A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. Writer's block was killing me but I'm finally back.

And here we have the next chapter. It's a bit of a long one but I think you'll like.

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA. I can't make that any clearer.

This chapter is for Lady Rini.

Enjoy and please review :)

Chapter 6: The Last Airbender?

Most people when confronted by a pistol aimed at their temple would do one of three things: freeze which didn't help, try and fight which would end in certain death, or babble and shit themselves which… was just embarrassing. Prince Zuko on the other hand kept a calm facade to rival Azula's to hide his apprehension. "Now let's calm down and put away the gun," he breathed, hands raised in the air to show he meant no harm.

"Shut up!" yelled the stranger. "Don't you think I know who you are firebender? That's right, I can feel the heat radiating from your body." The voice boastful, though also scratchy and worn.

Taking a chance, Zuko slowly swiveled his gaze to rest upon his captor. The man wasn't a man at all. Tough as tall as Zuko was he bore the facial features of a teenage boy despite the dirt and badly shaven stubble on his chin. His body was lanky and the grey uninational tunic and trousers hung loosely on his frame. Curly black hair covered his scalp and a red headband was tied loosely around his forehead. "Look, I don't mean you any harm…"

"No harm, right." The sarcasm dripped from his tongue. "So then why were you trying to steal Appa?"

"Appa?" Zuko looked over at the massive bison. "I saved him."

The boy looked at him quizzically. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember those snarls you heard, those were panther-wolves. They wanted to make a meal out of your sky bison over there." The Fire Prince had a theory but it seemed a bit far-fetched. 'I thought they were all dead." He kept his face impassive though.

A flicker of fear crossed the boy's face. "That's not a sky bison," he stammered.

Zuko didn't believe him, but before he could press the issue an angry shout and a single ball of blue fire erupted from the forest. "Drop the pistol," Azula hissed loudly, an anger in her voice as the flames dissipated barely inches from the boy's face. "I'll immolate you where you stand if you don't."

Staring, Katara noticed the boy hesitate with hands shaking. She had seen this before; he didn't want to but if pushed, especially by a firebender, might just decide to fuck it. An image of Zuko's lifeless head with a single, round hole in the temple came to mind. It filled her with utter dread.

Before he could react the boy felt a freezing sensation crawling up his body. "What the…" he began before his eyes widened.

Katara's eyes were glowing, arms raised as she bent the water from the grass around the two up to freeze the boy. As quickly as it came it ended, the sky bison charging to her and licking her with its massive tongue. "Katara," Sokka called, running to her. "That monster is trying to eat Katara!"

"Stop it Sokka," Katara mumbled, feeling a bit light headed through the sticky saliva that was coating her. "I think it likes me." She noticed out of the corner of her eye Zuko was smirking at her. An errant blush crept on her cheek.

"The Avatar State," Azula observed. "I was wondering when it would first show up." 'And when Zuzu was in danger… hmmm, interesting.' From its perch on her shoulder the lemur leapt into the air, unfurled bat-like wings, and landed on the frozen boy. At Zuko's raised eyebrow Azula shrugged. "A lemur of some kind. Taken a liking to me for some reason."

"Hard to believe," Zuko quipped, stepping closer to his sister now that he wasn't a hostage.

"What were you doing with Momo?" the boy asked, wriggling. "I know who she is. The waterbender is the Avatar."

Eyes hardening Sokka removed his knife. "Should we kill him? We cannot afford Katara's identity to get out." He didn't want to but if it meant their survival he would.

"There's no need seeing he's not likely to like the Empire any more than we do," Zuko replied, pointing to the lemur and the bison. "Those are creatures that reside only in the mountains surrounding the Air Temples and this boy," he stepped forward and removed the headband, "Is an Air Nomad."

Sitting up, Katara gasped. Planted on his forehead was a thick blue arrow tattoo.

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"How, how did your… ancestors survive the assault?" Azula asked with rapt attention. One of the first things taught to children in the Eternal Empire was the brave sacrifice of the great Crown Prince Zuko who perished valiantly in pitched battle with the Air Nomad Avatar, he and his men wiping out the corrupt Air Nomads dedicated to the perseverance of the primitive "Balance" ideology. That one did survive intrigued her.

The boy, Tenzin – as he told them in the past thirty minute as well as his journey here and the story about the animals – swallowed the last bite of his third helping of friend rice. "My grandfather used to tell my mother this story. He and my grandmother had been playing on a mountaintop about thirty minutes away by glider when the sky turned orange, like fire."

