Book One: Water

Chapter One: The Avatar Returns

"You're just a child!"

"You're just a teenager."

Aang and Zuko - The Avatar Returns

Jia sighed.

She tended to do that a lot these days. Not as much as Mai―but no one on this earth sighed as much as Mai. It was impossible.

Her black bangs fell over her pale forehead — she had recently trimmed them — and her raven hair was tied up in a neat topknot. Her eyes, an abnormal shade of golden-green, scanned the water. The ship hadn't docked for a while, and she longed for solid and stable ground. Water was fire's weakness. Fire's opposite. And staring out at the wide, almost endless, stretch of ocean, she couldn't help but feel inferior.

Her company wasn't bad, though. Zuko was, well, Zuko. Uncle Iroh was a cool shipmate. The crew weren't too horrible, and most of them were married so she had no problems with guys pushing themselves onto her (though she never really had such problems before, either. She didn't really know why, but she wasn't really the most famous with the guys. I mean, sure, some guys did chase her - she may not be directly related to the Fire Lord, but she was still a princes – but still, she did not have as much gushing suitors as Ty Lee, Mai or – as much as she loathed to admit it – Azula. Yes. Azula did have more suitors then her. Perhaps she was doing something wrong)

Placing her elbow on the railing, she leaned her chin against it. Zuko, who was currently standing next to her, turned his head to face her.

"Stop sighing so much. You sound like-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I sound like Mai. You said that the last thousand times I sighed," she replied. She sighed again.

Zuko frowned at her, and opened his mouth to speak, but was abruptly cut off when Uncle Iroh said "You two, stop fighting. You're messing up my concentration."

Jia snorted. "Oh, sure. We exchange two comments and we're all of a sudden arguing."

Uncle Iroh said nothing. He just picked up one of his tokens and lay it down on another tile.

"Jia, I know it's near your time, but — " Zuko started, but immediately stopped midsentence when he saw the look that Jia was giving him.

"You better not finish that sentence, Zuko," she hissed. "Ever."

Zuko opened his mouth to say something, but was yet again cut off (seriously, does the universe not want him to speak or something?) when a bright light, located somewhere on the horizon, shot up from the sea and touched the sky. The two cousins turned, wide-eyed, to the huge light.

Jia blinked.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

"Okay, Zuko, before you jump to concl — " she started, turning to her scarred cousin.

Zuko cut her off.

"Jia, do you know what this means?" Zuko asked, turning to her completely. Jia sighed.

"Uncle Iroh won't be able to finish his game?" she asked.

Zuko flicked her a glare before turning to Uncle Iroh. "This means my search has come to an end!"

Uncle Iroh sighed and placed an eartbending token on a waterbending one.

"That light came from a very powerful source," he gestured to the already fading light. "It has to be him!"

Jia rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to release some sarcastic comment at the tip of her tongue, but Iroh beat her to it.

"Or it could just be the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko," Iroh replied, placing the symbol for firebending on top of the symbol for airbending. He gestured to the place beside him "Please, sit," he said. "Why don't you enjoy a calming cup of jasmine tea? I offered this to Jia earlier on, but alas," he sighed. "It turns out it is her time of the month."

"It isn't my time of the month! I just hate jasmine tea!"

"I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the avatar!"

Both replies were yelled in unison, and none of them noticed the slight quirk of Uncle's lips as they looked at each other, engaging in an eye-lock faceoff. Zuko was the first to look away.

"Helmsman! Head a course for that light!"

He turned back to the wide, stretching ocean. "Fire Nation, here I come."

About three or four hours later, Zuko was still standing in the same spot at the railing. His hands rested on the cold metal.

Seriously, he thought to himself. How can it be this cold at this time in the afternoon.

"Hey, Plum," Jia greeted, walking up to him with two bowls of soup in her hands. A small red pouch was hanging off her shoulder. "Still watching the horizon?"

"Stop calling me that," Zuko replied.

Jia sighed. "You need to eat."

"I need to capture the avatar."

"Come on, Plum," Jia said. She set the two bowls of spicy noodle soup on the table that Uncle Iroh had been previously using. She set the two pairs of chopsticks on the rims of the bowls. "You can't catch a near-godly being on an empty stomach. You can watch the horizon while we eat."

Zuko had no rebuttal for that, and he knew that if he tried to protest, Jia would insist.

So, he did the logical thing. He sat down on the table-wide bench that Iroh had earlier been sitting on. Jia sat down next to him and dropped the pouch on the bench, so it was in between them.

Silence swamped the deck as the duo sucked up spicy noodles.

Finally, after five mouthfuls of noodles, Jia spoke. "What if it's not him?" she asked.

Straight up. Right in his face. Cold Turkey.

Jia was always blunt. The other crew members of the ship would have never asked him such a question. At least not like that. Some would tiptoe around the subject or ask him with a ton of riddles or something, but only Jia had the audacity to just ask it in one sentence.

In fact, he kind of counted on Jia to say this kind of stuff, because it helped him to think about it. So, he thought, what if it isn't him?

Hmmmm…

"Then we'll keep looking," he answered simply.

Jia snuck a glance at him before sighing. "Okay, then," she replied, dropping the subject."

It was silent again while they both started eating again.

"You'd never guess what I got," Jia said in a sing-song voice when she had finished drinking down the rest of the red soup juice. Before Zuko could answer, she stood up and dropped the pouch she had brought with her onto the table in front of his bowl. "That was rhetorical. I know you won't be able to guess it." She flipped off the lid of the pouch to reveal a bag full of coal. "It's coal!"

"I know what it is, Jia," Zuko replied. "What is it for?"

"Coal hopping, of course!" she exclaimed. There was an unspoken 'duh' in her voice which Zuko didn't miss.

"Coal Hopping?" Zuko asked. "Are you crazy?! Terrorists do that on buildings to vandalize cities! Even if we were terrorists – which we aren't – we're in the middle of the ocean. And we're not skilled enough benders. This isn't the place or time for coal hopping."

