Book I: Water
Chapter 1: The Boy in the Iceberg
South Pole - Ten Years After Sozin's Comet
It was a clear, still afternoon in the late autumn. The hunting party, small as it was, had already returned for the season, and the winter stores in the South Pole's only village were well stocked. Still, on a whim, the two of them had decided to go fishing.
Katara carefully paddled the canoe amid the ice floes. She used slow, broad strokes, disturbing the water as little as possible, keeping their pace steady and avoiding collision with the ice. It would have been easier to do with her bending, but she preferred to do these things by hand from time to time. She supposed in some way she was still proving to Sokka that she could, even if Sokka was far away in the Earth Kingdom, and even if she and her brother were both too old for such childish competition.
Sitting in the front of the canoe, her husband held a spear at the ready in one hand, eyes trained for any sign of life beneath the water. There was a silvery flash of something, just ahead of them, and he launched the spear in a perfect arc, quickly hauling it back by the line gripped in his other hand to find - nothing. He sighed in frustration.
"Hey," Katara said cheerfully, "if we don't catch anything, it's not like we'll starve."
"No," he agreed. "I'll just still be the worst fisherman in the village."
She laid her paddle across her knees as their course brought them into more open waters, farther from the ice. "That's okay," she reassured him. "You have other talents we keep you around for."
He gave her a grunt of acknowledgement as he hefted the spear again, eyes once more scanning the water. Idly, Katara reached out with her bending, feeling the vastness of the ocean around them, its soothing push and pull. She remembered the years before she'd had any formal training in waterbending, when she'd been able to feel the water calling to her but hadn't been able to answer. The steady rhythm of the ocean had been almost maddening, then.
With an easy flick of her wrist, Katara drew a shimmering orb of water out of the sea - an orb that just happened to contain a single dark-scaled fish, now trapped.
"Zuko," she called out to her husband, whose gaze was still directed ahead. He gave no response, too fixated on his task. "Zuko, look," she called again, floating the globe of water nearer to him - just as he drew back his arm to launch the spear. The butt of the spear hit the water bubble, which burst, soaking Zuko's parka. The fish flopped out of the canoe and back into the freedom of the sea.
Zuko turned and glared at her over his shoulder, his right eye almost as narrow as his left. "Stop showing off," he said irritably.
Katara laughed affectionately and bended the water out of his clothes as a peace offering. "I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I'm not much good at fishing either."
Zuko laid down his spear in defeat. "Why did we even come out here?" he complained, though Katara could see a hint of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.
"It was your idea, dear," she reminded him.
Zuko turned around fully, sitting backwards in the canoe to face her. He leaned forward so their noses were almost touching. "What if I have a different idea now?" he asked, no longer fighting the earnest grin.
"Hmm," Katara replied, tilting her head to one side as if considering. "I don't think you'll catch any fish that way." She tapped one finger playfully against his lips.
"We won't starve," Zuko said with a shrug, leaning in closer still. Katara giggled coquettishly - and was thrown ungracefully on top of him as the canoe collided with something solid and came to a sudden halt.
Stupid, Katara chastised herself as they regained their balance. She'd been too busy flirting with her husband to notice they had drifted back towards a very large ice floe. Zuko swore softly as water began to pool in the bottom of the canoe. They clambered out onto the ice, then hauled the damaged canoe after them.
"Give me the patch kit," Zuko said.
"The patch kit," Katara repeated, dumbfounded.
"Yeah," Zuko said. "You have it, don't you?"
"I thought you had it."
They stared at each other blankly for a moment as the reality of their situation sank in - stranded on an ice floe with a damaged canoe and no way to repair it, and it was entirely their own fault. Zuko's mouth set in a tight frown, just a hint of smoke in the breath he forced out through his nose.
Katara was as mad at herself as she was at him, and she hadn't really intended to lash out with her bending as she turned away and gave a frustrated yell, stomping one foot. Nevertheless, the ice trembled as the heel of her boot connected with it, bucking and fracturing at her outburst - or perhaps for some other reason. Something large and round was suddenly breaking through the ice from beneath them. It must have been an iceberg, trapped under the water, though it was unlike any Katara had ever seen before. Zuko caught her hand as they fought for their balance.
When the tremors stopped, Katara took one hesitant step towards the massive object, a swirling sphere of ice. It couldn't be natural, she realized. Someone had made this iceberg with waterbending - but why? She peered closer, and saw within a small, dark shape.
"Zuko," she gasped, squeezing his hand tighter. "There's a boy in there!"
"What?" Zuko asked incredulously. They moved carefully towards the iceberg, wary of the ice beng unstable. Zuko looked closer. "You're right," he said in surprise. "How would someone get inside an iceberg?"
"The same way we're going to get him out," Katara replied. She raised one hand above her head, brought it down with a sweeping motion, and pushed. The icy sphere cracked open down the middle, from top to bottom - and a blast of warm, misty air shot out from the inside of the iceberg, followed by a beam of blue light straight into the air.
Definitely not natural, Katara thought as they shielded their eyes from the nearly blinding brightness.
