Sokka's master

by Doltknuckle

The heroes of legend all have something in common; someone to guide them along the path to greatness. A young Sokka stumbles across an ancient relic that changes everything. New friends and enemies appear as we retell the final year of Sozin's war.

1. Chapter 1: Web of Destiny

When did everything change? It seems like forever since I was a simple fisherman's son in the southern water tribe. Was it the time of burning sky? The day of black sun? During one of the countless battles I've fought in? Maybe it was something simpler, like when a girl kissed me for the first time, or when I met the master.

It could be that things were always like this, that my destiny was forged on the day of my birth. Maybe the threads of fate were already woven like a web, with us caught following the lines to face our destiny. One of the few things I remember about mom is her telling me was that I was special. That I was destined for great things. Boy was she right. I wish she was still around to see how I helped shape this new world.

If I had to choose the first moment everything started to change, it would have to be when mom left us. It was when I was very young, only five or six seasons old. The fire nation had been raiding the different villages in the south pole. I soon learned what a refugee was. They were like us, but they had a haunted look and would quietly talk about "the horrors of war". Our village had somehow escaped the raids that had scattered the other villages. Though our luck did not last forever. The war would come to our home, heralded by the strange occurrence of black snow. I had never seen anything like it. Being young, I was at first curious. Watching in amazement as the black snow turned the entire village gray. I can still remember the feeling of dread that settled on the village, the silence was unnerving. Then, there was a blur of fire, destruction, and death. Nothing was the same afterward.

The village was able to fight off the battle group, but at a heavy cost. The village chief, my grand father, died with many of the best warriors of the village, including most of his heirs. Mom, his only daughter, survived because she stayed out of the battle and protected me and Katara. Once she was elevated to the position of village chief, she announced the radical decision to split the tribe. She feared that the fire nation would not accept the narrow defeat and would soon return with reinforcements. The village barely won the first battle, they would not survive a second. Our only hope was to trick the fire nation into thinking they have wiped us out. Mom, one of the few remaining benders, would stay behind. Her husband would be appointed chief, since he was one of the few who's children survived the first attack. Dad, being the way he was, refused to leave his wife, but she wouldn't give him an option. She knocked him out and had Bato carry him to the sleds.

At the time, the only thing I knew was that mom was staying behind to "chase away the black snow". It was years later when Gran-Gran gave me the full details that I understood why she never came back. All I knew at the time was mom was gone and Dad was in mourning. I still remember the cry of anguish that he made when he woke up and realized where he was. I watched in horror as he went into a blind rage and attacked Bato. The fight was short as the rest of the men tackled Dad and held him as his body shook with heart wrenching sobs. After he cried himself to exhaustion, he seemed to shut down for a time, becoming listless and depressed.

It wasn't until days after we arrived at the site for or new home that he suddenly changed. He called a meeting of all the men where they sat and talked for what seemed like forever. When they finished, the feeling of the entire village seemed changed. As if they all stopped mourning those they lost and focused on the new goal; stopping the fire nation. The men organized into fighting units and would train every free moment of every day. They did this religiously for four years. The only time someone would stop is when the village healer ordered them to. I tried to join in, but I was still too young to keep up.

When then men finally decided they were ready to join the war against the fire nation, I shouldn't have been surprised when Dad said I had to stay behind. I was heartbroken even knowing in my heart that I was too young. It was all I could do to not break out into tears as Dad told me that he was counting on me to protect the village while he was gone. To my credit, I was able to keep it together until the boats pulled away. I would then run away in tears to sulk where no one could see me. Warriors didn't cry, only babies and sissies cried. Little did I know that fate had someone for me to meet. Someone that would forever affect me in ways I never thought possible.

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"It's not fair." Sokka grumbled to himself. "I'm not a baby anymore. I should be by Dad's side, fighting." He kicked a chunk of ice as he walked aimlessly across the frozen waste. "Dad always said that I was the best 'little warrior' in the whole village. That's gotta say somethin' about what I can do."

Sokka sighed, and kicked the chunk again. "Who am I kidding? I've never fought anyone else before. Dad would never let me into to battle practice, probably cause I was too weak." Sokka rubbed his face on his sleeve, wiping away his tears and smudging his war paint. "It wouldn't be so bad if all my friends didn't go with them. Koutan was only slightly older then me and he got to go." Kicking yet another chunk of ice, Sokka's shoulders drooped as he shuffled along.

"I wish I could be a warrior too." Sokka whined silently, looking up into the sky. "Then I could... whaa!" Sokka cried out as he tripped over a mound in the snow that he didn't see, falling flat on his face.

"Oww." He moaned wiping snow from his eyes. "Stupid ice, take this!" he yelled, kicking out at the offending mound. The mound let off a hollow thunk when his foot hit it. "What the? That doesn't sound like ice. What the heck did I trip over?"

Moving so he could get a better look, Sokka started digging in the snow. After only a few moments he uncovered a wooden box. "That's odd," Sokka said, "what is this doing in the middle of the south pole?". As he wiped off the snow and ice, he admired the intricate pattern on the top. Each element was represented as it melded into the next. "That's really cool." Sokka murmured, "let's see what's inside." The box had a simple latch that was quickly opened. Soon, Sokka was peering inside. In the box sat a simple pair of arm bracers. Each arm had a strange creature painted on it: one red, one blue. "Cool!" Sokka exclaimed, pulling up his sleeves and putting the bracers on. "Too bad my coat will cover them so I can't show off these patterns. They look awesome!"

"Can you see it?"

"Yea! I can't wait to show Katara!" Sokka exclaimed.

"You can hear me?"

"Of course I can hear you." Sokka replied absentmindedly. "But why are you..." Sokka trailed off as he looked up. He couldn't see anyone nearby.

"I found someone." The voice was coming from all directions.

Sokka now jumped to his feet, looking in every direction. "Where are you?!" he called out.

"I finally found someone."

"This isn't funny!" Sokka called out, fear creeping into his voice.

"The spirits of this realm, I thank you."

"Show yourself!"

A blue light bloomed from Sokka's new bracers. It quickly increased in intensity, blinding Sokka. He squeezed his eyes shut to block out the blinding light.

"I now return once again to the living world."

When Sokka's eye's cleared, a boy stood before him. He looked about his age, dressed in a sleeveless red shirt and black pants. Sokka idly wondered how he was staying warm with so little clothing.

"Where the heck did you come from?"

The boy just smiled cockily and replied, "From my mom of course. Where else could I come from?"

"No you idiot!" Sokka yelled, "Right now! How did you get here?"

"What does it matter where I came from, I'm here now. Besides, you look like hell. What happened, loose a fight?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Sokka said looking away.

The boy stepped forward, staring. He patiently moved to try and look Sokka in the eyes. When their eyes did meet, the boy just stood there silently, waiting, engrossed in observing Sokka at an uncomfortably close distance. Sokka unconsciously took a step back, trying to escape the weird feelings he got from being so close to the strange boy. Something about this new boy grated on his nerves, he really couldn't explain it, but it freaked him out. After a few steps backwards, Sokka couldn't deal with the weird vibe he was getting. "Quit it!" He commanded, "Don't you know it's weird to stand so close to someone."

The boy just smiled more and came closer.

"I mean it!" Sokka yelled, trying not to let the fear growing in the back of his mind affect his voice.

The boy just moved closer.

"Go away!"

The boy was so close, that their noses almost touched. "Make me." The boy taunted.

"Leave me, alone!" He yelled, attempting to push the boy away. Unexpectedly, his hands passed right through the grinning boy. Sokka stood there stunned for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening.

"Boo!" The boy simply said, raising his hands above his head dramaticly.

Sokka's brain then clicked into gear, classifying the boy in front of him and determining his next course of action. A cold chill came over him, his heart kicked into overdrive, adrenaline filling his veins. He gasped, filling his lungs with air. In less then a second, Sokka's instincts took over and he sprung into action.

"Ahhhhh! It's a ghost!" He cried at the top of his lungs. Quickly turning, Sokka ran away as fast as his little legs could carry him.

The boy just stood there, chuckling quietly before fading away.

Sokka ran, and ran, and ran. He had never run so fast or so far in his life. The thought of ghosts always kinda freaked him out. All of the scary stories that his father told him left Sokka with a healthy fear of supernatural. While none of the ghost stores ever had someone die in it, he didn't want to become the first to do so.

After a while, Sokka couldn't keep running. The adrenaline boost that powered the start of his mad dash to get away had left him. With burning legs, Sokka flopped down onto the ice, panting loudly. "That... should be... far enough... away." he said between big lung fulls of air as he rolled onto his back. He laid there, watching the fog that his rapid gasps of breath made.

"It's a good thing that I'm not the dangerous type of ghost." A familiar voice noted casually from nearby. "If I was, you'd totally be dead by now." Sokka leapt to his feet, looking at the boy who was lounging on some nearby chunks of ice. He was just about ready to run away when the boy called out. "Runnin' aint going do any good, kid. I don't get tired, you do. Apparently rather quickly it seems."

It was more the challenging tone then what he said that made Sokka stop and turn. "You saying I'm weak?" Sokka demanded, his male ego overriding his better judgment.

"For a kid your age, probably not, but you ain't nothing special." The boy noted while casually inspecting his nails. "Probably your run of the mill village hick. Can catch a fish every so often, but useless in a fight."

"You shut your mouth!" Sokka demanded angrily, pridefully puffing out his chest, "I'm the chieftain's son, who just happens to be the best fighter in the village. He's been training me to be the best."

"So?" The boy replied, as if it didn't mean anything. "There are a lot of villages out there, each with a chieftain or a best fighter. These kids start training the moment they can walk, and do nothing but train all their lives. They dedicate every waking moment to the art. Tell me, how many days do you have between training sessions?"

Sokka didn't have a comeback for that. Even at the most intensive, Sokka only trained maybe once or twice every few days. He spent the rest of his time on chores and watching the younger kids.

"Humph," The boy snorted arrogantly, "that's what I thought. Looks like I've got a lot of work ahead of me." Looking up to the sky, the boy wondered aloud, "Why must 'the one' always be such a loser? Just once I would like someone halfway competent."

"Loser?!" Sokka squawked ,"Where do you get off being so judgmental? You don't know anything about me!"

"If history is any indication, you are one in a long line of worthless students. Do you know how hard it is to make a grand-master martial artist out of country bumpkins?" Throwing his hands up the boy yelled, "No you don't! Some days, it doesn't pay to be found." He bemoaned.

"So what are you? The ghost of a grandmaster martial arts sensei who haunts a pair of bracers and teaches the person that finds the bracers how to be a master martial artist?" Sokka asked, somehow picking up on the boys rantings.

The boys head snapped up and he gave Sokka a strange look. "That is eerily correct, kid. There may just be hope for you yet. The name's Ranma Saotome, Grand-master of the Anything Goes school of martial artists. I'm the best that ever lived and don't you forget it!"

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That was the first time I met the master. He was a great teacher, and a good friend. He was the only person in the whole south pole that I could talk to. Though he was usually an egotistical jerk when we did. That being said, there was no one else that was my age in the village. All the men older then me left with Dad. I was the second youngest person in the whole tribe. Katara was the youngest until a little more then a half season after all the men left. It seemed like almost all the younger women were pregnant around the same time. Katara and I worked harder then we ever had before that summer. We mainly gathered food, always going out together, Gran-gran wouldn't let me run around on my own.

Meanwhile, Ranma started training me how to fight. It was tough work, but it gave me something to do. Actually, it was grueling work. Ranma would turn the simplest task into some complicated training technique. Everything was training. He even would come into my dreams and try to teach me things.

