"Do you think we'll finally find him?"

The girl sat on the edge of the large metal ship and watched Zuko pace warily across the deck. He stopped and turned as she addressed him.

"We have to," he replied with a clenched fist, "it's my only chance."

"I know that, but our search has proved fruitless so far. How do you know the Avatar is even still alive?"

"He has to be," Zuko yelled, "a man that powerful wouldn't just die naturally! Besides, some of the past Avatars have lived for hundreds of years!"

"Calm down." the girl replied. She hopped down off the edge of the ship and walked over to the boy. "I'm not saying there's no chance we'll find him, but think about this logically. If the Avatar were still alive, don't you think he'd have done something to try and stop your father, your grandfather, or your great-grandfather?"

"That's enough Xifeng!"

Iroh came walking up from below deck, stretching his arms and letting a yawn escape his mouth.

"Come," he said as he placed a hand on Xifeng's shoulder, "let's leave Prince Zuko to his thoughts. Maybe you could join me for a soothing cup of ginseng tea."

Iroh led her back below deck and, as soon as they were out of earshot, he turned to her.

"Xifeng," he said solemnly, "please do not talk that way around Prince Zuko. The Avatar allows him to have hope in his heart. Don't take that away from him."

Xifeng nodded at the old man. She understood perfectly what the Avatar meant to Zuko. In fact, the Avatar meant a lot to her, too. Although she needed the Avatar for different reasons than Zuko, she needed him just as badly. As Iroh wandered back up onto the ship's deck, Xifeng turned and headed down the ship's narrow corridor. She reached her room and quickly opened the large metal door, stepped inside, and shut the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and threw herself onto it, staring up intently at the cold metal ceiling.

I wonder, she thought, just where you could be, Avatar.

…

The next day, Xifeng and Zuko stood on the deck of the ship, while Iroh sat close by, playing a tile game of some sort, as was the daily routine. Zuko stood brooding at the bow of the shipt while Xifeng took up her usual perched on one of the ship's sides. She eyed Zuko anxiously; she had known him for a long time and was worried that his obsession with the Avatar would consume him.

Suddenly, a brilliant blue light shot into the sky. Xifeng reacted so suddenly that she had to stop herself from falling into the freezing waters of the South Pole. She hopped down onto the deck as Zuko turned.

"Finally," he said with obvious exhilaration, "Uncle, do you realize what this means."

"That I won't get to finish my game?" Xifeng smirked at Iroh's comment.

"My search is finally over." Both Iroh and Xifeng could hear the underlying glee in Zuko's voice. "That light came from an extremely powerful source; it has to be the Avatar!"

"Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he picked up his teacup, "why don't you come sit down and have a calming cup of jasmine tea?"

"Really Zuko," Xifeng chimed in, "I realize how big of a moment this is, but you shouldn't get too excited."

"This is no time for tea!" Zuko turned from the pair and faced the command tower. "Helmsman! Set a course for the light!"

…

Later that night, Iroh and Xifeng stood on deck as Zuko practiced Firebending. The pair watched the young prince shoot off blasts of fire in several directions. He paused for a moment, and Iroh used the chance to step in.

"I'm going to bed now." Iroh stretched and let out a big yawn. "Yep, a man needs his rest. Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right and it is the Avatar, you'll never find him. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather searched for years and never found him."

"That's because their honor didn't hinge on his capture." Zuko turned to his uncle. "Mine does. I'm tired of living like an outcast; that coward's hundred years in hiding are over." Iroh turned and went back into the command tower as Xifeng stepped forward and put a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"He's right Zuko," she said, "even if that is the Avatar, you need your rest. You don't want to fall asleep in the middle of his capture, do you?"

Zuko eyed her warily before nodding and heading off to his room. Xifeng took one last, thoughtful look out at the polar wilderness before following.

…

Xifeng and the two Firebenders that were with her all launched simultaneous fireballs at the Prince, who dodged almost effortlessly and countered with fireballs of his own while Iroh oversaw Zuko's training from the sidelines.

"Again."

At Iroh's command, Xifeng and her partners launched more fire at the Prince, who countered once more and returned fire (AN: get it "returned fire!" Honestly, just a coincidence, I swear). Xifeng extinguished the firebolt with a flick of her wrist, her comrades following suit.