The mist soon cleared and the light faded, revealing the iceberg now fully opened, and in the middle of it a boy dressed in bright orange and yellow. His eyes and the arrows tattooed on his hands and his bald head glowed blue for just a moment, then faded as he went limp and collapsed.
Katara and Zuko rushed to the boy's side. "Do you think...he can't be Fire Nation, can he?" Katara asked as she knelt beside him. The boy was breathing shallowly but had no apparent injuries, and showed no sign of frostbite. He certainly wasn't Water Tribe, and the way he was dressed suggested fire more than earth.
"No," Zuko answered quickly, then continued in disbelief, "Those are airbender tattoos."
Katara looked up at him sharply. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," he replied, and she knew he, of all people, would know how to recognize an airbender if and when he ever saw one. But before they could discuss the implications of his tattoos any further, the boy took a deep, shuddering breath, and his eyes flickered open. He glanced around in confusion for a moment before meeting Katara's gaze.
"Can you hear me?" she asked gently. "Are you hurt?"
"I need…" they boy said in a hoarse whisper. "I need to ask you something…"
"Alright," Katara said, reaching for her water skin. She wondered if he was fully aware of his surroundings. Maybe he had a concussion…
Suddenly the boy's face brightened, and his eyes opened fully, clear and alert. "Can I go penguin sledding?" he asked cheerfully, sitting up.
Katara sat back on her heels. "What?" Zuko asked in surprise.
"Penguin sledding," the boy repeated, leaping to his feet with far more energy than someone who until recently had been frozen in solid ice had any right to have. "That's why I came to the South Pole. It's lots of fun! Do you know where the penguins are right now? Can you show me?"
"Wait a minute," Zuko cut off the boy's chatter as Katara got to her feet. "Back up. Who are you?"
"Oh, right, I'm Aang," the boy said with a bright smile and a polite bow. "Nice to meet you!"
"Aang," Katara said, "are you sure you're alright? You were…" She trailed off, unsure how to tell him. If he really didn't know…
"You were frozen in an iceberg," Zuko said bluntly. Trust him to be direct.
"Huh," Aang said, looking around him at the shattered remains of the icy sphere that had encased him moments ago. "I guess I was." He didn't seem particularly bothered by the idea.
"How did you-" Zuko began, but he was interrupted by Aang.
"Appa!" the boy cried out suddenly, sounding concerned at last. "Where is he? He must have been frozen with me!"
"Who's Appa?" Katara asked.
A deep, lowing sound answered her question, and an enormous, shaggy head emerged from the water behind Aang. The boy gave a cry of delight and ran towards the creature to whom the head belonged - a massive beast with wide-set eyes and long, pointed horns. Only the saddle affixed to its back, which evidenced the creature's domestication, kept Katara from being afraid.
"This is Appa," Aang explained, patting the creature affectionately. "He's my flying bison."
"That thing can fly?" Katara asked skeptically. Right now all it was doing was treading water, and it didn't have wings or any other apparent means of flight. She looked to Zuko, who merely shrugged.
"They say all the Air Nomads had flying bisons," he confirmed. "But obviously I've never seen one."
"Really?" Aang asked, turning to look at them in surprise with one hand still on the bison's snout.
"Well," Katara said carefully, giving Zuko a warning look lest he bluntly reveal anything else. "Nobody's seen any Air Nomads in a really long time."
Aang stared at her uncomprehendingly for a long moment. "Wow," he said at last, "I didn't realize the South Pole was that isolated." He looked at Zuko. "You're here, after all."
Zuko tensed. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, an uncomfortable edge to his voice. Katara laid a hand on his arm.
"Oh, it's just...I thought you were Fire Nation," Aang answered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry, I just assumed…"
Katara felt Zuko relax slightly. "It's okay," she said. "He is Fire Nation. But it's not just the South Pole. We've never seen Air Nomads anywhere."
Aang shook his head. "We're all over the place," he insisted. But before Katara could think of a way to gently inform him that actually, Air Nomads were not all over the place, but were as far as anyone knew an extinct race, he shrugged and changed the subject.
"Anyway," he said brightly. "What about those penguins?"
"I think we should focus on getting back to the village," Zuko said. Katara nodded in agreement. With their canoe still useless, she'd have to waterbend the ice floe they were on back towards home - and an ice floe was considerably less maneuverable. Getting back to the village would be a difficult task. Unless…
"Can the bison really fly?" she asked Zuko.
"Of course!" Aang insisted as Zuko shrugged again.
"It's possible," Zuko conceded. "I always assumed that was just a legend, but the badgermoles can really earthbend, after all."
Aang gave Zuko a strange look. "You've been to the Earth Kingdom and seen badgermoles, but you've never met an airbender?" he asked incredulously. Zuko and Katara exchanged an awkward glance, but said nothing. "Nevermind," Aang continued, "Appa really can fly. Climb on and I'll prove it to you."
He lept effortlessly to sit atop the bison's head, landing gently in a cross legged position with impossible ease. Impossible unless… Katara met Zuko's eyes again and knew he was thinking the same thing. Airbending.
With comparably far less grace, Zuko and Katara climbed up to sit in the saddle on the bison's back. Aang took up the reins tied to the beast's horns and said with a grin, "Now watch this. Appa, yip yip!" He flicked the reins, and the bison gave a great bellow, lurched forward, rose out of the water a few feet - and promptly splashed back down.
