A/N: Hey all! Just another idea that popped into my head while cleaning the bathtub. I bet you dont hear that everyday. :P I tried to keep it as close to the first episode as I could. :P Enjoy. :) Read and Review and I'll love you forever.
Summary: What if Sokka and Katara didn't find Aang in the iceberg that faithful day, but Zuko still discovered the Sothern Water Trive village? How would things change? What if Katara and Sokka we're taken prisoner? What will happen? What course would the series take if all these "What Ifs" did infact happen? Would Zuko join the gang earlier and would Zhao be alive to see the comet? What would be the Northern Tribe's fate if Zhao still felt the need to lay seige too it without Aang to merge with the Ocean Spirit?
What if...
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. If I did Zhao would rise from the dead and have zombie jambaries with Lu Ten, Hahn and Jet. Well that obviously doesnt happen.
"Almost got it…" Sokka said while pointing his spear towards his prey. He squint his eyes and positioned himself for the attack.
Katara sighed at the comical sight of her brother trying to fish. She spotted another fish swimming around her side of the old canoe. Katara took off her glove and started to waterbend a bubble of water around the fish. When she did she moved the water above her and Sokka's heads. "Sokka I caught one! Look!"
"Not now Katara, I'm fishing." Sokka stared back to the water and raised his spear, successfully bursting the water bubble the fish was in and making land on his head. "Why is that when you play with magic water, I'm the one who gets soaked!?" Sokka yelled.
"It's not magic, it's waterbending." Katara replied and grabbed the fish from off her brother's head.
"Yeah yeah, it's unique to our culture, blah blah blah. I get it." Sokka replied.
"Well at least I caught the fish!" Katara yelled back.
"Yeah, and made it fall on my head!" Sokka said while pointing to his head.
"That was your fault! Along with forgetting the fishing line!"
"Well it's a woman's job to back everything needed!"
"What!" Katara screamed at the top of her lungs. She stood up in the boat and began to wave her arms around, emphasizing her points. "Excuse me, a woman's job! I'm the one doing all the work around home while you're of playing soldier!" Ice began to form around the canoe. "I'm the one who washes all the dirty socks around here!" The ice began to thicken.
"Uh, Katara…" Sokka said, watching the canoe become incased with ice.
"No! I've had enough! From now on, you're on your own!" Katara yelled. She thrust her arms towards the water for emphasis and the ice and water around them shot up into the air and froze a few feet above the height of the canoe, while ice shot down underwater making them frozen to the spot.
"Katara! Look what you did!" Sokka said in awe and anger. "That was amazing and all, but that was high enough to signal the Fire Nation."
"I did that?" Katara said with amazement.
"Congratulations. Now we need to get unstuck and head back towards the village before any Fire Nation scumbags show up. Start cracking that ice wall and I'll start getting the canoe unstuck." Sokka said and started beating the ice around the canoe with his club. Katara started to make tiny fractures in the ice by waving her arms around hoping that something would work. A few hours after hitting and cracking ice, the siblings turned their canoe southward towards home and began to paddle.
Far below them laid an iceberg that they wouldn't discover, yet their destinies would be the same, with or without it.
oOoOo
Soon Katara and Sokka paddled to the icy shores of the Sothern Water Tribe only too see the women of the village herding all the kids into the main tent in the village center. Katara spotted Kana, her grandmother and asked what the hurry was for.
"Gran-Gran, what's going on?" Sokka asked as he caught up with Katara.
"The Fire Nation has discovered our village and is heading this way. Everyone is gathering in front of the main lodge." Gran-Gran explained.
Sokka ran to the lodge to prepare for a possible fight while Katara helped Gran-Gran gather all the women and children of the village. Soon the entire village was standing in front of the main lodge waiting for the worst.
Sokka ran up to his watchtower to see what they had to expect. The fog blocked the view, so it was hard to pick out where a Fire Navy ship would be, but the sound was unmistakable. He heard the crashing of the waves against a giant metal object. Soon the shape could be distinguished from the fog. Sokka expected it to stop due to ice, but instead heard a large cracking sound and felt his watch tower and the village's outer wall beginning to crack.
Sokka ran from the watch tower and took his position in front of the villagers. He began to feel the sturdier ice begin to shake and crack. Soon everyone had to back up due to a large crack in the ice that was rushing towards them. Luckily everyone moved to a safer location. Sokka looked over to his hastily built watchtower as it began to fall.
"My watchtower." Sokka whined.
"Sokka!" Katara said.
Soon the wall protecting the village began to fall, revealing the large hull of a Fire Navy ship. Sokka let out a way cry and began to run towards the ship. The hull opened nearly crushing Sokka to reveal a small group of men walking down the ramp. Sokka got up and began to run up the ramp to attack the soldiers. Sokka hesitated for a split second when he saw that the middle person had a large mark across the left side of his face. He let out another war cry to attack but was effortlessly tossed into the snow bank.
"Stupid deformed Fire Nation person." Sokka mumbled as he tried to get back to the rest of the villagers.
Katara looked in awe and fear at the small group of Fire Nation soldiers that was advancing towards them. She looked to Sokka who was trying to paddle his way through the snow bank. Finally she saw the person in the middle of the soldiers. He was about Sokka's height and looked around Sokka's age except for a large scar across his face.
