Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or any portion of the Avatar franchise.
Betaed by: Trackula and Zim'sMostLoyalServant
War of Nations
Chapter One
The Hunt Begins
Sokka was remembering to breathe. It was a lesson he had overheard his father give to warriors in training, and even now he could hear that voice. You had to remember to breathe in your first battle, to keep from being swept away by the fear only to be jerked away when the shock passed and sensation rushed back like an ocean. The heart was unreliable, but the breath you could control.
This wall he stood on, ice and packed snow he had helped build… it had never seemed smaller. As black snow fell around him, he knew it would not delay the raiders for even a moment. He glanced to the side, catching sight of the "tower", and more importantly the banner of the Southern Water Tribe hanging from it.
Small, frayed and fading, just like his people, but not gone. Not even close.
He left his boomerang in his belt and let himself wonder if he had been right about the Airbender being a spy? He could hear it now, the water moving, a sound he assumed was the ship's engine.
The perimeter barrier was nothing; he was the only man to defend this settlement, he was the only barrier. When he put on this war paint, he had resolved to face the Fire Nation as a warrior defending his tribe, not that cowering child from last time.
'Here I am, show me what you got!' he thought, holding out his club.
Then black metal parted the mist filling his vision, as the warship barred down on him, ice cracking in its path.
With a shrill cry, he leapt for safety. He came to fight, not to die without even seeing who was actually attacking him! The Fire Nation really did fight dirty.
He landed belly first on a chunk of ice; it knocked the wind out of him, and saw him roll onto his back in pain for a moment.
'Another page in the epic of Sokka, no need to crowd ladies, plenty of copies to go around.'
Clanging footsteps brought him back to the present, the lone warrior protector present. Rising, he looked out on the ruin of the perimeter and saw the ship had opened to deploy a gangplank, a squad of Fire Nation soldiers disembarking and taking positions.
His wondering as to why was answered when another Firebender walked down the plank, shorter than the others but clearly someone with authority.
'There's my chance – capture the leader and we win. Fire Nation officers are cowards who would surrender rather than risk their own necks.' This resolved, he lifted his club and leapt onto the snow and ice shards.
Another leap saw him land with a clang on the gangplank and come at the enemy leader with a war cry. The guy grabbed him, or something; before he knew it, he was falling off the plank and onto the broken ice again. Pulling himself up, he realized he had lost his club; the enemy had it in his hands.
That was bad, but the Firebender tossing his prized club aside like it was rotten fish guts? Worse.
Ripping the boomerang from his belt, he let it fly, spit on for the back of the enemy's helm. Only for the enemy to step aside, letting it pass through empty air.
"Sokka, stop!" Katara yelled nearby. The Firebender turned now to look at Sokka; those skull masks really were quite intimidating, he admitted to himself. Then he smiled, realizing at least he wasn't being ignored anymore. Then realizing he had thrown away his last weapon.
"Are you supposed to be a warrior, boy?" the Firebender asked. The metal distorted the voice, but Sokka was certain he was being mocked.
"This village is under my protection, leave now and no one gets hurt!" Sokka declared. He was not pleased to see Gran-Gran putting a hand to her face off to the side.
"Heh, even when you had benders you could not make us- Guh!"
*Clang*
The Firebender was cut off as the boomerang hit his head on the return path. It wasn't a square hit, Sokka realized with a grin; it must have hit one of those horn thingies, twisting the helm around on the guy's head.
"Haha!" Sokka laughed as the enemy tried to twist the helm back so the mask would line up. Then he was grabbed from behind and forced to the ground, his face pressed into the ice.
"Now you have struck royal blood, barbarian," the Fire Nation soldier told him with an audible smile.
"Moyale?" Sokka slurred into the ice. From his vantage point, he saw the bender give up and pull the helm clear off and hand it off to another spearman. The villagers gasped and Sokka went wide-eyed at the face glaring at him.
Pale skin, as he recalled from the raiders, with black hair cut short and styled into a topknot. The face, despite the paleness, would have been refined and good looking, but one would get distracted by the scar covering a half-lidded golden eye and half of the face and the left ear.
But who cared about the scar – that was not a him!
She turned her back on him as a spear shaft was shoved under his chin and he was forced to his feet.
