A/N: I want to thank Demac, Rohain Tahquil, Gibsonmar and doctor anthony for their awesome reviews, you guys rock!!

Chapter 10 – The Lone Warrior

The seas of the South Pole were quiet and still, despite the deathly cold temperature, there was an odd tranquillity about the deep ocean that most fishermen of the south couldn't resist. Icebergs sharp and narrow were jutting out of the deep blue sea, like sliver knives that glimmered omnisciently in the moonlight. To any stranger, the South Seas seemed to be a picture out of different universe, but to Sokka, it was a good place to think. The young warrior was alone on his quaint little boat as he paddled through the seas, disturbing the stillness of the water with small ripples in the smooth surface.
It was one reason why he frequently came out here, being out alone in a vast ocean far away from a community that would pry into his thoughts. Being alone enabled him to think freely about all of the issues he kept locked at the back of his mind when he was busy. His blue eyes were focused on a vague direction to the west, as if he could see all the way to the island of Kyoshi, his mind spun with the thoughts of a girl with bright blue eyes and the most incredible smile he had ever seen. Suki had been away from him for far too long, it had been nearly four months since she had last seen her and even though they had corresponded frequently, it simply wasn't enough for the warrior. That in turn, brought out another issue, while he was eager to see her she did not seem to reciprocate these feelings. More than once, he had proposed that he come over to Kyoshi Island for a week or so, but he had received replies of vague enthusiasm that gave him the impression that it was only polite acceptance to his offer. As time passed, the replies to his letters became increasingly shorter and there was a larger gap between each one sent. Preparation for the Peace Summit is a huge undertaking and she has lots to do Sokka understood that, but shouldn't he get a little attention? Was preparation for a Peace Summit so time consuming that she couldn't take time out to write him a decent letter?

There was a lot of work to do, Love you, see you soon, Bye.

Those were the words she had written in her last letter, the letter he had received two months ago. It was as if she was trying to fulfil some sort of obligation. That was when disturbing thoughts started to cross Soka's mind, what if she had found someone else? What if there was some other guy who she had been spending time with and was using the toil of her work as an excuse? Jealousy stabbed him with venom, as he contemplated the possibility. There was such a huge distance between the two of them, and she was the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, a prominent title in her homeland. What if she, like Yue, had duties to her people, and such duties included marrying a local?

The thought brought out another issue, Sokka turned away from the general direction of Kyoshi Island and turned towards the moon with sorrowful eyes. Yue had chosen her duties over him.

"I understand why you did, what you did" whispered Sokka, as if Yue was sitting right in front of him in the boat instead glowing down on him in the skies. "We would have died if you didn't sacrifice yourself, but if the moon wasn't destroyed and you were still here, would you have chosen your duties over me?"

The moon glimmered sorrowfully, as if feeling his confusion.

"We connected in a way few people did" he said. "One look at each other and we were bound into this spell that no amount of bending could conjure, we spoke to each other with no barriers and for a moment I felt happy and alive"

Sokka closed his eyes and he looked down. "But you were willing to walk away" he said. "In spite of everything said and done, you walked away and that hurt, Yue, I don't care if the moon was destroyed, or the fate of the tribes was at stake, or if the world was thrown in darkness, you let go of my hand without a second's hesitation, and that hurt me more than anyone ever realized"

The warrior took a deep breath and continued. "I moved on because I had to" he said. "We were fighting a war, Aang had to train, so I told myself to suck it up, be a man, and get over you. But the truth is… I was only able to move on because I met a girl who was like you in so many ways. She's beautiful, proud, passionate and protective of the people she cares about. But she's also fierce in a way that you never were and she doesn't need my protection the way you did"

Sokka opened his eyes and looked up, a single tear streaming down his face.

"What if she doesn't need me, Yue?" he said. "Will she choose her duties over me, just like you did?"

The moon glimmered down at him, offering no answer but bathing him in a bright light, as if trying to comfort the lost warrior.

Thunder forked the blood red skies, illuminating the dark ground but only for the briefest moment. Nothing but black, muddy ground and gnarled trees surrounded him. Aang did not know where he was, but he was certain about one thing.