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"Men, today we face a great enemy. One that threatens our very way of life." A warrior stated, standing in front of a collection of other warriors. The men around him nodded and murmured in agreement, clearly showing their support of the leader. "Today we take the field, not for ourselves, but for our family. They may try to take our land... but they will never take, our meat!"

A bloodthirsty cheer went up as the men raised their weapons into the air, psyching themselves up for the coming battle. They broke apart and moved into a tactical line behind their leader who turned to face his enemy. Pulling down the hood, marked to show his leadership status, Sokka unsheathed his sword. He pointed his weapon and gave the command. "Charge!"

As one organized mass, the warriors ran across the ice into the lines of their enemies, made up of all the different vegetables that Sokka hated. These human sized monstrosities held crude weapons in their cellulite appendages. Sokka's troops, using bone swords and spears, soon came into range of the vegetable troops. They viciously crashed into the enemy lines, hacking away at the enemy. Sea sprout solders were cut in twain, the limbs of water chestnut warriors were chopped off, and the sea prunes were impaled, their juicy vegetable innards spilling onto the ice. As the battle raged, the ice was colored with splatters of a variety of vegetable fluids. Sokka's men fought bravely, though not as well as Sokka of course. He was constantly saving troops from certain doom. Swooping in at the last moment to decapitate a sea sprout before it landed a killing blow on one of his troops.

They seemed to fight for hours before everything froze and Sokka heard a voice. "I've seen a lot of weird dreams out there, kid, but yours are something else."

Sokka looked around the field of people frozen in place, groaning as he knew the source of the voice. He watched as things disappeared from the ice and a familiar boy faded into existence nearby.

"Oh man! Not again! Can't you give me at least one dream to myself?" Sokka groaned.

"Come on Sokka, time for another lesson. I'm not the kind of ghost to sit on my ass, even if your dream are some of the most... unique I've seen. Floating around doing nothing is dumb." As he said this, Ranma floated into the air and drifted towards Sokka.

Sokka sighed, "That was a really good dream too. I'm getting really tired of all these lessons, how can I get rid of you?" Sokka asked.

Ranma smiled, "I'm glad you asked!" he reached down and pulled on his shirt, pulling it away from his body. Underneath a set of expensive robes unrolled, making him look like a scholar. Beside him, a board sprung from the ground that had the words "Paranormal Studies 101" written on it. Sokka just groaned and slapped his forehead with a hand.

Ranma adjusted a small pair of glasses as he started to talk. "When faced with a insubstantial entities..."

"In-sun-stand-yall?" Sokka interrupted, sitting down onto a fur that appeared on the snow. He had a feeling this was going to take a while.

"It's pronounced, in-sub-stan-ti-al. They are ghosts or spiritual projections, intelligent or semi-intelligent creatures without a physical form. Since they don't have a physical form, they can't directly hurt you. While a strong ghost may be able to drain some of your chi away, it's usually not enough to kill anyone but the weakest of people. Most ghosts won't even be interested in you anyways. They tend to hang around objects that had a significant impact on their life."

"And this is important why?" Sokka asked, bored.

"I'm getting to that." Ranma replied, annoyed, before continuing. "The only attacks that work against ghosts are those that interrupt their energy pattern. Chi attacks, something you'll eventually learn, can disrupt them if it has an opposite charge. Though it's only a temporary solution. A better way to deal with ghosts is to talk to them. If anything, they are still humans at heart and can be treated as one. They always have something they want done and are almost always willing to make a deal."

"So does that mean I have to do some random task to get rid of you?" Sokka asked, barely able to stand the boring lecture. "I'd like at least one blissful night of rest without you."

"Nope." Ranma stated simply, "You forget that I'm not really a ghost. I'm a spiritual imprint on those bracers you found. So as long as you wear those bracers, I'll be able to communicate with you. You are the only one who will be able to see and hear me."

"So..." Sokka mused, "you're basically a hallucination?"

Now it was Ranma's turn to smack his forehead. "No no no... you have to be insane to have hallucinations. You're not insane... well, no more then a kid who dreams of fighting vegetable monsters."

"Har, har." Sokka said sarcastically. "Are we done? I'd like to get back to my own dreams."

Chuckling slightly, Ranma smiled. "Of course you can..." he said, grabbing his robe, pulling it off to revel his original outfit. "If you can defeat me! On-guard!" He yelled, leaping forward.

Sokka yelped, and rolled backwards, away from Ranma's initial strike. He then sprang to his feet, falling into a basic defensive stance. As Sokka landed, Ranma was already fast approaching. Soon, Sokka could do nothing but focus on fighting Ranma. He knew that in dreams, Ranma's attacks could, and would, hurt if they landed. He had yet to defeat Ranma, and today would probably be no different.

Sokka spent the rest of the night, trying his best to gracefully take the beating that Ranma was gleefully dish out in the name of training. If Sokka had time to think about it, he would wish he never found those bracers. Instead, he was just glad he wouldn't feel all these bruises when he woke up tomorrow.

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Those quiet days were probably some of the best times of my life, if you excluded the nightly training with Ranma. I was still a young child, able to enjoy the simple things in life. My day was full of chores, hunting, and playing with Katara. It was a happy time, full of joy and laughter for the whole tribe. The war was a faraway thing, no longer affecting us. I sometimes wish things could have stayed that way forever, but it was just the calm before the storm. Destiny was coming, and it was going to shatter the last peaceful period of my youth.

Finding the avatar was the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.

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In the glacial mazes of the south pole, the southern water tribe made a living between the blocks of ice. They lived a simple life, one with few troubles and where everyone worked in harmony with each other. On a small canoe, two young tribe members navigated the waters, looking for fish.

"It's not going to escape me this time." The boy stated, intently tracking a small fish swimming lazily through the water. "Watch and learn Katara, this is how you catch a fish. This time, please don't play with magic water while I spear it."

The girl sighed, crossing her arms. "How many times do I have to tell you Sokka, it's not my fault you keep bumbling into it. As someone who trains to fight so much, you should spend more time practicing how to dodge."

"Shush!" Sokka said, "your complaining is going to scare away the fish. Mmm, I can already smell it cooking." He raised his spear, in preparation as Katara looked away, an annoyed scowl on her face. "Hyaa!" he called, driving the spear into the water. Completely missing the fish. "Oh man..." He lamented, head dropping to his chest.

"You need to practice your spear work as well it seems." Katara commented from the back of the boat. "It's a good thing the women know how to fish or we'd all starve." Sokka didn't answer just glared at her angrily. "Why can't you just admit that you could use my help? I can help you catch fish and practice my water bending at the same time."

"Every time you 'practice', I get wet!'" Sokka exclaimed, his fingers making air quotes. "Practice is for when you are by yourself, when you can't soak anyone with the misfortune of being nearby."

"Gran-gran won't let me leave the village unless it's with you! This is the only time I have to practice!"

"Why are you so hellbent on learning how to bend anyways? All the benders in the village were killed off by the fire nation. You want to be their next victim? It's dangerous, and it draws attention to the village."

"Not bend?!" Katara exclaimed, "That's like asking you not to hunt anymore!"

"At least when I hunt I don't put others lives in danger." Sokka stated, turning his back to Katara.

"You're going to bring that up again? How many times do I have to say it was an accident. If someone would let me practice more, I could have controlled that icicle."

A silence fell over the pair as Katara waited for her brother to answer. Sokka didn't want to continue the argument. It always ended with Katara storming off angrily. She was already annoyed, he didn't want to make it worse while they were on a tiny boat.

"You know Sokka," Ranma's voice echoed in Sokka's mind, "you can't prevent her from becoming a bender. Destiny chose her to control the elements, you can't stop that."

Sokka closed his eyes to focus better. "I know that, Ranma." He thought, "I just wish she would enjoy the quiet life for a while. If she becomes a bender, I have a feeling that she'll end up like mom."

"Things will work out," Ranma echoed in his mind, "I've got a good feeling..."

"SOKKA! WATCH OUT!" Katara yelled, snapping him out of his internal conversation.

Snapping his eyes open, Sokka immediately saw the problem. The current was taking them directly towards a forest of small ice glaciers. The turbulent water and shifting ice made for a great place to get crushed.

"Get a paddle Katara," Sokka called, picking up one for himself. "We'll try to escape it." Paddling furiously, the pair tried to move out of the current. Unfortunately, they we're not strong enough to escape, and continued to drift towards the ice chunks.

"No use Katara, we're going in!." They turned the boat to prepare to attempt to navigate the ice. As soon a they entered the ice forest, they started yelling commands at each other, attempting the ancient art of ice dodging. Something neither had any experience in. Being unable to coordinate, they couldn't avoid the chunks of floating ice. After a few moment's of frantic paddling, the boat got caught between a narrowing gap in the ice. They both knew what would happen next. Without a word between them, they jumped out of the boat and onto the ice as their boat was smashed behind them. As the boat pieces sank under the water, they laid there for a moment, catching their breath.

"Great, just great." Sokka grumbled. "You distracted me with your whining and now we're stranded."

"You think this is my fault?" Katara yelled, immediately recovering, "If you let me practice, I could have bended our boat out of the ice."

"By what? Making a giant wave, and capsizing us? How is that better?" Sokka asked. "I knew I should have left you behind. Leave it up to a girl to screw everything up."

"OH EXCUSE ME?!" Katara yelled flailing her arms around. "You don't seem like the pinnacle of manhood here. You don't even know how to drive a boat correctly! I work all day at the village, and instead of doing something useful, you run around playing warrior." As her arms moved around, waves of water were shooting off in every direction.

"Umm, Katara?" Sokka said.

"I even do your laundry!" Katara exclaimed, ignoring Sokka, "Have you ever smelled your socks? Not pleasant. All you do is eat and make a mess, I am sick and tired of always cleaning up after you! You take all my work for granted and you blame anything that goes wrong on me! It's not fair!"

"Katara? You need to calm down." The last wave hit the large glacier behind her, Breaking off some chunks from it.

"CALM DOWN!?" Katara screamed, another wave of water cutting into the glacier behind her. "NO! I am sick and tired of you telling me what to do! when we get back to the village, I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" With her final words she threw down her hands, sending a massive blast of water shooting out behind her, causing the abused glacier to shatter in a shower of ice fragments. The ice chucks falling into the water caused a wave that knocked both of them down. The ice that they were arguing on was thrown back, Sokka quickly grabbed onto the edge and snagged his sister. It'd only piss her off more if he let her drown.

After a moment, the ice came to a rest. "This is why you shouldn't play with water Katara." Sokka stated. "Every time you do, weird stuff happens that puts both of us in danger."

"Wow," Katara said in an awed voice, still completely ignoring Sokka, "Did I do that?"

"Congratulations Katara, you are now a danger to icebergs everywhere. You can hear them quaking in their frozen boots." Sokka looked away from his glaring sister as he scanned the area for a way back the more solid ice.

"Whoa..." Katara whispered, so quiet Sokka almost didn't hear it.

"Whoa what, Katara?" Sokka asked, looking back at his sister.

"Don't you feel that?" She asked. Before he could respond she yelled, "There!" pointing out to a now glowing patch of ocean. As Sokka watched, the glow intensified in strength and grew larger. Sokka only had a few moments to ponder what the glowing thing was when something exploded upwards from where the glow was. Once again, Sokka clung desperately as waves knocked the piece of ice they were on around.