"Where is he!?" The scarred teen ordered. "Where is the Avatar?"
"The Avatar's been missing for a hundred years. What makes you think that he'd be here in our tribe?" Gran-Gran said. She didn't match the teen in size but she did with her glare.
"My sources say that there was a powerful display of waterbending that this area hasn't experienced in years. Now tell me, where is the Avatar!" The teen replied. Katara gulped as she remembered her rant to Sokka from earlier.
Sokka let out another war cry and tackled the teen to the ground. As he fell Sokka quickly got up and elbowed the teen in the stomach causing him to fall harder and gasp for air. Sokka took his position in front of the villagers once again.
The other teen got up and entered a fighting stance. Sokka noticed that one of the younger boys was throwing him his spear and than charged at the other teen. The scarred teen broke the tip of the spear off with his armor than yanked it out of Sokka's hands. The teen than jabbed Sokka in the head with the butt of the spear a couple of times then broke it in half and tossed it aside.
"Is this all this village has for protection? Some peasant who can't even fight?" The teen mocked.
"Who you calling a peasant, Scar Face?" Sokka mocked back.
The teen let out a cry of frustration as he shot a fireball at Sokka. Sokka dodged and threw his boomerang at the teen, which dodged it.
The teen stared at Sokka in anger until he felt a hard clang on his helmet. He fell to the ground clutching his aching head. "Take him prisoner!" The teen growled. Soon two guards grabbed Sokka, and dragged him to the ship. The boomerang fell in front of Katara who just stared.
Katara ran back into the main lodge and grabbed two sleeping bags. One to throw at Sokka's captor and one for protection. She also grabbed her water pouch for backup. She ran to the ship picking up Sokka's boomerang as she ran. She heard her grandmother's cries for her to stay put but she didn't listen. She jumped and grabbed on the side of the ramp as it was rising and rolled into the Fire Navy ship.
Katara positioned herself to sit as she was sliding down the rising ramp and descended further into the ship. She grabbed a sleeping bag and with a cry threw it, which hit the scarred teen in the head.
The teen looked back as Katara slid into Sokka, who rammed into the teen. Soon the three were in a heap on the floor. Katara stood up too see that the ramp had closed completely and formed the front of the ship. There was no way out.
Two soldiers grabbed on to Sokka and began to chain him. Katara quickly hid the boomerang in her parka before she too would be chained. The soldiers led them through a labyrinth of passageways and halls. Soon they were shoved into a small room and the door closed and locked behind them.
"Stupid firebenders and their stupid chains and ships and stupid firebending…" Sokka mumbled as he tried to stand up. "Didn't even take off the stupid chains."
Katara pulled Sokka's boomerang and held it in front of his face.
"Boomerang! You do always come back!" Sokka said in delight as he grabbed his boomerang. He tried to sheath it again but to no avail. "Uh Katara?"
"Ok Sokka. Cant do things yourself cant you?" She joked. After a few tries she finally got Sokka's boomerang back in its case. "I really wish they'd lose the chains."
The door opened with a creak, as an elderly man flanked by two soldiers walked in. With a wave of his hand the two soldiers left the room.
"Wrong move gramps. Now you're out numbered two to one with the Sothern Water Tribe's elite warriors!" Sokka said as he made himself taller. The old man was a few inches shorter then Sokka, so appearing taller wasn't necessary.
"Uh Sokka? Did the definition of elite change overnight?" Katara whispered. Sokka stopped his intimidating pose to shush his sister.
"If you two are done fighting I would like to properly introduce myself." The old man paused until he had Katara and Sokka's full attention. "I am General Iroh. You have already met my nephew, Prince Zuko."
"Woah woah back up. Prince Zuko? As in Prince? As in royalty? As in the son of the baddest, most evilest man on the planet? Man!" Sokka whined. Katara was speechless.
"If you put it like that, yes. If I were you, I'd behave and listen to every word I say." Iroh said. He waited for any replies.
"Why do we have to listen to you? You aint our boss." Sokka questioned.
"Because, if you don't, it'll be likely that you'll be thrown overboard the ship, and the men will be sure that your chances for survival are slim to none." Iroh said.
"Ok we'll listen! Just please don't throw us overboard." Katara pleaded. "How long will we be here anyway?"
"You'll be here for as long as I see fit. You two should be grateful that I was put in charge of your wellbeing and not someone who is less welcoming to prisoners." Iroh paused again. "You two will stay in this room until further notice." He began to walk towards the door. Before leaving he turned his head slightly to face them. "I'll be sure to have some warm tea and a hot meal sent in, in the morning." He smiled than walked out the door.
When the door closed Sokka was the first to speak. "I think that this guy is a little but crazy." Sokka said as he twirled his finger by his head to emphasize the point. "Plus who gives their prisoners nice tea and meals huh?"
"Well I'd rather have him in charge of us then some guy, who'd throw us overboard, and he doesn't seem as bad as the guy, Zuko was it, who we saw earlier." Katara said.
Sokka laid out his sleeping bag and began to go to sleep. "Well we'd better get some shut eye. I have a feeling we'll be hear for a while."
Katara laid out her sleeping bag and began to drift asleep. She wondered if she'd ever see her tribe again. It was going to be a long trip.