Here's the chapter I know some of you have been waiting for, Akane and Zuko will finally come face to face with Aang, Katara and Sokka so this should be fun. Hope I do the characters justice :).

Power of Surprise

Once Akane had gotten into her formal armour, she headed off towards Zuko's room to wait for her friend. As Akane made her way through the ships corridors, the nerves in her stomach started to grow at the possibility of facing off against the Avatar. He was supposed to be the most powerful bender in the world and most likely had years of experience under his belt while her and Zuko were practically amateur firebenders.

If it really is him, why couldn't he have returned when we needed him most? Why does he choose now, of all times to show up again? Akane thought.

Part of Akane was glad that the Avatar was still alive, since that meant that there was still hope for Zuko and the world. But that also put Akane in an awkward position, since as much as she wanted the Avatar to finally put an end to this pain and suffering, she still wanted Zuko to succeed in his mission, so her friend could finally be happy, even if she wouldn't be. So, for Akane it was really a matter of if whether or not peace and harmony was more important than Zuko's happiness and freedom.

Deciding to find Zuko since he would most likely want her to be there when they made their assault on the Southern Water Tribe, Akane headed off throughout the ships corridors. But not before she found herself bumping into Nuying, the ships nurse.

"Oh, my apologies, Miss Akane," Nuying apologised.

"It's alright," Akane reassured the middle-aged woman.

"I'm just in a bit of a rush since I'm making sure everyone's prepared for the attack on the Water Tribe," Nuying explained.

"Yeah, it's going to be a bumpy ride," Akane agreed.

"Need any last minute aid, Miss Akane?" Nuying offered.

Akane shook her head, "Nope. And how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Akane?"

"Sorry," Nuying apologised before shuffling along.

Watching Nuying as she scurried across the floor, Akane couldn't help but shake her head out how Nuying had referred to her as 'Miss Akane.' While most of the crew simply referred to her as her name, there were those who addressed her formally due to her association with Zuko, which annoyed Akane to no end since she hated being called 'Miss.' Remembering what she was supposed to be doing, Akane headed off towards Zuko's chambers where he would more than likely be getting ready for what was about to happen.

When Akane found Zuko in his chambers, he was finishing getting ready for their assault on the Southern Water Tribe. His servants had just putting on his breastplate, the kneecaps and boots, wrist guards and finally the helmet. Once they were finished dressing him, the two servants bowed before leaving him to himself. Zuko adjusted the helmet on his head to make sure it fit properly before nodding in approval.

"Well, don't you look all spiffy in your armour and ridiculous helmet," Akane joked.

Zuko turned around to face her, "It's not supposed to look good, it's supposed to be functionable. The helmet also protects me from any other attacks."

"Well, you look ridiculous in it. I wouldn't be surprised if it does more harm than good. Whoever designed it should have their creativity licence taken away from them," Akane observed.

Zuko smirked as he picked something up, "I'm glad you feel that way cause you'll be wearing one too."

Akane grimaced, "You can't make me wear that if I don't want to."

"I don't want you getting hurt, Akane so please wear the helmet," Zuko pleaded.

Akane sighed as she took it from his hands, "Fine. But only because you asked me to."

Zuko grinned sneakily once she put the helmet on, "Now we're matching."

"Hilarious," Akane muttered.

"Now that we're ready, let's gather the rest of the crew since we'll be reaching the Southern Water Tribe soon," Zuko suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Akane agreed.

They then made their way through the ship together and the whole time they did so, Akane couldn't help but wonder what would happen when they finally faced off against the Avatar. This was what they'd been working towards for the past three years and Akane had know idea how it would all go down. One thing that Akane was sure of was that she didn't want to hurt anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. Although Akane felt like they would be able to make it through this without using any unorthodox methods since the Southern Water Tribe was remarkably weaker than it's counterpart due to the damage it had sustained from the Fire Nation.

"So, how exactly is this going to work?" Akane asked.

"Well, if all goes to plan I won't have to harm anyone and they'll just give him up without any fight," Zuko replied.