"This can't be the Spirit World" he murmured. "Whatever this place is, this can't be the Spirit World"

There was no way the Spirit World would be this chaotic or hideous. Aang looked around, taking in his surroundings, there was no clue about what he should be doing or where he should be going.

"What am I supposed to do?" he wondered out aloud.

As if responding to his question, a thin bright light lit up at his feet and continued in a single line to a distance where he could not see. Apprehensive, but not afraid, the avatar walked down the line, his feet placed on either side of the luminescent light. Aang continued to walk down the line. The Avatar couldn't shake off the prickly sensation that he was being watched. The glowing line led him into a cave. The young airbender stopped at the entrance, hesitating to enter a dark gloomy area without knowing why. As he stood at the entrance, pondering his decision, a loud cry came from the mouth of the cave. It was a high-pitched cry that expressed fear and pain. Aang gulped nervously, his heartbeat jumping, and the hair on the back of his neck prickled unpleasantly.

"Hello?" he called out. "Is someone there? Are you al right?"

More cries followed, but they were different, they did not express fear or pain but anger and determination.

"Take it down"

"I'll distract it, the rest of you bring it down!"

"Don't let it escape the cave!"

Aang recognised the last voice.

"Roku!" he cried. "Roku are you in there?"

His voice was drowned out by the most inhumane howl he had ever heard; the grounds beneath his feet vibrated, dust from the cave crumbled to the floor.

"Roku!" cried Aang. "Roku where are you?"

No response. Every instinct in Aang's body was telling him to run away, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon his friend and the other people in the cave. Trembling with trepidation, the Avatar stepped into the cave. His weary grey eyes darted around the dark cave, looking for some sort of clue as to what was going on. Nothing but pitch darkness filled the tunnel like a black void, Aang lit a small fire in his palm, the fire provided temporary light but nothing that could penetrate the never ending darkness, the thought of making a bigger fire crossed Aang's mind but he quickly dismissed the idea. Whoever was in the cave, would get a fair warning and he did not want to give them that advantage. Aang continued to walk along the tunnel, his limbs trembling with fear. The silence was oppressive; it felt like deadweight putting extra pressure on his lungs, hindering his breath. Questions exploded in his mind like fireworks. What happened? Where was Roku? Who didn't he want escaping from the caves? Who were the other people fighting alongside him?

Aang suddenly stopped dead in his tracks; the darkness was suddenly broken by a red light that seemed to be coming from around the bend. To make matters worse, Aang could hear a soft growling, like a beast reclining after having fed on it's prey. Aang took a deep breath and steadied himself, there was no good turning back after coming so far. Holding his breath, he turned the corner and gasped at what he saw. Lying at his feet, was a body covered in blood, the body was hardly moving at all, it opened it's eyes and stared at the horrified Avatar.

"Aang…"

The airbender, gasped in horror.

"Avatar Yangchin!" he cried out.

A mourn to his left caught his attention, a man dressed in a blue parka and wearing a wolf's head headdress was breathing hard, a puddle of blood near his temple.

"Avatar Kuruk!" cried Aang, running towards the Avatar. "What happened here?"

"Aang" he gasped. "Run"

Aang shook his head.

"I can't run. I need to find Roku!"

"Aang…"

Roku was crawling towards him, the old man was flat on his stomach, dragging himself forward with his arms, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"Roku!" cried Aang, running towards his predecessor kneeling before him. "What happened-"

"Aang, you need to get out of here" he said. "Save yourself"

"But-"

A low growl caught his attention, and he looked up. A massive shadowy form was crouching over a body, Aang did not need to look at the green dress nor the gold fans lying at her side to recognise Avatar Kyoshi. The woman's face was deathly pale, even with her makeup, Aang had seen that look before, it was the look of death. The shadowy form looked up at Aang with large red eyes that glowed like ambers in a fire, a red substance was dripping from it's mouth and onto Kyoshi's ravaged stomach. Aang gasped in horror.

"What are you doing!" he cried. "Are you eating Avatar Kyoshi?"

The monster growled in response, and leant on it's hunches, ready to pounce.