"Greetings, I am Princess Kazuko of the Fire Nation. I have come here seeking the Avatar, surrender him and you have your fool back," she announced. Her voice was a bit rough, edged with authority as her eyes swept over the assembled tribe. No one moved or spoke as the wind blew through.
"Well?!" the Princess demanded. Gran-Gran stepped forward, looking the Princess over.
"We know nothing of the Avatar, we have little time to spare for anything but our survival in these days," she said.
"I saw the pillar of light, I know he is here or nearby," Princess Kazuko snapped at the elder.
"Don't talk to her like that!" Katara objected, stepping up beside her grandmother.
"Yes, just because we are at war is no reason to do away with good manners. Especially when we aren't trying to kill one another," Sokka heard an old man say. A shorter, stout old man in Fire Nation armor, with his gray hair cut into a beard and bound into a topknot, came down the gangplank.
"Sorry for being late. I had to find my snow socks. At my age you have to watch out for the chills, they linger so long once they get into these old bones," he apologized to the Princess.
"I apologize for my niece. Her youthful fire and drive tend to make her forget the vital details of civility in situations like this. I am General Iroh, by the way," he said to the tribe elder.
"General, I would ask that you release my grandson. He is the closest thing we have to an able bodied man, and not yet even fit to serve as a warrior-"
"Hey!" Sokka shouted.
"-I would expect a General to have more honor than to steal from those already impoverished in such a manner," Gran-Gran requested.
Kazuko stepped into the line of sight between the elders, scowling.
"Why are you talking to him? I lead this expedition, it is my place to make such decisions. And you are in no position to make demands.
"Our nations are in a state of war. And I will wager the reason he is the best warrior you have is because all of the grown men are fighting my people on the Continent. There is no need to be considerate with an enemy that goes to such lengths they would abandon their homes and families in the pursuit of victory."
"A brash judgment made by one who has never had to make such trying choices. General Iroh-"
"Do not think you can bypass me for him! Unlike you barbarians, the Fire Nation recognizes a woman can have authority and wield it as well as a man. He is here to assist me," Kazuko declared, getting a bit flushed in the face.
"The Princess is correct. I am merely here as her bending instructor and advisor. Please do not offend her further with such assumptions," Iroh sighed.
"Anyway! The Avatar… the Last Airbender, where is he?" she demanded.
"The Avatar has been gone for a hundred years. And if he were here, you wouldn't be able to push us around. Now let my brother go! Haven't you taken enough from us already?!" Katara demanded. She made to step past Gran-Gran, but the elder grabbed her arm.
"You cannot fool me. I have been searching too long. That light, he is here, I can feel it," the Princess scowled, looking around the collection of huts.
"That was a spirit light. The shifting of the ice can disturb the spirits and create such pillars. It is very rare, but I have seen it once before in my lifetime," Gran-Gran lied with a grace Sokka found himself envying.
"She could be telling the truth, Princess Kazuko. Little has been written on the spirits of this place, and less has passed into the hands of our nation," Iroh advised.
"You would do well to heed your elder, Princess. We are simple folk, only wishing to survive the War," Gran-Gran insisted.
"…Searching the ice would be futile; Airbending is built around a concept of evasion, and the terrain would favor him.
"I will leave but the fool comes with me," Kazuko grinned.
"NO!" Katara screamed. Her grandmother had to grab her arm with both hands to restrain her.
"He can fight, however poorly, and he was wearing war paint; enemy combatant. Now just another penal laborer. The rigs can always use another strong back, to break in," she grinned.
Sokka felt the ground drop from under him. It couldn't be… Then he saw that Katara was lowering her hand and shifting her feet as she glared at the Princess.
"Katara, no!" Sokka yelled. He knew panic was written on his face, he hoped she could see it. If they found out she was a Waterbender… anything but that. He would be taken to protect her if it had to be.
Katara looked to him, and he realized it was not going to work.
"Well, not quite a total fool, it would seem," Kazuko chuckled dryly.
"Stop! Let him go!" Aang called out before landing between the tribe and the Firebenders. Kazuko stiffened, then smiled, and then the expression slipped as she took in the sight of the bald boy garbed in orange and yellow.