"Wow," Zuko deadpanned. "That really doesn't live up to the stories."
Aang gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sure Appa's just tired, aren't you buddy?" He patted the bison's head affectionately again. Appa snorted as if in agreement - but he did begin to swim forward, in the direction of the village. They might not be flying, but they could still get home this way.
"How is he tired," Zuko muttered. "He's been asleep for over a hundred-" Katara gave him another pointed look, and he didn't finish that thought. Aang didn't seem to have heard him anyway.
"I never got your names," the boy called over his shoulder.
"I'm Katara," she replied, leaning against the front of the saddle. "And this is my husband, Zuko."
Aang turned around to face them, clearly trusting Appa to navigate the waters on his own. "So you both live here?" he asked. Katara nodded in confirmation. Aang looked between them curiously, fiddling with the cuff of his sleeve for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking, Zuko," he began politely, "how did a firebender end up living at the South Pole?"
"Who said I was a firebender?" Zuko deflected.
"Well, you've obviously fought a firebender," Aang said innocently. Katara sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing Zuko was not the only one whose bluntness would make this conversation difficult. Aang at least had the excuse of being a child.
"It's a long story," Zuko said curtly.
"How you got here?" Aang asked. "Or how you got that scar?"
"Both, actually!" Katara cut in forcefully. "But yes, Zuko is a firebender. We met in the Earth Kingdom and came back here after we got married. That's the short version."
"Okay," Aang said, finally seeming to realize he was prying into a sensitive subject. To Katara's relief, he asked no further questions on the matter.
Fire Nation Colonies - Ten Years Earlier
Prince Zuko had been in a sour mood ever since his ship had pulled into the naval base that morning. If he was being honest with himself, he had probably been in a sour mood for most of the past three years, two months, and eleven days. But seeing the Fire Nation flag flying over the small outpost in the colonies, knowing that it wasn't really home but that it was as close as he was allowed to get, only made things worse.
Ostensibly, they were only there to reprovision the ship anyway, which meant if he wanted to stay in his quarters all day no one could really say anything about it. The Avatar obviously wasn't hiding on a Fire Nation military base, so it's not like he had to go out and personally look for him at this particular port of call on their interminable journey.
There was another reason they had come here, but it could wait. As curious as Zuko was about Zhao's movements - for the recently promoted Admiral was clearly up to something - he did not particularly relish the idea of dropping in on him for a social visit in order to try to glean some information that way. The subtleties of diplomacy were not his strength, and whatever was going on wasn't likely to be good news anyway. If he didn't want to face it until tomorrow, he didn't have to.
Uncle had tried to convince him to join the crew for music night earlier that evening, but he had refused, preferring solitude. It would give him time to think about how he'd go about talking to Zhao tomorrow, without letting Zhao know he was trying to discover what his secret plan was. Or so he justified his seclusion to himself, for in reality he didn't want to think about it at all.
He had just sat up on his cot with the intention of trying to meditate in order to clear his mind when there came a knock at his door. "Go away, Uncle," Zuko shouted irritably without opening the door. "I'm not playing the tsungi horn."
The door opened in spite of his protests. "You have a visitor, Prince Zuko," came his uncle's voice, a subtle edge to his usual calm tone. Into the room stepped Admiral Zhao himself.
"It's good to see you again," Zhao said smoothly.
"Likewise," Zuko said through gritted teeth. Probably it was not very convincing. Behind the Admiral's back, Uncle gave him a warning look. "I was planning to call on you tomorrow," Zuko hastily added, hoping it sounded at least marginally friendlier.
"Well then, I've just spared you the trouble," Zhao said, glancing around Zuko's spartan quarters. He half turned to inspect the dual swords hung on one wall. "I know you're...very busy," he continued with more than a hint of condescension. "Even with the weight recently lifted off your shoulders."
Zuko got to his feet. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked tensely.
"Oh," Zhao replied almost disinterestedly, lifting one sword off the wall and testing its weight. "Hadn't you heard? Your sister was recognized as heir to the throne on her birthday."
"What?" Zuko asked in disbelief. "No one told me…"
Zhao shrugged, returning the sword to its mounting on the wall. "An official announcement was sent to all naval officers. You didn't get one?"
"No," Zuko bit out. He had written a brief, formal letter to Azula several weeks ago, wishing her a happy fifteenth birthday. He'd even included a gift of a jade hair comb, because Uncle had said it was the polite thing to do. He had sent a letter to his father at the same time, but he'd received no response from either of them. He never did. He turned angrily to his uncle. "Did you know about this?"
"I did not," Iroh said, shaking his head sadly. "It seems the Fire Lord has neglected to keep me in the loop as well."
"An oversight, I'm sure," said Zhao in a tone that implied the opposite. "But I didn't come here just to give you the news. I have an offer for you."
Zuko swallowed his growing anger, forcing himself to focus on the real reason he'd wanted to come here, to talk to Zhao. Perhaps his offer would give some hint at what he was planning. "I'm listening," Zuko said.
