Chapter 1

A/N: hey everyone. Good to see all. I know I haven't worked on this story in a while, and simply put, I re-read the old one and, well…needless to say it was painful. Granted it was my first story, but still, painful to read. So yeah, I decided to rewrite it, and at least this way I can work in some other ideas and things I've noticed by paying more attention to both series.

Ok, announcement out of the way, just remember, I just own the story, TFP and ATLA are not mine.

Waves lapped against a large metal ship as it cut through the water, spraying soft mist up into the night air. On its deck, a slight figure stood a cloak billowing around them as they gazed up at the night sky.

Removing the hood, a long braid fell out, blowing slightly in the wind as its owner sighed resting her palms against the cool metal. She knew she should be sleeping, but she couldn't. So much had happened in the past few weeks; her father returning, the Earth Kingdom falling, and…and the battle of the Crystal Catacombs.

Turning away from the moon, blue eyes looked back towards the ship, up at one of the rooms she could still see light coming out from. Not that the person residing in there would notice; he remained blissfully unaware of the world around him. And some small part of her feared, it might stay that way. She was no master healer, and spirit water could only do so much.

Katara sighed, looking back down. How could everything have gone so wrong? They had the alliance of the Earth King, they knew about the upcoming solar eclipse, they'd found her father again…and yet, everything still went wrong. Perhaps if they'd gone to meet the Kyoshi Warriors, maybe then they would've realized it wasn't their allies. They could've stopped all of this before it began.

Bright light flashed in the sky, nearly blinding the waterbender. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest. They couldn't afford an attack from the Fire Nation right now, not with Aang unconscious, not with everyone asleep and tired, and certainly not with the skeleton crew they had keeping their stolen ship running.

Blinking the blinding light away, she looked up to see several balls of fire falling from the sky. But they didn't look like those used in a Fire Nation attack. These ones were much smaller, and the flames were blue. They scattered in different directions, one went west, another east, a few others went in directions she couldn't tell, and five more were flying right on a crash course with their ship.

Grateful to the light of the full moon, Katara lifted her hands. A massive wave rose from the sea beside the ship; hopefully it would serve as a barrier for whatever these things were. The first one made impact. The water wall slowed it down, but the ship still rocked as it hit, a dent forming in the metal.

No doubt the others would be coming to see what was going on soon enough.

The next two, made impact. Water splashed out as the second one, broke through the water wall. It landed on the ship, but fortunately did not do as mush damage as the first. The third one slowed down more, but still fell in the exact spot the first one landed.

Katara almost swore she heard a grunt come from there. Hopefully it didn't breach the hull and hurt someone inside. Turning her attention back to the wall, she braced as the final two hit the water. Fortunately, they didn't get through this time. However, that let her see what the falling objects were, and suddenly the grunt from the crater made sense. People, they were people.

Breaking out of her shock, she moved the water, bending the pair onto the deck and ran over to them. She knelt by the smaller form, a woman. She was pale but had a slight dark tone in her skin, short dark brown hair, and she wore armor unlike anything she'd ever seen. It looked like Fire Nation Armor, but it didn't. Her armor was fitted to her form, and it was blue, with pink accents. So she couldn't be fire nation. But she'd never seen armor like that from the Water Tribes. But she had to be water Tribe, it would explain the color.

This theory of hers seemed to be further confirmed as she moved to the other form. They also bore blue armor, but this with yellow accents, and judging from the build this one was male. Kneeling beside him, she removed his helmet like she had the woman and blinked in shock. And here she thought the people of the Fire Nation were pale. This guy was very pale, his skin was almost like snow, except for the fact he had small spots on his face, it almost reminded her of a leopard-seal. His hair was also very pale, almost like moonlight. But then, the true color would be harder to tell under the cover of darkness and torches used to light the deck.

It was then Katara remembered that there had been three others that had crashed into the ship. Scrambling over to the crater, her eyes widened as she saw two figures lying on top of each other. Both wore armor like the other two, but theirs were a different color. The one lying on top had white and orange armor, and the larger form below him almost appeared to have green. Neither one appeared hurt, but she'd have to examine them soon, a landing like that had to have caused some damage.