"And if they don't?" Akane questioned.

"Then we'll have no choice but to do whatever it takes to get him under our grasp. If they're smart, they'd give him up without question," Zuko answered.

"What do we do once we have him?" Akane inquired.

"Simple, we'll keep him as our prisoner until we reach the Fire Nation before handing him over to my father. Then we'll finally be able to return home and things will go back to the way they were," Zuko replied hopefully.

"That's easier said than done," Akane commented.

Zuko raised his eyebrows, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, there's no telling how powerful the Avatar really is. Even if we do manage to capture him we'll still have to get him back to the Fire Nation. I doubt that that's going to be easy," Akane explained.

"If he does escape then we'll just have to capture him again," Zuko stated.

"What do you think the Fire Lord is going to do once you bring the Avatar to him?" Akane asked.

"First, he'll welcome me back with honour, and then restore my rightful place on the throne," Zuko replied confidently.

"But what about the Avatar?" Akane questioned.

Zuko shrugged, "I don't know. Father will either kill him or throw him into prison. I couldn't care less about what happens to him, just as long as I get the honour of making it possible."

Akane gasped, "Zuko, that's a horrible thing to say!"

"You really think I would care about what father does to the Avatar? Once I hand him over he won't be my problem anymore and I'll finally be rid of that burden," Zuko declared.

Akane sighed, "Just promise me you won't get yourself hurt."

Zuko scoffed, "I shouldn't have to promise you that. The Avatar is supposed to be over a hundred years old. Surely, I can take on an old man, even if he is the master of all elements."

"If you say so," Akane murmured, although she didn't share Zuko's level of confidence. The Avatar might be an old man, but he was still the most powerful bender in the world and Zuko was only a teenager.

"You don't sound too confident," Zuko pointed out.

"I am confident, there's just always that bit of doubt that anything could happen," Akane said.

Zuko paused, "You don't think I can capture him, don't you?"

Akane sighed, "Well, he is the most powerful bender in the world. He might be old, but he probably has more experience than you could ever have."

"Don't you think I know that, Akane? I need to be confident in my abilities or I'm never going to succeed," Zuko argued.

"Just don't underestimate him, he could surprise you," Akane said.

"I have nothing to underestimate," Zuko stated.

Akane raised her eyebrows, knowing that Zuko was full-on underestimating the Avatar. She had a feeling that that would be Zuko's downfall, since he wasn't taking into consideration the true power that the Avatar could possess.

"The Southern Water Tribe is now in view! Prepare yourselves for the landing!" the helmsmen yelled.

"Let's do this," Zuko declared.

Akane nodded, "I'm right behind you."

In no time, Akane, Zuko and several other guards were standing behind the ships bow as they waited for it to reach contact with the Southern Water Tribe. When it did, Akane felt every bit of impact from the ship. Akane could hear the ship breaking through the ice, creating its own port. Suddenly, the ships came to a halt and steam surrounded them as the ships bow lowered itself onto the icy shore, creating a loud booming noise that made Akane jump. For a moment, Akane was unsure of what to do so she glanced at Zuko who nodded before they began to make their way down.

As they did so, Akane couldn't help but notice how small the Southern Water Tribe was. There were only a couple dozen villagers there, mainly women and children along with a few elders. It hardly looked like a tribe and Akane could practically see the fear in their eyes, which made her feel guilty knowing that she was partly responsible for that feeling.

A loud scream suddenly filled there and Akane saw a young boy who was probably no older than Zuko run screaming towards them with a war club in his hands. Zuko was easily able to disarm him by kicking the kicking the club out of his hands before kicking the boy aside, causing him to fall off the ships ramp and send him flying into the snow where his head got stuck. Once they reached the ground, the villagers backed a few feet away and they were obviously scared by their unexpected visitors. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Zuko stepped forward as he examined the small crowd for any sign of the Avatar.

"Where are you hiding him?" Zuko asked in a demanding voice.

When Zuko got no answer, he reached into the crowd and forcefully yanked out an elderly woman and held onto her by her parka, "He'd be about this age, master of all elements?"