Of course, this was completely true. Coal Hopping was when really skillful and powerful benders – terrorists, as Zuko said – stood on a roof of a building, set one or more pieces of coal on fire – depending on their skill and power – and, using the fire, made the coals hop along the roofs of the other houses in the town or village, setting them on fire as they went along. Earthbending terrorists could do this, too, and it required less energy.

"I am not crazy, Zuko. We can make the coal hop along the water instead," she replied. "Come on. You'll be practicing your firebending while watching the horizon. And I'll be helping. Isn't that useful?"

Zuko raised a skeptical brow.

"I promise," Jia said.

Zuko considered the idea.

"No. That's it. You are coal hopping with me whether you like it or not, Plum," Jia demanded, impatient.

There's the Jia I know, Zuko thought.

He sighed. "Fine."

It took Zuko about three more minutes to finish his soup, and by then Jia was already restless. "Come on, Plum!" she snapped. "Hurry up!"

Zuko stacked his bowl on top of hers and went to stand next to her at the railing.

"Whoever gets the farthest before dropping theirs wins," Jia clarified, handing him a chunk of coal.

Zuko rolled his eyes but nodded to show that he'd heard and acknowledged her.

They both set their coals on fires at the same time. "Three…two…one…"

Both coals went over the ship's railing at the same time, and the two royals immediately set to work, putting all their power and energy into moving the burning piece of coal. It was a very disciplined job, and both their foreheads were beaded with sweat. They both dropped into the water at the same time.

Jia and Zuko immediately looked at each other. "I won that," they said in unison.

"No, I did," they both said again.

"Mine was an inch ahead!" Jia exclaimed, swiping the sweat from her forehead. Her fingers were blackened from holding the coal, and she accidentally smudged some coal dust onto her face.

"That is so not true!" Zuko replied.

Jia narrowed her eyes. "Rematch?"

Zuko nodded. "Rematch," he confirmed.

About twenty coal hopping races later, they were both exhausted. And out of coal.

"We're out of coal," Jia clarified.

"Let's just settle it as a draw for now," Zuko said.

Both their faces were covered in smudges of coal dust because of their hands. And, lemme tell you something, Jia can be pretty when she really applies herself.

This was not one of those times.

Jia sat there for a while, and Zuko stood. None moving.

It was already sunset.

"Well, then," Uncle Iroh yawned and stretched as he approached the two. "I'm going to bed now. You know…a firebender needs their rest."

The hint was completely lost on Jia and Zuko, and they nodded. "'Night, Uncle," they chorused.

Uncle Iroh pursed his lips, disappointed his point didn't come across. "Princess Jia and Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if Zuko's right and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed."

Jia opened her mouth to say something, but Zuko cut her off. "Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Jia sighed and grabbed Zuko's wrist. "Yup. They're over. And so are your hundred hours of no sleep or baths. Come on, Plum, we're both covered in dust and sweat. We need to take a bath. And you need some sleep."

"But –"

"No buts!"

"You –"

"No yous, either!"

"I –"

"Just shut up!"

Jia ran a comb through her newly washed locks. Somehow, they looked darker now that they were wet. Her breasts were wrapped in a length of golden cloth, and her red robe was open. She used some of her firebending to dry off her hair so it wasn't dry, but wasn't soakin, and tied the sash on her robe so that her upper body was covered.

There was no such things as running water on a ship, so they had to clean sea water and fill a tub up with it. Jia had no problem with this. It gave her something to do – though sometimes it grew tedious.

Zuko was lying in her bed, dressed only in his scarlet pants and nothing else. "You should sleep now, Plum," Jia said, turning away from the mirror.

Zuko sniffed distastefully. "Mind if I – "

"No. I don't mind if you sleep here tonight. Just don't set the bed on fire."

Zuko glared. "That was a one time thing," he muttered.

"Yeah. A one time thing that almost got us both killed," Jia replied.

"Just shut up, Jia," Zuko snapped, scooching to his side of the bed and turning away.

"Hey, Plum. Don't forget who's letting who sleep in who's bed," Jia replied. She lay down next to him, hair spread out on her pillow.

"Whatever," he whispered. "Night, Ji-ji."

Jia froze. It had been ages since she had hear that name before.

"Night, Plum," she replied.

Jia puffed her cheeks. Turned her head from side-to-side. Blew the air in her cheeks out onto her fringe, making the black hair flutter.

Jia puffed her cheeks. Turned head from side-to-side. Blew the air in her cheeks out onto her fringe, making the black hair flutter.

Jia puffed her cheeks. Turned her head from side-to-side. Blew the air in her chee–

Knock knock knock.

The princess stopped mid-blow, turning away from the mirror to face the door. The sun was at it's highest peak in the sky, and Jia was sitting in her room. Zuko had awoken early and left that morning, rising as normal firebenders did.

With the sun.

Jia also awoke at sunrise but, unlike Zuko, she hadn't gotten out of bed. She just lay there, eyes wide open.

Bang bang bang.

Who could be banging on her door right now? Perhaps it was Zuko. Or captain Lao. She quickly grabbed a red ribbon from her desk and tied her black hair into a topknot. Before she could open her mouth to give consent to the person to come in, however, the door slammed open.

Jia sighed. "Zuko, when you knock on someone's door, you're supposed to wait for them to answer."

"This can't wait. Uncle insists that I can't start training without you," Zuko snapped. "Now, come on! Get off your butt and let's go!"

"Okay, then. Get out," Jia replied, standing up.

Zuko cast her a confused glance. "What?"

Jia blew at her fringe. "I can't just train in this, you idiot!" She gestured to her scarlet and gold clothes. "Get out so I can change!"

"Oh. Oh yeah," Zuko rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and slowly inched out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Jia rolled her eyes at her retreating cousin before slipping out of her clothes and throwing them on the bed.

Jia's training clothes were very, very worn out. They'd been a last minute thing, because Jia was a last minute person. As in, her stay on the ship was a last minute decision, so she didn't exactly have time to get fully packed.

They'd originally belonged to one of the ship's crew members, Hanzu, if Jia remembered correctly, and consisted of an old baggy shirt and a pair of baggy pants; both Fire Nation red. Jia had torn off the sleeves and obtained a gold sash to tie around her waist and make sure the long shirt didn't fly up with the wind and catch fire.