"Katara! What happened?" she heard her brother call as he and several of the others raced out onto deck, weapons in hand. "Are we under attack?!"

How was she going to explain this? "We're not under attack," she reassured. "But um…these people…fell from the sky?"

Sokka lowered his boomerang, "Fell? From the sky?"

"Yes," she grumbled. "It's not like weirder things haven't happened to us?"

"True, true."

"Anyways, help me get them to some beds, I need to make sure none of them are hurt."

-.-

Winds moving through the cool night air, provided a chill that had been in anyone other then a firebender they would have been certainly been shivering. But for Zuko, this was not the coldest he had ever been. In comparison to the frigid waters of the Poles. He'd taken a dip in both, even his inner flame had struggled against the sheer power of the icy landscape. It was honestly a wonder anyone lived down there.

The thought of the North Pole made him scowl. Of course, he wouldn't have made it out there without his Uncle. The same uncle he betrayed in Ba Sing Se, the uncle who treated him more like a father than his own father ever did. His uncle had always been there for him, through the good and bad. He didn't have to come with him into his banishment, and yet he had of his own free will.

Zuko shook his head, the wind rustling through his hair. His uncle was weak, a traitor. He betrayed his nation, betrayed their family when he helped the Avatar. Yet he couldn't help but worry; his uncle was an old man. If his father intended any horrible punishments for him…he wouldn't survive. But then again, it had been three years. Perhaps things had changed from how he remembered. Hopefully they did.

"Aren't you cold?" a familiar drawl pulled him from his thoughts.

Glancing behind him, he saw Mai approaching. "It's been three years. I wonder how things have changed, I wonder how I've changed," he spoke his thoughts hearing a quiet yawn from the woman.

"I just asked if you were cold, not for your whole life story," she said stepping up beside him. Taking his chin in her hand, she leaned forwards, giving him a light kiss. "Don't worry so much."

Light flashed in the sky, causing the couple to duck and brace for an attack. "My Lord!" one of the guards called helping him and Mai to their feet. "Are you alright?"

Blinking the light away, his gaze focused and Zuko stared as he saw comets in the sky. Unlike what'd he'd heard about Sozin's Comet, these were small and blue. Multiple crossed the dark skies, travelling in different directions. The Prince couldn't help but worry. He'd been around his uncle enough to know his stories of the spirits and their wrath; heck, he'd seen it first hand as he watched the Spirit of the Ocean demolish the armada at the North Pole. Was that was this was? Were the spirits expressing their displeasure.

His gaze focused on one comet that seemed to be gettingg brighter and his stomach dropped. The spirits were definitely not happy. "EVERYONE GET DOWN!" he ordered tackling Mai.

The ship rocked violently from the impact. Zuko felt them bounce off the ground slightly, forcing himself to turn and bruise his side rather than risk hurting Mai under his weight. Years at sea made it easier for him to scramble to his feet under the conditions of the rocking ship. He ran through the halls, making his way down to the deck before many of the others as they tried to regain their balance. In the center of the deck was a smoking crater.

"What happened?" Azula's familiar voice hissed as she appeared to his right.

"Something fell out of the sky," he answered.

"No kidding dum-dum. What is it?"

"You think I know!"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm checking it out." Running forwards, she leapt into the crater. Even through her boots she could feel the heat. Covering her mouth to block the smoke, she opened her palm, blue fire coming to life. A flash came from her right, causing her to turn and narrow her eyes. Her attack should've killed the Avatar, there was no way he could be alive.

Well, if he was, she'd just have to make it a little more permanent this time.

Striding forwards, she raised her fist prepared to reign fire down on the Airbender; but when the armor came into view, she paused. It didn't look like Fire Nation armor, this was sleeker, covered more than their armor. The armor was bright yellow and black, an interesting combination she wasn't familiar with. It certainly wasn't something from one of the other nations that she was aware of. Crouching by them to see better, she could see the form lying on the ground was male. Her gaze locked on his face—well, at least what she could see of it—a metal armor mask covered the lower half of his face obscuring his mouth and nose from view. He was pale, disturbingly so, she could've sworn he was dead by his pallor. It was a stark contrast to the raven-black hair with golden streaks.