"No," Iroh said as he stepped between the two, "power in Firebending comes from breath, not muscle. Your breath becomes power that flows through your body and past your limbs, creating fire." Iroh accompanied his words with a short burst of flames. "Get it right this time."

"I've done this enough," Zuko argued, "teach me the advanced set."

"No. You are not ready."

"Uncle," Zuko persisted, "the Avatar has been alive for a century. He's got to be at least a hundred years old; he's had plenty of time to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic Firebending to defeat him."

"No."

Zuko's anger had finally reached the boiling point. Enraged, he turned and blasted fire at the two Firebenders. Caught off guard, the two were struck by the flames and were sent sprawling across the deck. The Prince quickly fired a third fireball at Xifeng, hoping to catch her off-guard as well. The girl, however, reacted much more quickly than her two companions and spun her heel into the projectile, deflecting it into a glacier a few yards from the ship. Zuko angrily turned back to his uncle.

"You WILL teach me the advanced set!"

Iroh closed his eyes and a pensive look came over his face.

"Fine," he said as he sat in a nearby chair and pulled out a meat-covered plate, "but first I must finish my roast duck."

Xifeng couldn't help but chuckle as Zuko's shoulders slumped in disbelief and Iroh sat munching contentedly on his meal.

…

A few days later, Xifeng stood on the outer deck of the command tower, studying one of the maps from the navigation room. According to her calculations, they should be nearing the South Pole, home to the Southern Water Tribe. She could only hope the villagers wouldn't put up any resistance when she and Zuko showed up for a 'visit.' She really didn't want to hurt anyone; all she wanted to do was locate the Avatar.

Her hopes took a sudden leap when a flare from a Fire Nation ship shot skyward. Knowing that the only ships that had come this far had been decimated by the Waterbenders some time ago, Xifeng quickly retrieved a spyglass from the captain's cabin and stared through it to spot the flare. She moved her gaze down to something that made her heart skip a few beats. A young boy carrying a girl on his back made an impossibly high leap out of a hole in the top of the dilapidated ship's command tower and floated safely to the ground, using his Airbending to slow his descent.

"I've finally found you," Xifeng whispered excitedly, "mister Avatar!"

"All soldiers prepare to go ashore!"

Zuko's shout woke Xifeng from her internal revelry. She hurried from the deck and began to make her way to her room, her heart still beating quickly. When she reached her room, Xifeng proceeded to a chest in the corner and threw it open. Inside was the outfit she wore whenever she knew that a possible combat situation was ahead. She quickly took the armored top out of the chest and changed into it. Over her pants, she hung an armored skirt accompanied by metal shin guards. The only piece of armor she left in the chest was the helmet, opting instead to wrap a scarf-like garment around her neck that concealed the lower half of her face. After making sure the rest of her essential things were packed safely away in a backpack, she left to join Zuko near the prow of the ship.

Just moments later, she stood at the Prince's side as the boat plowed through the ice and eventually the poorly constructed (AN: Sorry Sokka) wall built around the village. The spike protruding from the front of the ship lowered into the snow with a loud thump, admitting Zuko, Xifeng and a few guards. The small party walked down the ship's ramp as a young Water Tribe boy charged headlong at Zuko. The Prince easily countered and sent the boy flying face-first into a nearby snow bank. The Fire Nation "greeting" party walked straight up to the cowering group of Watertribesmen.

"Where are you hiding him?" Zuko's commanding voice sent fear cascading through the bodies of the village residents. When he got no answer, he snatched an elderly woman out of the crowd and held her by the hood. "He'd be about this age," he continued, "master of all elements. I know you're hiding him."

Still eliciting no response, Zuko sent a wave of fire soaring over the heads of the frightened crowd, causing a few of them to take a step backwards. At that moment, the same boy from before charged at Zuko from behind, a courageous yell escaping his mouth, but again, Zuko easily countered. He sent the boy sprawling a few feet away and launched a fireball after him. The boy leapt out of the way and retaliated with a boomerang aimed at Zuko's face. The Prince leaned to the side and let the boomerang fly off into the distance. A small Water Tribe boy tossed the warrior a spear and he charged at Zuko a third time. Zuko easily snapped the weapon in two, yanked the wooden shaft out of the boy's hands and smacked him in the face with it a few times, causing the boy to fall backwards onto his rear.