One scarred crew member was enough, thank you very much.

After slipping on her training uniform and tying the sash around her waist, she pinned back her fringe and a few other places on her head that had hair susceptible to falling out of her topknot (refer to comment above) and wrapped the traditional golden wrappings around her biceps.

She checked herself over in the mirror one last time before turning and opening the door.

Zuko was standing there, waiting for her. "Come on, then, Plum. Let's go."

She turned and walked down the hall, smirking as Zuko yelled "Stop calling me that!"

"Again."

Stern. Booming. No traces of his old age.

Jia and Zuko stopped mid-form. They were standing back-to-back, facing two opponents each. Complying with Iroh's order, they started again. Zuko punched a plume of flame towards one of his opponents while Jia dissipated a flame from one of the soldiers with a roundhouse kick. She landed on her knees and forward-rolled away from a pillar of fire sent by one of the men, before kicking off the ground and starting to punch out consecutive streams of fire. The two men were forced to go onto the defense as she shot at them both at once.

Her forehead dotted with beads of sweat from the exertion. She twirled in the air with a flying spin kick so a circle of fire blew out around her, towards the soldiers.

They had to duck to avoid that one, but Jia overshot her landing, and tumbled to the ground, rolling across the metal floor of the ship.

She slammed into the railing – hard.

"Agh!" she exclaimed.

"Stop! Stop!" Iroh exclaimed. "Jia, get up."

Jia groaned but pulled herself up on the railing. Zuko stood there, facing his uncle. He looked at Jia worriedly, and she dazedly nodded to his unspoken 'are you okay?'.

"Power in firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes: fire!" Iroh directed a fire blast at his nephew that dissipated just before it could scorch him, "Get it right next time."

He turned to Jia. "And Jia! Do you know what you did wrong?"

Jia gulped, looking away. "I overshot my landing," she whispered.

"Look at me and tell me what you did wrong," Iroh snapped.

She looked up at her uncle, eyes full of shame. "I overshot my landing."

"And?" he pushed.

"And what?" she asked, confused.

"And you were too prideful. You have not yet perfected that move, yet you tried it anyway. If you were in a real fight, I would not have been there to stop it. Yes, it's good to learn from your mistakes, but next time perfect the move when you aren't in active combat. Now both of you start again. And try to guard each other."

Zuko stepped forward, looking like he was suppressing anger. "Enough! I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set! I'm more than ready!"

"No!" Iroh snapped. "You are impatient! You have yet to master your basics. Drill again!"

Zuko turned and lashed out, kicking a stream of fire at the nearest soldier. The poor man was caught off guard and was thrown back into the railing. "The Fire Sages say that the avatar is the last airbender. He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a whole century to master the elements! I can't just defeat him with basic firbending. You will teach us the advanced set!"

Iroh finally caved-in, though reluctant. "Very well then, prince Zuko. But first, I must finish this exquisite roast duck!" he picked up his discarded plate from the ground and began to munch on it, much to the dismay of his nephew.

Jia sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to my room. You coming Zuko?" she asked.

Zuko shook his head. "I'm gonna be a lookout for now."

"Okay, then," Jia replied, and walked off.

A few hours later, Jia was out of her training clothes and wearing a scarlet robe with her baggy red pants and meditating.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The door slammed open and Jia jumped, cracking an eye open.

"Zuko, what is it? You usually knock before you burst into my room," Jia greeted.

"He's there! He's been hiding in the South Pole this whole time!" Zuko panted

"Really? You found the body?" Jia asked sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up, Jia. I saw him flying off an old fire nation ship after setting off a flare!"

Jia thought for a second. The avatar was supposed to be an airbender….only airbenders (and sometimes Ty Lee) could fly….and the rest were dead…

But, if one escaped the mass genocide…couldn't there be more?

"Wow…I never thought I'd encounter an airbender. That's…kinda awesome," Jia said, eyes wide with anticipation.

She slid off her bed. "Well, what are we doing standing here and having a chummy conversation about it? Let's go!"

Zuko almost – almost – smiled, but Jia wasn't there to witness it. She was already racing down the hallway, bursting out the door and onto the deck.

He followed after her.

Jia, Zuko, Iroh and Captain Lao, an old navy officer with salt and pepper hair and sharp golden eyes, stood in the main control room. Jia looked furious, Lao slightly amused, Zuko speechless and uncle Iroh calm.

"What do you mean I'm not going?" Jia asked.

"He means you aren't going," Captain Lao replied. "Seriously. Do you need someone to spell it out for you?"

Jia sharply spun around to face him. "That's so funny, Captain Lao. I thought I heard someone back talking me. It's good that that person wasn't you, yes?"

Lao didn't need someone to spell it out for him that that was a threat.

"Well, Princess Jia, the point is that you aren't leaving this ship," Iroh said.

Zuko finally spoke

"Why can't Jia come?" he asked, voice incredulous.

Iroh looked at his nephew. "Well, Prince Zuko, Jia was never meant to come on this trip. If she gets hurt, the fire nation will be held accountable."

"What?" Jia spun on her uncle. "You're telling me that Zuko – Crown Prince of the Fire nation and heir to the freaking fire throne – is allowed to go out there and risk his neck and I – Third in line for the throne and generally unimportant - am not?"

Everyone stared at her.

"That's just stupid!" she clarified.

"Jia, while Prince Zuko is banished – "

"I don't care! We're going back to the fire nation soon, anyway!" Jia cut the Captain off.

Zuko looked at her, eyes wide. Jia had never expressed aloud that she thought Zuko would succeed. She never said 'oh yeah, we're going home soon' or 'oh, yeah, Zuko's totally gonna succeed'. In fact, the subject had never really come up between them.

Lao also looked taken aback. Jia was always the one that was so quick to protest when Zuko thought they'd come across the avatar.

Iroh, on the other hand, didn't looked phased at all. As if he'd known Jia had faith in Zuko all along. "Well, princess, this is Zuko's mission. And, as I've mentioned, you were never supposed to be here.