Azula narrowed her eyes. She needed answers. "Get the medic!"

"What is it?!" she heard her brother call.

Azula smirked. "You'll just have to wait and see Zuzu, but trust me, I think he'll be useful."

-.-

Red, that was the first color that came into view as blue eyes began to open. As things became more focused, the reflection of candlelight on the metal ceiling became clear. Turning to the source, he could see the flames on the small candle flickering beside a tapestry filled with a massive black flame. Sitting up, he removed the blankets frowning as his red and blue armor remained on him.

Well, that explained why his neck was sore.

Standing up, Optimus brushed a few stray pieces of black hair back, looking around the room. It didn't appear to be a cell of any sort. There was a bed, a dresser, tapestries; so he wasn't in enemy hands. But where was his team? Striding to the door, he pulled on the handle, a brow rising as he realized it wasn't locked. He pulled the door open and came face to face with a man in bulky red and black armor.

The man froze. It was his turn to check on the…new arrivals after their crash. He hadn't been expecting any of them to be awake yet, Aang didn't even fall from half as high and he was still unconscious.

Hakota squared his shoulders, looking up at the man. The Water Tribe Chief was not used to feeling short, but this man was easily almost a head taller; and he carried himself in a way that made him wary. After years of war he'd learned a few things, one of those being how to recognize who was in charge of their enemies. This man was clearly in charge.

There was also the fact he had an…otherworldly air about him. Hakota would admit, he did find it strange that almost as soon as the Avatar was down for the count several mysterious beings fell from the sky in balls of fire. They may've looked human, but Hakota could tell, they weren't. They had to be spirits. This man before him was too pale, almost like he had no blood coursing through him—as far as he knew spirits didn't need to bleed for any reason. His hair was darker the night, and his eyes, the chief would swear to La and Tui that they were glowing.

There was no way this man was human.

"Uh…hello?" Hakota greeted before wincing. Really? That was the best he had to greet a spirit? Hopefully he was merciful, he'd heard plenty of stories of spirits turning vengeful due to the fact they were disrespected.

The man nodded in acknowledgement. "Hello," he rumbled in return, nearly making Hakota step back. The spirit even sounded as intimidating and powerful as he looked.

"I am Chief Hakota, of the Southern Water Tribe."

"I am Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots."

The names were as strange and foreign as the man looked. At least it seemed to confirm his suspicions, this Prime was the leader of his group—however strange the names were. "It's nice to meet you Optimus," Hakota smiled nervously. "We're relieved that you're ok, after, you know, you fell from the sky with your friends.

At the mention of them, Hakota could see Prime's brow twitch. The only form of expression he had shown so far. "Where are they?"

"In the other rooms, my daughter did her best to treat them after you crashed," he explained. "But…your, uh, armor made it difficult."

"I appreciate your efforts," Optimus nodded falling into step beside him as he led the man to his comrades. Opening the door, Hakota's eyes widened as a blade was pressed against his throat. The woman before him glared daggers at him. "Arcee."

At Prime's voice, the woman stopped, looking away from Hakota. Her blue eyes widened and she pulled her blade back, looking slightly abashed as she stood to full height—Hakota would later deny that he felt slightly alarmed at being a hair shorter than her. "Optimus. Where are we?"

"We will find out, once we find the others," he replied. "Arcee this is Chief Hakota. He has provided us with aid after the malfunction."

Hakota had no idea what the man was talking about, but apparently this Arcee did cause she crossed her arms, looking annoyed for a moment. "Thanks," she huffed. "Where are the others?"