"Zuko, don't be such a jerk!" Akane reprimanded him, not liking the way he was being rough with the old woman.

Once again, Zuko got no response which made Akane think that they had no idea what he was talking about. At that, Zuko let go of the woman and shoved her back into the crowd. The old lady clung onto a young girl, who Akane assumed was her granddaughter. It was safe to say that the girl didn't like them one bit based on the glare she was giving them.

"I know you're hiding him!" Zuko yelled once he swung out his arm and released an arc of fire that went over the heads of the villagers.

Akane's eyes widened. Why was Zuko acting like this? Sure, he could be a bit of a jerk at times and had his demanding moments, but he never acted like this and Akane didn't like it one bit.

"Zuko! What are you doing?" Akane exclaimed.

Zuko glared at her, "Stay out of this, Akane and let me handle it."

Suddenly, a somewhat girlish scream filled the air as the Water Tribe boy who attacked Zuko went in for another go. The boy lunged towards the prince while Zuko swiftly turned around just as Sokka approached, quickly ducking under Sokka's wide swing and hurled the boy forward. The boy landed on his rear in the snow and was quickly forced to dart from his spot when Zuko fired a blast at him. The boy spun to the side and tossed his boomerang at his opponent who barely managed to miss getting hit by the weapon. Zuko growled angrily and glared at the boy in anger at the near hit as one of the village boys tossed the warrior a spear.

"Show no fear!" the village boy yelled.

Once the warrior caught the spear, he immediately got back on his feet and charged towards Zuko once again. Akane had to give him credit, not many people would have the guts to stand up to someone like Zuko in the way he was. Her admiration was short lived as the warrior was quick to get halted on his advance by Zuko yanking his spear away from him and snapping it in half before using the soft end to poke the boy in the head which caused him to fall onto the ground again. With that, Zuko simply threw the broken spear aside like it was nobody's business.

Out of the corner of her eye, Akane suddenly saw a flashing object hurl through the sky before recognising it as the boy's boomerang. It seemed to be heading straight towards Zuko, but before Akane could warn her friend, the boomerang collided right into his head letting out a loud cling as it pushed him forward. Despite the situation, Akane couldn't help but snicker under her breath before Zuko shot a glare her way as he rearranged his helmet.

"What? Even you have to admit that was funny," Akane said.

Instead of glaring at his friend, Zuko turned his glare to the Water Tribe boy who sat dejectedly on the ground, with the boomerang at his feet. Enraged by the attack, Zuko summoned two fire daggers and was ready to unleash them on his opponent. Before Akane could intervene, something shot past her at lightning speed which collided right into Zuko and sent him flying through the air before he landed on his face with his legs in the air and his helmet landed on his butt. The sight was even more hilarious than when the boomerang whacked Zuko on the head.

As Akane headed off to help Zuko, she caught the sight of a boy sliding off a penguin before it waddled away. He smiled in the direction of the two Water Tribe teenagers.

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka," the boy greeted them.

"Hi, Aang. Thanks for coming," the boy, Sokka, commented dryly.

"I told you not to wear that stupid helmet," Akane said to Zuko as she pulled him up.

Zuko didn't respond to Akane and instead signalled for the soldiers to surround the boy who clutched onto some sort of stick as he was surrounded. Akane gasped as she noticed the blue tattoos that covered his body and the robes he was dressed in. Putting the pieces together, Akane grinned as she realised who was standing in front of them.

Those markings. It has to be him! I can't believe it! Akane thought to herself.

Though her smile faltered as she stared at the boy in confusion. Instead of being an old man like he was supposed to be, he hardly looked like a teenager at most. The boy then swept the ground form side-to-side with his staff, showering them with snow. He then slammed the ground with his staff which sent a rush of snow towards Akane and Zuko who braced themselves for the attack. Once they were covered with snow, Akane and Zuko both heated it up, so it would melt with Zuko wearing an angry look on his face as he did so.

"Looking for me?" the boy asked.

"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" Zuko asked, shocked.