"Aang!" wheezed Roku. "You must get out of here"

But Aang was not listening, for the monster was running towards him. Aang run forward and leapt into the air to summon his air scooter. He twirled gracefully expecting to land on air, instead, he landed on the hard earth. He barely had time to gasp in pain before the monster loomed over him baring it's teeth.

"Why can't I bend?" cried Aang.

The monster leaned over him and roared at his face. Aang was overtaken with the stench of raw meat and the loud howling in his ears. When the roar came to an end, Aang looked up at the monster, he could not see anything apart from the glowing eyes and the large mouth lined with viscous teeth. The monster eyed him as if he were delicious treat. The horror Aang felt increased tenfold.

"I don't want to die!" he cried out, hopelessly. "I don't want to die!"

The monster gave him a sadistic smile, before lunging for his throat….

It was with a high-pitched yell that could have woken up the entire tribe, did Avatar Aang awake from his sleep. The airbender was panting hard as if he had just run a mile and was sweating from all pores. Aang placed his elbows on his knees and rested his face against the palms of his hands. This had to be his second nightmare, and by far his worst one. Aang shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to remember the horrifying images of his dream, but his mind seemed to have other ideas. Despite his reluctance, Aang recalled with vivid clarity the black and red scenery, his horror when he saw his past lives on the floor dying and the fear he felt when he saw the monster, the abomination that was feeding on Kyoshi before it turned to him. Aang shivered with fear when he recalled the gruesome image of Kyoshi's insides spilled out all over the floor. What was that monster and why was it attacking the other Avatars? Aang shivered, for so long, ever since that day on the Lion Turtle he had looked upon his past reincarnations with respect, he held a slight reverence for them not just because they were older but they were also more powerful and far wiser in dealing with the issues of being the Avatar and maintaining world peace. The sight of their mauled bodies on the floor was more frightening than Aang would ever admit. What was even more disturbing was because they weren't random dreams, like the ones he had when he gone insomniac for three straight days. These dreams were more vivid, more emotional and more frightening. Was the Spirit World trying to tell him something? Aang groaned into his pillow.

This is bad, this is really bad he thought to himself.

Suddenly, a horrifying thought occurred to him, what if he had just seen a premonition? What if there was a demon lurking in the Spirit World hunting down dead Avatars?

"I need to contact Roku" he said, tossing aside his blankets and assuming a meditative posture.

Aang closed his eyes and began to focus.

Roku he thought. Roku I need to talk to you

No response.

Aang persisted in this vein, he had not meditated for over a year and he had not made an attempt to contact his past lives since the day of the comet, so he knew that it would be a while before the blue spirits appeared before him.

It was in this state that Katara found him, sitting in a meditative posture amidst his furs and murmuring. "Roku, I need to talk to you"

For a moment, she wondered if she should disturb him while he was meditating. During their travels, Aang had always complained about how difficult it was to meditate, but he soon began to realize that trying to get Toph and Sokka to be quiet was like asking a chicken to sing a sonnet and so his complaints seized. Katara was about to leave when Aang let out a loud yell, alarmed Katara turned around to see him beating the ground with his fists.

"Aang?"

"I just don't get it!" he said, angrily. "Why can't I talk to him!"

"Talk to who?" she said, completely lost.

"Roku! I need to talk to Roku!"

Sighing with frustration, Aang got to his feet and tossed aside the furs as if they had done him some offence.

"Aang" said Katara, feeling concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"No everything's not okay!" snapped Aang, gesturing towards the furs. "Why did you get me furs, Katara? Why? You know I hate it when living beings are slaughtered but do you have to make me sleep in their skin?"

Katara was taken aback by his aggressive tone.

"Aang" she said. "It isn't-"

"Are you trying to make fun of the Air Nomad's beliefs? This is just like the day before the comet when you guys were ganging up on me just because I didn't want to kill Ozai"

Katara had had enough, it was simply too early in the morning to be shouting like this, clearly something had happened, something that had nothing to do with the furs, but she needed to rein in Aang's temper before talking to him.

"Aang, stop it" she snapped. "It isn't like that-"

"Oh really?" said Aang, getting even more worked up. "Then why-"

Something exploded off the wall above Aang's head and Toph entered the room with something blue and solid in her hand, her hair was frilly and dishevelled and an angry look on her face.

