Author's Note: I'll just throw it out there from the start that this is a story for which I'd only got the idea for about a week ago. Unlike a couple of other ideas, I decided to write this one down because it seemed pretty good at the time, and I spent the next couple days working on this chapter. I'd kinda wanted to post it up sometime two days ago I think (Because I'd finished it at that point), but 's spam prevention system put an end to that.

So alas, after a two day delay and an edit session that found a couple typos and revised some portions that I didn't quite like, I present to you Avatar GT Chapter 1: Prologue- Cold Day in the Sun

(For some background on the name, GT is short for Gran Turismo. First and foremost this will bring up thoughts of the successful game series, but in Italian it means basically either the kind of car that engages in Grand Touring racing, or a racer that is called a "Grand Tourer". I figured the title would fit since essentially that's what I've made the story into. :P)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Chapter 1: Prologue- Cold Day in the Sun

Water, Earth, Fire, and Air.

My grandmother used to tell us tales of the early days of racing, the time before the war and all of the complications that came along with it. Stories that told of a time when the Avatar maintained balance and fairness between the four disciplines. Of course, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

The capability of stopping these ruthless firebenders lie with the Avatar, master of all four disciplines of bending and the respective driving styles that accompanied them. Just when the world needed him most however, he vanished.

Twenty-five years have passed and the Fire Nation nears monopoly in what was once a level field of play. My father left to fight in a war and later serve our country by training new soldiers, but when my Mom died in an incident a couple of years ago, he returned home to care for what was left of his family.

Many have given up hope in the storied "Avatar Cycle", believing that the Avatar will never return and that it will only be a matter of time before the Fire Nation usurps control over what was once a pastime for people of all disciplines. I still haven't lost hope though, and I believe that one day the Avatar will return to save our livelihoods, and by extension, our sport.

Snow crunched under the tires of the older model truck as it departed the side road that it had been travelling down, stopping for a moment at the gates of a compound. Large trees blocked the bitter winds from reaching the area around the gate, much to the relief of security guards that'd been hired to work the gate. The occupants of the truck waited patiently as one of the guards waved in greeting from within the concrete guardhouse, the driver of the truck returning the gesture as the gate lifted to allow them passage. Instead of driving through the gate once it had opened, the truck pulled forward and stopped next to the building, the driver rolling down his window as one of the guards emerged from his post.

"Greetings Hakoda, what brings you… and your kids out here today?" The guard asked, shivering slightly as he pulled the knit cap further down his head, smiling as he noticed the extended company.

"Good morning Bato." The driver smiled, extending a gloved hand to clasp arms with the guard, who returned the Water Tribe handshake. "We came to make a couple of last moment checks before the Polar Grand Prix this weekend." Bato nodded, knowing this to be typical in the days preceding a race. "Not only that, but I also thought it might be a nice time to see if our work on that older chassis was worth it or not." Hakoda joked, earning a laugh from Bato.

"True, we do need to find out if that car's ready for competition yet. But isn't Sokka supposed to be running the Polar Grand Prix car today?" The young man in the seat furthest from Bato glanced across the cab of the truck at the mention of his name, holding an insulated cup filled with coffee. Bato noticed that his eyes were struggling to stay up, and he shook his head, knowing that he likely had only been up for an hour at the most.

"Yeah, Sokka's testing the Polar Grand Prix car today. Since we have a limited window of opportunity for testing today, I brought Katara along as well." The young woman in the center seat of the cab smiled at Bato, who nodded in response to Hakoda. Katara glanced back down, taking a sip from her own cup of coffee as the two men conversed. Clearly she was more awake than Sokka this morning, who had rested his head against the headrest on his seat and closed his eyes, trying in vain to get a couple more moments rest. She suppressed a laugh at the sight, shaking her head and returning to her thoughts once more. Today was the first day that her father had willingly brought her along, finally deeming her capable after years of competition in lower levels of racing. Her ambitions of contributing to the family racing team had finally come true, and she hoped not to let her father down so soon.

"Speaking of, has the test course been cleared of the snow we got last night?" Hakoda asked, gesturing towards Katara. "I'd prefer that we run the older car on that track considering its background, and it's also simpler to run.." She frowned slightly, giving a reassuring glance to her father as if to say that she would be fine regardless, but he still glanced worriedly back at her.