"I've been gathering forces for a campaign," Zhao began, confirming what Zuko had already surmised. "I know your priority is searching for the Avatar, but given the...ah...lack of urgency of that quest, I thought perhaps you might suspend it temporarily and join me."
"I don't know," Zuko replied, willfully ignoring the latest insult. "As you said, I'm very busy."
"Of course," Zhao said, nodding understandingly. "But you may find it hard to attend to your...duties otherwise. I will be requisitioning your ship and your crew, whether you come with them or not."
"You can't do that," Zuko growled.
"As a matter of fact," Iroh cut in, "he can." Turning to Zhao, he continued pointedly, "I'm sure my nephew would be interested to hear more of what this campaign would involve."
"I'm sure he would," Zhao agreed. "And he will, if he decides to join us. But rest assured, even though he won't be able to participate in any officially recognized capacity, it will be a tremendous opportunity for Zuko to defend the Fire Nation's honor."
"There is no greater cause worth fighting for," Iroh replied with a smile and a bow of his head, while Zuko fumed silently, not trusting himself to speak.
"Indeed," said Zhao. Returning his attention to Zuko, he added, "I'll give you a day to think it over. Let me know your decision by tomorrow night." He strode towards the door, half turning back just as he reached it. "Oh, and I think you need to keep up with your swordsmanship more," he added casually. "Your blades are dull." With that final jibe, he took his leave at last.
When the door closed behind him, Zuko threw back his head and let out a frustrated yell, flames licking the metal ceiling.
"Who does Zhao think he is?" Zuko demanded. "He can't just come in here and take my crew, my ship, and expect me to serve under him like some no-name new recruit!"
"Prince Zuko," Iroh said, "is Zhao really the person you are angry with right now?"
"Who else should I be angry with?" Zuko asked tersely, looking away from his uncle.
There was a moment of tense silence, the obvious answer hanging unspoken in the air. Finally Iroh sighed. "He has treated you very unfairly," he said in a low voice.
Zuko's hands balled into fists. "I should have seen it coming," he said bitterly. "I've failed the task he gave me, failed to restore my honor. What else would he do?"
"Nephew," his uncle began gently, "if you have been unsuccessful in your search for the Avatar, it is through no fault of your own. For over three years you have done all that was humanly possible to find him. Your father could not reasonably expect more of you."
"It still wasn't enough," Zuko insisted.
"Indeed," his uncle replied. "Have you asked yourself why?"
Zuko stubbornly ignored the painful, constricting feeling in his chest. He said nothing, and continued to avoid Iroh's gaze. Eventually, he heard Iroh give another sigh, and head for the door.
"When you are ready to talk about it, you know where to find me," his uncle said, and then left.
Zuko remained still for a moment, staring at the wall. Then, with a jerking movement, he went to the trunk at the foot of his cot that contained his belongings. Throwing it open with more force than necessary, he rummaged around until he found a whetstone. Marching to the opposite wall, he took down both of the swords, then sat on the cot and set himself to sharpening the dual blades.
South Pole - Ten Years After Sozin's Comet
Appa turned out to be a much faster swimmer than Katara would have guessed, and they reached the shores by the village soon. The rest of the short trip had mostly been filled by Aang's idle chatter about the various types of animals he had found - and ridden - in his travels all over the world.
His stories of the Earth Kingdom in particular painted a picture of vast forests and lush jungles that Katara had never known, with no mention of the evils that now haunted that broken and conquered land. And though he hadn't claimed to have seen one personally, his reference to other Air Nomads actually meeting dragons had given both Zuko and Katara pause - though neither had said anything to contradict him.
Appa climbed ashore and lurched into a sitting position. "I know, buddy, you're tired," Aang said as he leapt down from the bison's head, landing lightly on his feet. Zuko and Katara climbed down after him. "Well, now what?" Aang asked, looking at them expectantly.
"We need to...talk to some people," Zuko said lamely. The village council certainly would have much to discuss about their visitor.
"I can show you around the village first," Katara offered. Aang brightened at that suggestion.
The three of them headed first for the modest ice house where Zuko and Katara lived. It was towards the center of the village, so several people saw them. Children stopped and stared openly, while adults eyed the strangely dressed outsider with more subtle suspicion - but Aang seemed oblivious, greeting everyone with a smile and a friendly wave.
When they ducked through the door of their house at last, Katara let out a sigh of relief. "Gran Gran?" she called out, "We're back!"
Her grandmother came into the main room of the house, holding a small boy with very dark hair by the hand. Katara smiled as her son immediately dropped Gran Gran's hand and ran to her with a happy shout of "Mommy!" She scooped him into a hug and he laughed, his golden eyes sparkling in the dim light filtered through the blue ice-windows.
Zuko came to her side and planted a kiss on top of the boy's head. "Hello, Arvik," he said. "Were you good for Gran Gran?"
"Yes, Daddy! I was!" Arvik replied earnestly. Katara looked to Gran Gran, who nodded in confirmation before her eyes drifted curiously to the young stranger behind her granddaughter.
Turning back to Aang, Katara introduced her son to the older boy. "Arvik, this is Aang. Say hello." Arvik gave a little wave, suddenly shy. Fortunately, Aang was enthusiastic enough for the both of them.