"You're the Avatar? You should be as ancient as her," Kazuko stated.
"Well, yeah. But last time I checked, didn't Fire Nation Princesses write poetry and stuff instead of running around with soldiers?" Aang asked.
He leapt over the fire blast. Katara made a sound and pulled back, hauling Gran-Gran with her as they evaded the fire.
They leapt onto one of the tents, putting some distance between him and the Princess. The fire followed; as he evaded, he heard the tent catch fire. And she had thrown it over the heads of the villagers. As he landed, it took only a moment to take in the others in her company getting ready to jump in.
If he got to Appa he could escape, but this war… He would be leaving Katara and the others behind to it. When an Airbender can't avoid or evade, the next best option was…
"Stop, I surrender!" Aang called out. Kazuko froze in mid strike, a small flame erupting from her palm to sputter out in the air. She glanced to the two masked benders that had moved to flank her. Then looked to Aang, straitening up and narrowing her eyes.
"Surrender?" she repeated.
"On two conditions! You release Sokka and leave these people alone. I'm the Avatar, the one you want, right? They have nothing to do with this," Aang stated.
Kazuko glanced to Sokka, then to the tribesmen, only Katara and Gran-Gran not cowering.
"Deal. Your staff," she demanded, holding out a hand. Aang hesitated, and then tossed it to the Firebender. It landed right in her hand with a little bending on his part. The two masked Firebenders rushed forward, grabbing his arms beneath his shoulders.
"Aang, you can't go with them!" Katara shouted.
"You can't trust them, they're Fire Nation!" Sokka chimed in. He choked as the spearman pressed the shaft into his throat.
"You're right, and being Fire Nation means we have more honor than you Water Tribe barbarians. I pardon the fool, release him," Kazuko waved a hand towards Sokka. The spearman pulled his spear out from under Sokka's chin and kicked his feet from under him before moving towards the gangplank.
"Set a course for the Fire Nation! We are finally going home," Kazuko grinned. She stepped aside as Aang was marched past her and followed him up the gangplank.
Iroh was the last one to step onto the metal, pausing a moment to offer Sokka a hand up. The warrior did not take it, pushing himself up.
Soon enough, the old man had also disappeared into the metal vessel, which spewed smoke anew and pulled back into the waters.
"The Avatar," Katara whispered, watching as the Fire Nation ship pulled into the sea.
"Forget that! I just got beaten by a girl! I need a rematch! Where's my canoe?" Sokka shouted, stomping off.
XXX
Aang looked around the ship corridor in curiosity. But despite the strange, but interesting, surroundings, his attention came back to the scarred Princess who was inspecting his staff.
"Superb craftsmanship. It will make an excellent gift for my father, though I suppose as a monk you know little of fathers. Take him to the brig and stay to guard him."
"I didn't think you needed to bribe fathers," Aang admitted. After saying it, he realized that might not sound very nice.
"It's a not a bribe, it's a sign that even the weakest of his children is worthy. Not that he is the one that I need to prove that too. Now take him away," Kazuko scowled.
"You take this to my chamber," She ordered her men. Aang saw his staff get taken up a staircase as he was dragged deeper into the ship, the two leaders staying put.
Good thing they hadn't shackled him; that would have made this difficult, he thought as he started gauging how far would be enough from the Princess and the General.
XXX
"That was poorly done, niece," Iroh admonished Kazuko once they were alone.
"I was right though, they were lying," Kazuko huffed. But she rubbed the back of her neck; good, she did feel uncomfortable.
"It was a low tactic, threatening to take that boy as a penal slave. The raids were suspended for a reason; the Southern Tribe is beaten. There is no honor or reason in antagonizing them," Iroh pressed.
"But it worked! I have captured the Avatar, the Fire Lady and her Paper Cranes can't do anything to keep me in this exile any more. I can finally go home," Kazuko shot back.
"It wasn't like I would have really taken him. But you saw that girl, she would have cracked to save him," Kazuko defended herself.
"More likely tried to crack your head open. And what have you gained for that little display of cruelty?" Iroh demanded.
"The Avatar, after three years of searching, in my hands," Kazuko answered quickly, smiling.
"Can you prove it?" Iroh pressed.
"What?"