After a few terrifying moments where he was sure they were going to end up in the water, the ice settled. "Is it over?" Sokka asked aloud, opening his eyes and looking to his sister to make sure she was okay. Where only moments before Katara was clinging on for dear life, she was now gone. "Katara?" He asked, not believing that she wasn't there, "Katara!" He yelled, worry creeping into his voice. He was worried she might have fallen into the water.

"Over here!"

Sokka looked around, spotting his sister a ways off, she was quickly jumping from ice chunk to ice chunk. Heading towards the glowing ball of ice. "Katara, what are you doing?" He called to her.

"There's something in the ice!" She called back leaping to another chunk of ice. Almost to the halfway point. "I think it's a person, we've got to help!"

Sokka sighed. "Great, just great, go towards the weird thing." He grumbled, moving to follow his sister. "Cause that's a great plan." Moving across the ice proved to be extremely difficult for him. The pieces shifted and moved when he jumped, threatening to dump him in the water with one false move. By the time he made it to the glowing iceberg, Katara was trying to chip away at the ice. Fortunately, there was a small ridge on the edge for them to stand on.

After his last jump, where he landed like a fish out of water, he took a few moments to catch his breath. Even with the strength training he has been doing, those leaps where almost impossible to make. "Don't bother Katara, that's solid ice. You won't be able to break that by digging at it, and all my tools are somewhere at the bottom of the sea. At least my boomerang is safe." he said, unconsciously checking the holster on his back.

Katara turned yelling, "We have to try. Just because the 'all mighty Sokka' thinks I can't do it doesn't mean I should stop." She turned back to her digging, which was more of a scratching, of the ice.

Slowly getting to his feet, Sokka walked over and pulled his sister away from the ice. "You need to stop Katara. Barely escaping death a few times might make you think you can do anything, but there are limits to what you can do. Digging through solid ice with your bare hands simply impossible."

Katara glared back at his brother, "No." she stated stubbornly. The only thing stopping her from going back to work was Sokka standing in her way.

"Look, we need to get back to the village and get some equipment to dig him out."

"You just want to leave him here! He needs our help and you want to just walk away? I can't believe you! This is just like you to turn your back on people who need us!"

"I'm not turning my back on him, there's just nothing we can do. We have to get back to the village before night falls. We'll freeze to death if we don't. I made a promise to dad..."

"Yes, yes, to protect me." Katara interrupted throwing her hands into the air in disgust. "This is just like you, using dad to do whatever you want. Ever since he left you've been skimping chores and running around with the little kids, with lame excuses like that it's warrior practice, while I stay and do all the work you were supposed to do." She advanced with an angry glare on her face. "We have a responsibility to help those in need!" She yelled poking Sokka in the chest. "You always go on and on about how you have a duty to protect us, but the first moment of real work and you run away!"

"You don't understand anything, Katara". Sokka said, knocking Katara's hand away from him. "You couldn't because you're just a girl, not a warrior like me. I have to look past the simple situation and look ahead at the big picture. You're just being silly..."

"SILLY!?" She screamed, her anger flaring up again, "At least I'm not a sexist, lazy, irresponsible, clumsy, idiot like you! I'm ashamed to even be related to you!" Crossing her arms, Katara turned away in disgust. "Go away Sokka, I don't need your help."

"Come on Katara, don't be like that. You and I both know you won't make it back to the village on your own." He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

As soon as his hand touched her, Katara turned, using one of her arms to knock his hand away. At the same time, she tried to push him away with the other, yelling "Go AWAY!"

As soon as Katara started moving, a dark chill overcame Sokka. He didn't know if it was the way she moved or if it was the tone of her voice. All he knew was that he needed to be somewhere other then where he was standing. Time seemed to slow down as months of training sessions flashed before his eyes.

Before he knew what he was doing and why, Sokka leapt to the side with all his strength. As he sailed through the air, Sokka looked back and was shocked to see a blast of water pass through the space he was just standing in. He watched, awestruck, as the blast slammed into the ice glacier.

In Sokka's many years of living in the south pole, he had never seen ice explode. He had seen glaciers crack, split, shatter, and melt, but never explode. His mind took in every amazing detail as glowing blue ice flew in all directions. It only took a split second to notice the shards of ice rushing towards him.

Operating on instincts alone, he curled into a ball, only moments before he was pelted with a multitude of ice. He only had one thought cross his mind before he was knocked unconscious. "I really have to stop making her so angry."

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At the time, I really didn't have a clue as to what was going on. I don't believe in coincidences anymore, the chain of events that were strung together went back hundreds of years. I don't want to say it was fate that put me at that iceberg, but I do find it odd there was a fire nation ship so close. The universe, it seems, had decided to get the ball rolling, all the players had arrived. It was time for the world to change.

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On the deck of this boat, a young teenager trained. As he moved through the forms, it was almost like a dance. One that required him to attack, block, and dodge imaginary enemies at the appropriate times. Nearby, an old man sat at a large circular table. Across from him sat a much younger man. Arrayed before them, a number of small tokens sat, representing the game they were playing.

"I've seen this attack before, uncle." The man stated, putting down another tile. "You're getting predictable."

The old man took a sip of tea before he replied, "This formation is like a mountain. You may recognize it's shape, but until you conquer it, it is no more then a pile of rocks. Something to walk around." He calmly placed another token on the board. Have you discovered a way to conquer this mountain, Zuren?"

"Perhaps..." the man mused. Without looking away, he called out to the practicing teen, "Zuzu... you're getting sloppy! I'm not even a bender and I can tell you're screwing up your forms."

Zuko growled and turned to face the man. "I'd be able to focus better without your big mouth flapping all the time. I swear, for a dyspnoean[1], you sure love to comment on the art of bending."

"Zuko!" The old man chastised. "That is no way to talk to your cousin. He may not be a bender, but he is a veteran solider. This demands your respect." He stood, walking up to Zuko, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You seem frustrated with this form. Maybe now would be a good time to take a break." he suggested, his tone softening. "Come, I'll pour you a cup of delicious tea."

Grumbling, Zuko allowed the old man to guide him back towards the table. They went only a few steps before they heard a muffled explosion in the distance. Turning, Zuko spotted a beam of blue light, shooting into the sky. He broke out of his uncle's grasp and took a few steps forward. "I've finally found you." he murmured to himself.

Behind him, the two men looked at each other, sharing a thought. Zuren nodded slightly and the old man turned back to face Zuko. He opened his mouth to say something when Zuko suddenly yelled out.

"Helmsman!" He commanded, "Set course for the light at best speed!"

"Are you sure you want to do this Prince Zuko?" the old man asked, "It could just be the celestial lights. We've been down this path before. I don't want you to get your hopes up again. "

"This time is different, uncle, I can feel it." Zuko said stubbornly. "This time I will find the avatar. His years of hiding from the fire nation are over."

"Your great grand father, grand father, and even your own father have all tried and failed to find the avatar. It is a fool's errand, all who have attempted it have failed."

"None of them had their honor dependent on finding him. That is why I will find him. I'm sure of it." He turned to his cousin, who was still sitting at the table. "Zuren, prepare the troops, we will make landfall soon."

Zuren turned to the elder man, "Sir?" he asked.

"Do it." He commanded.

In an instant, Zuren was standing at attention. "Sir!" He barked, saluting the elder man. He then turned and marched off, into the bowels of the ship.

"Soon," Zuko said, turning back to the light. "all my searching will come to an end."

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One of the worst parts about regaining consciousness underwater is that you instinctively want to take a breath. If you were some sort of fish person, that would be fine, but for normal people like you and me, it's deadly. The arctic water not only drowns you, but cools your body. There is also the shock to worry about, that alone can kill you.

Fortunately, Sokka woke up the moment he hit the water. Trying his best not to breath in a lung full of water, he swam frantically to the surface. It only took a moment, but Sokka knew his next few moves were critical. If he didn't get dry and warm fast, he would freeze to death shortly.

Breaking the surface, he coughed up the water that he accidentally breathed in and looked around. "Whoa." He said, looking at the pillar of light that was slowly fading away.

In the back of his mind he heard "GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!"

Shaking himself loose from his stupor, he started to swim, well flail, towards the glacier. Sokka never learned how to swim since the only time he spent in the water was when he fell in. Somehow, he made it to the glacier and started to try and climb out. His arms were week from the effort of getting him to the glacier and it was all he could do to just cling to the ice, shivering in an attempt to stay warm.

He felt a pair of hands grab onto him and drag him out of the water. Looking up, he saw Katara and some strange new boy in bright orange colored clothes working to pull him out of the water.

"We have to get him dry Aang." Katara said, "I'd normally change him out of his wet clothes, but we lost all of our gear. I don't know what to do!"

"I should have some tarps on Appa. We could wrap him in that." The bald kid offered. "I'll go get it." Hopping up, he ran towards the the center of the iceberg.

Sokka reached up and grasped Katara's arm. "There's another way." He said, barely controlling his chattering teeth. "I just need to get dry. You can get the water out of my clothes."

"You mean bend the water out? I've never tried anything like that before. You never let me."

"I'm already soaked, you won't get me any more wet. All you gotta do is calm down and focus."

"But..."

"No buts, you have to try now or I start losing fingers and toes." Katara remained quiet. "Good, now take a deep breath and release it. Try to relax and open your thoughts to your surroundings. Try to picture the iceberg and all of us on it.

Following his instructions Katara closed her eyes, breathing deeply. "Woah," Katara breathed, "the water is... moving. Even the water that is in your clothes. Why did I never notice this?"

"You never looked." Sokka stated through blue lips. "Now, picture only the water in my clothes coming towards you. Feel free to move your body in a way that feels 'right'."

"'Right'? What do you mean?"

"It's a bender thing." Sokka said sleepily, "Do... what feels... natural."

Katara nodded and closed her eyes. She knew Sokka was almost out of time. If he fell asleep, he was not waking back up. She focused all her thoughts on pulling the water out. When it felt right, she swept her hands towards her, trying to pull the water as well.

A small stream a water, followed by her brother crashed into her, knocking her over.

"Owies," Sokka groaned, "try it again with a little less force. Coax the water out."

Katara pushed Sokka off of her and stood up. "Great, now I'm damp too." she idly murmured. Cupping her hands and swept off her front. When she did, all the water on her clothes flew off and landed on the ice. She didn't have time to think about it, Sokka was in trouble.

She took position over Sokka, and following her instincts, started to slowly twirl her hands in front of her, making a pushing and pulling motion. She then moved her hands in a sweeping motion over Sokka. The water mirrored her movements and started to flow away. After a few sweeps of her hands, his clothes were dry.

"Katara!" Aang called, running up with a tarp gripped in his arms. "This was all I could find."

"Good, lay it out." She said, kneeling down and pulling off a glove to put a hand on her brother. "We need to get Sokka off the ice and... he's still so cold!" she yelled, gripping Sokka with both hands and shaking lightly. "Sokka? You okay?"

Sokka didn't respond. His limp neck let his head roll around. "Sokka!?" she yelled more loudly. "Wake up Sokka!" placing her ear next to his mouth, she tried to hear if he was still breathing.

The world seemed to slow down as Katara listened for a sign that Sokka was still alive. After a moment, a faint breeze blew across her ear as his chest rose and fell slowly. "Oh thank goodness." She said. "He's still breathing." Standing up she gripped him by his shoulders. "Grab his legs, Aang. Lets get him on the tarp."

After a moment of struggling, they got Sokka onto the tarp. "We really need to get back to the village." Katara said. "You don't happen to have a boat frozen in there do you?"

"Naw, I've got something better." Aang gloated, "I'll go get him." Bounding away for a moment, he came back with one of the biggest creatures she had ever seen. Bigger then the nastiest bear-seal and a lot fluffier.