A moment later, a resounding clang echoed over the frozen tundra as the boomerang came rebounding, smacking Zuko's helmet in the process. After quickly adjusting his headgear, Zuko growled and summoned a pair of fire daggers and prepared to advance on the boy, but Xifeng was faster.

"Allow me Prince Zuko." She moved between the Prince and the boy, grasped the boy's wrist, and lifted him up by the front of his parka.

"For you own good," she whispered quickly into his face, "don't resist any further. I'm a friend and I'm going to help."

Before the boy could react, she tossed him back at the feet of his tribe and used her Firebending to create a ring of fire around her feet.

"Get out of the way," Zuko said as he shoved Xifeng behind him, "he's mine!"

As Zuko began to descend on the boy, a younger boy dressed in Air Nomad robes came shooting across the snow on the back of a penguin. He rammed into Zuko, knocking the Prince off his feet and into a rather awkward position as his helmet ended up sitting on his upturned rear. Xifeng stifled a laugh as the boy greeted the warrior, Sokka, and his sister, Katara. Sokka responded to the boy and called him by the name Aang. Zuko gave a signal for the troops to surround the newcomer and Xifeng took a few steps to the right. As the circle of Fire Nation troops closed in on the boy, he slammed his staff into the snow, causing a small wave of the powdery substance to shoot out in all directions.

"Looking for me?" Despite the odds against him, Aang stood strong and confidently addressed Zuko.

"You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?"

Many of the members of the Southern Water Tribe responded with surprise, and Xifeng herself let out a gasp.

That's impossible, her frantic mind thought, he should be much, much older! How can this be?

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter;" Zuko told the Avatar as the two began to circle each other, "training, meditating. You're just a child!"

"Well, you're just a teenager."

The Avatar's statement pushed Zuko over the edge and the Prince began launching continuous blasts of fire at the boy, who twirled his staff to disperse the flames. The group of Watertribesmen cowered away from the flames that licked at them, and a concerned look passed over the Avatar's face.

"If I go with you," he asked Zuko, "will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

Zuko nodded after a moment and stood down as Xifeng and another guard moved in to apprehend Aang.

"No Aang," the girl called Katara said as she took a few steps forward, "don't do this."

"Don't worry, Katara," he replied, "I'll be okay. Take care of Appa for me until I get back."

"Head a course for the Fire Nation," Zuko commanded as Xifeng and her comrades returned to the ship, "I'm going home."

Back on the ship, all the troops stood on deck, Aang now in the hands of two guards.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father." Zuko admired the Avatar's staff that he now held in his hand. "I guess you wouldn't know about fathers, being raised by monks. Take the Avatar to the prison hold," he commanded as he handed the staff to Iroh, "and take this to my quarters."

"Hey," Iroh said to a nearby guard as Zuko walked off, "you mind taking this to his quarters for me?"

Xifeng rolled her eyes and smiled as she proceeded to her own room. She removed her armor and placed it into her backpack, quickly changing back into her normal outfit. She snatched up the backpack and headed back out into the corridor as loud shouts came from all directions.

"So he's escaped, huh," she said to herself as she began to head towards Zuko's cabin, "a lot faster than I anticipated, too."

She continued moving through the ship until she came to a corridor where Aang stood, surrounded by Firebenders.

"Don't move Avatar," she said as she pushed her way to the center of the group, "just duck."

Aang gave her a quizzical look for the half-second it took him to process what she was about to do. He ducked as Xifeng performed a quick spinning heel, Firebending a large, expanding ring of fire off of her foot. Her attack caught the other Firebenders completely off guard and sent them sprawling down the hallway.

"Go," she shouted at Aang, "I'll cover you!"

Aang nodded and dashed off down the corridor as Xifeng began moving in the opposite direction, catching any potential opponents off guard. Word hadn't spread to the rest of the ship about her betrayal, so she had the element of surprise on her side. As she blasted a final opponent out of her path, she saw Zuko and Aang fall onto the deck; the Avatar's glider couldn't handle the struggling. She rushed to get to Zuko in time, but she was too late. As Xifeng appeared on deck, Zuko launched some fireballs at Aang and the boy was sent plunging into the freezing polar waters.

"Zuko you idiot," Xifeng said as she kicked and sent fire flying at the Prince, "do you realize what you've done?"