"Sozin's Comet," Zuko said. "It makes firebenders even more powerful than they are. Almost like a full moon to waterbenders but multiply it tenfold," he explained to Sokka and Katara.

"They wisely hunkered down, for when it was over and they returned everyone was dead, burned or butchered." Katara clenched her fists together. The Emperor must have learned well from his ancestors. "They tried to keep the culture alive. Married, had my mother, watched as she married a deserter from the Fire Nation earthbender auxiliary units, my father. My parents died not too long ago, disease. I'm all that's left of the Air Nomads, or so I know. I would've stayed in the Southern Air Temple but Imperial airships converged on the location so Appa, Momo, and I had to flee." Tenzin's gaze rested on Katara. "I can't believe you're alive, I mean the Avatar. Grandfather always thought Aang disappeared."

"You know Aang?"

"Yes, he was my grandfather's brother actually. They all knew he fled two days before the genocide according to my mother, but the odd thing is the Fire Nation must've known as well."

Zuko was puzzled. "What? If the Avatar wasn't there then Sozin wouldn't have bothered to launch the attack."

"Maybe he was just that sadistic," Sokka sneered.

"I can't believe that," the prince replied in a low voice. While Katara felt for him she was with her brother on this one.

"It is fortunate," Azula interjected, though her voice as low as her brother. "I was of the impression that all the airbenders were dead. Seems the great Crown Prince Zuko wasn't as great as Father," she said the last with a sneer, "Made him out to be."

The young monk's demeanor changed once again, this time to despondence. Katara noticed it first. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not an airbender," he mumbled softly. "I can still teach you to bend, I've memorized the forms and the techniques from my mother. However I cannot bend myself." He swallowed, forcing a smile on his face. "It will still be an honor to pass on my culture's bending to the Avatar."

All four others shared looks, knowing the teenager wasn't ok with any of this. There was no time to dwell on it at the moment though since Tenzin yawned. Her mothering instincts kicking in Katara rose. "We can talk this over at a later time Tenzin, so get some rest. I know this will all work out." Wordlessly she helped him up and guided him to a tent.

Several hours later, as she was preparing to go to sleep herself Katara saw Zuko lying at the edge of the campsite gazing at the stars. "Zuko? What are you doing?"

He was silent for a moment, wondering if she'd leave if he didn't answer. To his surprise though he felt her plop down on the grass beside him. "Back on the road, when it was just Uncle, Azula, and I before he set up the inn he'd extinguish the fire and tell us about the stars. We were still suffering badly from the banishment but when we gazed upon the stars, it all changed."

She could hear the fondness in his voice, the real man beneath the hardened façade. Katara found herself wanting to know more. "Tell me about them, the stars I mean. We have our own constellations but I want to know what the Fire Nation calls them."

"Well," he pointed upward at the magnificent sky, millions of lights twinkling above them. "That cluster right there is Jimmu, the first mortal Fire Lord who lead our people from the mainland, and above him is Agni, the line of stars right there. He has taken the form of a great dragon to protect his people."

"And what is he protecting them from?"

Zuko took her hand in his and guided it to the adjacent constellation, both feeling the small spark when they touched but not bringing it up. "See the three stars in a line, the blue star below and the red star above?"

"Yes," Katara replied, entranced at the majesty of it all.

"That is Orion, the hunter. It is actually a Latin-Semite constellation, protecting the land as my people move to settle it. The three foretell the coming clash between the great cultures."

"I always thought your cultures have lived under one crown."

"They did for the last three hundred years, but before that noooo." She saw him shake his head. "There were no less than seven great wars between our people before Fire Lord Iroh Imperator united the Fire Kingdom and the Latin-Semite Republic into the united Fire Nation. My uncle was named after him."

"You'll definitely have to tell me more." Katara wanted to sit up with him and talk about the stars all night but she needed her sleep. "I need to get my rest, but we will be having this discussion again Zuko. I still haven't told you about the Southern Lights."

"I'll hold you to that waterbender," he joked, squeezing her hand in his.

"Naturally firebender," she joked back. Katara rose and headed to her tent, mind thinking solely about his last gesture. It was… intimate, and she couldn't forget how safe she felt in that moment.

Leaning back into the grass Zuko kept playing back the touch. It had been unthinking but now that he thought about it… her hand fit perfectly into his.