Jia huffed, making her bangs flutter. "Do you seriously think I care? I'm going with Zuko, whether you like it or not."

Uncle Iroh sighed. "If you get hurt – "

"I won't get hurt!"

"How do we know that?" Zuko asked.

Everyone in the room turned to Zuko, all surprised. Especially Jia.

"You don't," Jia snapped. "You're supposed to trust me!"

"Jia, I…." Zuko trailed off. "I think you should stay."

"Wait, what?!" Jia yelled. "A second ago, you were on my side!"

Iroh sighed. "It's settled then. Jia, you are staying."

"What? No! Nothing's settled! I'm not staying!"

"Yes, you are," Captain Lao replied.

Jia turned to Zuko. "Zuko, please?"

Zuko set his jaw. "Jia, you're staying."

"You know what?" she snapped. "Fine! I'm staying! I mean, it's not like I can defend myself! I mean, really, I suppose I learned firebending under one of the greatest firebenders ever for nothing!"

She kicked the door open roughly and stomped out of the room.

"Perhaps I was correct about it being her time of the month," Iroh said wonderingly.

Jia huffed. And she puffed. And she blew Uncle Iroh down.

Okay, she actually didn't. But she sure wanted to.

She sat on her bed, angry beyond relief. Who was Iroh to tell her to stay behind, huh? She'd obviously stayed on this stinking ship for three years for nothing!

Sure, she'd snuck on without permission, but….that was besides the point! And what about Zuko, huh? Seriously? She'd given up a life of luxury just to accompany him on a stinky ship full of old navy officers, and he didn't even back her up? What. A. Jerk

The princess stood up and started pacing, having nothing else to do with her legs. Zuko would undoubtedly drop in on her after he had obtained victory over the avatar, just to tell her what happened. And then she would probably yell at him because she was so pissed off with him.

A knock at the door broke her out of her reverie, and she froze mid-pace. Who could be knocking at her door right now? She sincerely had no idea. Perhaps it was Iroh, deciding to change his mind. Or maybe Zuko, coming to apologize.

Before she could move to answer the door, however, the knob turned and it creeked open. She waited for someone to come in, but there was nothing. Whoever it was – Jia suspected Zuko, because he was the only one on the ship that would knock and open the door anyway – was probably waiting there, as no footsteps followed after.

Narrowing her eyes, she walked up to the door and pulled it open.

Not a soul in sight.

"Hello?" she called, confused.

No answer.

Suddenly, a thousand different scenarios ran through her head, ranging from 'must have been some prankster ghost' to 'must have been a ninja'.

She poked her head out to look down the hall, but saw nothing else. Shrugging, she was about to withdraw back into the depths of her room, when something sitting on the floor caught her eye. She looked down at it and found it was a full set of foot soldier's uniform, folded neatly with the boots and helmet sitting on top, the skull shaped face guard staring at her ankles.

"Wha…?" she asked. Someone had left it in front of her room to take…but why?

And then it dawned on her. Zuko wasn't stupid. She was absolutely sure that he would take with him a few foot soldiers to help…

Looking down the hall once more to make sure no one was around, then dipped down to pick up the uniform. Her door clicked shut once more and she made sure to lock it this time.

It took a while – she had to use pillows and blankets for padding, due to the fact that this uniform was obviously meant for a man with a much stronger build then her, and then she had to bind her breasts tightly – but soon enough, she was fully dressed in the uniform. She was forced to take her straight black hair out of its topknot and tie it into a high ponytail so that it would fit better into the helmet, but soon all she had to do was slide on the metal boots.

After doing so, she slipped off the helmet and put her ear up against the door to make sure no one was in the hallway. It was completely silent.

She slid the helmet back on and opened the door, boots clanging loudly against the metal floor as she walked down the hall, over the sliding floorboard which was such a nuisance, and out the door.

As soon as she was gone, the door parallel to her room – a storage closet for weapons – opened. The inhabitant of the closet poked his head out, smiling.

"Hmmm…" he said. "She really is smarter than people give her credit for."

Jia managed to slip in inconspicuously while Zuko and Iroh weren't looking, at the end of the line.

"Here we are," Zuko said after having a whispered conversation with Uncle in the corner. "About to make fire nation history. Today, when we capture the avatar, we will be guaranteeing our nation's victory. Without the avatar, the other nations are helpless. Under no circumstances should you kill the avatar, do you understand me? If you kill him, he will just be reborn again – and we'll have to give chase again. After this, you and your descendants will be honored among the nation for the next few thousand years. You will be known for your honor and bravery. You will be in the Fire Lord's favor."

Zuko's message was clear. Don't screw it up.

There was a large crash! as the ship hit the ice, and it shuddered. The ramp began to descend.

All the soldiers – around six not including Jia - got into an arrowhead formation behind Zuko, Jia awkwardly shuffling to form the point, and Zuko turned to the descending ramp. His jaw was set.

"I will be going now, prince Zuko," Iroh said, before turning and walking around them. Jia thought that she saw him briefly turn and wink at her, but when she took a double take, he was looking away. She'd probably imagined it.

Here it was. The moment everyone was anticipating. The ramp went lower and lower, and Jia could see the cloudy sky.

What would be waiting for them? An anti-fire nation mob with wooden pitchforks and torches? An army, with the avatar leading? The avatar alone?

She couldn't help but wonder.

Lower…lower…lower…she could see it, now! The whole village stood right in front of them, only a few paces away. It was so cold…she wondered what holding snow was like. Was it like holding ice cream? Cold and finger-numbing? Was it tasteless like everyone had said? It never snowed in the fire nation. Ever.

She blinked for a moment as the ramp finally hit the snow ground. It was so…bright. All the light reflecting off of the snow together was like looking at a very white sun or flame.

When her eyes had adjusted, she slightly tip-toed to look over Zuko's shoulder, to see what this place had in store for them. She didn't see an army with the avatar leading. She didn't see an anti-fire nation mob with wooden pitchforks and torches. Sheesh, she didn't even see the avatar. All she saw was one man – a teenager, probably around her or Zuko's age – standing there, a layer of black and white paint covering his face, holding a bone club. Behind him, what seemed to be the villagers stood, watching.