The two Water Tribe teenagers appeared to be just as shocked as Zuko was, with Katara voicing her own disbelief, "Aang?"

"No way!" Sokka exclaimed.

Akane raised her eyebrows, "How could you have not known that he was the Avatar?"

Sokka shrugged as he gave her a sheepish look, "It didn't really occur to us…"

Meanwhile, Aang and Zuko were circling around each other as they both prepared to defend themselves. An eerie silence filled the air for a moment that was almost uncomfortable to a degree. You could've cut the tension between the two boys with a knife it was so thick.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training… Meditating… You're just a child!" Zuko growled.

Aang stood back a bit, "Well, you're just a teenager."

Akane snorted, "He has a point."

Zuko glared at her, "Who's side are you on, here?"

"Yours? Shouldn't it be obvious?" Akane replied.

Not giving Akane another thought, Zuko angrily firebended at Aang who twirled his staff around to deflect the flames that were hurled his way. Aang's act of defence caused the flames to shoot past him and towards the villagers who cowered in fear.

"Zuko! Be careful!" Akane yelled.

Aang seemed to share Akane's concern for the villagers as he quickly pushed Zuko's flames to the side and held his staff out in surrender as he offered himself up, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

Akane's eyes bulged at the Avatar's offer. Was this kid serious? Was he really just going to offer himself up like that? The whole thing just sounded too easy to Akane, but she knew that Zuko would have no problem with agreeing on the Avatar's terms if it meant getting him for himself.

Sure enough, Zuko nodded and signalled for the guards to apprehend Aang and they did just that. Aang grunted as they took his staff away and forced him to walk up the ships bow.

"No, Aang. Don't do this!" Katara pleaded desperately.

"Don't worry Katara, it'll be okay," Aang reassured her.

Not wanting the Water Tribe girl to cause anymore trouble, Akane stepped forward to hold her back as the guards lead Aang up the ships bow. However, Katara didn't seem to like that as she roughly pushed Akane off of her.

"Don't touch me!" Katara hissed.

Their little altercation didn't go unnoticed by Zuko who glared at Katara with the most deathly look. He was always protective of Akane, and he certainly didn't appreciate this washed up peasant pushing his friend around like she was nothing which she certainly wasn't. If anything, Akane was ten times worth that water tribe peasant.

"You watch who you shove, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko yelled as forcefully yanked Katara by the wrists.

Akane quickly managed to recover from her shove and knowing that Zuko would do something he'd potentially regret, Akane intervened to put an end to their scuffle.

"Zuko, it's okay. Just let her go," Akane ordered calmly.

Zuko sighed as he gave Katara one last glare before shoving her away, "Fine. Let's go."

Up on the ships bow, Aang watched the scene play out in front of him with curiosity. He didn't understand how the scarred teen could go from being such a bully to a protective friend in the span of seconds. They must've been close for him to have reacted that way so Aang made a mental note not to get in the way of them.

"Take care of Appa for me until I get back!" Aang called out, not wanting his beloved bison to go unattended.

"Set a course for the Fire Nation! I'm going home," Zuko ordered as he and Akane made their way up the ships bow.

With one last look at the crowd of people below him, Aang tried to appear as calm as possible even though he was lowkey panicking on the inside. What hurt him the most was seeing the devastated look on Katara's face, which was enough to hurt him as the ships bow blocked out any form of light.

~*•°•*~

Once Aang had been securely restrained and the ship was on route to the Fire Nation, Akane, Zuko and the guards took him onto the ships deck where Iroh was waiting for them. Just like they were, Iroh was surprised when he saw that the Avatar was merely a child. This was certainly not what they had been expecting.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father," Zuko declared as he examined Aang's staff. "I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks."

The ticked off look on the Avatar's face at that comment didn't go unnoticed by Akane since Zuko was being a bit of a prick right now. Part of her felt bad for Aang, since he was practically a child just like they all were yet was being handed off like he was heading to the slaughter house.

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold and take this to my quarters," Zuko ordered as he handed Iroh Aang's staff before walking off with Akane hot on his tails.