"Xifeng," Zuko shouted, "what are you doing? We're on the same side!"

"No Zuko," she replied, "we're not. I'm on the Avatar's side and if you're going against him, that means we're enemies." She assumed a battle stance. "I'm sorry that it has to be this way, my friend."

Zuko stood for a second before shouting angrily and shooting a large fireball at Xifeng. The girl quickly blocked the blast with her hand and fired off a return shot from her kick, which was quickly followed by another volley of kicks. Before either of them could make another move, Aang burst forth from the ocean, his eyes and tattoos glowing. He was riding on top of a great spout of water in such an advanced display of Waterbending that no one presently on the deck even noticed Katara and Sokka land Appa on the ship. Aang landed on the deck and bended the water into a large ring that exploded outwards, striking everyone on the deck and sending Zuko overboard. Xifeng climbed up from where the water had left her and rushed over to Aang, who was now cradled in Katara's arms.

"I hate to break this up," she told them, "but the guards are recovering, we need to leave. Now."

The group nodded and headed toward the bison. Xifeng turned and blasted back a few Fire Nation soldiers and turned to see Katara freeze another group in ice.

So she's a Waterbender, Xifeng noted as she climbed onto Appa's saddle, not a very experienced one, but a Waterbender nonetheless. That's good; the Avatar's going to need all the protection he can get.

Soon, the group was sailing away from Zuko's ship, but not before a large fireball launched by Zuko and Iroh sped at them. Aang sprung up and used a large gust of wind to push the projectile into the large glacier wall, causing an avalanche to bury Zuko's ship. Xifeng added to the damage by launching a large arc of fire that crashed into the ship, further frustrating Zuko.

…

"So why did you help us?" Katara and Aang gazed at Xifeng curiously while Sokka was giving her an 'I'd-like-to-toss-you-off-this-magical-bison' glare.

"It's my duty," she told them, "to help the Avatar. I may have been born in the Fire Nation, but my loyalties don't lie there. It's a rather long and complicated story and now's not the right time to tell it. Just trust me when I tell you that I'm on your side. Avatar Aang," she said as she turned to him, "I'm going to make sure you make it to the North Pole."

"I trust you." Aang told her before he glanced at Katara.

"If Aang trusts you," she told Xifeng, "so do I. You've already helped us once, so I've got no reason not to trust you."

Then the three of them glanced at Sokka.

"Well," he said with a defiant look, "I don't trust any Firebender. But considering the circumstances, I've got no choice but to let you travel with us."

"Thanks Sokka," Xifeng replied, "I hope you'll eventually learn to trust me."

With that, Aang hopped down into the saddle and yanked out a map as he began rattling off the different places he wanted to visit. Xifeng just sat silently and stared off into the sunset.

Zuko, Iroh, I'm sorry I had to betray you like that, but there was no other way. Perhaps someday I'll be able to make it up to you.

Okay…the first chapter (technically two) of my biggest project to date is finished. Now let me explain a few things:

I'm sorry if my quotes are a little off. I tried to take the dialogue as precisely as I could from the first two episodes, but they talk faster than I can write, even in shorthand, so some of them may not be exact. Again, I apologize.

About Xifeng: Since Avatar: The Last Airbender is strongly rooted in martial arts (especially the bending), I've done some research into the real-life martial arts styles that the bending arts are based off of, and even a few extra. I decided to give Xifeng a unique form of Firebending to distinguish her from the other Firebenders in the series. While normal Firebending is based off of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu with some techniques from Northern Seven Star Praying Mantis, Xifeng's unique kick-based style of Firebending is based largely off of Capoeira, which focuses on kicking (especially acrobatic kicking) with a few punches thrown in, with a few influences from Black Tiger Style Kung Fu (called Hei Hu Quan in Chinese), which focuses on acrobatic kicks and extensive footwork with low, wide stances (and is actually somewhat similar to Northern Praying Mantis).

Nomenclature Time! The name "Xifeng" means "flourishing Phoenix" in Chinese

In addition to having a chapter for every episode of the show, I'll be adding some extra chapters in here and there to give backstory on my OC's. Don't worry, there won't be too many of these and I'll try to keep things as canon as possible. Thanks for the support and please R&R!

La lune du sang