Yo, for reasons unknown to me, I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. It sucks... Ok, so this is a 'what happens if Aang doesn't come' story. So, enjoy.
Prologue
Sokka watched as Yue was taken away from him. His heat was shattering. His brain wasn't functioning anymore. He was alone.
He and his sister had come to the Northern Water Tribes with the remains of the Southern Water Tribe when their home had been figuratively stepped on by a bored crew of a Fire Nation ship. Sokka couldn't do anything, he had failed as the man of the tribe.
He had met Yue soon after coming to the North Pole, and fell in love almost immediately. She had a certain quality that made him rethink his perspective on females in general. It wasn't that she could fight, but she had a fighting spirit, a spirit that made her do what had to be done.
His heart had sunk when the Fire Nation came. He watched as they bombarded the beautiful city of ice with fire, helpless and unable to do anything. His sister had been taught healing, so she was doing something at least, unlike him. His heart had stopped in fear when the soldiers actually came into the city, and his brain was shrieking a million things at him when the commander of the Fire Nation forces had gone into the Spirit Oasis and killed the moon spirit. He felt utter despair when he found out Yue was going to replace the moon spirit, even though it was the right thing to do. He couldn't help her, he had failed as a man again.
As he watched Fire Nation soldiers take over the North Pole, he knew the most realistic way to ensure that it wasn't a total defeat was to stow away on a ship so that he could fight another day. He felt a gnawing, empty feeling in his stomach from his inability to help, and gritted his teeth in disgust at his cowardice that prevented him from helping in spite of his inability.
Sokka knew the world couldn't rely on mystical beings to just come and save the world out of nowhere. A man had to step up and take action.
A cool splash of water hit Jet's face, waking him to a feeling of floating and cold water soaking through his clothes. Jet slowly opened his eyes, revealing a blurry vision of a burning forest. His mind instantly became alert as he went over what had happened. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, wishing it was all wrong, wishing his memory had been damaged. He opened his eyes again, and seeing that his memory wasn't damaged, he let out a tortured scream.
He had succeeded in destroying a Fire Nation village by using a redirected river to flood it. There had been survivors though, and the word got out about some ragtag group of resistance in the woods. Firebenders had come and simply burned everything to the ground while looking for Jet's group.
Most of the group had been caught, and had met little mercy. The Fire Nation didn't want to deal with taking care of so many hostile prisoners, and had turned most of them into charred carcasses. Some had escaped, but Jet couldn't remember all the faces and names of those who had.
Jet had done everything he could to distract the soldiers by attacking them then retreating back into the trees. It was going better than he had hoped when a tree he was on started to fall. He had looked for a route of escape, but all around was that intoxicating and horrid fire that had been the ruin of Jet's life more than once now. He assumed the falling tree was the reason he was unconscious and in the river he was in now.
Jet gripped his fists in rage and feelings of betrayal. The Avatar be damned. Jet would save the remaining free people from the Fire Nation. He would destroy the Fire Nation, every single part of it.
Zuko looked out over the ocean, as his face contorted in sorrow as he felt envy over the ocean's placid and peaceful state. He looked up to the stormy sky and noticed the similarity between its state and the state of his mind. He had no idea what to do, nothing seemed right.
With the more of the world falling to the Fire Nation everyday and no Avatar to be found, Zuko's hope for redemption became smaller and smaller. He had looked and looked tirelessly for the Avatar, until his crew and ship had been taken from him to be part of the North Pole attack.
His uncle had stayed with him at first, offering the suggestion of making a life in the Fire Nation colonies. He didn't want to listen to whatever ideas his uncle had. He didn't want to make a life in the colonies of the Fire Nation, he didn't want to just sit down and accept banishment. He went out on his own, to do what he could for himself.
Zuko knew that he was settling for less, but he had to admit, there was a certain peace in knowing that he was no longer on the trail of a ghost. He was still angry and unsatisfied, but he didn't want to act for the benefit of Fire Nation anymore. He was a prince, people should be acting for his benefit. He would make people respect him.
Sokka felt his entire body scream in protest as he ran into alleys of the Fire Nation port city. He had been cramped in the storage compartment in the ship he hid in, and had barely any sustenance of any kind for the entire trip.
He had been hit by a wave of horror when he realized the ship he was on had decided on heading straight back to the Fire Nation after the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. There hadn't been a single stop before reaching the port city he was in now. What were the chances of stowing away on the ONE ship whose duty was to as quickly as possible inform the Fire Lord of the victory and of any intelligence they had gathered at the North Pole?
Sokka had cursed any existent mythical guardian being with unbridled passion. If celestial beings did exist, they definitely hated him. Probably for not believing in their existence.
He knew that his predicament could provide opportunities for intelligence gathering, but he wasn't exactly skilled in that line of expertise. No matter. He would train himself as a warrior and an intelligence gatherer. He would turn himself into a man.
Jet once again woke up to an unfamiliar setting, as pain jolted through his left arm. He blinked his eyes a few times to get a clearer picture of his surroundings. A muffled sound could be heard to his left, a sound that was soft and caring, soothing him greatly.
As his vision finally cleared up, Jet could tell he was in a moderate sized house that was similar to all the Earth Kingdom houses he had been in, yet this house seemed to give off a more worn yet comforting feeling. The amount of beds close to him and the lack of available space most likely meant the house was probably occupied by a large family.
As he looked to his left, he saw an attractive girl with her hair tied up and her sleeves rolled back wrapping up his left arm and putting it in a cast. The broken arm explained the pain, and the soothing sound had probably been something the girl said. Jet winced in pain as the girl moved his arm slightly too much for his liking. He had probably fallen on it when that tree had collapsed.
The girl looked up at him and smiled comfortingly, and softly told him to go back to sleep. She reached out with one of her arms and slowly stroked his head, lulling him to sleep. Jet smiled at her caring touch, which seemed to come so easily to her.
His face changed into enraged grimace as he thought of all the loving relationships the Fire Nation had wrested from people. He would not let any more people be traumatized by the Fire Nation's acts of war. He would show the Fire Nation the misery of war. He would burn, he would crush, he would destroy anything or anyone that was under the banner of the Fire Nation.
Zuko had realized a dilemma when he had decided to travel in the Earth Kingdom. He couldn't use any firebending at all unless he wanted to be slaughtered by Earth Kingdom soldiers and be refused the chance at ever getting any easy information or provisions. He would also be hounded by Fire Nation soldiers, either demanding he help them or taking him in.
Luckily, he not only had two Dao swords, but also the skills to use the swords. He had taking up training with them when he still had his ship. When every day was dedicated to traveling the seas looking for a nonexistent enemy, there was time to spend besides the time spent on training his firebending. He always had an interest in the more precise arts of swordsmanship. It was quick and efficient, while with firebending, no matter how hard he tried, he always expended more energy and power than what was needed. While fighting, he could easily see the difference between his state of mind while using his swords and his state of mind while using firebending. His mind felt so clear while swinging his blade, he could act accordingly to each situation and easily flow into the next situation.
As Zuko traveled through the Earth Kingdom, he found himself spending more time on the rougher side of society. Acquiring things as a criminal, including respect, was far easier than acquiring things as a supposed refugee. He hated the disgusting life one had to go through to raise yourself from mere worthless waste, to rabble with possessions you could call your own. The ways of a criminal had somehow come naturally to Zuko, and he frequently found himself wondering if the life of a criminal was meant for him. He was starting to not care. As long as people gave him the amount of respect he deserved, he would feel as if he were in the right place.
A/N More normal story flow will start in the first chapter.