"It takes time to clear off all of that snow Hakoda.. sadly we haven't been able to yet. Our crews put priority on preparing the High Speed Ring since you specifically requested that course be ready today." Bato admitted, as Hakoda groaned.

"Well, that's a shame. Also, I'm sorry for having to call you in this morning.."

"No, it's fine." Bato interrupted, as Hakoda paused. "Kuruk had to tend to his sick son today, and I understand that. Besides, you guys have most everything worked out. I don't really need to be at the shop today." Hakoda nodded in response as Bato looked down at his watch.

"Anyway, you guys should be getting on in there. Have fun, and good luck today Katara." Bato smiled warmly at the young woman, who responded in kind.

"Thanks Bato. If you ask me, I think Sokka needs more of the luck.." Katara hid her hand as she motioned in the direction of her brother, who woke and mumbled an incoherent response to his sister's antics. Hakoda shook his head, and started to roll the window up.

"We'll bring you some hot chocolate and lunch later, alright?" Hakoda stopped the window before it closed, calling after Bato. Bato turned around and brightened a bit at the gesture, nodding his head in approval.

"I'd like that..." Bato watched as Hakoda nodded, rolling the window up completely as he drove through the gate, which lowered as he drove down the path towards the garage. Bato watched as the truck drove around the curve, and was soon reminded by the chilly wind to get back inside.

Minutes later the old dark blue truck had been parked in front of another building, this time the shop for Hakoda's Southern Crescent Racing. Hakoda and Sokka got out of the truck first so as to let Katara out, who was crammed between the two. (She seemed to recall that Hakoda assured her there would be enough space for the three of them in the truck… she probably should have known that it would be a tight fit...) What was turning out thus far to be a good morning for her was about to turn around, as Sokka tried to close the door in her face.

"Hey! What gives Sokka?" Katara exclaimed, propping the door open with her arm. She leaned across the cab to lock the driver's side door, as her father had forgotten to do so. Sokka didn't respond, still half asleep and waiting for Hakoda to unlock the door to the shop, who smiled as he heard the passenger's side door slam, and the harsh sound of footprints in the snow along the side of the building.

"Sokka! Are you listening to me?" She asked, spinning him around to look him in the eye.

"Oh.. what? I'm sorry sis', I'm usually used to it just being me and Dad.." Sokka shook his head as if recovering from a daze, as Katara huffed in exasperation.

"Dad, you can't seriously be worried about me and not have a single concern about him?" She plead, turning her attention to Hakoda, who had just opened the shop door. He shrugged, gesturing for them to go inside.

"He's like this all the time… usually clears right up about the time he gets into his firesuit." Katara rolled her eyes, following her brother into the shop. As Hakoda closed the door behind them, they removed their parkas and hung them next to the door. The interior of the shop was mostly empty with only three cars contained within. A couple of crewmembers were working on the three cars, each in a varied state of completion, while a couple of crew chiefs discussed strategies for their races nearby. Hakoda waved in response to one of the crew chiefs before turning around to his children.

"You guys head on to the locker rooms and get suited up. The cars will be ready for both of you, just be prepared in about 15 minutes okay?" Both nodded in response, and Katara led Sokka towards the other side of the shop. Hakoda shook his head as Sokka bumped into the doorway, correcting himself and heading into the locker room.

'Sometimes I worry about that boy..'

The Water Tribe siblings undressed in silence, Sokka because his coffee hadn't kicked in yet, and Katara because she knew conversation with Sokka at this time was ill advised. Besides, she didn't really have much to say to her brother, still slightly bitter over him shutting the door in her face.

Eventually the two had worked their way out of their normal clothes and into their firesuits. Katara's was a two tone blue with white stripes running down the sides as well as the front, leading up to her collar, while Sokka's was a darker navy color with grey and white stripes and stitching. Katara had asked as to why Sokka got a special firesuit multiple times, however never really got far in these discussions with her father. It seemed to her that while Sokka was allowed to experiment and grow as a professional racer, her father insisted upon limiting her from doing the same. It wasn't fair, and she wished he'd eventually cut her some slack.