"What is that?" Katara asked.

"This, is Appa. He's my flying bison."

"Flying?"

"Let's get your brother loaded onto Appa and we'll be soaring through the skies in no time."

Shrugging slightly, Katara picked up one side of the tarp. With Aang on the other, they were able to pull Sokka into the over sized saddle on Appa's back. Once on, Aang hopped to Appa's head where a pair of reigns were tied between his horns.

"Okay all first time fliers, make sure to hold on. Appa! Yip yip!" Aang called. With a mighty leap, the large bison leaped into the air, he seemed to float for a few moments before crashing back to the water.

"Come on Appa! Yip! Yip!." Aang called again. The beast did not reply. Lazily paddling through the water. Looking back embarrassed, Aang said "Appa's just tired. He needs to rest a bit before he can start flying again."

"I'm sure he will, but for now have him head east. Our village isn't too far away." Katara moved next to the tarp that Sokka was wrapped in. She reached up and started to loosen the ties on her outer dress.

"Uhhh, Katara?" Aang asked, "what are you doing?"

"Sokka's probably freezing, I'm going to keep him warm with my own body heat until we get back to the village." She answered matter-of-factly, crawling under the tarp and hugging her shivering brother.

Turning back to guide Appa, Aang thought to himself. "I guess there are perks to almost freezing to death. Who knew?"

Blocking out the world around him, Sokka was trying to stay awake. He mental ran through his fighting forms and focused on keeping his body shivering. "Sokka," he heard Ranma's voice say. "shivering won't get you warm any time soon. I know a way to get you better a lot faster."

"Not now," Sokka thought trying to ignore what Ranma said, "too busy freezing to death here."

"Nonsense!" Ranma chimed happily, "the best training happens when imminent death looms in the horizon. I learned all my best techniques when something was just about to kill me."

"But I'm not going to die." Sokka groaned, "Katara is going to keep me warm for now and when we get back to the village I can warm up next to Gran-gran's cooking fire. No need for lessons. Now leave me alone and let me shiver in peace."

"Fine!" Ranma yelled, "see if I ever give you any more secret martial arts techniques. I know when I'm not wanted." Even though Sokka knew it was just a voice in his head, he could tell that if Ranma was in person, he would have turned away in a huff.

This confused Sokka, Ranma was normally a good teacher, patient and encouraging, if you didn't take his insults personally. Ranma's tone was a little different. Shrugging mentally, Sokka thought, "Fine, tell me this 'amazing technique'." When Ranma didn't answer, Sokka continued. "I'm sorry that I rejected your gracious offer to train me. Almost dying is no excuse for not learning a new technique."

The change was almost immediate. "Glad you see it my way." Ranma happily stated, "Now, the problem with cold is that it slows down your body. It's like forcing yourself into meditative lstate, only if you go too far, your body can't recover and you die. The human body was designed for warm climates, where it's cold only a short period of time. You need to override your ingrained responses and speed up your body."

"That's great Ranma, how would I do this?"

"It's all about getting your bodies energy to flow again. You have to first focus your energy like we do in meditation. That will warm your core. Once you have warmed your core, you can push that warmth to your limbs."

Sokka knew, from earlier practices, that once Ranma had given you a task, he wanted you to shut up and do what he said. As he focused on the warm ball of energy within him, he stopped shivering. After a time, he felt a warm tingling sensation spread through his chest.

In Sokka's mind, he envisioned the warmth spreading outward. Pushing the cold into his core to be warmed. As it heated, he was able to push it out into his body again. Energy was soon flowing everywhere, weaving through his body.

After a time, Sokka was finished heating his energy and took a moment to take in what he did. The energy that weaved through his body felt good. It was like he had a just finished a buffet of tasty meats.

"Way to go Sokka." Ranma praised, "It only took you a few hours to recover from that. We'll have to work on that next time we train."

Sokka shifted, waking Katara who was dozing on his chest. "You know sis, I know I'm the best looking guy in the village, but we really have to stop doing this. People will start to talk." He said with a smirk.

"You ungrateful jerk." She growled, pushing away from him, pulling closed her outer clothing.

"You're welcome." Sokka said sitting up. Throwing off the tarp and starting to put his own parka back on. "You almost kill me all the time, so it's only fair that you save me once in a while."

Throwing her hands up in disgust Katara yelled, "You are unbelievable, you know that? Next time, I'll let you freeze to death!"

"Well if you didn't tag along, it'd be safer for everyone involved." Sokka ranted, his tone getting angrier as he went on. "Even though I've told you about a million times not to play with your magic water, you still do, and every time someone gets hurt. That someone usually happens to be me! So don't get all prissy when I don't thank you from saving me from yourself!"

Glaring at Sokka, Katara growled and unconsciously moved her hands to the side, flexing her fingers. The water around them responded to Katara's anger by becoming choppy.

Aang, who had been napping on Appa's head suddenly awoke when Appa growled in panic as the rough seas unnerving him. He turned just in time to see Katara angrily bend a stream of water out of the ocean and towards her brother. Amazingly, Sokka rolled out of the way, coming to rest right in front of Aang.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled, "Quit it!"

"NO!" Katara barked, "Not until you apologize for being such a massive jerk!" Another stream of water flew out of the ocean towards Sokka. This time Aang sprung into action, leaping over Sokka and using his glider to deflect the stream of water to the side.

"No fighting on Appa you two!" Aang commanded. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, family are supposed to look out for each other. Not try to hurt one another."

"Hey now, that's not fair." Sokka countered, "Katara and I argue all the time, we don't ever try to intentionally hurt each other. Right Katara?"

Katara just turned away, not responding.

"Katara?" Sokka asked moving to kneel behind her. "Come on, it was just a little argument, it's no biggie."

"No biggie?" Katara asked, voice shaking. "You almost die and you treat it like it's nothing! This isn't like the other times, you really could have died if we didn't get you dried out and warmed up so fast." She turned her head, showing the tears that were streaming down her face. "I was really worried."

Sokka smiled warmly and put a hand on Katara's shoulder. "It'll take more then some cold water to kill me sis." They stayed like that for a moment, before Sokka turned toward Aang. "Besides We're veering off course, we need to head more south."

At first, Aang didn't respond, he seemed to be distracted by something. He then focused back on Sokka and smiled. "Right, south... Got it." He then turned to go back to guiding Appa.

Sokka sat, watching for the ice formations that marked the way back to the village. After a moment, a he heard a voice in the back of his mind. "You know, the kid's right. You really should ease up on your little sister."

"Thanks for the input, Ranma." Sokka thought sarcastically. "We've been like this since before I met you. Maybe if we could figure out a way to convince her to stop bending, we'd all be better off."

"I don't think that going to happen, Sokka." Ranma said sympathetically. "A bender's gift is a part of their identity. You can't just turn it off. She was given that gift for a reason."

"I know." Sokka replied sadly. "I just wish..." A particular ice formation caught Sokka's eye and he called out. "Hey, kid..."

"My name is Aang." Said the boy interrupted turning to face Sokka.

"Whatever." Sokka pointed to a seemingly random point on the ice ridge that was coming into view. "There is a small break in the ice there that we need to go through to get to the village. It's big enough to get a large boat through and will open up to a protected ice harbor. You can drop us off there, and then you can head to wherever your home is."

"What?" Katara interrupted finally calming down from her previous tears. "Aang is taking us to safety and you just want him to leave? We owe him a favor and should at least let him rest until he's recovered from being frozen in ice for who knows how long."

Sokka thought about this for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Fine, the kid can stay until his bison's all better. Then he needs to be on his way. There is too much work to be done around the village for us to have guests getting in the way." He moved towards the side of the saddle and sat down to watch the ice go by.

Katara moved carefully to the front of the saddle. "Don't mind Sokka, he's not normally this big of a grouch." She said happily.

"It's okay..." Aang replied, "I'm sure he'll be in a better mood once I get you both home."

"So where do you call home, Aang?" Katara asked. "I bet your family is worried about you, who knows how long you've been stuck in the ice."

"Well... I don't have a family like most people. I live in the southern air temple under the care of the monks. Most air benders learn from the monks until they become old enough to be chosen by a sky bison. When that happens, we are free to go wherever we want. Usually, small groups of friends tour the air temples before going their separate ways, to soar above the clouds and begin their journey of spiritual enlightenment."

"Wow, that sounds like an amazing adventure. Though it does sound like it would be a lonely way to go through life. To travel by yourself without friends to keep you company."

Aang chuckled before replying. "Air nomads are never really alone. They are always with their sky bison. Appa here is my best friend. Isn't that right buddy?" He asked, patting Appa gently. In response, the bison growled an affirmative. "Besides, air nomads meet new people wherever they go and build friendships with many of them. I have friends all over the world from when I toured the different temples."

As they talked, they reached the gap in the ice ridge. It was more then wide enough to allow Appa through. Once on the other side, the narrow passage opened up to a large protected harbor. With enough space to house dozens of boats, but it was completely empty. There was strangely no signs that anyone used the harbor.

"You must be considered an adult by your people." Katara said, "Having a Sky Bison and traveling all over the world."

"Well... Kinda.." Aang replied, embarrassed for some reason. "I'm sort of a fluke when it comes to having a bison. Usually, they don't choose someone as young as me. I'm only twelve, but I like to think that I'm very mature for my age. Though I still like to have fun." Aang then quickly changed the topic. "Since I'm here in the south pole, I was hoping to go penguin sledding."

"It's been forever since I went sledding. We normally have too many chores to go have fun like that." When she saw Aang's crestfallen look she hastily added, "Though I think I can find time to go with you, since you've never tried it before."

The change in Aang's mood was instantaneous. "Great!" he exclaimed, "I can't wait."

At that moment, Sokka cleared his throat to get their attention. "Hey kid, let's get out of the water. We'll need to walk the rest of the way. The village is on the other side of that hill."

Following orders, Aang angled Appa to the more solid frozen ice which was strangely sloped to allow Appa to easily leave the water. As soon as the group were on solid ice, Sokka hopped off and started walking towards the nearby hills. "This way." he commanded, walking away quickly.

Aang looked nervously at Katara not sure of Sokka's tone. Katara simply shrugged and Aang urged Appa to follow. After a few moments, Aang spotted small wisps of smoke coming from the other side of a wall made of snow. In moments, they passed through a break in the wall that had a crude bone barrier sitting beside it. It looked like some sort of gate.

The village itself was just a collection of animal skin tents surrounded by a short wall of ice. On the far side of the village, was the only permanent structure. A hut held up by large animal bones and covered with a thick hide. Sokka did not stop as he walked towards the hut.

"Let's wait here for Sokka to finish talking with Gran-Gran, Aang." Katara said, getting off of Appa. "I can introduce you to some of the villagers while we wait."

As Sokka entered the tent, he spotted his grandmother preparing meats to be cooked. Before he could get more then a few steps he heard a female voice call out from behind him. "Sokka, you little brat, how many time do I have to tell you not to take a boat on your own?"

"I wasn't alone, Soma." Sokka replied, turning around to face the young woman and constant thorn in his side. "I took Katara with me, so it's no big deal." The woman in question was one of the younger women of the tribe. Still quite beautiful, when she wasn't scowling, which she seemed to always do when talking to Sokka.

"Your dear departed mother, rest her soul, made me promise to look after you. I can't do that when you run off with your sister whenever you feel like it. We don't have enough boats as it is, I can't have you taking joy rides when we need to be out fishing."

"Fine, whatever you say, Soma." Sokka grated, waving his hand dismissively. "Now please go away, I need to talk to Gran-Gran."

