I hope you all enjoy this one!

She caught the railing and held on for dear life as she felt her body being propelled forward. She was suddenly pulled backward and set on her feet. She looked back and saw Iroh with his hand gripping the back of her shirt.

"Thanks," she said. As she came down from the adrenaline high, she saw Zuko in some kind of military uniform; the ship's front nose thingy opened up and turned into a ramp. She turned to Iroh and said, "If you'll excuse me." She slid down the ladder to the deck and ran to the railing. She saw a boy from the tribe run at Zuko as he descended the ramp that had been the front of the ship. Zuko easily knocked the club like weapon out of the boy's hands and knocked the boy over the side of the ramp and into a snow drift, headfirst. She cringed at the soft crunch the boy made as he hit the drift. She hoped he was alright.

Alex couldn't hear what Zuko was saying but she watched as Zuko grabbed an old lady and said something before he pushed her back into the crowd. He shot a burst of flame from his hand and the crowd reacted in fear. Alex thought it was a nice trick, and wondered how the flamethrower he was using worked. The boy came running at Zuko again and threw a boomerang, Zuko dodged it and Alex ducked as it whizzed over her head. Well that idea failed, she thought. A little boy tossed the older boy a spear and he ran at Zuko, only for Zuko to hand him his butt on a platter. She had to admire the boy's bravery though; Alex heard a high pitched whistle and turned around to see a silver flash and ducked as the boomerang whizzed over her head again. She watched as it whacked Zuko in the back of his head and spun his helmet around slightly. She giggled a little at that.

Suddenly a bald boy came sledding in on a… was that a four winged penguin? Man, the animals are strange here, she thought. The boy ran into Zuko causing him to fall backward into the snow. Zuko got up this, time sans helmet; Zuko shot another jet of flame and the boy waved his staff and it dissipated. They exchanged a brief conversation before the both took a stance. She watched as the two circled each other. As they assessed each other she got the feeling Zuko was underestimating the boy. Zuko shot a jet of flame at the boy, and he countered. The fight consisted of Zuko on the offensive, and the boy on the defensive. One of Zuko's flames got pretty close to the crowd, and the boy suddenly surrendered.

"Impressive isn't it," Iroh said coming up next to her as Zuko led the boy onto the ship.

"Yeah," she said marveling at how graceful the fight had been. "But why did Zuko use the flame thrower instead of actually attacking the kid?"

"My dear," Iroh said looking at her with curiosity. "He was fire bending, an ancient and sacred art."

"Fire bending?" she asked looking at Iroh with a confused expression. "What's that?" Iroh was about to answer when they felt the ship begin to back out of the ice. Zuko and a few soldiers led the boy onto the deck. Alex went to go see what was going on not waiting for her answer.

The boy couldn't be more than twelve, with a bald head and strange arrow tattoos on his forehead and on his hands. He wore clothes that were yellow and a burnt orange; they seemed really thin for being in the South Pole.

"This will be a perfect gift for my father," Zuko said holding the boy's staff. "Take this to my quarters," he said handing Iroh the staff. "Lock him up below deck." The soldiers began leading the boy away as Zuko went inside.

"Would you mind taking this to his room for me?" Iroh asked handing a soldier the staff and walking away. Alex wondered where they were taking the boy so she went below deck and ended up following the boy and his guards. They reached a hallway with a door at the end and she assumed that that was the boy's cell.

"So you guys have never fought an air bender huh?" she kid asked. "I bet I could beat both of you with my arms tied behind my back."

"Shut up," one guard said. She saw the kid breathe in deeply and then suddenly he and the guard behind him went shooting back and she had to flatten herself against the wall not to get blown backwards with the two of them. She had to know how he did that! She ran after him as he ditched the guard and ran up a bunch of stairs. He encountered a group of soldiers and ran up the walls and on the ceiling. How was he doing that? She just had to find out. She pushed past the soldiers shouting apologies the whole way. The kid had gotten rid of the ropes binding his wrists, and he started opening doors trying to find something. And soon he came to Zuko's room and he smiled before walking in. The door shut in her face and she tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. She heard some vague words and then a lot of destructive sounds. The door blew open and the kid knocked her out of the way as he ran past. She hit the wall with enough force to knock the breath out of her. She kept trying to breathe but every time she'd get a breath in, it just wouldn't go out. Zuko ran out not paying any attention to the gasping girl by his door.