"Hey, you know you're not supposed to wear that according to the rules right?" Sokka startled her from her thoughts as she was starting to zip up the front of her firesuit. He gestured towards his neck, slightly grinning in response to the way she had jumped in response to his voice.

"I know, but I always wear Mom's necklace.. its hidden under my firesuit, and they wouldn't know unless it came open.." Katara explained, bringing a hand up to brush the light blue pendant hung from her neck and closing her eyes. Sokka's expression softened and he placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"It's alright.. just don't let Dad find out about that.." He awkwardly stood there, not really sure what else to say. Their mother had always been a touchy subject with Katara, and he hadn't really felt like making this morning harder for her.

"Anyway… I'll see you outside.." He grabbed his helmet from his locker, closing it behind him. She responded with a nod, and he simply left the locker room. A single tear fell from her eyes at that moment, and she wiped at her eyes before more could follow, grabbing her helmet and following her brother.

They returned from the locker room to find that the two cars had already been outside. As the siblings walked outside, the garage door closed behind them, a clear effort from the crew still within the building to retain some heat for themselves.

Hakoda walked them through the basic plan for the day, Sokka and Katara paying attention as he outlined the course for them, giving them advice as to how to get the best out of their cars. Sokka's car was a bit faster than Katara's, being a different class of car, but generally the advice was the same for both of them.

"Okay, since that's all of the questions, that does it for my briefing. Be careful the first time around, we did have that snow last night and that might affect how your cars grip the track." The two drivers nodded in response to their father. Hakoda smiled as Sokka walked off to his car, as the briefing was done on the roof of Katara's car. Before she could fasten the various safety devices though, Hakoda put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned her head to find his concerned face once again.

"I want you especially to be careful. We just repaired that car, and we don't kn.."

"I'll be fine Dad."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I've driven this track before in my amateur leagues, and I'm ready for this. You've taught me well.. now just trust me a little bit okay?" Hakoda withdrew his hand, still looking unsure.

"Alright. I'm proud of you." Katara did her best to smile, however her face was concealed by her helmet. Hakoda helped her with the last belts, pulling one of the loops firmly against her. "Now, get on after your brother.." Hakoda joked, as the engine to Sokka's car roared to life. She gave a thumbs up as she closed the visor on her helmet, and Hakoda closed the door as her car's engine also roared. Sokka's car had already sped off, however Katara was quick to catch up, leaving a small cloud of snow in the air as she chased after her brother. Hakoda shook his head, climbing on top of the pit box that they had brought along. He exchanged a greeting with the other crew chief sitting atop the box, putting on his headset, and turned his attention to the computer screens in front of him.

"How're the cars handling guys?"

Sokka grunted as he lay into the throttle on the way out of the pit road, relieved of the g-forces pushing him back into the seat momentarily as he shifted into second gear. He turned the wheel to the left, easing around the soft corner as he accelerated, gradually increasing the turning angle as the turn sharpened. He shifted again as the course straightened, taking advantage of the short straight to look in his mirror. He hadn't expected to see his sister's car that close behind, the white stripes on her dark blue racecar filling much of his side mirror.

"Wh.. wha? What gives Katara?" He whined, giving his sister space as she moved to pass him on the inside. The bumper of her car came even with his door, and he looked over as best he could to find her looking back amused.

"You're slacking."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are.." Katara responded in a sing-song voice, as Sokka returned his attention to the road. He hit the brakes early strategically, allowing his sister to complete the pass as they entered the left-hander. He dove to the inside as she slowed for the corner, peeking just under her line to ease up to her quarter panel.

"Fine, but Dad said to be careful before we start pushing things." Sokka replied, his car clearly having an advantage on this next straight as he pulled ahead of her before entering the upcoming right hand corner. She'd planned this, conservatively using her brake as she closed on her brother's car, slightly tapping his bumper to shove him on a wider course through the corner as the turn quickly tightened into a left hander.