"Don't you talk like that to me you little..." Soma started when the old woman interrupted her.

"Soma," she commanded, "I will instruct to my grandchild in the proper way to address his fellow tribeswomen. I believe you still have today's catch to tend to."

"Yes elder." Soma replied sternly, bowing quickly, then walked out, grumbling under her breath.

Once she was gone, the elder turned to address Sokka, "You should be more respectful to Soma, she works hard to feed that seemingly bottomless stomach of yours. You might find her more agreeable if you tried to follow her directions."

"I know Gran-gran. She wants to mother me, but she's not my mother. Besides, I don't want to talk to you about that. Me and Katara found a weird kid when we were out. He was frozen in a giant block of ice. I think he's trouble, but Katara won't let me tell him to go away. Can you tell him to leave? Katara won't argue with you."

Gran-gran sighed and shook her head sadly. "You know I won't do that Sokka. The water tribe has always welcomed those who come to us without ill intent. Unless you can give me proof that he is danger, he may remain." Sokka attempted to stare down his grandmother, but only for a moment. His status as leader of the tribe was only with Gran-gran's blessing. He couldn't disobey once she made a ruling.

"Fine, the kid can stay, but I won't risk endangering the tribe. Pass the word that we are moving to the secondary encampment. If the kid wants to come with us, he can help carry something."

"Very well, I will do as you command, little chieftain." Gran-gran said with a smile.

Sokka tried his best not to show how annoying being called that was as he turned to leave. Once outside, he let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding.

"You handled that rather well." Sokka heard as he walked to his tent. "You're going to make a great leader when you grow up, little chieftain."

"Grrr... Don't call me that, Ranma." Sokka thought angrily. "I've got a feeling that something bad is on the horizon. Like a terrible storm is brewing. Remember when that bear-seal attacked a few years back? It's like that."

"It's good that you listen to your instincts, they are normally right. I have a feeling that Aang is a good kid, you shouldn't be so hard on him. As an airbender, he could be helpful to the village if you'd only show him a little respect."

Sokka sighed as he opened up his tent and started digging through his things. "Don't you start with that too. First Soma and now the kid, someone has to be the tough one here. I can't let people walk all over me. Dad said I should always stand up for what I believe in. I believe that kid is trouble and we should get him out of here before he brings the fire nation down on all of our heads. The only thing keeping us alive is that the fire nation thinks we're extinct. Do I have to remind you that I... we were tasked with keeping the village safe until the men returned?" He pulled a hardened hide case out of his pack. He waited for Ranma's reply as he opened it and pulled out a small spyglass. When Ranma didn't respond, Sokka thought, "Fine, be that way. I'm going up to see if any Fire nation patrols are in the area." With that, Sokka left his tent and started his trek to the ridge, it made a great lookout spot and would prevent anyone else from irritating him further.

Meanwhile, Katara was introducing Aang to the various women of the tribe. Aang was doing his best to properly greet them, but his eyes kept moving back to watch Katara.

"I know Sokka never listens," a woman's irritated voice called out, "but I thought you were better raised not to disobey your elders."

"I'm sorry about the boat Soma," Katara responded, turning towards the approaching woman, "but Sokka was dead set on going out." She grabbed Aang's arm. "It was a good thing too, Aang here was in need of our help."

"Yeah," Aang added cheerfully, "I'd be lost without Katara. So please don't be too mad at her, I'm sure you can trade for a boat from one of the other southern water tribes."

Both Katara and Soma were stunned for a moment by what Aang said. The shared a look before Katara spoke up. "Umm Aang, there has only been one southern water tribe for generations. Ever since the war."

"War? What war?" Aang asked, confused.

"What iceberg did you find this kid on?" Soma asked, "The fire nation has been attacking the other nations for years. The southern water tribe fought and lost the war. The fire nation tried to exterminate us to prevent us from ever being a threat to them again. We're the only tribe to survive the genocide. They're a bunch of villains bent on world conquest, uncaring about anyone but themselves."

"What? I have friends all over the world, even in the fire nation. They are good people, and have no reason to attack anyone else."

"They seem to have found a reason," Soma countered, "all the murdered water tribe families are proof of that."

Aang opened his mouth to reply, but Katara stepped in front of him and interrupted. "Leave him alone Soma. We don't know how long he was trapped in the ice. Don't you have better things to do then argue with someone who's not up to date on current news?"

Soma just glared for a moment before turning away. "Someone has to feed the village." She grumbled, "Katara, you should tell your new friend about all the ancient history he missed out on. I don't know how someone could be so out of the loop."

"What's this about a war?" Aang asked once Soma was out of earshot, "Last I knew, the world was prospering under a long peace. People were happy and the nations all lived in harmony."

"Well it happened just about a hundred years ago. The fire nation started attacking the different nations. At first it was just skirmishes and then, bigger battles. From what the elders say, both sides were deadlocked, unable to gain an advantage over each other. Then the comet came. It made the fire nation incredibly strong, they launched a massive assault that devastated everything in their path. Soon after, the southern water tribes banded their remaining forces together for one final battle that we lost. Then the raiding started and we were reduced to a single tribe. We've been hiding from the fire nation ever since."

To say Aang was stunned was an understatement. He was speechless, the south pole used to be teeming with people. Going about their daily lives, happily living off the ice. To find out that this once great nation was reduced to a tiny village, appalled Aang. How could anyone be so ruthless?

Katara noticed the dark look on Aang's face and reached out and nudged him slightly. "I know it's a lot to take in. I guess growing up with it makes it easier to cope with." When Aang's mood didn't improve, Katara tried a different tactic. "Didn't you say you wanted to go penguin sledding? It's a little known fact that sadness scares away the penguins." Katara was rewarded with a slight smile from Aang.

"Sure Katara, I'd love to."

Katara reached out and grabbed Aang's hand, leading him away from the village. She didn't notice, but that had a more immediate effect on Aang then the promise of sledding. He got a goofy grin on his face, all thoughts of war mongering fire nation warriors banished from his mind.

Soon, with the help of a couple of small fish, the pair had caught a pair of ice penguins and were sliding across the ice. The quickly speed away from the village, over hills and though tunnels, both laughing happily, enjoying the ride. While Katara was a more careful sledder, Aang was a reckless showoff.

"Hey Katara, watch this!" Aang called out, spotting a bump in the ice that would make a great jump. Using a blast of air to propel him forward he shot up the natural ramp. Aang flew into the air, performing a roll with his penguin and landing on the opposite side of Katara. "Pretty cool huh?" He asked as they rocketed along a flat section of ice.

"Nice one Aang!" Katara called out, "I had forgotten how much fun this was!" She watched as Aang, maneuvered for another jump. Just as Aang rocketed forward on another gust of wind, the ice in front of Katara exploded upwards. She frantically swerved her penguin but was unable to prevent from smashing into the broken ice sending her flying though the air. As she flew Katara head a roar that turned her blood cold. She instantly recognized it as a killer whale-wolf. As big as a dozen tents, these carnivorous monsters were rare, but had been known to eat small boats when ample fish were not available. She had only seen them a few times before in her life. The last time was watching it devour a pod of seal-turtles. She still, on occasion, had nightmares of that massacre.

As she landed and slid across the ice, she heard the stunned penguin panic and try to crawl away. The squawking penguin didn't get far as the Killer whale-wolf, who was now on the ice, easily caught up and used a claw to knock the penguin to the ice. Its massive jaws came down and tore into the creature's flesh. In moments, the carcase was devoured. The killer whale-wolf then began to search for more prey. Katara watched silently, trying desperately not to panic. She knew that killer whale-wolfs had poor eyesight and relied mainly on their nose and hearing to hunt. As long as it didn't smell her, it would hopefully leave, looking for food elsewhere.

When a hand was placed on her shoulder, it was all she could do not to scream out. Turning she saw Aang, with a concerned look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something and Katara quickly clapped a hand across his mouth. Even with the thick mitten, she could still hear the muffled question. There was a split second where Katara hoped that the monster behind her didn't hear it.

A massive roar dashed those hopes. Time seemed to slow down as she turned around. The killer whale-wolf was charging across the ice, quickly closing the distance between them. There was a rustling of wind and Katara watched as Aang shot past her, taking on the monster head on. Just before impact, Aang rolled impossibly in the air and trust out his hands as he passed. A massive gust of wind blew the creature off course sliding by Katara, just out of paw range. Katara watched in awe as the creature recovered from the attack, shifting it's weight into a controlled slide. As it slowed, it turned around, preparing for another charge.

Again, the creature rushed towards her. This time, however, there was a horrible rumble and the ice below the beast suddenly shot upwards, knocking the beast high into the air. She watched, amazed as a glowing Aang leapt impossibly high, flipping in the air and delivering a kick to the side of the beast. This time, a more massive blast of air sent the killer whale-wolf rocketing away. As Aang floated to the ground, she could faintly hear a distant splash. As soon as Aang touched the ice, he stopped glowing and slumped to the ground.

"Aang!" Katara called out, running towards the fallen boy. She slid to a stop next to him and keeled to check and make sure he was still alive. Gently holding his head in her lap, asked, "Aang, are you okay?"

He responded with a moan as he opened his eyes, "Ugh, yea... I'm okay, Katara. What happened?"

"I don't know. One moment, that killer whale-wolf was going to make a meal out of me, and the next, you water bended the ice to knock it into the air, then air-blasting it away. You never said you could water bend."

Sitting up, Aang replied, "I can't. At least, I don't remember ever doing any water bending."

"Maybe you just haven't learned how yet." Katara suggested. "I didn't know I was a bender until my first time. Maybe there is something special about you that lets you bend both Air and water."

"Yea..." Aang replied sadly before quickly perking up. "That's gotta be it. " he agreed quickly, chuckling nervously for a moment.

Katara opened her mouth to ask another question when she heard a distant roar. "Maybe we should get out of here before that monster comes back." She suggested, saving the question she had on her mind for later.

Aang just smiled and scooped up Katara into his arms, "I can get you back in no time."

Before Katara could protest, he rocketed into the air. To her credit, she didn't scream, but she did close her eyes and hold on for dear life. As they landed and shot up again, she realized what Aang was doing. She peaked open her eyes and watched the ice shoot away and then come rushing back with every leap. After a few jumps, Katara started enjoying the ride, and turned to see where they were going. Each leap ate up the distance between the pair and the village. It what seemed like only a moment, they were back at the village.

"Here we go," Aang said, setting Katara back on her feet, "back home, safe and sound."

"That was amazing, Aang." Katara exclaimed, before she could say more, the small children had all crowded around Aang. The yelled out, asking to go flying as well. Aang laughed and started showing off his bending to the kids. Katara watched, smiling and laughing at Aang's antics.

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The village children were not the only ones who witnessed Aang's feats of air bending. On the bridge balcony, a number of troops were scanning the surrounding ice flows. Armed with a number of telescopes, these troops were looking for anything out of the ordinary. Down on the deck, Zuren and his men were preparing for the possibility of a battle. It was a ritual that his squads did every morning and before any major battles. A light warm-up followed by stretching, an equipment check and then a synchronized kata designed to make sure the armor was secured properly. At the front of the ship, Iroh stood next to Zuko who was scanning the ocean waters.

"Zuko, you should head inside." Iroh suggested gently, "You've been out here for the last hour as it is, you'll catch a cold if you're not careful."

"I don't need to be babied, uncle." Zuko stubbornly replied, "This time it must be the avatar, it's my first real chance to find him and I won't miss this opportunity."

"Your cousin has a number of men already on lookout for any sign of the avatar. You should trust in his men to follow their orders. A leader can not do everything themselves, you should learn when to let others share your burden. If you showed some faith in them, they would be more likely to return the favor."