"Will you shut up!" she yelled, enunciating the last two words. "It's too early in the morning to be yelling, and I can't sleep!"

"You're one to talk!" roared Aang. "Nobody asked you to come in here!"

Toph was at least a head shorter than Katara but she was no less intimidating, in some ways, even more so.

"You may not have asked me to come in here. But you're asking for trouble if you're gonna wake me up early in the morning!"

"What's going on here?"

Katara turned around to meet the stern gaze of her former mentor turned grandfather. The old man's sharp blue eyes glanced at Aang, who was fuming with anger and then at Toph who was glaring in a vague direction to the Avatar's right, then back at Katara. The master frowned at the young girl, as if the entire ordeal was her fault.

"Don't make me ask again," he said. "What's going on here?"

Toph knew better than to pick a fight with a master who was surrounded by his own element.

"Nothing" she snapped. "I'm going back to sleep"

With that she shoved her way out of the room. As soon as Toph disappeared Pakku turned to glare at Aang.

"Disappointing, Avatar Aang, truly disappointing" he said. "How can you expect to keep world balance if you can't rein in that childish temper of yours?"

Aang opened his mouth to say something but Pakku cut him off.

"You may have saved the world by just barely defeating Ozai" he said, putting emphasis on the word. "But it does not give you the right to yell like a spoilt brat and disturb the sanctity in my house"

"I'm surprised there's any sanctity with you living here" said Aang, before he could stop himself.

For a moment, everyone in the room froze as the words sunk in. Katara was quick to react, she ran in front of her grandfather, deliberately blocking his view of Aang who was recoiling in shame.

"Aang didn't mean that. He's just a little grouchy, it's my fault really" she said, with a small laugh. "I woke him earlier than I should and he's hungry because he didn't have breakfast"

Pakku's glare did not waver. "I can see that the world has indulged the Avatar though he's nothing more than a spoilt brat" snapped Pakku, glaring at Katara. "You're to blame as well"

"But-"

"Covering for him when he's spoken down to his elders in such a despicable manner. Honestly, Katara, you're not the boy's mother"

Pakku paused to let the words sink in, Katara glared at Pakku, incensed that he would say such words.

"But if you insist on acting like his mother" he continued. "I suggest that you teach him some manners. I'm departing today with the fleet for the South Seas. I expect a more well-mannered boy when I return"

With those words, he turned and left the room.

Aang sighed and rubbed his head in embarrassment. This was not how he wanted his first morning in the South Pole to go. Hesitantly, he turned towards Katara, who had her back turned to him.

"Katara, I-"

"It's okay, Aang" she said, but he could feel disappointment behind those sentiments.

"Katara, I'm sorry!" he cried out, unable to take her tone.

There was a pause, while Katara contemplated her reply. After what seemed like an eternity, she spoke.

"You should know, Aang" she said. "That it takes a lot more than an apology to make up for certain things"

"But-"

"Pakku was right" said Katara. "Your attitude was completely unjustifiable"

Aang felt like he was robbed off his breath, she was going to agree with that old geezer? Before he could see another word, Katara left the room, leaving Aang forlorn and alone.

Lee was not happy. The lieutenant of the Dragon Regiment was displeased with the disposition that he and his men were currently in, and his frustration was peaking with each passing hour. The situation was getting increasingly dire, that much was evident. Supplies were running dangerously low, and even though, some of the civilians had gone out fishing, what they brought back was not enough to feed the populace and the army. Zac Fou, Lee had come to realize was extremely uncooperative with the military, he refused to help in anyway possible, stating that the people were doing fine until they had decided to intervene, his lack of cooperation amplified Lee's problems because the old man could have been a real help.

To make matters worse, there was no prospect of the East and Twenty-Third regiments arriving any time soon. Qin had sent a message to the Imperial City, demanding to know why no one was there to assist them but no response had come as of yet. These problems were just the tip of the iceberg, Lee was not born into nobility, but he had enough intelligence to know that menacing powers were pulling strings within the army. How else would it explain why the Twenty Third Regiment of the Phoneix Division was absent even though they had received a message that explicitly stated that they were here and had been for the past week? To make matters worse, Zuko had decided to explore the Dai Chi Mountains all by himself, which, in Lee's opinion, was an extremely stupid thing to do. Not only was the Crown Prince putting himself in danger, but he was also needed here to get a grip on the situation before it spiralled out of control.