Sitting by the fire, Sokka stared at the betrothal necklace in his hand. It had been hard to procure the standard whalebone needed for a classically Water Tribe necklace but he had done so, carving in the symbol for nearly two weeks until he got it just right. 'Oh had Suki loved it.' Tears welled up just thinking about his dead fiancée.

Ahead of him Azula was just coming out of meditation. "Hey Azula," he called out.

Puzzled for a moment that Sokka actually wanted to speak with her, the Fire Princess set it aside. "Yes… Sokka?" While peasant had been on the tip of her tongue he wasn't being an idiot so she decided to not antagonize him. "Spit it out."

"What can you tell me about Admiral Zhao?" He observed her raise her eyebrow in the light created by the flickering flames. "You were in Court as the Princess. You must know more than what us mere peasants do."

She couldn't help but smirk slightly at his self-depreciation, rising to sit beside him. "Zhao, he is in layman's terms a sadistic piece of trash fit to muck out a rhino-pigsty. However since he is loyal to a point and would never get the necessary popularity to succeed in deposing him father keeps him around. He is nominally married to my friend Ty Lee, of both Fire Nation and Latin-Semite nobility, but he would fuck any female with a pulse. There is nothing he enjoys more than preying on helpless women, especially criminals he captures."

A shudder coursed through Sokka at that statement. What would Suki have endured had she not killed herself. "That must make him despised."

Azula snorted. "You don't know the half of it. I doubt his own mother would love him. He has many enemies but none have the balls to act on it."

"How can one live without anyone close to you?" Sokka, despite living for so long in the Empire, never really understood it.

"It's simple, those who don't have any attachments never get hurt. It is the proper order of things. I strive for it every day."

"But you care about your brother, that I could tell from this afternoon. You had fear in your eyes when you thought he was about to be killed." He could sense Azula stiffening but pressed on. "There's nothing wrong with caring for someone, even…" he looked at the necklace. He still loved Suki, would always love her, but she would've wanted him to move on. 'She would want me to accept her death and let the pain go. "Even if you lose them. How else can one be truly happy?"

Getting no response, Sokka lifted his arm and patted the Fire Princess gently on the shoulder like he saw Zuko do on more than one occasion. Azula tensed. He was touching her on her scarred back. Her porcelain skin flushed red as it began to increase in temperature, the princess wanting to strike him down like she did in the bar. However, for reasons that she couldn't fathom, she just couldn't. Rising with a hiss, she swatted his arm away and headed back to her tent.

Sokka sat wordlessly in front of the fire, mind racing to contemplate what happened. 'Maybe there is something more to her than what she let's on.' A chirp beside him caused him to look down. There was Momo staring up at him, eyes wide. He chuckled. "Don't tell any of the others I said this, but you are kind of cute." Momo merely purred as he scratched behind his ear.

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"Wow, I'm an uncle," Aang observed with wide eyes. "Well, sort of. I'm not sure how family dynamics work when one is a spirit."

Katara giggled. This was only her second while-sleeping conversation with her Avatar past life but she had to admit, Aang was good company. He was like a younger, less annoying Sokka without the boorish appetite. "I'm sure they're the same everywhere."

"Yeah." Aang gave her a smile, though it quickly turned into a frown. "So Tenzin can't bend." They were sitting in a grassy knoll surrounded by rocks and trees somewhere in the Spirit World – Katara wasn't sure exactly where. "I'm glad he can still teach you to bend but all the same, it's like part of my culture is permanently gone. I couldn't possibly comprehend the pain of being the last of my kind."

She sighed, empathizing with him. 'After all I am the last waterbender of the Southern Tribe." But it wasn't the same, never the same. "Not all is lost. He has both a lemur and a sky bison." Katara smiled at seeing Aang's face perk up. Despite the enlightened state her past life had in some instances he was still an innocent youth. "Little Momo keeps getting on my brother's nerves but likes Azula for some reason. And Appa is a big lummox but nice once you get to know him." Her smile changed to confusion when she saw Aang's eyes glaze over. "Aang, is something wrong?"

"Appa? The bison's name is Appa?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied. "Tenzin saw it carved into the skin of his right horn, why?"

A tear fell from Aang's cheek. "He was my best friend. I hoped he lived after fleeing that awful iceberg." It all clicked, Aang having told her what happened when he emerged from the ice and faced the Emperor. "Fate is ironic in that way," he said, trying to put aside his tears of joy. "I don't think two separate Avatars have ever had a single animal companion."