"Hi, Arvik!" he said. "Nice to meet you! How old are you?"
Arvik looked at his fingers and carefully counted out three of them. "This many," he said, holding up his hand. "Almost."
"His birthday is in two months," Zuko clarified, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Wow," Aang replied solemnly. "I'm this many." He held up both hands with all ten fingers extended. "Plus two," he added.
"That's a lot," said Arvik, impressed.
"And this is my grandmother," Katara continued her introductions. Aang placed his two fists together in front of him and bowed respectfully to the elder woman. Gran Gran inclined her head by way of returning the greeting, approving of the strange boy's manners, at least.
"Shall we show Aang around so he can meet everyone?" Katara asked her son. Arvik smiled up at her and gave a small nod. "Zuko," she said, "while we do that, why don't you and Gran Gran gather those people we need to talk to?" Zuko gave her a nod of his own, while Gran Gran continued to silently study Aang until they had left the house.
Not far away, in an open area between two houses, they found a group of children playing. The game came to a halt as they noticed Aang.
"Batok," Katara called to one of the older boys close to Aang's age. "This is Aang. Aang, this is Batok. He's my cousin."
"Hi, Aang," Batok said cautiously, looking to Katara for further clarification as to who this newcomer was. When none was forthcoming, he shrugged. "Hey, Arvik!" he greeted the younger boy at her side, sweeping him up onto his shoulders. Arvik laughed delightedly.
"Nice to meet you, Batok," Aang replied to Batok's much less formal greeting.
"Why are you dressed like that?" one of the younger children who had crowded around them asked. Katara gave the girl, Litula, a sharp look, but Aang didn't seem offended by the question.
"This is how all airbenders dress," he answered, holding out his arms.
"Are you an airbender?" another boy, Vanook, asked in an awed tone.
"Yep!" Aang answered proudly, confirming what Katara had by now long suspected to be true. The other children clamored for a demonstration, and Aang was happy to oblige them.
He first removed two marbles from his pocket and made them whirl around on a tiny air current between his two hands, which the children loved, but which Katara privately thought was more of a parlor trick than an actual bending form. But even she was impressed by his subsequent demonstration of what he called an "air scooter" - a spinning ball of air that he rode around the clearing at high speed. Soon he was giving the younger children rides, while the older ones looked on with barely concealed envy.
"Aang," she called out to him after a while, "will you be alright with Batok and the others? I should go find Zuko."
"Sure!" Aang replied. In truth he was barely paying any attention to her, too busy showing off for the other kids now. Shaking her head, she gave Arvik a quick kiss goodbye, told Batok to keep an eye on both him and Aang, and left the children to their games.
In spite of what she'd said to Aang, she knew exactly where Zuko would be - in the lodge at the heart of the village, where the councils met. Sure enough, when she entered the lodge, she found him just finishing giving his account of how they had found Aang to the assembled council members. As he was not on the council himself, Zuko was seated on a cushion in the center of the room, while the elders sat in a semicircle of chairs before him.
Gran Gran was there, as chief matriarch, and Amaruk, as the leader of the delegation that had come to the South Pole from the Northern Water Tribe several years ago. The two of them sat in the middle of the curved row of chairs. Kida, the senior healer, sat to the right of Amaruk, and the shaman Inuk, a wizened old man, sat to the left of Gran Gran. To the right of Kida sat Ikino, the youngest member of the council. He was the most senior of the northern warriors, after Amaruk himself.
There was an empty chair next to Inuk. As daughter of the chief, Katara had the right to take the final seat, even though she was not formally a member of the council. Today, she chose to sit next to Zuko instead.
"If what your husband tells us is true, Katara," Amaruk said when she had settled herself on another cushion, "then you have made a most troubling discovery."
Katara met Amaruk's gaze. He had green eyes, very unusual in the Water Tribes. A sign of Earth Kingdom ancestry, said some, or the sign of a snake, according to others. "You know Zuko only ever speaks the truth," she replied archly. "And I fail to see anything troubling about a twelve-year-old airbender."
"Indeed," Kida agreed with her, "It is an astonishing discovery, but the boy can't possibly be a threat to us."
Zuko's fists tightened where they rested on his knees, but he said nothing. "Not the boy directly," Amaruk clarified, "but those who would seek him."
"You mean the Fire Nation," said Inuk. "If they learn that their destruction of the airbenders was incomplete, they may come here to finish the job."
"Does that seem like a possibility to you, Zuko?" Gran Gran asked softly. Katara could not remember ever hearing her grandmother raise her voice in a council meeting.
"I think it's likely," Zuko said with a frown. "The light when the iceberg broke open must have been visible for miles. If any of the Fire Nation ships patrolling the southern waters saw it, they'll probably come investigate what it was."
"And what will they find?" Ikino asked with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Icebergs by the dozen, and a village of mostly women and children, as beneath their attention today as it was yesterday. What reason would they have to suspect an airbender among us?"
"I'm afraid the light may be reason enough," Gran Gran said. "Most of the young may have forgotten, but those of us who are old enough still remember the stories. We know what it means." She paused for a moment. "But you know this too, don't you, Zuko?"