"Oh, it's on now.." Sokka grumbled as he let out of the gas to maintain control over his car, watching as Katara sped through the corner and into the tunnel. He quickly chased after her, closing the distance as they entered a rolling right turn, exiting the tunnel. Sokka's eyes adjusted as he prepared for the next corner, a left hander which brought them back to the front stretch. Katara allowed her brother the inside line this time, and he passed her through the exit of the corner. Her car's engine simply couldn't compete with his on this long stretch, and she gave the lead to him in light of that.

"How're the cars handling guys?" Hakoda's voice came over the radio, as the two cars thundered down the straightaway past pit road. Hakoda looked on anxiously as Sokka's car dove into the first turn again, soon followed by Katara's.

"Everything's running pretty good today Dad. Engine temperature is a little low, but like I told certain people on the course, I'm not pushing it as far as I could." Sokka replied, showing no shame as he emphasized his reference to his sister. Hakoda shook his head, watching the telemetry information on his screen as a laugh came over the radio.

"You act like the conditions ever stopped you in the past Sokka." Katara replied dryly, her car closing the distance between her own and Sokka's again as they dove into the second turn again. "She's not running too badly today Dad, she's just a little bit loose out of the corners." Katara continued, cranking the wheel back to the right as she exited the turn to correct the car, the rear end having whipped around on her.

"You think its loose because you're driving too quickly right now.." Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's analysis, noting herself as his car's rear end drifted slightly as they came out of the fourth turn.

"Sokka's right Katara, you're pulling good times right now but I think it's a bit soon to be pushing that hard." Katara sighed as her father agreed, slowing her pace slightly as they came around the last turn again. The fine tuning process continued for a while, the two drivers putting down a considerable number of laps on the track before coming in for a pit stop. By this time, Sokka had put some time between himself and Katara, so he came in while Katara was still half way around the track.

His car slid to a stop, and brake dust fell from out of the wheels of the car as the pit crew set about changing them out, the fuel man lugging his fuel can over the wall and placing it against the fuel pickup. Hakoda got down from atop the pitbox, opening the door on the car to talk to his son, who had removed his helmet and hung it from the roof.

"What do you think?" Hakoda queried, handing his son a towel. Despite the low temperature outside, the car was still a warm refuge from the rest of the world, and Sokka had many beads of sweat running down his face.

"I think we've finally got it." Sokka replied, graciously receiving the towel. He buried his face in the towel, wiping his forehead off thoroughly before continuing. "Car's still running too cold, could you adjust the vents to allow less air in?" Hakoda thought for a moment before nodding, turning around to give orders to the crewmembers that had completed their work. While two of the crew kneeled in front of the car, reaching under the bumper of the car to adjust the venting system in front of the radiator, Katara's car came to a stop behind Sokka's, and her crew set about to perform the same work, but Hakoda stopped them before they could.

"That's enough for today; you guys can go ahead and go back inside." The pit crew shrugged, moving back over the wall to pack up their equipment. Katara had calmly removed her helmet in a similar fashion to her brother, however she was clearly displeased with this turn of events, opening her own door and sliding out from within the rollcage.

"You can't be serious? The car was running so well and…" Katara started, gesturing with her hands towards the car and the track.

"Katara!" Hakoda interrupted, stopping her train of thought. He sighed, removing the headset from his head, rubbing his cheek in visible annoyance. "I told you that we would only be making sure it could run today, and you agreed before we left home."

"But the Polar Grand Prix.." Katara whispered, her face going from anger to disappointment.

"There was never any intention of entering this car in that race." Hakoda explained, stepping closer to his daughter as her head fell. "Hey now.." He reached out to her chin, pulling her head up to look her in the face. "Your time will come. We don't have anything ready for you to run.."

"Yes we do! This," She motioned at the car again, "This car is ready to run. You saw out there, I'd be able to enter in one of the lower classes! I was keeping up with Sokka for the first couple of laps!" She jerked out of her father's grasp, turning around and holding her arms close to herself.

"The deadline to register has already passed Katara… I'm sorry." Hakoda responded, watching as Katara's posture slouched. He had a point, and she realized that. Hakoda's hand extended again to attempt to hug her, but she shrugged his hand off and stormed away towards the garage, following after the pit crew Hakoda had sent away.

"What's with her?" Sokka had moved to sit on his car's rollcage, and watched as Katara retreated away. He looked up confused at his father, expecting an answer as his father sighed.