They talked for another hour, Katara promising to look after Appa and Aang promising to talk to Roku about the mystery involving Crown Prince Zuko. "You need to find an Earthbending teacher soon Katara," the boy said, his voice uncharacteristically firm as she began to slip out of the Spirit World. "There are storm clouds gathering. They are far off but approaching quickly. You need to master your powers as quickly as possible."

"But where am I supposed to find one," she called as things slowly faded to black.

"The same way you found the others, observe closely." The last thing Katara could see before disappearing back into her sleep was a giggling little girl and a flying boar lifting her off into the blackness.

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Bending the water and oil out of her breakfast bowl, Katara placed it in the knapsack and tossed it onto Appa's saddle. The great beast groaned slightly but merely shifted. Chuckling softly, Katara patted his head. "Take it easy big guy. You're probably the only animal companion to two Avatars." Appa flickered his eye to her and then closed it.

Deciding to leave the bison to his nap the waterbender trotted over to where the others were sitting. "Morning all." Her gaze drifted to the newest member of the group. "Good to see you all perked up Tenzin," she observed with a smile.

Tenzin beamed at her. "Thanks. Hard not to when you finally have some good food in your belly and a restful night's sleep."

"Katara is an amazing cook, as a proper woman should be," Sokka needled with a cheeky grin, earning the expected glare from his sister. His grin faltered though when he caught Azula glowering darkly. "Seriously though," he quickly backtracked. "You should try her roasts. Mom taught her the recipe and they are to die for." He mimed stroking his belly.

'Does he always think about meat?' Azula asked herself. Her lip however did curl upward ever so slightly.

"Uh," Tenzin rubbed the back of his neck ever so slightly. "I'm actually a vegetarian." Sokka seemed completely shocked.

"It's an Air Nomad thing Sokka, calm down," Zuko told him. "Their philosophy dictates that to achieve spiritual enlightenment with the world and its conscious inhabitants that they also must be in complete peace with them. Ergo no meat."

"Wow, uh," Tenzin stammered. "I couldn't have put it better myself." He sounded like the teenager he was which pleased Katara.

"Ok," Zuko announced, unfurling a map from his pack and setting it flat on the ground. "The way I see it we are in a much more advantageous position than we were 24 hours ago. We have excellent transportation and three of the four elements accounted for."

"Way to state the obvious Jerkbender," Sokka retorted with a smirk. Katara turned to glare at him until she picked up the teasing lilt in his voice. In fact it sounded a lot like his constant bantering with her. 'Good development, though the irony is probably lost on him.' "However, we still need to find Katara an earthbending teacher."

"This will not be easy," Azula noted, brushing a wayward strand of raven black hair behind her ear. "Since we do not know Zhao and Dora's whereabouts they are probably still in Fabius Major so that is out. Ba Sing Se is close but it's practically the Fire Nation with a higher earthbender percentage."

"How so?" asked the newest member of "Team Avatar." His years of isolation negated a requisite knowledge of the world.

"Father practically ordered Long Feng and Fong to turn it into an 'Oasis of Subjugation' on the Continent. Every tenth person is probably a Dai Li informant so it's out. The countryside would be safest but it could take months to find a suitable person."

Katara nodded. "So what you're saying is that," she tapped her finger against the city closest to them. "Gaoling is the only option?"

"Yes."

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The bustling city of Gaoling arose as an important transportation hub astride the main road from Omashu to Ba Sing Se. Integrated into the Fire Nation in the 63rd year of Azulon's reign it had blossomed into a key instillation in the Eternal Phoenix Empire. "If there's an earthbending teacher for Katara here then we'll find it," Tenzin said cheerfully. Given the fact no one could know his true origins the boy was clad in a black Latin-Semite work tunic and trousers with a red diadem wrapped around his head.

"Keep your voice down," Azula hissed. "You may not have had much contact with people at the air temple, but in the Empire it is safe to assume that everyone is a Dai Li informant." The air nomad nodded, pursing his lips. 'Poor guy,' Katara thought sympathetically. 'Must be a lot to take in.' She set a comforting hand on his shoulder, earning a smile from Tenzin.

Taking in the bustling crowds of people, Zuko turned to Katara. "Ok, so there's got to be someone here. Anyone take your fancy Katara?"