Katara looked to her husband and saw him swallow nervously. "Yes," he admitted. "The light, the way his tattoos glowed, the power it would have taken to survive inside the ice as long as he must have - these are all signs, things I learned to look for." He looked to Katara as he continued, "I don't think Aang is just an airbender. I think he's the Avatar."
Katara felt her heart leap in her chest. Could it really be? Could the Avatar really return after so long? But she could see in Zuko's eyes that he was deathly certain, and that he was afraid.
"I agree," said Amaruk, "which is all the more reason why his presence here puts us in grave danger."
"Then we must send him away," Inuk declared. "To the north, perhaps?"
"And bring the wrath of the Fire Nation down upon your sister tribe again?" Ikino asked. Katara couldn't help but bristle at the way he said your sister tribe. Even having lived in the South Pole for years, married a southern woman, and had children here, Ikino still did not consider himself a southerner.
"They would be better equipped to fend off an attack than we are here," Kida argued.
"But the long journey would leave him exposed," Gran Gran pointed out.
"In my opinion," said Amaruk, folding his hands, "the best place to send the Avatar would be to join the resistance in the Earth Kingdom - a much shorter journey, and unlikely to direct Fire Nation attention anywhere it is not already." The other elders considered this suggestion for a moment. Katara felt her face flush with anger.
"We could always just hand him over to the Fire Nation," she snapped. "That would be the easiest thing to do, and I'm sure we'd be very safe then."
"Katara, please," Kida said. "Be reasonable. If he is the Avatar-"
"Are we sure that he is?" Katara interrupted. She turned to Zuko again. "Are you absolutely sure?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"I am," Zuko said sadly, "But why don't we ask him?"
"Very well," said Gran Gran. "Before we make any decision, let us settle the question. Zuko, go fetch the boy."
Zuko stood, bowed to the elders, and left the lodge. In silence, they waited. Katara tried to gauge what each of the members of the council was thinking. Amaruk was clearly convinced that Aang was trouble, Avatar or not, and would probably want to send him away regardless. Ikino was drumming his fingers impatiently against the arm of his chair. He would likely follow Amaruk's lead - he usually did.
Kida merely looked thoughtful. Katara knew her to be a pragmatic woman. If Aang were merely an Air Nomad child who had somehow survived, she would likely be in favor of letting him stay, hiding him among the children of the tribe if anyone came looking. But if he were the Avatar, she might be swayed to Amaruk's point of view.
Inuk was old enough to remember when the Southern Water Tribe had been a city in her own right, with dozens of her own waterbenders. He had lived through decades of Fire Nation raids, and seen their people decimated. He had succeeded his father as shaman when he was barely out of his youth, following his father's death in one such raid. The icy hardness in Inuk's face told Katara that was likely what he was thinking of now.
Gran Gran, for her part, remained as serene and impassive as ever.
Soon enough, Zuko returned with Aang in tow. They both bowed, and sat, Aang settling himself in between Zuko and Katara.
"Aang," Gran Gran began, "we have heard much about you, but many questions still remain. Tell us - how did you come to be trapped inside that iceberg?"
Aang shifted slightly. "Well," he said, "I was on my way here, to the South Pole, because I wanted to go penguin sledding. I remember...there was a storm." He paused for a moment, frowning, as if dredging up unpleasant memories. "Appa and I must have gotten pulled under the water and frozen."
"And how long ago was this?" Amaruk asked.
Aang shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "A few days ago, maybe?"
The elders exchanged confused glances. "That seems unlikely," Kida said carefully.
"Well, like I said," Aang replied, growing more nervous. "I really don't know. How long ago do you think it was?"
"Given that it has been one hundred and ten years since anyone has seen or heard from an airbender," said Inuk, "we believe it must have been at least that long."
Aang's jaw dropped. He looked to Zuko, then to Katara, as if expecting them to contradict him - but neither of them could. "That doesn't make any sense!" he insisted. "I'm not a hundred and twenty-two years old!"
"And yet, that is how much time has passed," Gran Gran said gently. "And here you are."
"But why has no one heard from the airbenders?" Aang asked in confusion. "Where are they?"
There was a moment of pained silence before Katara decided to be the one to tell him. "Aang," she said, taking his hand, "I'm so sorry, but they're gone. They were all killed at the beginning of the war."
"The war?" Aang asked softly, looking up at her with wide, scared eyes. "What war?"
"The war with the Fire Nation," Zuko said bitterly.
"No," Aang said, shaking his head. "That can't be right. The Fire Nation couldn't have...there must be some airbenders, somewhere. Maybe they've just gone into hiding, and nobody's found them."
"Not as far as we know," Gran Gran said diplomatically. "But another question remains." She leaned forward in her chair, and Aang bit his lip and fidgeted under the intensity of her scrutiny. "The last known Avatar was Roku of the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Sozin ordered the Air Nomads destroyed because they were next in the cycle, and he knew the Avatar would oppose his designs to conquer and subjugate the world. We must know, Aang. Are you the Avatar?"
Aang looked down, then shut his eyes tightly. "Yes," he said in a very small voice. "But I never wanted to be."
Katara drew the boy into a hug. Aang said nothing more, but buried his face in her shoulder. Over his head, she looked towards Zuko and met his eye. Their worst fears had been confirmed.