"I wish I knew…" Hakoda replied, sitting on the pit wall and looking up at his son, rolling his headset around in his hands. Sokka sat for a moment, the only sounds being the air wrenches that the crew was using to perform their final checks on the lugnuts for the tires.

"You know she really wants to help right?" Hakoda looked up at his son, who had gestured with his head in Katara's direction.

"I know… and she's ready." Hakoda added, as his son had opened his mouth to speak again. "But I'm not ready just quite yet." Hakoda whispered, Sokka nodding his head in understanding. A few more moments passed, and Sokka eventually rolled himself back into the driver's seat.

"Well, get back out there and try that setup out." Hakoda said, noting that the crewmembers had crawled out from under the front bumper of the car. Sokka smiled, putting his helmet back on as his father closed the door, tapping the roof twice as a gesture for him to go. Sokka turned the engine back on, listening as it eagerly responded. Hakoda watched as his son drove on down the pit road alone, turning back to look at the older vehicle.

'I'll have to talk to her sometime..' Hakoda thought, shaking his head as he went back over the wall to join the crew chief on the pitbox.

By the time that Sokka had got back on the track to practice some more, Katara was already in the locker rooms getting back into her regular clothes. She'd thought that her father finally was willing to let her into the family business, allowing her to test the cars and maybe even drive in a race! She groaned at these thoughts, knowing that while her father was hesitant to allow her into the higher tiers of racing, she'd received plenty of invitations to do so with other teams. Hakoda thought that by intercepting these letters she wouldn't know of the international interest in her talents, but she'd caught him one night, as if the group of observers while she practiced for local events wasn't enough.

Once comfortably clothed again she decided to walk it off, knowing that she'd have a considerable amount of time before Sokka and her father would be done. Not even noticed by any of the crew in the shop (Until she opened the door anyway, they'd tired of random blasts of cold air coming in), Katara exited the building, pulling her hood over her head as she headed towards the hill overlooking part of the High Speed Ring. It would provide her with a place to watch over Sokka's progress without the presence of her father, which was something she intended to delay the inclusion of as much as possible.

Needless to say, she'd chosen an observation point well. She couldn't see much further than the track, due in part to the patches of trees that surrounded the track, however she supposed that was enough. After watching for a couple of minutes, she was bored. Bored would actually be putting it kindly, the action of this moment greatly paled in comparison to the fun that she'd been having not even half an hour ago.

Katara stood up and took a waterbending stance, deciding to practice that since her father didn't want her on the track practicing her other skill. She drew water from the peak of a snow drift, and something became apparently wrong immediately. The water dropped to the ground as she watched the patch of snow implode upon itself, as if it had been held up by something. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Katara wandered over to where the pile once stood and began digging into it.

Katara decided that manual labor was not the way to go about this after a moment of digging. Assuming her waterbending stance again, she carefully began moving the snow aside in small piles, eventually unearthing what looked like the rear end of a car. This interested her, not for the fact that there was a car buried under the snow at a track they'd been to hundreds of times before, but the nature of the car itself. It didn't look like anything she'd seen since she was born, painted white with a solid brown stripe running down the center of it. This was especially surprising, considering that she'd seen drivers, and by extension, the cars of all of the nations. Deciding to dig further, she bent more of the snow away from the car, stopping when she heard a weak groan from the direction of the car.

Aang had seen better days, that much was for certain. His head throbbed for whatever reason; he had pain in his arms comparable to the aftermath of running an endurance race, and apparently… he was injured? Aang tried to remember how he'd got where he was, but couldn't come up with anything, blindly reaching for the door to open it. He eventually found his mark, managing to silently open the door, figuring that if the monks had seen him at this point in time he was likely in for an earful, sleeping in his car.

He tried to open his eyes, but he was initially unable to focus. Deciding to try getting out without looking, he placed his feet on what he thought would be solid ground, surprised when he fell sideways onto… snow? He groaned as cold moisture seeped through his firesuit, the rather loud gasp in the background not registering with him due to his headache. No, instead at that moment it had only intensified slightly, and he brought a hand up to hold his head, not knowing of another's presence.