"It doesn't work like that Zuko," she answered as they pulled into a side alley for more privacy. "A bending teacher is almost like a parent as you know and for me it is even more crucial. There needs to be a special bond greater than the normal student/master relationship." At Zuko shifting his feet uncomfortably at that Katara grew puzzled. Then the subtext of what she said dawned on her and she blushed softly.

'Oh this is interesting,' Azula thought, smirking slightly. 'But now is not the time.' "Katara is right. We can't just pick someone randomly off the street."

Sokka thought for a moment. "The big issue is finding the proper place to find a suitable teacher. A place like that," he pointed to the sign hanging above a courtyard: Chi Fu's Earthbending Academy. "Will not work since it's too official. We need something more unofficial, underground so to speak since those will be less likely to include informants."

The Princess blinked. "Um, wow, uh…" 'Was this the "Idea guy Katara kept reminding her of?"' She shrugged her surprise aside. "Exactly. I couldn't have said it better myself."

"That's the pinnacle of Zula's compliments, enjoy it," Zuko whispered to Sokka's ear with a chuckle. The water tribe warrior couldn't help but preen, then inwardly do a double take in confusion as to why he was enjoying her praise. Didn't she hate him?

Their conversation was paused by the rather loud banter as two teenage boys left the earthbending academy. "You got the tickets?" one asked the other.

"Yep, I definitely ain't missing it this year. All the best earthbenders'll be there and the best part? No holds barred!" They slapped their palms together with a whoop.

"Maybe they have the right idea," said Tenzin. "Excuse me fellas," he called over with a friendly smile; now that he was safe with friends the natural joviality of his great-uncle manifested itself. "Where is this event that you can't miss?"

The two stared at the chipper teenager. "Oh, it's at the corner of nonna," one replied with a sly look.

"Nonna?"

"Yeah, as in nonna your business!" The two guffawed and began walking away.

"That could have gone better," Zuko deadpanned.

"Reminded me of those moronic leopard-seal clubbers back home. Only one way to deal with those," Sokka pounded a fist into his palm. "Care to join me Zuko?

"Eh, I could always use more practice in hand to hand," the Prince grinned.

They moved to follow the jerks when a slender yet strong hand gripped their shoulders. "Before you run off with the peasant Zuzu, you ought to think for a moment. You are usually quite good at it."

"And how would you get this information Zula?"

"Simple, all it needs is a feminine touch." She smiled sultrily that made Zuko want to gag. "Come on Katara." Shrugging at the looks the boys gave her, Katara ran off after Azula. "Hey boys, wait up!"

"Is she always that way when she needs something?" Tenzin asked the two older boys.

"When she realizes breaking heads isn't the most effective course of action."

'Well she's an expert at both,' Sokka thought.

'Katara would be perfect at that,' Zuko thought at the same time. Neither of them said it out loud for fear of the other slugging them.

After no time at all the girls had returned. "Hope you guys aren't busy tonight," Katara announced with a dramatic flair, "Because we're going to Earth Rumble Nine!"

"How'd you get it out of them so fast?" Tenzin inquired.

The Avatar shared a knowing look with Azula. "Us girls have our ways."

Around the corner the two friends were struggling as best they could, frozen sideways to the walls and with all their hair singed off.

A/N: Ok, by a show of hands who didn't laugh at that end scene? I just couldn't resist putting Azula in that, it would have fit her perfectly!

Before anyone asks, I want to explain about Tenzin's name. While I am trying to avoid LoK references since I didn't particularly like that show, I chose to include this one for the following reason. I wanted to have a symbolic air nomad name to reference the "Last Airbender" thing. I couldn't use Aang for obvious reasons so I decided on Tenzin. Hope it's alright with all of you :)

I also decided not to make him an Airbender because since he wants to be one it'll create some drama and character development as the story progresses. Remember how Sokka felt despondent since he was the lone nonbender in the gaang? Well imagine adding on the fact that you can't even carry on the most important part of your culture and you'll get Tenzin. I have a plan trust me :)

Imagine him as an older Aang, tougher and a little more hardened. Assume the introductory stuff we saw in the first episode happened before he explained about the genocide. It's easier that way cause I don't want to get to detailed into it.

Hope you guys liked the little Zutara moment and the pensive Sokkla moment. Believe me, more where that came from coming up ;)

Next up! EARTH RUMBLE NINE!

Be sure to review.

God Bless

Alex