"Thank you, Aang," Gran Gran was saying. "We have much to discuss. Zuko and Katara will bring you home now." She met Katara's eye as she began to protest. "That is all," she said definitively. "You may return in the morning to hear our decision."
Reluctantly, Katara helped Aang to his feet. The three of them bowed, though Katara could not resist a glare in Amaruk's direction. Then, with a last pleading look at Gran Gran, she led Zuko and Aang out of the lodge. In silence, they escorted the somber little airbender back to their house, leaving the council to deliberate his fate.
Fire Nation Colonies - Ten Years Earlier
When Zuko and Iroh approached the meeting tent of the naval base the following evening, they were met by Admiral Zhao himself.
"Admiral," Zuko greeted him stiffly, "we have decided to join your campaign."
Zhao smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." He looked over Zuko's shoulder, at Iroh. "I presume you were able to prevail upon your nephew to make the sensible choice?"
"Not me, Zhao," Iroh replied. "Prince Zuko makes his own decisions. I follow where he leads."
"Then I am glad he has led you rightly, this time," Zhao said. He turned to enter the tent. "Shall we?"
Inside, Zuko and Iroh took their seats among the assembled officers. Some were men Zuko recognized. Captain Leung and Captain Joshi he had met on previous occasions during his exile. Commander Toda had been present at his first, disastrous war council and the subsequent Agni Kai. Most of the rest he knew by reputation, once they introduced themselves. General Masashige was fresh from his triumph in Omashu, now called New Ozai - Zuko had been informed of that development.
"The campaign we are here to discuss," Zhao began his official briefing, "is a siege of one of the last great cities that remains outside of Fire Nation control. Since the taking of New Ozai," here he nodded respectfully at Masashige, who gave a humble bow at the acknowledgement, "the Northern Water Tribe is now second only to Ba Sing Se itself."
"The Northern Water Tribe?" Toda asked skeptically. "Are they really worth our attention?"
"It is a larger city than Omashu," Joshi argued. "And the fact that they have never been invaded makes them a symbolic asset, at least, to those who would resist Fire Nation rule."
"Indeed," Zhao went on. "They are no petty village to be easily conquered. It will take a large naval force, and several battalions of foot soldiers, to stage a successful assault."
"Which is why you have spent the last several months since your promotion amassing just such a force," Zuko put in. The other officers turned to him in surprise. Next to him, he heard Iroh sigh. Perhaps that had been too direct.
If Zhao was surprised how much Zuko knew of his recent activities, he didn't show it. "It's good to see that you are so well informed, in some areas," the admiral said calmly. "I have done just that." He returned his attention to the group as a whole, and proceeded to detail his plan for the invasion. Zuko listened, and watched Zhao carefully. He still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that the admiral was hiding something, but he raised no objections to his plan.
When the meeting finally came to an end, Zuko and Iroh made polite farewells and headed back to their ship. The invasion fleet was to set sail the next morning, so they had their excuse for not lingering. They walked most of the way in silence. Zuko reviewed the meeting in his mind, trying to put a finger on what exactly had left him feeling unsettled, but he could not identify it.
"Perhaps a cup of jasmine tea before bed?" Iroh suggested when they reached the boarding ramp of the ship. Zuko begrudgingly agreed, to his uncle's delight, and followed him to his quarters. He continued to brood as Iroh set about heating the kettle and steeping the tea.
"There's something Zhao's not telling us," he said at last when the tea was ready to pour. Iroh nodded as he filled two cups. "But I don't know what it could be," Zuko admitted in frustration.
"If I know Zhao," Iroh said, picking up his own cup, "it's some scheme for his own glory." He took a careful sip of the hot tea and considered for a moment. "Likely there is some particularly devastating blow he plans to deliver the Water Tribe personally, and he doesn't want any of his officers getting ideas about stealing his thunder."
"So it was never about the honor of the Fire Nation," Zuko said, looking down at his own untouched cup. "This whole campaign is about making Zhao look good."
"It always is, with that one," Iroh concurred. "But, we have already agreed to help him."
Zuko didn't know what to say, so he simply drank his tea instead. When he bid his uncle goodnight and retired to his own quarters, he fell into an easy, dreamless sleep. Perhaps Uncle was right, and the jasmine tea was calming.
His peaceful sleep was abruptly shattered a few hours later, when he awoke to an assassin's blade at his throat.
South Pole - Ten Years After Sozin's Comet
That evening, after Aang and Arvik were asleep, Zuko came and sat next to Katara by the fire while she sewed. Arvik was going through a growth spurt and would need new shirts and pants soon, especially with winter coming. Sewing, she had found, was a good task for distraction, if she needed to not think about something for a while. Right now, she wanted more than anything not to think about that afternoon's council meeting, or what she knew would be the result when they announced their decision in the morning.
Zuko said nothing for a while, but the fire rose and fell in time with his breathing. He did that when he had something weighing on his mind. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him - her Fire Nation husband dressed in Water Tribe blues, undoubtedly wrestling with the question of whether they should send the last airbender to what was left of the Earth Kingdom. He had a way of taking on the weight of the whole world without even realizing he was doing it.