"You mind taking this to his quarters for me?" Akane heard Iroh ask which caused her to roll her eyes at his laziness.

As she and Zuko made their way through the ship, Akane couldn't help but think about how the villagers had reacted when they took Aang away. She had never seen so many looks of despair before and it actually made her feel guilty about what they had just done.

"Zuko, a word?" Akane asked as she tugged on his arm.

Zuko glanced down at her, "What?"

"Don't you think you were a little harsh back there?" Akane questioned.

"No, my actions were perfectly justifiable. Besides, it's not like anybody got hurt," Zuko answered.

"But you scared the villagers, you threw that warrior into the snow and you yanked onto that girl's wrists," Akane pointed out.

Zuko scoffed, "That peasant was hardly a warrior and that brat hurt you."

"No, she didn't hurt me. That was an overreaction on your part. She had every right to be mad at me after we just invaded and destroyed their village," Akane reasoned.

Zuko shrugged, "They can fix it. At least now they have a port."

"What do we do with the Avatar now?" Akane asked uncomfortably.

"Until we get back to the Fire Nation, he's our prisoner. We'll have to keep him under a watchful eye at all times, so he doesn't get the opportunity to escape," Zuko replied.

"This whole thing just seems too easy, like something's gonna happen," Akane admitted.

"Akane, nothing's going to happen. He surrendered as long as we left them alone which we did. He has no reason to escape," Zuko reassured her.

Akane raised her eyebrow, "Except to save the world perhaps?"

"That's not going to happen. We're going to return him home, father will welcome me back with honour and overrule your banishment. Then everything will go back to the way it's supposed to be," Zuko declared.

"Zuko, don't you realise that we're literally keeping the saviour of the world captive? By doing so we're only allowing for more pain and suffering to happen," Akane argued.

"What do you want me to do, let him go? You know that I can't and won't do that. I need to capture the Avatar to restore my honour," Zuko snapped.

"Yeah, cause your honour is more important than the world," Akane muttered.

"What was that?" Zuko demanded.

Akane sighed, "Nothing. It's just, I don't want you to take on this much responsibility. If you hand the Avatar over to the Fire Lord, he'll probably just kill him. Do you really want the Avatar's blood on your hands?"

"I doubt that father will actually kill him. He'll probably just put him into prison," Zuko said.

"Right, cause prison's so much better than death," Akane commented sarcastically.

Zuko sighed, "Akane, don't be like this. You know how much this means to me. I'm sorry but I can't let him go."

"I know, just… don't do anything you'll regret," Akane said.

"I can't promise you that, Akane. But I'll try my best," Zuko responded before heading off to his quarters.

Akane frowned as she watched Zuko's retreating form. He seemed to be forgetting that the Avatar was just a child, which was pretty much what they were. Even though she knew how much this meant to Zuko and that his freedom was pretty much on the line, Akane still felt guilty about keeping the Avatar prisoner. But she had to remind herself that the Avatar was what Zuko needed more than anything else, and that as his best friend she had to support him on this. Besides, it's not like Zuko had many people supporting him anyways.

As Akane made her way down the ships long corridor, she suddenly felt something heavy collide into her which sent her hurling towards the ground. Groaning as she did so, Akane pulled herself onto her feet and was ready to yell at whoever had just knocked her onto the ground before her eyes widened once she saw the Avatar standing in front of her.

"Sorry! I guess I wasn't really watching where I was going," the Avatar – Aang – apologised.

"And where exactly is that?" Akane asked.

Aang's eyes widened as he recognised who he had just bumped into, "I'll just be on my way then…"

"Wait!" Akane called out before Aang could run off.

"I don't really have time to wait…" Aang trailed off.

"I know, which is why you should run to the left and up the first set of stairs before going two doors on your right," Akane advised him.

Now it was Aang's turn to widen his eyes. Wasn't this Zuko's friend? Why was she even helping him? For a moment, Aang debated on if whether or not he should trust her since she could easily be leading him to a trap. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Aang smiled at the girl before running off in the direction that she had advised him to go in.

