop him," Iroh brought the matter to the point. "While our priority is to ensure the Avatar learns the elements, we do have to see the bigger picture."

Ursa gave Aang a gentle look. "No offense, Aang, but even with all the power you can learn, the Fire Nation still has enormous armies at its disposal. You can't win on your own; never manage to reach Ozai to challenge him. That's where you need allies who free the way for you and make sure to keep your back clear."

"So you are not only on the way to the North Pole to secure waterbending training, but also to forge an alliance?" Bato asked, no intrigued.

"Yes, but there's a problem. You see, even though Aang is the Avatar... he's not exactly someone who can do that. Hell, many wouldn't even give him any authority, because he's a kid," Sokka said, not bothering to sugarcoat it. "However..."

Bato had a feeling what Sokka was playing at. "Your father not only would have the authority, but it would also give your friend the support of the Southern Water Tribe..."

Katara hated to pull their father into it, but there was little choice in the matter. "Perhaps this can finally give the two tribes the chance to get a better understanding of each other. Some of the things I heard from Gran-Gran..."

Bato didn't ask, but it was clear that something about their sister tribe had riled up Katara. He started to pace, trying to get his thoughts into order. "Our current battle at the shores of the Earth Kingdom... Totally irrelevant compared to what's at stake now. ... This is very, very serious..."

"He reminds me of Zuko. He's also sometimes pacing like this when he's pondering something," Mai remarked to Suki.

"He does?" Suki was always a little surprised to hear what kind of strange habits Zuko got at times, although she knew she probably got some as well. "I took him for being more the brooding type."

"Oh, he does that as well," Mai added, unable to hide a hint of amusement.

Now I know why I dreaded Mai having regular contact with other girls her age... Girl talk with me as the topic, Zuko thought, hoping he didn't show any reaction.

"I see little other choice... Some in the Earth Kingdom might see this as abandoning them, but this is too serious. Hakoda needs to know about this; needs to take charge. If anyone can convince the Northern Tribe to enter an alliance, it's him," Bato said mostly to himself.

"My decision is made," Bato announced. "Chief Hakoda needs to know of this as soon as possible. I'll do anything needed to convince him to take course for the North Pole right away." He looked to Sokka and Katara. "Both of you most likely are going to meet your father faster than you thought you'd be."

"Oh man!" Sokka said in anticipation, while Katara looked less than enthusiastic.

"Uhm, thank you. You know, that's kind of a big thing you're gonna do..." Aang thanked Bato.

Bato shook his head. "No thanks needed. I would be unable to live with myself if I simply ignore the looming danger." Before his mind's eye he saw horrific visions of the Earth Kingdom in flames while the trail of the comet covered the sky.

No, never...

The door opened and one of the nuns entered, looking a bit guarded at the presence of so much Fire Nation. "Excuse me, but a messenger delivered this for you."

"Thanks." Taking the the offered scroll from the woman, Bato read through it. "Good news, I was told where the rendezvous point is located. Would take me only a few days to get there on foot - I can always get my ship when we are sailing north."

Bato's declaration felt to everyone present like a sign.

A sign, that the game had been changed now, and that maybe they did have a chance after all. Just a bunch of children and teenagers - no way they could win this, even if one of this is the Avatar. Having the needed manpower to back up their cause? Then they could have a chance after all.

...inside the Fire Nation Palace...

"Maybe promoting him had been a little hasty," Ozai said while reading through Zhao's report a second time. "Capturing the Avatar, only to allow him to escape from a fully-staffed fortress, does not raise my confidence in his skills. Perhaps I did put too much faith into him."

"The problem is, our great plan has already progressed way too far to replace him now, despite his repeated failures," Azula added.

These two were the only ones inside the war chamber, overlooking a world map printed on the center table. Ozai had commented on Azula's firm grasp of world politics and army movements when Zhao's report had arrived. Needless to say, the Fire Lord was severely disappointed with his freshly-promoted Admiral. Letting the Avatar escape again, especially under such circumstances, screamed of incompetence.

"This is a problem, indeed," Ozai acknowledged, looking at the area of the northern ocean on the map.

"The question remains, father. How can we make sure he won't cause disaster next time?" Azula asked, imagining Zhao pleading for his life while kneeling in front of the Fire Lord for screwing up everything. "Far too much has been invested to put a stop to it now."

"Yes..." Ozai then looked up. "I think he needs the proper motivation and guidance to make our plan a success. Someone to make sure he won't step out of line again"

"This sounds promising. Do you already have someone in mind?" Azula asked and couldn't help but to feel a feeling of deep satisfaction when he father continued to look at her, knowing exactly what that meant.

"Yes, I do."

to be continued...

Next Episode: "The Die is cast"

Notes:

Originally, I had planned to have the meeting with Jeon Jeong as well, but realized it wouldn't contribute much (especially since Aang already know quite well that fire is quite tricky). Thus them meeting is moved to when the return to the Earth Kingdom.

I always wondered how much more funnier it would be to see Sokka fall apart, because he simply can't deal too well with sick people. Well, here is our answer. I also wanted the escape from the fortress to be different and actually got the idea with the catapult from an Asterix comic.

Now, it ALWAYS bugged me why Sokka and Katara just goofed around with bato in canon and said not a single world about, you know, that the Fire Nation could win in a few months! Seriously, that's just such a huge idiot ball it's painful. I reasoned in face of total defeat that the tribe would stop messing around and actually DO something important. Prepare for Hakoda at the North Pole and some interesting meetings (but not yet).