Jia hardly had time to scoff before he charged…

…and Zuko pwned his ass.

If she'd blinked at that very moment, she would have missed it, but luckily, she didn't. It only took about two moves before the boy was flying off the metal ramp, and Zuko didn't even break a sweat.

They all followed the scarred prince as he walked down the ramp, and Jia tried to stifle laughter at the water tribe doofus' failure. What. An. Idiot.

"Where is he?" Zuko asked, once they were all standing in the snow. He paced back and forth, examining the crowd. He stopped in front of a young girl – probably Azula's age – who had her arm slung protectively over an old woman's shoulder. "Where are you hiding him?"

He scanned the bystanders, eyes narrowed. Even Jia slightly jumped as he shot his arm forward without warning and grabbed the old woman by the collar. He shook her slightly as he spoke again, voice impatient. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?"

He shoved the poor old woman back towards the teenage girl, and she shuddered in fear as the younger girl enveloped her in an embrace. Jia could see the pure hatred on her face as she glared at her cousin venomously.

"I know you're hiding him!" Zuko snapped, obviously losing his patience.

Ha, Jia thought, as if he had any at all.

From the pile of snow that must have been some kind of protective wall before they had come and crashed into it, the water tribe doofus stood up and charged.

Zuko ducked under the first swing before grabbing the idiot's wrist and swinging him around. He fell on his ass in front of the villagers, and was forced to jump away from Zuko's oncoming stream of flames. Jia – yet again – was forced to stifle her laugh as one of soldiers looked over his shoulder and judged her. She would have poked her tongue out, but there was really no point given her helmet and skull face plate.

The savage threw his boomerang at Zuko, and the prince was barely able to dodge it. He glared at the tan boy angrily, and every fire nation citizen followed the course of the weapon with their eyes as it disappeared into the sky. Jia let her eyes linger for a moment before turning back to watch the show.

"Show no fear, Sokka!" yelled one of the little boys from the crowd, before throwing the teenager a spear. Sokka, Jia thought to herself. What a water tribe name.

Sokka caught the spear and stood up, charging at Zuko again with his spear ready to impale him. Zuko swiped his arm along the shaft before the head could touch him, then grabbed the remains of the wooden spear from Sokka's hands and poked him three times in the head. The idiot fell to the grounf as Zuko snapped the spear into four and threw the pieces onto the snow.

Well that was depressingly easy.

A blur of blue passed over Jia' and struck Zuko on the back of the head, causing him to surge forward at the unexpected blow. It turns out that the weapon that Sokka had thrown had made a comeback.

His helmet in disarray, Zuko righted himself and growled before fixing it. Two fire daggers stretched from his clenched fists, but before he could use the flaming weapons, another blur decided to join the party. It was yellow and orange and slid across the ground, bumping into the back of Zuko's legs and causing him to do a Ty Lee-like flip. His helmet flew off of his head and landed on his butt after he landed in the snow in front of his men. Jia resisted the urge to face palm.

All the villagers cheered.

The blur turned out to be a young boy, who was thrown off of the otter-penguin once he had parked in front of the villagers.

"Quack!" the animal said indignantly before walking off, shaking snow from its wings.

"Hi Sokka! Hi Katara!" The boy in orange and yellow greeted cheerfully as he stood up. Jia knew who Sokka was, but who was Katara?

"Hi, Aang," Sokka the doofus greeted moodily, as Zuko shakily stood. "Thanks for coming."

He didn't sound very thankful to her.

The young boy – Aang, as Jia correctly assumed – turned to face the Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko made a gesture for the soldiers to surround the young boy. As Jia complied with his silent order, she took note of the blue arrow tattoos.

Wait… arrow tattoos?

Jia wasn't stupid. She'd read her fair share of history. That boy – Aang – was an airbending master!

Zuko, Jia and the rest of the soldiers assumed fighting stances. So did Aang.

The airbender made the first move, spraying Zuko and the rest with snow. Jia quickly worked on heating the snow to get rid of it.

"Looking for me?" Aang asked, which was probably the most somber thing that Jia supposed she would ever hear from him. Jia almost reeled from shock, but Zuko beat her to the question that was on everyone's minds.

"You're the airbender? You're the avatar?" he asked.

"Aang?" The girl standing behind Sokka said.

"No way," Sokka the doofus said.

Zuko and Aang circled around each other.

"I've spent three years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating…" Zuko looked slightly angry. "You're just a child!"

Aang tilted his head innocently. "Well, you're just a teenager."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jia cut in, before Zuko could do anything violent. She stepped forward and turned to Aang. "Are you sure you're the avatar?"

Zuko dropped his stance, caught off guard and looked at his cousin. "Jia?" he asked, completely distracted.

Sokka stared at the girl soldier. Girl soldier.

What was a girl doing in the navy? Was she that fire nation boy's girlfriend or something? Why did she have the build of a grown man?

"Hi, Plum," she greeted, awkwardly waving her hand at him.

"Jia what are you doing – "

He never got to finish his sentence, due to the fact that Sokka launched himself onto his feet and charged at the distracted prince. In no time, they were on the floor, the water tribe boy having tackled him.

"Hey!" Jia snapped. She took off her helmet and flung it at the boy towering over her cousin.

"Agh!" he yelped as the helmet slammed into his side and bounced off. He tumbled into the snow, and Jia lunged on top of him, her heavy armor making him yelp for a second time from shock. For a moment she was able to hold him down using the weight of her uniform and her own brute strength, but Sokka – strong savage that he was – managed to roll on top. Then they were a flurry of fists and feet, Jia slamming her balled hands into every bit of bare skin she could find, and Sokka trying to hold her down.

Zuko, meanwhile, completely recovered. He knew that Jia could deal with the savage, so he got up and turned to the avatar again, assuming a battle stance. One of the guards surged forward to get Sokka off of Jia, but she managed to roll on top of him, and they tripped the poor soldier over as they rolled into his ankles.