Thanks a lot jerk, she thought. After a few seconds she could breathe properly again and she got up and started in the direction Zuko had gone. She got to the control room and saw the boy and Zuko falling toward the deck. She ran to the balcony and watched in horror as she saw the two of them collide with the deck and neither of them got up for a few seconds.

A strange sound made Alex look behind her and she saw something she didn't even think was real. It looked like a six legged huge buffalo with a furry beaver tail and it was flying! "What is that thing and why is it flying!?" she asked no one in particular.

Zuko kept shooting fire at the kid, who scrambled to deflect the fire and soon he fell into the sea. She found a ladder and she slid down it; when her feet touched the deck the kid came up riding what looked like a water spout. His eyes and tattoos were glowing and when he got back on the deck he made a circle of water around himself and he spread it outward pushing many men into the railing of the ship. She crossed her arms in front of her head to protect herself. She felt it hit her arms but it seemed to just part around her so she was left standing. She had to know how he did that. She looked behind her to see it push Zuko over the railing.

"ZUKO!" she yelled running to the place he'd fallen from. She saw him holding the anchor chain and beginning to climb up. She sighed in relief and held out a hand to help him climb when he got closer to her. He took it and Alex started pulling him up, but her foot slipped and she saw the blue of the waves her panic rising. When something grabbed her middle and pulled her back onto her feet, she looked back and saw Iroh his eyes worried. He got them up on deck and the kid was riding on the flying buffalo with two kids in blue.

"Shoot them down!" yelled Zuko. Iroh and Zuko did some kind of move and they both shot a fireball that combined into a large fireball. It flew toward the buffalo but suddenly changed course and hit an iceberg causing an avalanche. Alex gasped and grabbed onto Zuko in her panic and refused to watch as she felt the snow and ice cover the front of the ship. When the ship stopped she opened one eye and saw the nose of the ship buried in snow, there was no way they were going to be able catch the kids now.

"Good news for the Fire Lord," Iroh said. "The fire nation's biggest threat is just a child."

"That child," Zuko said seething. "Did all of this, I won't underestimate him again. You dig the ship out." The three looked at the frozen soldiers as some other soldiers tried to thaw them out. "After you're done doing that." Alex took this chance to grab Zuko's arm and look at his sleeve. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Looking for the flamethrower," she said pulling open his sleeve and seeing nothing but his wrist. That couldn't be right, she'd seen him shoot flame, it couldn't have come from nowhere.

"What's that?" he asked. She looked at Iroh when it clicked. Fire bending…

"You guys…" She said her heart pounding. "You guys can make fire with… with your MINDS!"

"Well actually it is more like manipulation of the chi within your body that gives us the ability to control the fire," Iroh said laying a hand on her shoulder. It took her a few seconds to take it in. She was quiet as she thought it through but then she burst with all her questions.

"THAT IS SO COOL! How are you able to do this? Is it a genetic thing? Or does everybody have this ability? Does this work with the other elements too? Could I learn to do it? What about-," she said not even pausing for breath.

"Miss Alex," Iroh chuckled. "I will answer all your questions over a pot of tea."

"So, let me see if I have this right," She said setting her teacup down. Zuko tuned her out as she repeated what Iroh had just told her. She spoke with her hands a lot, and she was very expressive. She seemed to have three different expressions for the same emotion. There was something about this girl that made Zuko feel as though he could let his guard down, of course that made him put his guard up even faster. He remembered how she'd appeared on the deck earlier today.