"Can you prove this boy is the Avatar and not just a surviving Airbender? He could have just bravely lied to stop you from tormenting that village. Besides, as you said, the Avatar should be ancient.
"If any of the Cranes demand proof, will you be able to prove to the court this is in fact the Avatar? Your father was able to avoid official exile, but if you are found guilty of fraud in such a quest as this…" Iroh left the possibilities hanging.
"I am going to take a shower," she snapped.
XXX
Sokka dropped the bag of fishhooks into the canoe and took a step back to inspect his baggage. He had packed a lot of weapons, and the fishhooks could be deceptively deadly, Sokka knew from experience. There was no time to train further, so if he was going to live he needed to be ready to throw everything and a penguin at that… girl!
"Sokka, wait!" Katara yelled. Sighing, he turned away from his trusty vessel to watch his sister run up. He had been dreading this.
"Katara, stop. I know you are going to tell me I'm being stupid and a dumb, sexist guy. That chasing after them is madness and stupidity rolled into one. How I have obligations here I shouldn't ignore.
"But this is not just pride! Aang pulled me out of the water and fell in doing it. When a guy does something like that, and you weren't even nice to him to begin with… Well, you either have to risk everything to pull him back out or you just can't call yourself a man anymore," Sokka stated, crossing his arms.
Katara smacked him over the head.
"Will you stop talking? I'm coming with you," Katara told him with a smile.
"What? What?!" Sokka said as Katara put the pack she had been carrying into the canoe. To his irritation, she tossed two of the spare spears and a large rock back onto the shore to make room.
"You can't come! If they find out you're a Southern Waterbender you'll have a price on your head! You'll have to leave the village," Sokka reminded her.
"More than that," Gran-Gran announced herself. The leader walked up to her grandchildren, smiling and looking very tired.
"Ever since the death of Princess Ursa, the Fire Nation has hated your kind, Katara. All Waterbenders, but the Northern Tribe is beyond the reach of their hate for now. Unless you flee the South, the raiders will come again; it could mean the Fire Lord will decide it is worth his time to end our tribe as his ancestors did the Air Nomads."
"Thanks for backing me up, Gran-Gran," Sokka sighed in relief.
"Which is why you must leave. Free Aang, journey with him to the North so the legacy of the Southern Benders can be reborn.
"You two did what no enemy or would-be ally has been able to do in a century of searching. You have found the Avatar, and I know in these old bones that your destinies are joined to his.
"It is time for you both to leave us as your father did. Because the world out there needs you more.
"And you have someone else to take with you," she told them. Appa gave a rumble, walking up to the family.
"Thanks, Gran-Gran," Katara said. She pulled her family into a hug and held them for a moment longer than needed.
Soon enough, they had transferred the load onto the great white-furred bison and set off into the water. Kanna watched them go, crying because she was certain they were on the path they were meant for. And crying because she was certain she would not meet them again in this life.
XXX
Warm water at the turn of a tap was one of the greatest feats of civilization, in Kazuko's opinion. While she missed the bath houses shared with Azula in the palace, the feeling of the shower stream on her back both relaxed and let her think.
She wished Uncle had not pressed her on using that boy as a hostage. She had lost enough to her quick temper to not second-guess herself enough without him. The deserted look of that girl, the boy's sister, kept coming back to her.
Well, she had her own sibling to protect, even as weak and pathetic as she was. And now she could finally return to her side.
She was going home to fulfill her promise to Mother, and the role set by her father. That was all she needed to know to banish her doubts as she stood amidst the steam and water.
XXX
Aang glanced down the passageway as he rounded the corner. He had seen these metal ships when visiting the Fire Nation, but never been inside one; there was never a need. Even if he wasn't a captive, he didn't think he would like it – the pipes and passages made him feel like some beast had swallowed him up.
Well, before he could leave, he needed to find his staff. Kazuko had ordered her man to take it to her chambers.
And how was he supposed to find those chambers? Escaping his captors seemed to be the easy part. Without Appa, he needed the staff to escape the ship, since it was underway.
Which meant he might have to fight Kazuko again. And he would be at disadvantage in this confined space.
Speaking of the scarred teenager, puzzling how she singled out him not knowing much about fathers. He knew the monks raised children differently from others. But Gyatso, he thought, had served much the same role for him.