Aang was watching the scene unfold with a mixture of shock and amusement, but seeing the banished prince recover, he also took his stance.

Zuko made the first move.

It was a violent fire blast, directed at the avatar's chest. Aang simply twirled his staff to ward off the flame, and the villager's in the front row yelped as the fire blew over their heads. He froze, turning to survey the villagers, and then looked at the two teenagers wrestling in the snow. Sokka, who currently had a split lip, a bruised face and pair of arms, and a bleeding nose, was on top, straddling the pale girl – who Sokka was obviously holding back on - and struggling to keep her wrists pinned down as she thrashed around wildly.

"Hands off of me, you peasant!" Jia growled venomously. She couldn't believe she was being bested by some idiot savage. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she prepared to call a flame to hand and burn that doofus' –

"If I come with you, will you leave everone alone?" Aang asked, holding his staff out in surrender. Everyone froze.

Jia watched as Zuko hesitated, then nodded. "Yes. I promise."

Ooh. Shit just got real. Jia thought.

"Aang what are you do – Agh!" Sokka never got to finish his sentence as Jia reached her head over and bit his tan hand – hard. The tribesman let go of both her wrists and held his left wrist with his right hand and shook it in pain. The teeth marks in his hand were already welling with blood. "What are those things made – "

Sokka was yet again unable to finish his sentence, as Jia brought her fist up to slam his cheek. He yelped in pain and fell into the snow, before rolling away. "Take that peasant!" Jia snapped, before shakily standing up. The fabric pars of her armor

"Come on, Jia," Zuko beckoned. Jia could tell he was surprised at the ease of his task. And maybe a bit pissed that Jia had snuck out under his nose.

"Hold on a second, Plum," Jia replied. She walked over to the water tribe idiot and prodded his face with her boot. There were bruises all over his arms, and one big one on his face where Jia punched him. His eyes were closed, and the war paint he'd been wearing when Jia first met him was mostly washed off. "Hey, is he alive?"

"Who cares, Jia? Let's go!" Zuko snapped. Jia shrugged and walked over to Zuko, dipping down to pick up her helmet on the way.

Jia tucked the helmet under her arm as she took her place next to Zuko.

The soldier Jia and Sokka had tripped up stepped forward and took the staff, before glaring resentfully at the soaked princess. She shrugged.

"Aang, you can't do this!" Katara yelled, surging forward.

"It'll be okay, Katara," Aang replied, strangely calm.

Jia took a tentative glance over her shoulder. It seemed that the girl's name was Katara.

The avatar gasped as he was shoved onto the walkway, Jia and Zuko leading.

"Take care of Appa for me until I get back," he said.

It was silent as they stepped back onto the ship, and Aang stared over his shoulder as the ramp went back up, blocking the last rays of light.

"Head a course for the fire nation," Zuko said. His jaw was set, and he looked at Jia. "We're going home."

"What exactly happened?" Captain Lao asked when they arrived back on deck. He was standing by the trap door, and looked very, very pissed.

Jia gave him the short version of the story. "Avatar. Weird face paint guy. Water tribesman skin on my teeth. Where's uncle?"

"General Iroh went to take a nap," Lao hissed. "Don't change the subject. Why and how did you leave the ship?"

Jia raised a brow. His voice sounded almost…soft.

"I'm part ninja," Jia replied, smirking. She didn't want to tell him about the person who'd given her the uniform. Lao pursed his lips and turned away.

Zuko stepped out from behind her. "Jia, take this to my quarters."

Jia blinked. "Why do I have to do it?"

"Ummm…because you weren't meant to come along, and you owe me for disobeying direct orders," Zuko replied.

Lao smirked.

"No, I don't. I'm your cousin Zuko. Not one of your crew members," she said, crossing her arms.

Zuko looked her over for a moment. She was the one who'd helped him with the water tribe idiot…

He jumped as she grabbed the staff from him. "Just give it over. I'm going to my room, anyway," she grinned. "Congrats, Plum. I can smell the fire flakes already."

And then, before he could react to her earlier sentence, she lifted the staff and smacked him upside the head with it. Her voice was darker when she next spoke. "And that was for not backing me up down in the control room."

Dang, that girl's never gonna get a boyfriend, Captain Lao thought as she walked away, twirling the staff in her hand. Thank goodness for that.

He looked at Zuko, who was rubbing the back of his head and staring at Jia resentfully.

"She can be such a bitch sometimes."

Jia tossed the staff onto Zuko's bed carelessly. She wondered if she should stay and wait for Zuko. Maybe she try to get him to join music night so that they could celebrate going home. Such a pity he threw his tsungi horn into the ocean.

She sniffed. She knew going back to the fire nation meant a lot of things. She'd probably get reprimanded for what she did. And Zuko would be welcomed home as a war hero. There was so much waiting for them back home…

Especially that bowl of fire flakes she was picturing in her head right about now.

Unless Ozai forever grounded her from fire flakes because of what she did. The thought of Ozai doing something so stupid and trivial almost made her laugh.

After a few more seconds of thought, Jia finally decided to go and change then wait for Zuko.

Thick, white steam floated from her uniform as she walked back to her room, whistling casually. After her and Sokka the doofus' little showdown in the snow, it was soaking wet, and her lips had a blue hue. She kicked her door open with a slam and walked in, bringing her foot back only briefly to re-close it.

Dang she was exhausted now that her adrenaline rush had run its course. Her whole body was sore; especially her chest. She'd read how many legends about girls pretending to be guys and none of them had mentioned how sore your breasts can get after being bound for a long period of time.

She stripped off her armor as quickly as possible, eager to give her chest some slack, and cast the uniform onto the bed. The aching girl practically jumped into her red pants, and threw her shirt on, tying the sash with practiced fingers.

The princess was just beginning to tie her hair back up into it's neat top knot when the brassy sound of the alarm bell rung in her ears. Her eyes widened.

What had happened? Had the avatar escaped?

Well, DUH! Why else would the alarm bell sound?!

She began to fumble with the red ribbon, fingers slightly quivering as she tried to tie it quicker. Seriously. How could a boy that looked around the age of ten get away from a group of highly trained Firebenders. Whichever group of idiots were in charge of his imprisonment need to be fired.