At that moment, one of the doors down the hall burst off its hinges. Hakota jumped, settling into a fighting stance as a large man came into view. Save for the strange armor, glowing eyes, and his unnatural height, this man looked more normal than the others so far. He had dark skin and hair, was almost as tall as Prime, and he was big enough to remind the Southern Water Tribe Chief of a raging polar-dog. "Prime?" the man spoke, lowering his fist.

"Bulkhead," Optimus nodded.

"Was breaking down the door necessary, they were unlocked," Arcee deadpanned.

The large man blinked, "Yes…maybe…" he stuttered. "Where are we?"

Optimus sighed, clearly this was going to be a question he would have to answer a lot. "I will explain what I know when we locate the others," he replied tiredly. "And perhaps we could get more answers as to what happened."

Glowing blue eyes turned to him, and Hakota nodded. "The other two are this way," he motioned.

"Two?" Arcee spoke up. "There should be nine of us in total."

Hakota gulped, that wasn't good. "I was told that there were other ones that landed in different directions. I'm sorry, we don't know where they are."

The woman looked like she was going to demand more, when Prime set a hand on her shoulder. "Arcee, we will find them. They cannot be blamed for the circumstances of our arrival."

"As far as we know," the woman grumbled, crossing her arms. "Which rooms are they in?"

"Um the older man is in that one," Hakota said pointing to a door down the hall. "The other one in blue armor is in the room beside it."

With that, Arcee shoved past him, going to the far door and shoving it open. A loud bang was heard fallowed by a pained cry. A moment later, the eerie ghost-like one stumbled out rubbing his head. "Slag Arcee, don't have to be so mean," he whined as the woman stomped out.

"Maybe then, Smokescreen, you should wake up when I tell you to the first time!" she snapped.

Hakota made a note of the name. All of the names of these spirits were strange so far—but who was he to judge a spirit—however, this one he felt would be easy to remember. The young man was almost as scarily pale as a smokescreen, even his hair was pale.

The other door opened and the Chief blinked as Optimus stepped out with an older man in tow; he didn't even notice the other leader depart. His gaze traveled to the man following Prime. He was older, evident by the slight formation of wrinkles around his eyes and mouth and the greying brown hair. And even though, he was the shortest man of the group, he still stood just barely taller than the woman; that caused Hakota to sigh to himself. Glowing eyes, strange skin tones, weird hair, bizarre names, unnatural height, and armor that made the Fire Nation's look like the material comprising a cheap ship; the Spirit World was definitely not happy with how the war was going so far, they decided to send some of their own to intervene themselves.

"Chief Hakota, I would like you to meet my Chief Medical Officer Ratchet," Prime introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Hakota bowed respectfully. He may've made the mistake of accidently insulting the lead spirit, but he was not going to mess up on a Spirit of Medicine. Katara would kill him if he were the reason she lost her healing powers.

"Dad! What's taking so…" Sokka came around the corner, trailing off as he saw the group standing around him. "oh."

"Sokka," Hakota said. "Meet our guests, Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Smokescreen, Arcee, and…Bulkhead?"

"You're they guys that fell from the sky!" his son exclaimed pointing at them.

"That explains why my dents have dents," Bulkhead groaned, stretching. "Falling from the sky sucks."

"YOU'VE DONE THAT BEFORE?!" Sokka shrieked in horror.

Hakota shook his head, no doubt now. They were definitely spirits. A fall like that would've even killed an Airbender.

"We fell from the sky?" Arcee repeated. "Did you see where the other members of our Team went?"

"You mean the other fireballs?" his son questioned, rubbing the back of his head. "Well…they went in all sorts of different directions. But, I mean we found you, someone had to find them too! I'm sure they're fine."

Hakota raised a brow, like a spirit could die anyways. The thought nearly made the Chief facepalm. Aang was in a coma and he'd heard all about what happened at the North Pole; spirits in the mortal realm could die. He glanced at the figures around him, it just took a lot to kill one.

Ratchet lifted his arm, a glowing thing appearing over it. He tapped a few things, looking at the strange floating symbols "They're still alive. But I don't think their trackers are working properly, I can't get their positions."

"Shouldn't take us too long to find them," Arcee shrugged.