Katara looked down at the young man, who was still groaning in pain. Seeing as how she might've already been in for a lecture from Hakoda, digging up something when she probably should have informed somebody else, she descended into the hole to help the man. Being as quiet as possible, she made her way next to the man, who had rolled over and was now on his back. She took a moment to look him over, and could tell that he needed help. He wore a simple white firesuit, strangely accompanying this with a leather helmet.

'That wouldn't do him much in the event of a crash…' Katara thought. Before she could complete that thought and run off to get help, his eyes opened again…

Aang decided to try opening his eyes again, and this time his vision cleared enough for his tastes. He gasped as a young woman came into his focus, quite potentially one of the most beautiful he'd ever seen! Tanned skin, blue eyes, he could go on… but he'd never seen anything better in his travels.

"Wh.. where am I?" Aang whispered, struggling to find his voice at the time. He would say it was because of what he'd just seen, but he couldn't lie that for whatever reason he physically couldn't speak at the moment.

"You're in the Southern Water Tribe…" The young woman replied, and he silently comprehended this. What exactly was he doing… wait… that was right, he'd just got done with a race.

"Could you tell me… where's Monk Gyatso?" Aang found the strength in his voice returning, but it was still soft.

"Who?" The young woman seemed confused, apparently having never heard of the man. Aang would have normally chuckled to himself, however he felt that he had to explain himself at this time.

"One of the crew chiefs to Momo Motorsport?"

"I've never heard of them…" Aang's face fell, she must not have been into the racing scene. Strange, he thought, as most of the Water Tribe friends and their families were very much into it. Suddenly, he sneezed, bumping his head into the open door behind him and knocking him out. The young woman cried out as he did, shaking him for a moment in an attempt to wake him up, but he was out cold…

Katara shook the young man in an attempt to wake him, trying in vain to bring him back immediately. She had so many questions, the least of which his name, but then she remembered her original intent upon finding him. She stood up, looking around anxiously to make sure that nobody… or nothing would hurt him while she was gone, and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she found nothing around her. She looked back down at the young man, noticing that his black hair was slightly swaying in the wind…

'No Katara, focus!' She mentally scolded herself, shaking her head. She was still slightly worried about leaving the young man behind, and opted to place his leather helmet over his face to cover it from the elements while she was gone, making sure it was placed lightly enough to give him space to breathe. Satisfied with her handiwork, she finally climbed out of the hole she'd dug, and ran as quickly as she could to find her father…

She returned to find him at the garage, talking about the progress made in tuning the Polar Grand Prix car. Hakoda and Sokka stopped and looked in her direction, she supposed that it was probably because she was running, and regarded her as she stopped to catch her breath.

"What's wrong Katara?" Hakoda inquired kindly, conveying complete concern for whatever was plaguing her at the moment. Sokka decided to head off towards the locker rooms, carrying both his and Katara's helmets along with him.

"I found somebody, he needs our help…" Katara finally managed, still taking deep breaths to steady herself. Hakoda's head cocked inquisitively, and she further explained. "There was a wrecked car out beside the course, and I found him inside of it." This seemed to be enough for Hakoda, as he turned around, calling for one of the crew idly standing by outside of the garage to contact the paramedics. Katara started pacing soon after, and before Hakoda could make an effort to attempt to calm her down, three of the men in orange jackets appeared from around the corner, carrying a couple of bags and a stretcher, just in case. Katara visibly brightened at this sight, and Hakoda turned back to her.

"Take us to where you found this person Katara, we should be able to get him some help."

The small group followed Katara as she followed the path back up the hill again, finally arriving at the small hole again. It had started snowing again, however the sun was still peeking out from behind the clouds. Katara looked down at the young man as she had before, but when the paramedics and Hakoda reached the rim of the hole, they gasped in surprise. Katara looked up in confusion, noting with a slight bit of humor that one of the paramedics' mouths was open in surprise. They shook off their surprise and set about their work, preparing the young man for transport while checking him over for any obvious injuries. Hakoda observed them as they worked, deep in thought as Katara glanced over at him.

"Dad?" Katara asked, the snow flurries falling gently around them. "Is there something I don't know about here?" Hakoda glanced over at his daughter reassuredly.