"Thanks for the help!" he yelled.

"Agni, what did I just do?" Akane whispered to herself once the Avatar was out of sight.

Part of Akane felt guilty for helping the Avatar escape, since she was indirectly betraying Zuko. Yet at the same time, she knew that it was the right thing to do. Akane just hoped that she wouldn't live to regret what she had just done, which was already proving to be the case as the guilt swarmed inside of her.

"It was the right thing to do," Akane repeated.

With nothing better to do, Akane decided to head off to the ships deck to hopefully clear her head and get her focus back on. No doubt Zuko was going to discover the Avatar's escape and she would have some explaining to do. Akane figured that she'd just cross that bridge when the time came.

When Akane came back out onto the top deck, she was immediately greeted by the cold breeze of the icy South Pole seas. Even though she was dressed in her thermal gear, being in the cold was something that Akane wasn't used to. For a moment, there was just silence around her until Akane suddenly heard a loud shout from above. Looking up quickly, Akane gasped as she noticed the Avatar flying above her before recognising Zuko jumping onto him.

That seemed to stop the Avatar's advanced as his glider quickly closed before the pair fell onto the ground in a tangled heap. Akane quickly rushed to her friend's aid, despite that small part of her that just wanted to get the Avatar out of there. Zuko growled as she helped him up, before they suddenly heard another loud growl from above. Curiously, the pair turned their gaze and widened their eyes as they saw a flying beast heading towards them.

"What is that?" Zuko asked.

"Appa!" Aang exclaimed brightly.

"You don't see that every day," Akane mused.

Quickly getting over his shock, Zuko started sending fire blast after fire blast at the Avatar who twirled his staff to deflect the attack. Eventually, Aang dropped his staff and with nothing else to defend himself, he was left to evade Zuko's attack before jumping onto the ships railing to save himself. Using this to his advantage, Zuko kicked out another fire blast which seemed to do the job as it sent Aang hurling over the edge and into the water.

"Zuko! I can't believe that you did that!" Akane yelled angrily.

"I had no choice," Zuko declared.

"So much for capturing the Avatar alive," Akane snapped.

"Why do you care?" Zuko asked.

"I don't care! I just don't see how that was necessary! How are you going to explain this to your father?" Akane exclaimed.

Their argument was cut short by a sudden rock against the boat before a water vortex shot up into the air. For a moment, Akane had no idea what was happening until she recognised the Avatar at the top with his eyes and tattoos glowing. Relief instantly shot through Akane, before she was overwhelmed with dread at what the Avatar was about to do.

This wasn't going to be good for them.

Sure enough, the Avatar landed onto the ships deck as he summoned the water around him before the water swirled around him which created a protective circle before it spread outward. The impact of the attack was enough to knock Akane, Zuko and several soldiers off their feet. Akane even almost fell over the edge herself but managed to save herself at her own misfortune as her head banged onto the ships railing which immediately sent a wave of nausea through her.

For a moment, Akane's vision blurred as she struggled to stand upright. She could make up the sight of a fuzzy creature on the ships deck, which she assumed was Aang's pet. It certainly didn't look like any normal pet from what Akane could see. After giving her head a shake, Akane knocked some sense back into her vision just as she caught sight of a boy she recognised as the one from the South Pole. He reached down to pick up Aang's staff before shrieking and poking it over the edge which elicited a shout that Akane immediately recognised as Zuko's.

"Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!" the boy – Sokka – cheered.

"Hey!" Akane exclaimed.

Sokka turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw Akane standing there. Wasting no time, he immediately took off running towards the Avatar's pet, which Akane recognised as a flying bison. Recovering from her brief shock, Akane ran towards the ships edge and she gasped as she saw Zuko dangling down below.

"Take my hand!" she yelled as she reached down to help Zuko, not even caring about the Avatar in that moment.

"Stop the Avatar!" Zuko shouted.

"I'm not gonna say it again, Zuko, now take my hand!" Akane yelled.