Hakota gulped, stepping forwards. "So, uh, Prime. What brings you here? To our world?"

"An explosion," Arcee muttered.

"An accident," Optimus replied calmly. "We were returning from a fight when our transport malfunctioned, sending us here."

Hakota nodded, so, it seemed even the Spirit World was not left unscathed by this war. The spirits themselves were fighting; whether it was about who was right or how to end the war he didn't know, but still, the spirits were fighting. That couldn't be good for anyone. "I see," he nodded. "We were on our way to the Fire Nation, to invade on the Day of Black Sun."

Hakota stiffened as Optimus turned to him, his glowing eyes flashing. "Why do you need to invade another nation? Have they wronged you in some way?"

Right, spirits didn't always pay attention to the mortal realm; most tended to leave them alone unless they'd been wronged. Sokka spoke up, "You see, the Fire Nation began attacking everyone a hundred years ago, committing genocide against the Air Nomads. And since then, they have continued to do terrible things, attacking and killing innocent people, conquering and burning towns. We finally have a chance to stop their leader before that same power that let them kill our friend's people comes again."

The lead spirit's eyes narrowed, seeming to glow brighter for a moment. Glancing at the others, Hakota could tell they all looked equally enraged by his words. "Then perhaps we were sent here for a reason," Prime spoke. "Our people have been fighting the war for freedom for a long time. We will join you on your mission, and perhaps we will find our missing comrades along the way."

Thank La and Tui, they found spirits of…Hakota didn't know what their power was, but at least they were on their side.

A loud bang came from the level above them. "HE'S AWAKE!" they heard someone shout. "STOP WAIT!"

Hakota began sprinting, leading them up onto the deck where they began looking around. A small creature chittered, landing on Prime's shoulder sniffing him curiously.

It was less than a minute later that a young boy with thin dark hair and bandages wrapping his chest stumbled onto deck. Tripping over the last stair, he fell to the ground, the staff supporting him clattering across the deck. Grey eyes looked up, widening as he spotted the new arrivals. But they were not apparently whom he was focused on, "Momo?"

At its name, the small, monkey-like creature's ears perked up and it leapt off Prime's shoulder. Landing on the boy's arm, it gave many excited squeaks and chitters as it circled around his head a few times before settling on licking his forehead.

"Twinkle-Toes! That's gotta be you!" another young voice exclaimed as several others on deck rushed over.

"Aang, you're awake!"

"Are you sure, I feel like I'm dreaming," the boy murmured rubbing his eyes.

The girl in the blue dress lunged forwards, hugging the boy. "You're not dreaming, you're finally awake."

"Aang," Sokka exclaimed, "good to see you back with the land of the living buddy."

"Sokka?"

"Uh oh, somebody catch him!" the small girl warned. The moment she started speaking, the boy fainted.

The others crowded around him, picking up the unconscious boy. "He'll be fine, he just stressed himself," the girl in blue reassured. It was then she noticed the other figures observing nearby. "I'm glad to see you all are ok too."

It was then all heads turned towards them. "Everyone," Hakota began, "meet Optimus Prime, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Arcee, and Smokescreen."

It was the small girl who was the first to approach, looking up in their general direction; it was then they noticed the clouded eyes. "You're blind," Smokescreen stated. He doubled over a split second later as Arcee punched him in the gut.

"Hey, doesn't mean I still can't kick your butt, String-Bean!" she declared.

"Ignore him, he never thinks things through," Arcee deadpanned.

"I do!"

The woman turned, raising a brow and crossing her arms. "Uh, the first time we met? When Bee was showing you the ropes? How about when you took non-combatants into combat?!"

"Those times turned out just fine!"

"You still broke the rules dipshit!"

"Arcee," Prime spoke, "Enough, there are children present. There is no need for such language."

"Please, I've heard worse," Toph scoffed.

"No doubt," Optimus replied calmly. "But that still does not mean the proper decorum can't be shown. Especially between those who have just met."