The sound of voices echoing on the metal froze him. Glancing around, he could not be certain which way to go. Glancing up, he realized the ceiling would conceal him unless someone looked straight up. With a smile, he air skipped up and propped himself amidst the metal and pipes. One pipe nearly gave him away as he brushed it only to find it very, very hot.
Biting it back, he let out a soft, long breath.
"I still can't believe it, we actually pulled it off! The Avatar! We're going to be heroes back home," a man said as he walked down the hallway.
"What's this 'we'? You didn't even disembark," another called.
"At the very least, shouldn't we be breaking out the sake to celebrate? I mean, this is a one-hundred year quest fulfilled and we're heading home."
"Princess's orders, everything is to run tight, no slip ups. She says we can celebrate once the Avatar is in the Fire Lord's custody.
"Wait, let's go around, not sure I want to run into the Princess in a good mood. Wouldn't know what to expect from her. Hahaha," the same soldier continued. The men had passed beneath Aang, and he listened to them take one fork.
Sure they had gone, he turned his attention to the passage they had avoided. The doors were not labeled, but if he had learned anything about important people in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, they liked their doors either strong or needlessly fancy. Preferably both.
So when he found a room with a sturdier looking door than he had seen so far, he looked inside.
It was a big bedroom, poorly lit save for a few candles left burning. What was that… oh, running water, not surprising with all these pipes all around him. Stepping in, he guessed it must be one of the royals, too big for the regular crew, and too well decorated.
There were thick red carpets on the floor, a much better feeing than the metal or ice underfoot lately.
Looking around, a scroll hanging on the wall caught his attention. Aside from a pair of crossed swords and a fire nation banner, it was the only wall decoration. Stepping up, he saw it was a very fine ink picture of a pretty teenage girl's head. Written in the corner, 'With best wishes to my elder sister on her journey.'
Despite the fond message, Aang felt a bit of a chill looking at the younger Princess's picture. He looked away from it, and saw his staff on a small stand. He had missed it set beneath the banner, along with other objects he assumed to be trophies or keepsakes of Kazuko's.
Very considerate of them to put it on display for his easy retrieval, Aang thought, picking up his staff. He let out a relieved sigh at having it back. Now he just needed to escape.
Then he heard a metal door open. He spun around to face the entrance, and saw it was still closed. Feeling someone glaring at him, he also noticed the sound of running water had stopped.
He slowly turned toward the other door and saw that, yes, it was Kazuko glaring at him. Hair hanging wet around her head, and wearing a pink robe.
Oh.
He diverted the first fire swipe with an air blast and followed up with his scooter, hoping to confuse her enough for… Yes, an opening. This air blast sent Kazuko off her feet to hit the banner-covered wall; she landed well enough to stand amongst the trinkets rather than crashing down on them.
But the skill that let her catch herself did not stop the robe from loosening. Aang stopped, and stared for a moment, and then his eyes moved up to his would-be captor's face.
"Sorry?" Aang offered, blushing.
Aang burst through the door followed by a burst of flames that reached the opposing wall. Kazuko leapt out after the fire and took off after him barefoot.
XXX
'Gyatso warned me about this; girls may be pretty, but they are very dangerous. Always, always curb your curiosity. Especially where the Fire Nation is concerned,' Aang thought as he took another sharp turn, avoiding a fire blast.
Though in his defense, that had been an accident.
A gust of cold air hit him in the face, and ahead he saw a silhouette of an armored man against daylight in a door.
"Seal the door, don't fire!" Kazuko yelled behind him. Either the bender disagreed or was too in-motion to stop from releasing a fire blast surging down the hall at Aang. It wasn't much compared to Kazuko's; Aang was able to just barely go over it and over the surprised Firebender, his feet catching on the war mask. That was enough to throw him off, grazing the ground to regain power.
Realizing he was on the command tower's deck, he felt relief; he had the sky, he was free. He leapt, the staff unfolding into a glider with the reassuring click. And a hand clamped down on his shin.
An Airbending master could perhaps carry two people on a glider. But it was a noteworthy feat with anything more than a small child. And then there was preparation.