Signing quietly, Zuko turned to look at his uncle. "Catching the avatar is my task, my honor depends on it. I cannot delegate regaining my honor to another. I am the only one who can restore it." He paused before adding, "Thank you for your concern though, uncle."

Iroh smiled and was about to respond as the sound of a nearby roar was heard. Zuko turned towards the noise to watch as some massive beast came sailing through the air. It flew over the boat and crashed into the water a few hundred meters away. The crew immediately bust into action, with troops moving to the edges of the boat. Many drew bows, knocking an arrow, and prepared to fire at any enemy that might attack. The ship engines were turned off and the boat came to a stop.

A few moments passed before the creature burst through the water and let out a fierce howl. It then dived back into the water and disappeared. The men waited, wondering if the beast would try it's luck attacking their boat. After a few minutes, one of the squad captains called them to stand down. A majority of the troops, went back to their preparations. The rest remained at their post, scanning the water for a possible sneak attack.

"That's got to be him." Zuko exclaimed, running down the deck, heading for the bridge.

Up at the bridge, Zuren, who ran to the bridge when the beast howled the first time, had commandeered a telescope. "Is it still in sight Baku?" He asked the man standing next to him who was tracking something in the distance.

"Yes sir," Replied the older man. "It's probably an air bender, sir. I've never seen a water bender travel like that before. No normal human can jump like that, especially carrying something else." Before joining Zuren's platoon, he had spent most of his career fighting in the south pole. As an expert on water benders, he was the best that the fire nation had to offer. Even with missing a few fingers from the many battles he had been in, he was still a capable warrior.

"Keep on him, he's moving too fast for me to spot him." Zuren directed. "He's probably heading towards a hidden village. I don't want to loose him in the snow." Zuren then turned and walked back into the bridge. Turning to the captain he ordered. "Bring the ship closer to the glacier. Have your men search for a suitable landing site. I will be taking a squad of men ashore to search for a settlement."

The captain snapped to attention responding with a, "Yes sir!" before turning to the helmsman. "Helm! ring up half bell and set bearing 20 degrees to starboard." The helmsman responded, setting the wheel and turning the handle on the chadburn to the correct speed. After a moment, they could hear the sound of the propeller starting, and the boat began to move.

Zuren handed his telescope back to the captain, "I'm going down to prepare the landing party. Send a runner as soon as you find a place to land." He then left the bridge, as Zuko came running up the hall.

"Zuren, I think it's the avatar, we need to follow him!" Zuko demanded.

"Calm down Zuzu," Zuren said, putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "The ships crew is tracking someone who is acting like an air nomad. They are currently looking for a place to make land fall and we will send out a scouting party as soon as possible. My men have this covered, you should prepare in case it is really the avatar this time."

Shrugging off his cousin's hand, Zuko stated growled, "I was born ready." He then brushed past Zuren. Heading towards the bridge.

"And stay off the bridge." Zuren commanded. "They have enough work to do without you underfoot." He watched as Zuko stopped, turned and then head back down the hallway towards his room, grumbling. Once he was out of sight, Zuren sighed, glad that Zuko still followed his orders. Zuko had been getting more and more angry as the years of searching wore on him. The many false leads over the years have soured Zuko's general mood. Where Zuko once followed his directions without question, now it was a rare that anything he commanded would be followed by his cousin. Zuren hoped that it really was the avatar this time, he wasn't sure how much longer Zuko could last out here.

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From his vantage point on the edge of the glacier, Sokka watched the activities of the fire nation warship. It looked like they were going to pass them by, but then a flying killer whale-wolf changed everything. The warship was now moving towards the glacier, coming ever closer to his family.

Ditching his lookout post, Sokka ran back to the village as fast as he could. Fortunately, Ranma's training had him constantly running across the ice so he was able to make good time. As he passed the harbor, a few black snowflakes started to fall from the sky. Sokka tried to ignore the memories of the last time black snow fell and continued to push on. As he came into view of the camp, Soma was already waiting at the gate.

She opened her mouth to speak but Sokka cut her off. "Soma, get everyone organized to move." He panted, "A Fire Nation warship is closing in the village, it's not safe for us here anymore."

Soma paled and nodded, wordlessly turning and running into the village. That was the one thing Sokka liked about Soma; she could be a royal pain in the rear, but would follow orders when needed. Taking the time to catch his breath, Sokka listened to the sound of the village getting ready to move. They had practiced for this eventuality many times over the years so once the orders were called out the women quickly broke down the village and organized to leave. Sokka took some pride in his family that they didn't panic during a crisis. Time was running out and a few moments could mean the difference between life and death.

After he had caught his breath, Sokka headed into the village. He had to prepare as well. When he spotted Aang by Katara's tent, helping her pack her things, he immediately changed directions. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded of the bald air nomad.

"Umm, helping Katara..." Aang replied nervously.

"I think you've helped us enough, kid." Sokka stated angrily, "We were perfectly safe before you showed up. Now we have a ship full of fire benders searching the area, and it's all your fault."

"Don't go blaming Aang about this, Sokka." Katara cut in. Moving between Sokka and Aang. "It's not his fault that a killer whale-wolf attacked us while penguin sledding."

"Penguin sledding!" Sokka exclaimed. "Why in the world were you penguin sledding?!"

"Umm... that was my idea." Aang answered sheepishly. "I've always wanted to go penguin sledding and it seemed like a good time to go."

Sokka smacked his hand to his forehead sighing loudly. "Of all the stupid things..." He mumbled to himself. Dropping his hand, Sokka looked at the kid. "Your little excursion has now put us all in danger. Now leave my family alone before you make things worse."

"But Sokka..." Katara started.

"No buts Katara." Sokka interrupted. "He was a guest before, but now he's a threat. He can either leave, be driven out, or find out how sharp water nation tribe weapons are, your choice kid. I'm going back to my tent to get my sword, you better be gone before I get back." With that, Sokka turned away and marched away.

Aang looked over to Katara, who seemed stunned by Sokka's words. "He wouldn't really try to kill me, would he?" Aang asked. Katara was at a loss of how to answer that question.

"Are you sure you want to take on an air nomad?" Sokka heard Ranma ask as he headed towards his tent. "You're not ready to take on a bender yet. Especially someone as good as Aang."

The angry facade had fallen from Sokka's face and the hidden nervousness was showing through. "Of course not," he thought, "you always remind me to know my limits. I was hoping to scare the kid enough to get him to finally leave. He's a complete wuss, but he's still nothing but trouble."

Ranma laughed before responding, "All benders are trouble, Sokka. I would think your sister had taught you that by now. I wouldn't write Aang off so easily, he might surprise you if you him a chance. That sky bison of his could help move quite a load, maybe some of the slower members of the tribe."

"No." Sokka replied, finally reaching his tent and entering. "We don't need help from outsiders." He grumbled as he picked up his sword. One of the few metal weapons the village had, it was a gift to the head chief of the southern water tribes from one of the earth kingdoms. It's been handed down between chiefs over generations. It was a sign of leadership, symbolizing the will of the village. Sokka hoped that it would give him enough courage to handle the air bender if he choose to stay.

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On the bridge of the nearby fire nation ship, a number of people stood around the navigation table. A map of a generic beach was spread across the surface. A number of flat tokens were stacked next the the map.

"So what should we expect Baku?" Zuren asked, "You have done this before, how does the water tribe fight?"

Across from Zuren, the man took a moment to think about his response. "As with most armies, they depend on their benders to do most of the heavy lifting. Fighting on ice is a major advantage that they capitalize on in almost every battle. Their only real weakness, if you can exploit it, is that they won't attack their own troops. If you can keep them busy with ranged attacks until your your normal troops can get close, they loose the ability to do some of the more flashy, area attacks."

Zuren glanced to his side, where Iroh was quietly observing the conversation. "It appears we need a numerical advantage in a direct battle." He started. "With our limited troops, we should avoid direct confrontation. Do you agree sir?"

"You are wise to not run blindly into battle, nephew." Iroh stated. "I believe a more diplomatic approach may suit our needs better then a show of force."

"We do have the scouting ship and the landing craft below deck." The ship's captain mentioned. "You can take the scouting ship into the harbor and then the landing craft to the shore. It would give your men a fallback position if things turn sour."

"The break in the ice is small and could be used to ambush us." Baku provided, "Iron ships, while strong, still sink like a stone when enough ice is piled on top of it. I've seen benders drop entire glaciers on ships that got too close to the ice."

"I don't suppose you can convince Zuko to stay here, uncle?" Zuren asked, already knowing the answer.

"You cousin is determined accomplish his goals." Iroh said, "He is too headstrong to sit this one out."

Zuren sighed and turned to the captain. "Prepare the boats, I will organize the landing party. We'll be leaving a majority of our forces here, have them ready to reinforce us if needed." Turning to the board, he placed a number of tokens on the board. "If we run into problems, We'll fire a signal flare. Will you be willing to lead the reinforcements general?" He said, looking to Iroh, who nodded. Zuren explained the formation that the reinforcements should initially take if called into service, and how the landing squads should fall back to allow the ship bound archers to fire.

When he finished, he asked the assembled men, "Are there any questions?" When no one spoke up, he continued. "Good, we leave as soon as the boats are ready. Let's hope we are not walking into a trap."

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Back at the village, almost all of the tents have been packed and the the people were getting ready to move. The black snow was now falling in earnest. Turning the snow a familiar gray. Sokka tried to shake off old memories as he marched back to Katara's tent. When he arrived, he did not see Aang around.

"So was the kid smart and leave?" Sokka asked his sister.

"He's gone, you big jerk." Katara answered, continuing to pack her gear. "I hope you're happy."

"Finish packing, the village is almost ready to go." Sokka directed, ignoring the insults. We watched Katara work for a moment, when he heard someone walking up to him. He turn and spotted Soma walking up to him. She looked worried, which was never good. Sure she was angry or annoyed all the time, usually at him, but rarely worried.

"Sokka, we have a problem." She stated when she got close. "The kids spotted a small boat heading into the harbor. There's a large number of armored men on the deck. It's moving slow, but will be here soon."

"We're out of time, gather the villages and get moving." Sokka commanded, "Katara and I will catch up." Soma only paused for a moment, looking like she would protest. She instead just nodded and hurried away. Sokka cursed quietly, even if they village left now, the fire nation could still track them down easily. He needed to find a way to slow them down. Delay them until the village could get away.

"You know Sokka," he heard Ranma say, "with only one ship, it's unlikely that this is a raid. They are probably just looking for information. If someone stays behind to delay them, it may be enough for the rest of the village to escape."

"You mean me don't you." Sokka stated quietly.

"The fire nation are traditionally sticklers for protocol. They do have a way for leaders to meet before battle. It's called parley. It's from a time where the fire nation was just a collection of local warlords. Many battles were avoided by working out the problems that were going to cause the battle. If their leaders remember the old ways, that may be enough to get them to pause."

"Worth a shot." Sokka agreed quietly. He then walked over to his sister who had just finished packing all of her gear. "Katara." He said, his sister didn't answer at first, ignoring him as she picked up her pack. "Damn it Katara, don't ignore me, this is important."

That got her to turn and reply. "What does the 'all knowing Sokka' want now?" She asked sarcastically, still mad at how he treated Aang.

"Look, I'm sorry I've been so rough on you today." Sokka said, reaching out and grasping Katara's hand. "It's one of the burdens of being a leader, you have to do things that make people angry at you." He then took his sheathed sword and handed it to Katara. "It's something you'll hopefully learn to do with time."