"I met them in a fighting arena," she said pointing in the general direction of her friends. Toph couldn't see the man's expression, but she could feel his…it wasn't heartrate. It didn't feel like a heart; there was sort of an almost…energy feel to it; whatever it was it seemed like it sped up slightly. The man didn't feel human, none of these guys did.

"I was not aware gladiatorial arenas existed here."

"It wasn't a gladiator arena, more like competitive fighting for money to prove who the best earthbender is, and that's me!" she grinned. Almost instantly, she could sense the being relax, clearly he didn't approve of gladiatorial combat. "You're not human, are you? You don't feel human."

"No, we are not," Optimus answered.

Toph raised her brows, she could feel it, he was telling the truth. Well, as far as she could tell, his "heartbeat" didn't change, and she was pretty sure he wasn't breathing. So…that meant she was talking to a spirit? Cool. Snoozles made spirits sound so scary from the way he talked about them.

"Wait, what do you mean feel?" String-Bean asked. "You're blind!"

Oh, spirits another person who thought being blind meant they were useless. Toph was looking forwards to whooping String-Bean's ass. "I may be blind, but that doesn't mean I can't see. I don't see like you do, I use vibrations from the Earth to get around."

"Sort of like echolocation," an older voice rumbled. Toph didn't know what that meant, "Remarkable, I wasn't aware humans were capable of such a thing. Your kind gets stranger and stranger."

Toph grinned, she managed to surprise spirits; she was pretty sure not even Twinkle-Toes ever managed that. "I'm Toph," she introduced herself.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots," the spirit she'd been speaking to the most rumbled. He moved his foot, tapping who had to be the older man, his vibrations were heavier and slower than the others—well, than the really, really big guy she was sure the Boulder would run from. That surprised Toph, it was rarely ever anyone made an effort to make sure she could figure out who's vibrations were who's. It'd taken her forever to figure out how to find individuals based on vibrations in groups this big. "This is our Chief Medical Officer Ratchet."

"The one you call, String-Bean is Smokescreen," the only woman of the group spoke. "I'm Arcee."

"So that means the really big guy is Bulkhead?" Toph guessed.

"That's right," a deep voice laughed.

The blind girl grinned, she could feel the deck almost vibrate from his laugh. She liked these guys. Clunky footsteps approached, and Toph rolled her eyes as Sokka approached. "That's my sister Katara," Toph could only assume he was motioning to the others based on the vibrations. "Over there is Pipsqueak and The Duke, you already met my father, that's Bato, the really big fluffy guy is Appa, you met Momo…" he continued introducing everyone.

Toph would be impressed if they remembered everyone, she was still trying to learn names. Though, they were spirits, so they probably could. Movement came from the ground, and she smiled, turning as Aang began to wake up.

"Here," someone said nudging her.

Raising her hands, a bowl settled into them. She nodded to the new arrivals, Autobots, she thought she remembered Optimus called them. Toph sat down by her friends, sensing as the others settled nearby talking amongst themselves as they ate.

"So…what happened?" Aang started. "Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why are you all dressed like this? Who are those guys? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?"

"The new guys are spirits who crashed on our boat the other day," Toph explained before Katara could answer. If anyone was going to explain the cool new guys, it would be her.

"Spirits?" Aang asked, his heart rate picking up.

Toph rolled her eyes again. Of course Twinkle-Toes was nervous, he was the Avatar, he probably thought the spirits were going to kill him. "They're here to help us."

"Oh…they are?"

"Yep," Sokka replied. "Can't wait to see what they can do! They look like they can kick some serious Fire Nation butt!"

Aang glanced at them, looking the "spirits" over. They resembled humans, he'd give them that; probably the most human-like spirits he'd ever seen—save for his past lives. Though they looked as intimidating as any other spirit; strange armor, freakishly tall, glowing eyes, he could even feel…something from one of them, something almost spirit like.

"Aang," Katara spoke up as he opened his mouth to ask the next question, "you need to take it easy, you got hurt pretty bad." At her words he rubbed the bandages on his chest, feeling a familiar ache. "I like your hair."