For the second time that day, the door was kicked open. Yes. She managed to kick it open from the inside.

Naturally, after all the slamming, kicking, and throwing open it had been through, the door burst off its hinges, slamming into the opposite wall before bouncing off and smacking down onto the floor. Had Jia been standing there, she would have gotten hit over the head and possibly earned a concussion, but (thank goodness for logic) she was already sprinting down the hall as fast as she could in her weakened state.

Of course, she wasn't expecting the avatar to already be halfway down the hall, and he was just turning his head away from the door he had just closed.

And that was how the avatar and the fire princess collided.

Aang fell backwards, frozen from shock, but Jia had faster reflexes, and threw her arms out to catch her fall. Unfortunately for her (which is a phrase you will be reading a lot in this story, because Jia is a very unfortunate person) her right hand landed on the sliding floor board which was such a nuisance, and her hand slid, making her lose her balance.

Aang yelped as she landed on top of him, and she groaned as her nose almost – almost – touched the floor. Her chin was tucked into the crook of Aang's neck, and vice versa.

"Seriously," she said, not even realizing who she'd fallen on top of.

Aang groaned in pain. His back had taken most of the heat.

Haha. Firebending pun. Hilarious.

And then he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"Next time, watch where you're – " Jia paused, looking down at him and realizing who he was. "Agh!"

"Listen, I'm really sorry about this, but – "

Aang didn't finish his sentence, instead drawing in a large breath and blowing out. Jia immediately flew up, back slamming painfully into the ceiling.

"Ow!" She yelled. Aang rolled out of the way and stood up as she came back down, and held his hand out to support her with a cushion of air, before she hit the ground.

"Ugh," she groaned as Aang rushed away.

Okay. Add back pain onto the ever-growing list of injuries she was accumulating.

She heard a door slam, and rolled onto her back. She had to get up. The avatar was escaping!

Ugh…but her ass was aching…uggghhhhh. Were those stars? They were really…pretty.

Everything was spinning. Was everything supposed to be spinning?

Geez, some fire flakes would be nice right now. She blinked a few times, and didn't notice as a blur of orange and yellow passed by.

"Jia?"

She felt someone shake her shoulder. "Jia, get up! JIA!"

Jia groaned and opened her eyes, looking at the face above hers.

"…" she blinked. "Zuko?"

The scarred boy grabbed her under the arms and hauled her up onto her feet.

"Jia, come on!"

Jia was still disoriented and confused as Zuko dragged her down the hall and ran out the door. And then she saw the avatar gliding away and remembered what was happening.

"Ummm…Zuk – "

Zuko didn't even let go of her wrist when he jumped, nor did he give her forewarning.

"AGH!" she yelped as they went flying. The other seemed to realize his folly slightly later then her, but managed to reach out and grab the end of the Avatar's glider.

And that is the full length story about how, for the second time that day, Jia was tumbling across the deck. She, yet again, slammed against the railing.

Unfortunately for her, however, this time, it was a full-fledged faceplant.

"OW! SHIT!" Jia yelped as her nose made a very sickening crack.

A small drop of blood began to well in her nostril, which she wiped away with her arm.

"Seriously?!" She yelled.

Knowing that Zuko and the avatar were probably already up and at each other's throats, she shakily stood and turned to face them.

Zuko was already up, as she suspected, and launching consecutive fireballs at the airbender, whilst the Avatar tried desperately to shield himself. Before Jia could run in and intervene, however, there was a loud groan from up above.

Everybody on deck looked up at the cloudy sky as a huge, white, fluffy…thing…flew towards them.

"What in Agni's name is that thing?" Jia asked.

"Appa!" Aang called cheerfully. Jia turned to stare at him.

"Dafuq is an Appa?" she asked.

Aang opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off as Zuko launched a fireball at him. The boy was blown back by the force, and raised his staff in wait for the next attack.

Zuko punched. And then again.

With every punch, he sent out a stream of fire.

The avatar was driven back and forced to jump onto a railing.

"Zuko, wait, you'll – " Jia started. Zuko punched out another stream of flame and the child went overboard. " – knock him…overboard." The princess finished lamely.

Zuko stared, slightly wide-eyed. In his blind fury, he hadn't realized that….

Woopsies.

"Well, unless he can swim, he's – "

Jia was yet again cut off as a large tornado of water suddenly shot up, with the child avatar floating on top.

"…screwed," Jia finished.

With a flick of his wrist, the boy sent almost all the soldiers standing on deck flying either overboard or into the railing.

Jia herself was slammed violently into it, topknot falling out, and landed on the deck on her shoulder before rolling onto her stomach, then back. Zuko, on the other hand, was blown off board.

The princess briefly blacked out from pain, and when her eyes opened, she saw the water tribe doofus running across the deck and grabbing something from the ground. Rubbing her head, she sat up shakily. It took her a moment to process what was happening, before she saw that Zuko was holding onto one end of the avatar's staff while the idiot held the other.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" Zuko grunted thrice as Sokka poked him with the staff. The scarred prince fell again.

"That's from the water tribe!" Sokka smirked.

"Zuko!" Jia yelled. For all she knew, Zuko had fallen into the water and possibly was freezing to death. And then came the adrenaline rush.

She sprang up, ran up to him and lunged, grabbing the idiot around the waist and swinging her legs over the railing.

"AGH!" Sokka yelped as they collapsed over board, leaving the staff behind on deck.

"And this is from the fire nation!" she exclaimed.

Zuko, who was hanging off the railing by a chain, tried to swing out and make a grab for her. "Jia what are you – "

And then Jia hit the water, still hugging him around the waist. And that was when she remembered she couldn't swim.

So, of course, instead of staying still and waiting for Mr. Idiot I to do all the work for her, she started thrashing about.

Sokka, who had been trying to kick them up to the surface, was immediately caught off guard, and he looked down at the girl that was latched onto his waist. Large bubbles were flowing out of her nose and the water was diluted with blood.

And that was when he realized she couldn't swim.