"I'll tell you tonight… it's just that we haven't seen anything like this in so long…" Hakoda explained, gesturing into the hole. He ran his hand along the rear bumper of the car that was in the hole, a look of recollection flashing across his face momentarily. "I'd just about thought myself that I would never come to see one of these again…" Realization dawned upon Katara, her brain putting the hints that her father was dropping together.

"This wouldn't be related to the Air Nomads would it?" Katara moved closer to her father, speaking in a lower voice to conserve privacy. Hakoda nodded in response, and Katara glanced back towards the paramedics, who were busy getting the stretcher out of the hole. One had bent a step mid-way with his waterbending so that they could get out of the hole easier. They had started on their way back down the hill, and Katara spared a moment from her current thoughts.

"Would you mind if.." Katara started nervously, and Hakoda stopped his inspection of the car to look back at his daughter. She was searching for the right words to say, and he smiled.

"Go. He probably doesn't have any parents or guardians to look after him anymore, so he needs somebody to be there for him when he wakes up, and more predominantly to make sure they take care of him in the meantime. From what Sokka's been telling me, you make a good motherly figure…" Hakoda joked, his face softening as her expression slowly formed into a smile. She hugged her Dad, who was surprised at first but returned the gesture, finding that she left all too soon. Right as he had relaxed into the embrace, she was already gone and following after the paramedics, informing them that she would be coming along.

Hakoda watched as his daughter escorted the paramedics to the ambulance, stifling the urge to laugh when Sokka emerged from the garage. He could only assume that he asked what was going on, and Hakoda turned his attention back to the car in front of him. As he'd started inspecting the immaculate interior of the car, his son had finally arrived and looked curiously into the hole.

"What's this old piece of junk Dad?" Sokka asked, clearly thinking little of the very valuable antique sitting in front of him. Hakoda laughed dryly at his son, poking his head out of the door to find him looking back confusedly.

"This.. as you put it, old piece of junk," Hakoda motioned with air quotes, "just happens to be a very rare Air Nomad race car." Sokka gasped and looked upon the car in a new light, ironically as the sky began to darken. "Sokka, I think we stumbled upon a very important discovery today, and I ask you not to tell anybody outside of our family about this." Hakoda looked up with a serious face at his son, who nodded in response.

"Now, go and get the truck and bring something to pull with. We're getting this car out of this hole and into the shop."

"But what about the others?" Sokka asked, noting that his father had said not to tell anybody outside of the family. Hakoda thought for a moment before an idea struck him.

"Get one of the car covers while you're at it.. I'd rather not cover this up, but we can't take any chances with it…" Sokka nodded, heading back down the hill to fulfill his father's demands. Hakoda returned his attention to the interior of the car, brushing a hand over the Air Nomad symbol on the hub of the steering wheel.

'Let's see what kind of secrets you have inside of you…' Hakoda thought, opening the glove compartment and looking through the various documents within.

Author's Note: Alright, not as bad of an end to the first chapter as I'd originally expected. I'd originally written a different ending to the story, but I decided against it because it made Katara seem too out of character. Also had to rewrite a line or two because I felt she was exhibiting Season 1 Zuko traits a bit too much at times.

Now that you sat through all of that (Or scrolled all the way down, either way.. :P), some background information on the AU that I've made. The story was originally intended as an Alternate Universe set in 1960's esque technology in the Avatar World. The story still follows along the same lines but modified slightly, the Fire Nation's competitors are closing in on seizing control of the international scope of the sport of racing from a competitive and official standpoint. The sport used to have more rules and regulations in place, but due to the FN's influence they've become more relaxed about things, and as a result it's become more dangerous to be a professional driver.

The Air Nomads were eliminated from competition some 30 years ago or so, and the original storyline element that they were all killed was retained. Aang's the last remaining Air Nomad, and as to how he got there.. that will be revealed later, probably in the next chapter.

Speaking of Aang, he's 16, Katara's 18, and Sokka's 19. I'm yet to work out Hakoda and Bato, but that'll come soon, I promise.

Read and Review please! Feedback would be appreciated, since this'll be my first major story project.