"I have hair?!" Aang exclaimed feeling his head. "How long have I been out?!"

"A few weeks."

"Everything ok?"

Katara scowled, glaring down at her bowl. "We're fine Dad."

Hakota glanced away before putting a smile on, holding his hand out towards Aang, "I'm Hakota, Katara and Sokka's father."

"He knows who you are I just called you 'dad' didn't I?" Katara snapped.

The Chief lowered his hand, "I guess you're right."

Aang smiled, stretching out his hand, "It's an honor to officially meet you Chief Hakota."

The man smiled, returning the grip. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Great, great, now you guys have met so would you mind giving us a little privacy?!" Katara growled.

Hakota sighed, giving his daughter a nod, "Of course." Walking away, he picked up his bowl, looking between the groups, he smiled at Bato as the man waved at him. As much as the Chief would like to join his tribesman, someone needed to make sure the spirits felt welcome. "May I sit here?"

"Of course," Prime nodded motioning to a spot to his left.

"So, this war, care to explain what's going on?" Arcee stated taking a bite of her soup.

Hakota nodded, at least he wouldn't have to deal with the awkward conversation starters he'd been planning. "Yes, it's been going on for a hundred years. The Fire Nation is attempting to conquer the world, they have already taken wiped out the Air Nomads—Aang's people—and just a few weeks ago they finally conquered the Earth Kingdom. It won't be long before they start attacking the Water Tribes again—My people. We have already lost much at the hands of the Fire Nation. They will not stop till the world is theirs and all who dare oppose them are dead."

"Sound like someone we know and love," Arcee growled bending her spoon.

"Arcee, I am aware of your misgivings," Prime spoke, "but my decision on the matter is final."

The woman looked like she wanted to protest more, but reluctantly stood down. "So…" Hakota started again, "you, uh, said you were returning from a battle when you ended up here? May I ask, what was it about?"

"Our people have been at war for a long time," Optimus answered. "It has mostly been about changing our ways. Our opponents wanted to change the world through violence and oppression; much like your Fire Nation. We believe that it is the right of people to choose their own path."

"Sounds a lot like our war," Hakota murmured. How long had the spirits been fighting? Did the Fire Nation throw the Spirit World off balance, plunging them into war, or…or was it the other way around?

"Indeed," Arcee huffed. "Though I guess our war may be ending soon," she shoved a spoon in her mouth glaring at Prime.

Hakota perked up at that. If the spirits were coming to a resolution, that had to be a good thing. It meant that perhaps the war on this side was close to its end as well. "Really?"

"Yes," Optimus answered. "Due to some…events, we have managed to reach an accord. There may be some resistance from both sides, but at least we can finally achieve peace."

"That sounds great," Hakota smiled looking at the sunrise. "Must be nice."

"I am sure your war will end soon," Smokescreen snorted. "Not like your wars last long—OW! Arcee will you stop hitting me?!"

"When you stop being stupid!"

-.-

Hot. It was very hot. Groaning, Bumblebee shoved a weight off him, and it landed with a dull thud on the floor. Forcing his eyes open, the teen sat up, rubbing his eyes. It was only when metal touched his cheek he was aware of why he was so hot; he fell asleep in his armor.

Cursing to himself, he forced himself out of the bed, blinking as he took in the surroundings. This was not his room. Everything was red, the blankets, the tapestries, the curtains, the chair, the carpet, everything!

Taking a breath, he tried to think about what happened. He remembered the skirmish over the Energon, then going into the bridge. It started sparking…oh, it blew up. Well, that explained why he wasn't anywhere familiar.

With a loud huff, he stomped to a door and grabbed the handle, yanking it open. Two men in red armor whirled on their heels, clearly startled. They settled into a fighting stance, looked like a base stance for one of Earth's martial arts styles. Glancing them over, the scout raised a brow. The armor was bulky, it didn't look like they could move well in it, and they'd tire out before he'd even warm up.

"If you intend to fight me, I suggest you yield now," he warned crossing his arms, looking down at them. Primus, why were all humans so short? "Unless y'all want your afts whooped."