Groaning as he did so, Zuko grabbed hold of Akane's hand and she successfully managed to pull him back onto the ships deck despite him almost falling on top of her. Just as they did so, Appa was already flying off into the air while a bemused Iroh watched on.

"Shoot them down!" Zuko ordered.

Together, Akane, Iroh and Zuko shot a combined fire blast towards the Avatar's bison in an attempt to knock it down, only for their fire ball to be redirected right into the iceberg next to the ship. All three of them widened their eyes in shock as the impact caused a snowy avalanche to come hurling towards the ship, immediately halting it from moving anywhere while causing them all to tumble over, though some more than others.

Since he was too blinded by his rage at being defeated by the Avatar, Zuko failed to notice that Akane wasn't standing with him and Iroh as they regained their composure.

"Good news for the Fire Lord, the Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid," Iroh stated.

"That 'kid', Uncle, just did this. I won't underestimate him again," Zuko declared before yelling his next order, "Dig the ship out and follow them!"

Zuko turned around to see several of his firebenders using their firebending to melt away the ice that had trapped his soldiers in their place. He grunted with embarrassment as he narrowed his eyes in determination, "As soon as your done with that."

Turning back around, Zuko noticed that Akane wasn't standing with him and Uncle and his eyes widened as he caught sight of his friend trapped underneath the mountain of snow that had encased half of his ship. It didn't look like Akane was moving at all, so Zuko immediately rushed over to his friend's aid.

"Akane! Akane, are you alright?" Zuko asked as he pulled her out from the snow. He quickly noticed the bump that had formed on her forehead, which certainly wasn't there before, and he cursed the Avatar for putting his friend in that position.

"It seems that Akane has taken a blow to the head and the impact of the snow hasn't helped her either," Iroh observed as he tried to increase Akane's temperature with his firebending.

"What should we do, Uncle?" Zuko asked, showing a rare feeling of concern.

"I think we should take Akane to her room, so she can rest in the warmth. There doesn't appear to be any reason for grave concern, so some rest should do her good," Iroh advised.

"I will take Akane to her room while you make sure they get their job done as soon as possible," Zuko said.

With Iroh's help, Zuko managed to pick Akane up and carry her in his arms. While his friend might look light, Akane wasn't light to carry but that was something that Zuko would never say to his friend. As he carried Akane to her room, he felt her stir in his arms as her eyes slowly opened.

"Mmm… Zuko?" Akane murmured weakly.

"Just go back to sleep, Akane. I'll take you to your room," Zuko said.

"I knew you'd underestimate him," Akane whispered before her eyes fell shut once again.

"I won't do that ever again," Zuko promised, for Akane's sake just as much as his.

Now that chapter turned out longer than I thought it would. The chapters should be a lot more lengthy now that we're into the cannon part of the story. Next up Akane and Zuko will come across Zhao which will certainly be interesting to write since I already have a few ideas as to how that's gonna go down. I might not be able to do any double updates for this story now since I have to go back to writing my other ones which you guys should definitely check out, but if I do get a lot of reviews I'll try and post an earlier update. I'm also going through some writers block for my other main fic, Blinding Horizon so if you guys could check that out and give it some love I'd appreciate that.

Also, Nuying's name means female flower in Chinese.

SPECIAL MENTIONS

uNICOrnDIANGELO: Things will certainly change between Akane and Zuko if they haven't already, but they'll still always have that same friendship that they used to have which you can see from this chapter. I'm not going to give away too much as to what's gonna happen, but Akane will certainly have an influence on the path Zuko ends up following in one way or another.

Mogor: Well, Aang, Katara and Sokka will be back in the story once again when they hit Kiyoshi Island, but there's always going to be more of Akane and Zuko in it since the story centres around them. As for the OC's on the crew, they'll pop up every now and then but each character I add will definitely have a purpose.

Guest: There will be a few tender moments between Akane and Zuko along the way, cause they're still friends it's just that their friendship has changed over the years. The OC's will appear every now and then, but they won't be taking away the spotlight from Akane and Zuko since it is their story.

Znkp: Thanks for the review and the continued support, here's your next update.