Seriously? He thought, who jumps into a large body of water and doesn't know how to swim?

He looked back up at the surface, which was slowly drifting away. If he was gonna get any of them out of this water, he had to get her to calm down, or – he realized this as the burning salt water penetrated his bite wound and reminded him who she was - at least get rid of her. The second option seemed better.

Bringing his hands back to grab hers, which were clenched into tight fists against his back, he pried them away from him.

Jia, who's current lifeline was him immediately froze. Was he going to….leave her behind?

Well, duh. He's a water tribe savage.

Opening her eyes, she blinked out the black dots that were now swimming in front of them and stared at him. For a second their eyes locked, and then he did the equivalent of a watery sigh of decisiveness. She looked so deceivingly innocent – and almost ghostly - like that, her hair floating around her face, and the sun from above the water reflecting off her pale face.

He spun her around, let go of her wrists, but before she could start thrashing around again, he wrapped his arm around her chest and started kicking.

Jia gripped onto his arm as tightly as she could in her weakened state, and soon enough, they'd broken the surface.

The princess was immediately gasping for air, trying to stoke her inner flame and call to her breath of fire.

"Jia!" Zuko yelled, sounding relieved as her and the idiot broke the surface.

"Sokka!" Katara yelled at the same time. She was standing in front of the railing, looking down at her brother.

Sokka yelped as Jia's clothes began to steam, and dropped his arm away on instinct. She immediately sunk again, and was about to start thrashing, when Sokka reached down and grabbed her again, hauling her back up to the surface.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?" asked the tribesman. "Why would you jump into water if you can't swim?!"

Jia never got to answer, because Katara, who was surprised at her brother's act of kindness, began to try and lift them up on deck. Jia yelped as the water started to bring them up, and Sokka gripped her tighter so that she wouldn't make them fall.

Soon, their lower bodies were enveloped in a globe of water, and they both collapsed on the deck in a heap.

"Ughh…" Jia groaned from her place on Sokka's stomach. She coughed and rolled off him, as her soaked clothes began to steam dry. And then she realized exactly what happened.

She'd been saved by a water tribe savage.

Goodbye pride. Farewell dignity.

There was one way that she could repay him. She did, after all, have a debt to pay.

Coughing, she rolled onto her hands and knees and shuffle-turned back to him. He was still lying on the ground, trying to catch his breath, eyes closed.

They immediately shot open when she placed her hand on his chest, and he found himself staring up at her golden green eyes, filled with grudging thanks. Her straight but frizzy wet hair hung around her face, giving her an almost innocent look, but the bleeding nose kind of ruined it.

Before he could protest, she held a hand up. "Shut up."

With these kind words, she sent out a wave of heat, drying his clothes and warming him up simultaneously.

"What the – "

Jia immediately collapsed onto her back, head barely touching his arm.

"Consider the debt repaid," she hissed. "Now go away."

"That wasn't very – "

"Go away before I bruise you so bad that your descendants inherit!" She yelled.

The thought of mini Sokkas a hundred years from now speculating about random bruises on their arms was enough to make him spring up.

Unfortunately, at that moment, Katara had controlled a stream of water that had backfired and hit him instead, freezing his feet to the ground.

"Katara!" the tribesman yelled.

After a second try, she succeeded in freezing the soldiers that were her original targets, before climbing back onto Appa. "Hurry up, Sokka!" she yelled.

Sokka gave a huff, and started breaking away at the ice with his boomerang.

Jia stared at him as he did so, highly amused. "Seems your waterbending friend doesn't know the first thing about control," she said sarcastically.

Sokka turned and glared. "Says Ms. I-can't-swim-but-I'll-take-a-dip-anyway!" he snapped.

"Well, excuse me, but you were attacking my vulnerable cousin. I had to do something."

Sokka chose not to reply, instead bashing harder at the ice. "I'm just a guy, with a boomerang. I didn't ask for all this flying and magic," he muttered.

"Bending isn't magic, dumbass," she said, chuckling. Man this guy was funny.

He ignored her, breaking his other foot out and running over to Appa.

Jia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt livid that a complete idiot saved her sorry ass.

And then she remembered Zuko.

Shakily, she stood up and stumbled over to the railing, where Zuko was hanging.

"Plum?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm okay! Just help me up!"

After some pulling of the chain, she managed to get Zuko at arm's reach. They immediately clasped wrists, and she pulled him through.

"Come on! They're getting away!" Zuko yelled. Jia was slightly reluctant, but she stood up with him. And that was when she noticed the burning pain in her right leg.

It took all she could to not cry out in pain as she limped after him, and, together, they launched two blasts of fire at the flying bison. The avatar managed to blow it to the side, causing a heap of snow to fall from a nearby iceberg. Jia stared up in bewilderment at it, and only one clear thought rang through her head (We're screwed), before Zuko's hand enveloped her upper arm and pulled her back. They both landed on their butts on the cold metal.

"Well that didn't go so well," Jia said thoughtfully, staring at the heap of snow. She wiped the trail of blood running from her broken nose.

"I can't believe…that kid did…" Zuko's gaze hardened. "I won't be underestimating him again."

At that moment, Uncle Iroh stepped out of the door, rubbing his eyes.

"…" he stared at the frozen soldiers, then at Jia and Zuko. "Did I miss something?"
Jia and Zuko facepalmed and groaned.

A/N: Haha. In comes the forever late Uncle Iroh.

So, yeah, first chap was a bit slow. Those cute Jia/ Zuko moments were just showing their sibling-like relationship.

I must ask now, does anyone think that Jia and Sokka have chemistry?
Imma put a poll up for it, but you can answer through a review if you like. The deadline is the Kyoshi Warrior's ep, because I said so.

Anyways, Jia's love interest is semi-depending on your answer. You'll see later on.

Oh, and Jia's major misfortune and wrong place-at-wrong-time tendencies will come into play a lot. And especially with the sliding floorboard which is such a nuisance.

Hope you like. See you in the next ep:

Zhao of the Fire Nation

P.S. I tots got jelly of Jia when Zuzu was lying in her bed shirtless