Instinct overwhelmed pacifism as Aang kicked with his free foot, striking his attacker in the shoulder. The grip did not slacken and he saw his hopes for flight crumble into the best crash he could manage.
Fortunately, no respectable glider sifu failed to teach their students how to crash. Though he really wished the lesson had included how to do it with an angry teenage girl hanging on, Aang thought as he crashed them into the main deck.
To say it hurt was mild – after all, he had crashed into trees, dirt, grass, and mud, but that was metal! Still, nothing broken, and more importantly, a glance affirmed the staff was not damaged.
"You are not getting away. I have waited too long," Kazkuo spoke up. She had come through well enough, though her hair was a mess, and her robe… looser.
'Do not look. Do not look,' Aang told himself. And not looking let him see more of the crew rush out, surrounding him.
"Benders back, deny him the sky, spears forward, he's mine," Kazuko commanded.
Aang looked around intently, trying to gain the measure of his opponents. Air is freedom; it finds the path to blow free. There was nearly always a way out if you could see it.
But they weren't going to give him the time to see, he realized.
"At least I helped Katara and the others out," he whispered. Then Appa roared above him. Looking up in surprise and delight, Aang braced himself as Appa put his whole body into a display of Airbending, with his powerful tail knocking several of the Firebenders off their feet as Sokka and Katara leapt down from his back.
"What are you doing here?" Aaag called. A tingle let him dodge the fireblast. It became a blur of dodging as Kazuko pressed a furious assault. Two in quick succession caught him; the first, he diverted the heat away, but the wind power sent him back to the deck edge. The second attempt at the block sent the staff flying and him with it.
Falling backward, he once more saw the ocean rushing up to claim him.
XXX
"Aang!" Katara screamed as the boy fell over the side. Even a grown man could die falling into the ocean unprepared!
"No! I need his body if nothing else!" Kazuko cried out, grabbing her messy hair.
"BITCH!" Katara roared, pulling a puddle on the deck into a whip and striking at the Firebender. Kazuko had turned toward her and was able to catch the blow on her forearm and keep her feet as she staggered back.
"Waterbender!" Kazuko spat, falling into her stance.
"And proud of it, monster," Katara glared, bending another tendril of water.
"Uh, Katara? We're kind of surrounded!" Sokka called.
A roar of water distracted the two benders from him. A waterspout surged up from the side of the ship, setting it rocking as it loomed. A glowing blue light emerged from the churning water, Aang's eyes and tattoo's aglow, face sternly set as he looked down on them.
"Oh," Kazuko muttered, eyes wide. She filled her hands with fire, facing the display of bending might.
The water crashed down on the deck, bending around Appa and the two tribesmen. Katara glanced at Kazuko being swept away, but when the water passed, it revealed the Firebenders and spearmen frozen in place across the deck.
"Wow," Katara said. That was the power of the Avatar. The one who could bring peace back to the world.
"Aang!" Sokka called, drawing her attention from the frozen foes. Aang was on the deck, standing unsteadily as the glow faded from him. Katara ran over to the boy and caught him before he could hit the deck.
"We need to get him out of here," Sokka said, running up. Aang stirred, eyes opening back up.
"My staff!" he objected. Sokka looked around, thinking the weapon had probably been sent into the sea. But to his shock, it was laying propped against the edge of the deck.
'It must have been a lucky lodging,' Sokka thought, running past frozen Firebenders to grab the staff. As he grabbed it, a pale hand grabbed the edge of the deck in front of him. Surprised, he leaned over to stare down the side of the ship.
The teenager's jaw dropped. Kazuko was hanging on, trying to climb onto the deck, face twisted in exertion. And if not for the wet, dark red shorts she was wearing, she would be completely naked. The pink robe was quite gone.
Kazuko glared at him, then realized he was not looking at her face. Releasing a handhold, she flushed, throwing an arm over her exposed chest. That was enough for her grip on the deck to slip, sending her falling with a furious cry.
Blinking, he watched her somehow latch onto the anchor chain, clinging to it fiercely.
"Uh, I still need that rematch! This doesn't count!" Sokka shouted down.
Katara and Aang were climbing onto Appa as he ran up.
"I found your boomerang!" Aang said, holding up the weapon.