He'd been leaning on the railing and wondering if his search was futile; they'd searched the area where they'd seen the light and had found nothing. He wondered if it was another dead end, but he couldn't give up. He wondered if life would go back to the way it was if he actually found the Avatar. Suddenly a tremor shook the ship and lightning flashed. The clouds gathered above the ship and suddenly a beam of white light split the clouds and hit the deck with a thunderous crash. He remembered hearing a voice in his head saying, "Here is your answer," and then the white light got so bright it was blinding. And then he was back to the beginning. Zuko looked at the girl again; she was sort of pretty, if he really looked at her. The way the candlelight glinted off her golden hair. He'd never seen hair that color, it was like she captured the sunshine in her hair.

"Zuko," she said snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked turning away from her.

"You're spacing out, you ok?"

"I'm fine," he said answering the question but not really understanding to beginning of it. Spacing out? What did that even mean?

Iroh stood and said, "I'll leave you two alone, I'll see you two in the morning. Zuko if you'll be kind enough to show Miss Alex to her quarters." Zuko nodded. "Good night Miss Alex."

"Good night Iroh," she said smiling. He left and an awkward silence descended upon Zuko and Alex. She felt it was almost palpable, there were so many things she wanted to ask him, but he seemed almost unapproachable. For Pete's sake, being shy was not her thing so why was talking this guy proving to be so difficult? Here goes nothing, she thought.

"Why is it such a big deal that the kid got away?" she asked him after a sip of her tea. "You've been moping all day."

"Because he is the Avatar, and if I capture him and take him to my father he will restore my honor," he said glaring at her. "I already told you that! And I haven't been moping!"

"Yeah," she said rolling her eyes. "But it seems to me that you've got it pretty good. You get to travel the world, why not enjoy it?"

"Because my mission doesn't leave room for enjoyment, I have to find the Avatar! It's my destiny," he said.

"Destiny," she scoffed. "You can shape your own destiny. Every person has that ability."

"What do you know about destiny?" he asked

"I know enough," She said defensively. "I know that certain things happen for a reason, but I also know that the future isn't set in stone, we all have the ability to change our destiny."

"I know my destiny; when I capture my father will restore my honor and-" he began only to be interrupted.

"What is it with your father and your honor? What do you have to prove to him?" she asked.

"I don't have to prove anything and don't talk to me like you know me!" he said glaring at her.

Crap, she thought. I just screwed that conversation up. Let's try this again. "You're right, I don't know you, but I'd like to…" Zuko looked at her uncertainly. "Truce?"

He looked at the sincere expression on her face. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Truce," he said. She smiled at him and it seemed as if her whole face lit up. He suddenly felt pleasantly warm, as if he were standing in the morning sunshine. He didn't know if he liked this feeling. "Uh, let me show you to your room," he said standing up.

"Let me finish my tea," she said. He crossed his arms and sighed. She took a sip and then after a look at his expression she began to down her tea.

"Hurry up," he said getting impatient. She held up one finger as she drained the cup and set it down.

"Alright no need to get your britches in a twist," she said standing up. She followed him across the hall to a door very similar to his.

"This is it," he said opening the door and showing her in. It was extremely bare. There was a bed on a very low fame and several candles on a small table but no other decoration. She'd have to fix that when they got to the next port. "If you need anything let me or Iroh know," he said before turning away.

"Zuko wait," she said. He turned back his expression impatient. "Thanks… for everything."

"Uh… sure," he said a feeling of awkwardness descending upon the two of them. "Good night."

"Night," she said before turning away to light a few candles. When she turned back to shut the door Zuko was back in his room the door closed. She felt sadness close its cold fingers around her heart as she closed the door and crawled into the bed. Would she ever make it back home? What if she was stuck here forever? Alex shook the thoughts from her head and rolled over, she tried to focus on the sound of the waves to help her sleep, and after what felt like forever she finally slipped into oblivion.

yeah... anyway I'd love to hear your thoughts, I know I'm not the best but I'm working on it!