"They're right," Zuko finally said in a soft voice, bringing up the very subject she had been trying unsuccessfully to avoid. Katara put down her sewing with a sigh as Zuko stared into the flames. "The Avatar can't stay here," he said reluctantly.
"Then he can't stay anywhere," Katara countered. "He'll make anywhere he is a target."
"Maybe," Zuko agreed. "But the Underground is already a target anyway, so not much harm done by sending him there."
"Not much harm," Katara repeated, shaking her head. "I can't believe we're seriously talking about sending a twelve-year-old into a war zone."
Zuko shrugged one shoulder. "He's not much younger than I was."
"And you want to follow your father's example all of a sudden?" she shot back.
Zuko's jaw tightened, and the low fire before them sparked just an inch or so higher. He was silent for a moment. "It's not the same," he finally said, turning to look at her. "He's the Avatar, Katara," he said sadly. "What choice do we have?"
"Couldn't we try to protect him?" she asked desperately. "Keep him safe, at least until he's older? He's only a child!"
"There are other children in the village," Zuko gently reminded her. "If the Fire Nation raids start again, you know what will happen." And she did, of course. Not as well as Inuk, perhaps, but well enough. She could never forget. "Don't we have to protect them from that?" Zuko went on. "Don't we have to protect our son from that?"
Katara shook her head. "Does protecting our son have to mean sacrificing another child?"
"We won't be," Zuko insisted. "We won't send him alone. He'll have protection, as much as we can afford, and when he gets to the Underground, they'll do their best to keep him safe. And we'll have done our best for everyone."
He sounded so determined. She knew his mind was made up, and she could hardly fault his reasoning. Truthfully, all the same arguments had already occurred to her, even that afternoon during the council meeting. Still, her heart protested, this couldn't be the only way.
"You know what they'll decide, don't you?" Katara asked. "Who the council will want to send with him?"
Zuko blinked at her in confusion. "One of the warriors, surely."
"Oh no," Katara said, getting to her feet and pacing the room. "There are too few warriors here as it is, and half of them are untested teenagers anyway. They can't spare any of them. And of course the healers couldn't do it." She stood still, folding her arms over her chest. "They'll vote to send you."
Zuko's good eye widened. "They'd want me...to bring the Avatar…?"
"Do you want to go back, Zuko?" Katara asked, adopting some of his usual directness for a change. "Is that why you're agreeing with them? To go back to the war? To get away from here?"
"What?" Zuko replied in a stunned voice. "Katara, no," he said, rising to his feet as well and coming to stand a hand's breadth in front of her. "Leaving the south pole is the last thing I want to do."
"But you hate it here," she accused. "You hate the cold, you hate the winter darkness. You're restless. There's a war being fought and you think you should be in it."
"That's not-" Zuko began, then sighed and ran a hand through his long hair. "Look, you're not wrong, about that. But being here…" He looked away, as if ashamed. "My family is here," he said simply. "This is where I want to be, even if no one else wants me here."
"Then stay," she urged, taking both his hands.
Zuko shook his head. "If you're right," he said, "if they choose me...it has to be done. Someone has to go." He looked back at her and met her eye with pained resolve. "I don't want to go. But if I'm chosen, I will."
Katara closed her eyes and leaned into him. He slid his hands from her grasp to wrap his arms around her, and she rested her cheek against his collar bone. "It won't be for long," he murmured. She could feel the rumble of his voice in his chest. "Once I get him there, he won't need me anymore. I'll come back."
"You might not make it back," Katara said softly. She barely dared to voice the words, the deepest fear of her heart, but he had to know. "Anything could happen to you out there."
Zuko pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "That was always true," he said, "for both of us, when we were with the Underground." He was right; death or capture had been risks they had lived with for years.
"But there was a reason we left," Katara reminded him. "A good reason." Leaning back, she looked up at him again. "You're worried about what will happen to our son if the village is attacked. I'm worried about what will happen if he loses his father."
"I guess you'd have to marry Pamuk," Zuko attempted to joke. "He's the last eligible bachelor in the village."
Katara laughed in spite of herself. "That stuck-up northerner?" she protested. "Never."
"Sometimes you can be so provincial, Katara," Zuko chided her, though he smiled as he did. "So prejudiced."
"Hey," Katara said, squeezing his hands, "I married you, didn't I?"
Zuko laughed a little sadly. "And the stuck-up northerners still haven't forgiven you for it."
Katara shrugged. "That's their problem." After a moment, she added bitterly: "If Amaruk were half the man my father is, he would bring Aang to the resistance himself."
"But instead he'll use his rank as his excuse to stay here," Zuko concluded.
Katara leaned into his embrace once more. "It's not fair," she protested weakly. "It's not fair that Aang has to leave, or that they'll send you just because…" She trailed off, hesitating to voice what she suspected was the real reason Zuko would be chosen.
"Because they don't like me?" he finished her thought for her. "Look at it this way: at least it means they trust me."
"It's still not fair," she insisted, blinking back sudden tears.
Zuko was quiet for a long moment at that. "It's a war, Katara," he said at last, holding her tighter. "It was never going to be fair."
She knew he was right, of course. That didn't make it any easier.