Katara almost dropped the sword when Sokka let go of it. "Wha.. Wha... What are you talking about?" She asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"The tribe needs a chieftain," Sokka said calmly, "I'm staying behind to delay the fire nation so you can escape. If I can survive I'll..."

"Don't say that!" Katara yelled. "You can't die on me Sokka, you're all I have other then Gran-Gran."

"I don't plan on dieing, but I don't know what the future holds. It's my responsibility to keep the village safe. This is the only way." He argued. "You may not be ready now, but leadership is in your blood. You have to go, just like I have to stay."

"No you don't." She pleaded, "We can all escape together, there's still time."

"I can't Katara. Mom stayed to fight because it was her duty. She passed that duty to Dad, who passed it to me, which I now have to pass to you. Now go, I still have things to do before they get here." When Katara didn't move, he yelled, "Go!"

Katara reluctantly turned are started to walk away. She paused once, just before passing the wall defenses, to look back. Sokka tried his best to look stoic, until she turned away and left. As soon as she was out of sight, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Now for the hard part." he said to no one in particular. He then hurried to his tent, the only one left in the village to prepare. He tried to ignore the feeling in his gut that he was in for a world of hurt and may never see his family again.

Maybe being a warrior wasn't such a great thing after all.

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Zuren was worried. They had not met any resistance, or seen any scouts during their trip to the glacier. As they landed onto the shore, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had. This was going too smoothly. In his relatively short career, he's learned to be extra careful when things seemed to be going too well. It usually meant the enemy was preparing a rather nasty surprise for him and his men.

Using hand gestures to communicate, his men spread out. Staying close enough to move into a defensive line if needed, but not bunching up to make an easy target for benders. His forward scouts reported that they found a trail in the snow, they slowly moved along it, waiting for water benders to jump up from their hiding spaces and attack at any moment.

After a few minutes of nerve wracking travel, they came to a man-made ice wall. The bone gate was open, inviting his men into ambush. As the front scouts reached the gate, the signaled that had spotted something. Everyone tensed as they waited for the signal for the ambush they knew was out there, waiting for the right moment.

When one of the front scouts signaled he needed to report his findings, Zuren was surprised. They had worked out hand signals for almost any enemy force that could be fielded. He motioned for the scout to return and watched as he headed towards him quickly, but not panicked, whatever was in the village was not expected.

When the scout reached him, Zuren whispered to him, "Report Sergeant Juro. Did you forget the hand signal for what you saw?"

"No sir," The man replied calmly. "The area looks like it's been deserted. We spotted one possible hostile and he is currently sitting, like he's waiting for something. It could be a trap, but the village space is flat and there is only one small structure made of bone."

Turning to Zuko, Zuren took a moment to weigh his options. "Alright, I'll check it out. Zuko, stay here." He commanded. Zuko opened his mouth to argue but Zuren cut him off, "This is not a discussion, prince Zuko. If there is an ambush ahead, I will not have you in the middle of it." He waited to see if Zuko would argue. When he remained silent, Zuren smiled, "Besides Zuzu, you can come to my rescue if it's a trap."

Zuko glared at him, but Zuren ignored him as he followed the scout to the front, signaling to one of his men to take command. The men silently adjusted their formation to accommodate for this as Zuren and Juro creeped up to the village gate. Zuren peaked into the compound for just a moment, taking in the entire scene before ducking back to cover. No sense in getting sniped by a hidden archer.

What he saw confused him. A single young warrior, decked out in full war regalia, face paint and everything, sat in the middle of the field. A number of hides have been arranged to make a line a number of paces in front of him. Behind the warrior, out of easy reach, a simple rack held a number of weapons. The warrior himself looked unarmed and he was in a kneeling seiza position with his knees together and his feet under his body. Zuren immediately realized what the warrior was doing, he was asking for him to participate in the ancient and almost lost fire nation tradition of parley. His etiquette teacher, an old and cranky geezer, had instructed him on the correct response to such a request. At the time, he never figured he would use such knowledge.

Turning back to his forces, he signaled for a few archers to come forward. Turning to Juro, he asked, "Do you know how to serve as someone's second? I know it's not part of your formal training." The man just shook his head, keeping silent. That was something Zuren had drilled into his troops, they are not to waste breath with useless talk when in the field. "Take my weapon and stay seven spaces behind me and slightly to the right at all times. Sit when I do, stand when I do, and do your best not be aggressive."

As Zuren finished, the archers have moved to the front. Using hand signals, Zuren instructed them to cover him and to only fire if he is attacked. He then un-belted his sword and handed it to the Juro. Once he was disarmed he slowly broke cover, quietly walking across the field. He stayed alert, expecting the sound of flying arrows at any moment. When he reached the spot to where he was the same distance from the line as the water tribe warrior he stopped. There was a small fur placed for him and his second to kneel on. As he keeled in the similar position as the water tribesman, he heard Juro quietly kneel behind him.

As soon as Zuren was seated, the warrior dipped his head into a respectful bow. "Sokka of the southern water tribe greets you." The youthful warrior said confidently, coming back out of the bow.

The words surprised Zuren, not only was the request done right, but this warrior was even using the correct words. Bowing back to the warrior, Zuren replied, "Colonel Zuren of the fire nation army returns your greeting, accepting your gracious offer." The scripted actions and words were mainly extraneous, but they had a purpose, so he would adhere to the protocol.

"The southern water tribe would ask for you to share your goals in leaving your territory." As Sokka talked, Zuren tried to gauge his age. The makeup and clothing hid his size and the lack of a beard cold mean any number of things. His voice was sounded like it had not dropped yet, so that could put him anywhere between twelve and sixteen.

"We have been dispatched to find someone." Zuren replied. Protocol now allow him to ask a question back to the warrior. "We spotted him in this area a few hours ago, have you seen any travelers pass though this area?"

"No." Sokka replied, quickly adding, "I have not seen any travelers. I live alone here."

Zuren sat, observing the boy for a second. He suspected that this kid was lying to him, but didn't show any signs. "Hmmm, that is strange that you say that. This person is hard to miss. My scouts watched him come through this area. He probably passed right over the ground we sit on now."

"You must mean my neighbor, who had been living nearby for quite some time. He left earlier today, not telling me where he planned to go. I would suggest that you look elsewhere for your 'someone'."

Zuren could tell when someone was avoiding a question, like this boy was doing. He would probably avoid any direct questions. It was time to try a different tactic. "I must say that I am surprised by the greeting I have been given. It's rare to have such a civilized meeting inside the fire nation, much less out on the frozen ice. I would be honored to meet the person who taught you such sophisticated methods to meet adversaries."

"My master taught me many things, and he is not the type to meet with others."

"That is shame. When my men search the area while we send a messenger to gather more boats, I wouldn't want to disturb him. My men are very through when given a task and would leave no inch of ice unsearched when ordered to." Zuren watched as worry flickered across Sokka's face. He might have a good poker face, but Zuren was good at breaking people's facade.

"This is a big glacier," Sokka stated, "you would only be wasting your time searching it."

"Ah, but you underestimate our interest in finding this particular person. We have scoured the rest of the world, whats a few more months on deserted ice. We could even be productive, surveying the area mapping out the structure of the glaciers. I'm sure the fire navy would appreciate a detailed map of the area, of every cliff, crevasse, and harbor. This part of the world can be so difficult to navigate sometimes." Worry was much more prevalent in Sokka's face, it was time for Zuren to try and shatter it. "If you have nothing else to add, I should organize my men to start the search. Like you said, it's a big iceberg and the sooner we start, the better chance we'll have of finding something." As per the protocol, Zuren bowed slightly, "Thank you for..."

"Wait!" Sokka blurted out, interrupting Zuren and breaking protocol. "I challenge you to single combat."

That surprised Zuren. "Interesting," he replied, always interested in a fight, "and the terms?"

"If you win, I'll tell you where the person you were so interested went. If I win, you and your men leave the south, swearing on your honor to never return or to speak of what you found here."

"Very well," Zuren replied in a bored manner, "since you make the terms of victory, it's only fair I set the terms of the duel." He waited for Sokka to nod before continuing. "We will fight unarmed until a knockout or surrender."

"I agree to your terms." Sokka stated, standing. Zuren rose at the same time and turned to Juro who had sat quietly throughout the exchange. "Inform the men that I am taking a challenge and to not interfere. Captain Kenzo is to take command until I finish here."

Juro saluted once, and then quickly moved away, hurrying back to the rest of the troops. Zuren then turned back to Sokka, taking off the light armor that would restrict his movement. He doubted that he would need it. Once he was done, Zuren walked up to the line of furs and watched as Sokka matched his distance. When they got within arms reach they stopped. Zuren slowly put out his arms, making fists with his hands. Sokka matched his gesture and they touched fists lightly, signaling the start of the duel.

Zuren immediate fell into a basic army combat stance, while Sokka fell into a stance that Zuren immediately recognized. His eyes widened in shock before he regained control. "You are full of surprises, kid." He said, before launching forward and attacking Sokka. Zuren started with simple attacks used to probe his opponent's defenses, which were good surprisingly. Dodging and blocking his strikes, Zuren started to get a feel for the kids skill level. He recognized Sokka's sloppy form, at the level of an experienced beginner. A sudden punch to the gut reminded Zuren that even beginners can win fights if he didn't take them seriously.

When Sokka tried another strike, Zuren took to the air, leaping over the strike. He balanced for a moment on Sokka's arm, smirking at his surprised look, before spinning forward, delivering a solid kick to Sokka's chest, sending him flying back. Zuren landed and watched Sokka slide across the ice for a few feet, before coming to a stop.

"Done so soon?" Zuren taunted, as Sokka forced himself back up to his feet. That was going to probably leave a bruise.

Sokka tried to keep a determined look on his face, but that kick really knocked him for a loop. "Remember to breathe," He heard Ranma's voice echo in his head. "Your ribs may feel like they are broken, but they are only bruised a little."

"Thanks for the reminder." Sokka thought sarcastically. "Any suggestions on how to beat this guy?" He watches as Zuren slowly approached, ready for Sokka to go back on the offense.

"It doesn't look good, you're way outclassed by this guy. The only hope you probably have is to get him to slip on the ice. You are a little more experienced on this terrain, so you might be able to knock him off his feet."

Sokka then leapt forward, sliding across the ice and attacking Zuren as soon as he got close. Zuren weaved around the attack and tried for a throw. Sokka slipped away from Zuren's grab and went back on the offense. Coming in low, Sokka tried for an uppercut, which Zuren dodged, and then a leg sweep, which Zuren jumped over. This put Zuren right were Sokka wanted, continuing his spin, he switched legs and launched a reverse sweep which knocked Zuren's legs out from under him as he landed. As Zuren hit the ice, Sokka tried to follow up with a foot stomp, but Zuren recovered instantly and rolled away. Sokka then moved back into a defensive position.

Leaping back to his feet, Zuren was smiling, pleased with Sokka's performance. "That was a good shot, kid. Almost got me with that one."

"Thanks," Sokka said, taking the moment to catch his breath, "you're not half bad yourself."

Zuren let out a good-natured laugh, "Says the one who's having trouble. Let's see how you handle this." Running forward, Zuren leapt into the air, sailing at Sokka like a giant arrow. He seemed to hang in the air, defiantly resisting the pull of gravity as he homed in on Sokka. At the last moment, Sokka jerked out of the way and went immediately on the defensive. This time, Zuren was much more vicious. Each attack flowed into another. With punches, kicks, knees, and elbows all flying at him at an intense rate. Sokka did his best to keep up, but Zuren was just way too fast for him. A few light kicks and punches made it through. Adding to the many bruises forming over Sokka's body.