"Great, I got the boobs. I mean staff! I only got the staff!" Sokka shouted, rushing up Appa's side onto the saddle.
Iroh reached over the side and pulled his niece up onto the deck and offered her his black cloak with the other. The Princess hastily pulled it around her shoulders.
"Where have you been!?" she demanded.
"I decided to bathe as well. But I thought getting dressed first would be a good idea-" He explained, before Kazuko pushed past him. She saw the bison taking off, the Avatar flying away.
"Shoot him down!" Kazuko whirled on her uncle. With a nod, Iroh assumed a stance and danced along the deck, gathering fire in his fists as he went. With the final step, he thrust his fists out together, pointed up and out at the bison.
Aang leapt from the saddle, swinging his staff. And the great fireball changed course.
"That was more of a Waterbender move!" Iroh observed in surprise.
"Take cover!" Kazuko shouted as the fireball struck the ice shelf the ship was passing under. Ice and fire met in an explosion of steam, followed by the rush of falling snow and ice onto the deck.
Iroh walked up to the edge of the massive snowdrift covering the front half of the deck and watched as his niece burst out of the snow, shivering in the cloak.
"Defrost the crew, and melt this snow! I'm… going back to the shower!" she commanded through chattering teeth.
Once she was gone, he turned his attention to the nearest frozen man.
"Now, I understand you just might have seen my niece in a less than fully clothed state?" Iroh said to the frozen man. The frozen man groaned.
"I would reaaaally hate for rumor to get out on such an incident. After all, Princess Kazuko is already compared so unfavorably to Azula and the Prince," Iroh continued, crossing his arms.
XXX
"You guys came for me," Aang said. He was at the reins of Appa, glad to be in the familiar position. The Water siblings were holding onto the saddle behind him, amongst a lot of luggage he knew wasn't his.
"Of course I came, I owed you one. Maybe two for the whole spy thing," Sokka spoke up.
"Aang, why didn't you tell us you're the Avatar?" Katara asked. Aang's smile slipped. This was it, just like all the other friends who slipped away because of something he never wanted.
"Because I never wanted to be," he admitted.
"The Avatar is the one who can end this war and restore balance to the world," Katara continued.
"I know, but right now I should take you both back," Aang said, turning Appa onto a new course.
"Oh no you don't! You said you would take me to the North Pole. And you need to go there anyway to learn Waterbending," Katara cut in. Sokka noted she had entered into her "I am in charge whether you like it or not" mode.
"Yeah, and I need to keep an eye on her. And I still owe you at least one, remember," Sokka added.
"But, the entire Fire Nation will be after me!" Aang objected.
"And me – there's a bounty on Waterbenders, and as the last bender of the Southern Water Tribe, they'll have my face on the wanted posters," Katara admitted.
"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure Kazuko wants to kill me," Sokka admitted.
"Yeah I guess that whole pardon thing sunk with me escaping," Aang agreed.
"…Yes, that is the only reason. Nothing else," Sokka declared.
"Guess you're stuck with us for this journey, Aang," Katara smiled. Aang returned it, and for the first time since he eavesdropped on the monks, it felt like everything was going to be alright.
"Sokka, what was that about breasts earlier?" Katara demanded.
"I saw nothing!" Both boys denied in sync. Katara's frown deepened, as she planted her fists on her hips.
Author's Note:
Well, there we have it. Now that this plot bunny is out of my head, maybe I can get some peace on other projects.
Now, you are probably wondering why I did not say this was a FemZuko story? The reason is because I do not consider it such. In AH (Alternate History), there is the term ATL Twin; this refers to a divergent timeline where you have the same biological person or near enough. Despite perhaps occupying the same position, they are different people shaped by different experiences and state of the world.
The epic "Decades of Darkness", for example, had a King Edward exist rather than Queen Victoria. In this world, that child was born male and while bearing many similarities to Victoria, this King ended up viewing and interacting with the world differently.
Kazuko was born in Zuko's place. For all their similarities, the very fact of their different genders creates divergence. And that is not the only difference between this world and canon.
So with a different gender, different relationships, and different experiences, Kazuko I see as more of an OC swap in than a genderbend at this point.
Now that that is explained, I hope you enjoyed this story and I wish you the full joy of the holidays.