Apparently, the men took his warning as a challenge. The left guard threw a punch, fire leaving his fist. Raising his arm, the flames wrapped around his armor and he slammed his palm into the man's chest, sending him flying back down the hall. There was a loud crash, and the man lied sprawled on the ground on what used to be a table. Someone probably heard that.

Glowing cyan eyes turned to the second guard who began shaking. "I did warn you."

He heard the rush of footsteps coming his way, looking past the shaking guard, 'Bee narrowed his eyes as he saw more similarly dressed idiots. What was it with these people and the color red; it was getting ridiculous.

The men stepped back and a young girl slid in front of them. She wore dark red and gold accented armor, her hair was pulled up with a small gold object holding it up. Perhaps it was a signal of who was in command?

Her gold eyes locked on him, causing the scout to raise a brow. Gold, a strange color for a human; but then again, the one he just hurled down the hall threw fire from his fist, so these weren't regular humans. "Surrender!" she demanded, a smirk crossing her face.

Bumblebee narrowed his eyes. He knew that look, she thought she was clearly superior. Smokescreen acted the same way before 'Bee proudly knocked his cousin down several pegs. "And what if I don't?" he asked gauging her reaction. The scout had to admit, she was good, but not good enough. Her eyes barely widened, the corner of her smile twitched and he saw her neck muscles tense. This girl was someone who wasn't used to being defied.

"I'll be happy to teach you a lesson," she threatened.

"I doubt I'd learn anything from you," 'Bee replied crossing his arms.

A look of anger crossed her eyes, making him smirk behind his mask. He almost forgot how fun it was to mess with people; it was always so easy to beat them once they were off kilter.

She punched out, a blue fireball flying towards him. Granted it took a lot more than mere flame to hurt him. The fire slid over him, flaring onto the walls setting them alight. Though, like he thought, the look on her face when she saw he was unharmed was priceless. "Cute trick," 'Bee smirked. Before she could blink he was looming in front of her. It was almost comical how she had to crane her head up to meet his eyes, she barely reached his chest. "But I've seen better."

"How dare you! I am Princess Azula of the Fire Nation!" she exclaimed.

'Bee raised a brow, Princess? Well, that explained the I-always-get-what-I-want personality. "And I don't care."

"This is the kind of respect I get for saving your life?!" she growled, her fists steaming.

"Explain?"

Azula rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "You fell from the sky onto my ship! You should be glad I didn't throw you in the ocean for that!"

"If I really fell from the sky onto a ship and survived, do you think the ocean would've killed me?" he deadpanned.

She opened her mouth to argue, only to stop. Clearly that hadn't been something she'd thought about. "Fair point. Why are you here?"

'Bee shrugged. "Hell if I know, I was going home when an explosion happened and now I have the unfortunate pleasure of meeting you."

"What are you?!" she growled looking annoyed.

"Not human if that's what you mean."

Azula took a step back. Looking back to the boy before her, she couldn't help but glance to the fallen guard behind her on the ground, and the shaking guard in the corner. She'd initially been planning on firing the men for their incompetence. But if he really wasn't human…no, no spirits didn't exist. They were children's tales. The legends of spirits were for weak people like her brother. Yet…she looked at the man in front of her, looking at the glowing eyes bluer than her fire. She'd never even seen anything of that color before.

But, what else could he be? He waved aside her flame as if it were a mere peasant fire, as if it wasn't even not enough to make most run the other way. His voice was strange, almost…she didn't know, it was eerie, like it was far away but close at the same time. He moved faster than even Ty Lee; she barely even reached his damn chest. Even his hair was weird, it was a mixture of two colors, black and gold, instead of the typical single color.

She'd have to talk to Zuzu, if there was one person who understood spirits it would be him. He spent enough time with Uncle Fatso to learn about them. Leveling her tone, she tried to keep herself civil. After all, if what she'd heard about the North Pole was to be believed, then angering a spirit would be suicide. "Who are you?"

"Bumblebee."