This lasted for about a minute before a sudden kick caught Sokka in between the legs. He didn't even notice the kick until it connected. Picking him up and sending him flying back for the second time. This time however, he felt like his stomach had just been knocked into his mouth. His vision darkened as a world of pain exploded into his brain. Sokka had been hurt many times in his childhood, but nothing prepared him for the kind of pain he felt now.

He barely registered that he had hit the ground. He lay there, dazed. As Zuren walked up to him, Sokka's vision slowly cleared and the ringing in his head lessened. Enough that he heard. "Never been kicked in the nuts before, huh?" As Zuren picked him up he tried to focus on the world around him.

"Looks like you loose this one, kid." Sokka heard the man say. From the back of Sokka's mind, the picture of his fellow villagers being forced to march in chains jumped to his mind. With a start, he kicked out his foot, returning the favor to Zuren. Unfortunately, the man only grunted, taking the pain much better then Sokka did. All Sokka got for his attack was an angry growl. Zuren brought up his knee, slamming it into Sokka's gut, forcing the air from his lungs. His fist then came around, delivering a left hook to Sokka's jaw. An uppercut with his right hand knocked Sokka into the air. While hanging in the air, Zuren delivered a final crescent kick, catching Sokka in the side and sending him tumbling into the ice.

The last thing Sokka could remember thinking before falling unconscious, for the second time that day, was the hope that Katara was doing better then he was.

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To her credit, Katara was able follow Sokka's orders, for about an hour. The shock of having the mantle of chieftain on her shoulders had left her stunned, not really understanding what she was supposed to do now. She had caught up to the other villagers easily, her mind wandering as she hiked along the path. She kept coming back to the fact that she was now in charge. All the times that she resented Sokka for telling her what to do, she secretly thought that she could do a better job. Now, that she was the leader, she found that she didn't want it. All she really wanted was to learn water bending, if only Sokka would've let her train, then she could have helped him. Now he was probably gone forever.

The only real constant in her life has been Sokka. For all of his annoying behaviors, he was always there to look after her. Sure he would grumble and complain about having to babysit a girl, but he never quit. A future without him near, watching out for her as she watched out for him, was one she couldn't bear to think about. Someone should go back, to make sure he was okay. She had no idea how he would delay the fire nation, but there had been no sign of pursuit. Who could she ask to go?

Looking down, she stared at the sword that Sokka has given her. Something in the back of her mind told her that the sword was the answer to her problem. That something about it should let her know what to do. Then, like a bolt of lightning, she realized what she could do. It took everything she had to keep herself from yelling out "I got it!" at the top of her lungs. The sword represented the leadership of the village. She was now the owner of the sword so that meant that she was the leader. That meant, she could tell people what to do!

Looking up, she glanced around for someone who could quickly run back and check on Sokka. After a few moments, she realized that everyone had a pack and many were wearily dragging steads of gear. Even the little kids were all loaded down with supplies. They would have to leave things behind if she sent anyone back. Actually, Katara seemed to have the lightest load of everyone. Even gran-gran had a pack on and was helping with a sled. It took every ounce of strength the village had to move. At the front, Soma was rotating those pulling the biggest sled to prevent a single person from getting completely exhausted. Herself taking a turn on the ropes to help pull.

Watching her work, the rest of Katara's plan came into her head. It was simple and brilliant both at the same time. Picking up the pace, Katara moved to the front of the line. While she walked, she attached the chieftain's sword to her belt. As she reached the front, she cut into the rotation of people pulling the main sled. Once it was her turn she picked up the rope and started to pull, taking a spot next to Soma, who was in the middle of her shift.

"Soma," Katara said to get her attention, "I need to talk to you."

Looking over to her, Soma wearily spoke, "What is it Katara?"

"Sokka is taking too long catching up, I think he may be in trouble."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Soma asked, "We are a little busy and I can't spare anyone if we're going to make it to the secondary camp before nightfall."

"I agree, you can't spare any of the adults. Fortunately, you don't need me to get to the camp. I can go look for him."

Soma's head snapped around to glare directly at Katara for a moment. Their eyes locked for a moment before Soma motioned for someone to take her spot. As soon as someone cycled into Soma's spot, Katara felt someone take the rope from her hands. Soma then lead her off to the side, away from the rest of the village. As soon as they were out of earshot Soma spoke, "Just because your grandmother let your brother run wild, does not mean that you get to continue the behavior." she snapped.

Katara's face hardened at the response, she straitened her back, seeming to become extremely more cold and confident. "That was not a request, Soma." She stated, "Someone is going back to check on my brother, either you find someone to go, or I will do it myself. Hakoda passed the mantle of leader to Sokka, who passed it to me. I'm now in charge of keeping this village safe, that means every single person, including Sokka."

"Then why do you feel the need to bother me?" Soma asked angrily, "I don't have time to chase after you. Someone has to get us to safety."

Katara reached down and unhooked the chiefs sword, holding it out to Soma. "If there is one thing I know, it's that I'm not ready to lead. You, on the other hand, has already been doing the job since we were kids. This would just make it official."

Soma imediately pushed the weapon away. "That sword is to be worn by a warrior. I'm no fighter, and I intend to never become one. Hakoda tried to give me that blasted sword before he left and I turned him down then. What makes you think I'd accept it from you?" Her tone lightened as she continued, "I'll tell you a little secret about being a leader Katara. A sword does not make you a leader, leadership is granted by those you lead. You have to earn their respect and their loyalty. Sokka has his parents charisma and bloodline which get's people to listen him, but one must be able to prove that they are worthy of the trust they are given." She paused, giving Katara the chance to respond. When she didn't Soma continued, "You should do what you feel is right. Sokka made his choice and has to live with the consequences of those choices. The same with you, I won't stop you if you go back."

Katara seemed to come to a decision and she smiled, bowing slightly. "Thanks Soma. Please take care of everyone until I find my brother, I'm going to go drag his annoying hide home." She then turned and hurried off, strapping the sword back to her waist.

Soma just smiled, as she watched Katara run off. "Ahh to be young again." She mused before turning back to the task at hand. Those sleds were not going to move themselves.

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Nearby, but out of sight of the village, Aang sat brooding on top of the resting Appa. While he knew he should be heading out, for some reason, he didn't feel like traveling. He really liked the villagers here and wished that Sokka hadn't forced him away. Being in that iceberg had really disrupted his internal balance. Everyone was acting so strange, that storm wasn't that terrible, was it?

Below him, Appa growled hungrily. While they ate before leaving the southern air temple, they had not eaten anything since. Both Aang and Appa were starting to feel the effects of an empty stomach. "I know buddy," he reassured, "once you feel up to flying, we'll head north and find some food."

Appa responded with a quiet growl. Seeming to agree with Aang's plan.

Settling down to continue resting, Aang idly scanned the horizon. Off in the distance, we saw a figure crest a hill. Running from the direction that Katara and the villagers left. Perking up, Aang jumped off Appa and down to the snow. "Stay here," he told Appa, "someone's coming and I'm going to check it out." He then started walking towards the approaching person. He walked quickly, trying not to tire out his body.

Once he got closer, he was able to recognize who was coming across the snow. "Hey Katara!" Aang yelled out, waving.

Katara waved as well, putting on a burst of speed to close the distance. "Aang!" She exclaimed once she was close enough to stand next to him. "I'm so glad to see you. I think Sokka is in trouble and I want to check up on him."

"I'll go with you." Aang offered, "Only... Sokka said not to return to the village."

Katara just rolled her eyes, "The village is where the people are and they all moved, Aang. The old village is just ice and snow now."

"Oh... Good point."

Reaching out, Katara grabbed Aang's hand. "Come on, Sokka may be in trouble."

As soon as Katara touched his hand, Aang again got this faraway look as Katara dragged him forward. After a few stumbling steps, Aang focused on what he was doing and matched Katara's pace. As they moved, neither one spoke. Katara was focused on getting to Sokka quickly and Aang was focusing on the fact that Katara was holding his hand, dragging him behind her.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the outer wall of the village. Katara slowed down and came to a stop, next to the opening. Letting go of Aang, Katara creeped forward, peaking around the edge of the wall to look into the village. In front of her, an empty space of ice and snow greeted her. There was no one else there. Waving to Aang to follow her, she walked into the village, walking towards the middle where a weapons rack stood. She immediately identified the weapons.

"What is it Katara?" Aang asked quietly, spotting the worried look on her face.

"These are Sokka's weapons." She mentioned worriedly, reaching out and picking up one of them. "Even his boomerang is here, he never goes anywhere without it strapped to his back. Help me look around, Aang. There might be clues somewhere."

The pair separated, looking around the ground. After a few moments of search, Aang spotted a little bit of discolored snow. Aang waved Katara over to see.

"That's strange," Katara stated, "this looks like blood, but there is so little. It must have been from a minor injury."

"What does it mean?" Aang asked.

"I don't know!" Katara exclaimed, she was now even more worried. "Where are you Sokka?" she asked aloud. "What happened when the fire nation showed up here? Did they fight?"

"Maybe they decided to leave when they didn't find anyone but Sokka here?" Aang suggested, trying to help out.

"You're probably right, fire nation boats tend to turn the snow gray and then black for some reason if they stay around for long periods of time. I've heard that's how you know that they were in the area." Both fell silent, deep in thought. "Sokka would have returned to the village if he was able to. He's not dead or we would have found the body. They must have been captured him then."

"So if we find the boat, he's probably on it!" Aang finished, seeing where Katara's thought process was going.

"But how are we going to catch them?" Katara asked, "We can get a boat, but they are all small and I don't think we could paddle fast enough to catch them."

"Ah, you forget that I have a flying bison." Aang stated, smiling. "He's rested enough to fly, but he's starting to get hungry."

"That's not a problem, I have some fish jerky that we could give him."

Shaking his head, Aang replied, "No, that won't work. Appa only eats plants, he hates meat. We'd have to go north and find some food before we can search for your brother."

"Then we'd better hurry then, the longer we wait, the harder it will be to find them." Katara stated, collecting Sokka's weapons and strapping them to her backpack. Aang nodded, starting to head off towards where Appa was. Katara looked towards the ocean, quietly saying, "Hang on Sokka, we're coming to save you." She then turned and ran to catch up with Aang. Not knowing when or if she would ever return.

End of Chapter 1

Footnotes:

[1] - dyspnoean is based off the word Dyspnea which us a medical term for shortness of breath. I needed to come up with a slang term for non-bending fire nation citizens. If you want to suggest something that you think is better, let me know.

Authors note:

Holy cow! This took forever to finish and edit... and it's only the first chapter! I knew this was going to be a massive project when I started, but not this big. I'm going to try to break my story up into chapters following the TV series as much as possible. I'm considering this chapter to cover the first two episodes, of the series. That means the next chapter will be the equivalent of "The Southern Air Temple". Katara and Aang must save Sokka from the clutches of Zuren and his crew. How are they going to pull that off when the ship is filled with warriors and fire benders? Will they even be able to save Sokka? Well you'll just have to wait and see.

Special thanks to my pre-readers who spot the constant grammar and spelling errors that I routinely make. This would be an unreadable train-wreck without their hard work. Also, I'd like to thank clockworkchaos who let me shamelessly steal the idea for the Killer Whale-Wolf. Unlike that story, one of these will not become a supporting character.

Thanks again for reading, feel free to comment or review my story. Praise will be relished, corrections or suggestions will be considered, and flames will be used to heat my home.

Until next time.