Lee was already having a difficult time managing the army without having to cover for the Prince's absence. Lee knew that if word had gotten out that Zuko was not among them (or worse, captured) then he and Qin would have a difficult time in their hands. Lee always felt that Zuko underestimated his influence over his men and the ordinary people.

"Lieutenant Lee" Lee snapped to attention and nodded.

"What is it, Sen Su?"

"A letter has come through from the Imperial City" came the reply.

Lee almost sighed a breath of relief.

Finally! He thought. Some word on the other regiments

"It has the blue ribbon" said Sen Su.

"Dammit" cursed Lee.

The blue ribbon indicated that it was only for the Crown Prince to read. But the Crown Prince was not here at the moment, and Lee had a feeling he wouldn't be for a while. Who knew what was in the letter?

It could contain vital information he thought to himself.

But then opening it would mean violating the law, on no account was he to open a letter that was meant solely for the eyes of someone else, especially the Crown Prince. But then, would Zuko mind if a friend of his opened it? Lee guessed that he would, Zuko was a private person and would be furious with him. But then again, Zuko was nowhere in the camp.

This is exactly why I told him not to go thought Lee, furiously.

"Lieutenant?" Lee took a deep breath, the situation demanded that he break the rules, and Lee was never good at following the law to begin with.

"Hand it over, Sen Su" he said. "I'll hand it over to the Crown Prince"

Sen Su frowned. "Maybe I should-"

"Are you questioning my orders, Captain?" snapped Lee.

Sen Su shook his head.

"Of course not, Lieutenant" he said, handing the letter over.

Lee took the scroll and headed towards his tent. He would of course; look like he was keeping it for Zuko because he couldn't let the letter fall into inappropriate hands, but in reality he was going to open and read it.

"It's not like I ever followed the rules anyway" he murmured to himself. "I've always been a bit of a rebel"

The lieutenant entered his tent and glanced around in dismay, since he had taken over operation of the regiment, his tent had been unceremoniously dumped with scrolls and maps. He needed to restore some order to his tent, but first, he had other matters to tend to. Lee glanced at the scroll wrapped with a blue ribbon that was so dark it was almost black. Lee was certain that had Zuko been in his shoes he would not have opened the letter, he would not have broken the law and risked his honour. But Lee was not Zuko, Lee did not grow up into wealth and he was certainly not bombarded with ridiculous ideals such as honour. From thieves to rapists, Lee had encountered every kind of rascal, who did not uphold to the ideals of honour. Growing up in the slums of North Chung-Ling was not easy for a young boy, and if you did not have the strength to struggle through each day, then your life span would be incredibly short. Lee knew that Zuko's motivation to complete 'Reconstruction' was honour and patriotism, two things he was not familiar with. While most men his age joined the army because they felt that they had obligation to their country, Lee joined the army because saw it as the only way to improve his living and repay the man who had rescued from the pits of despair and loneliness. But Lee had not been able to do what was expected of him, and as a result, it had lead to his exile until the war ended.

Lee couldn't help but smirk to himself, as he turned his back on the tent flap.

"Forgive me, my prince," he murmured, as he loosened the knot on the scroll. "But I must disobey your law this time" With those words, he unfurled the scroll and read it's contents.

"He's the crown jewel, our most valuable bargaining chip, make sure nothing happens to him"

"Keep him bound at all times, there's no need to release him until absolutely necessary"

The voices he heard were nothing but vague noises to his mind, Zuko struggled through the ocean of dizziness, while at the same time listening to the voices that spoke.

"I can't believe that he was this easy to catch, especially for the likes of Sui"

"Overrated punk, that's all he is, I bet the palace guards can beat him without breaking a sweat"

Zuko had regained enough conscience to understand that two men were talking. The prince opened a bleary eye and looked around, his first impression was that he was in a void of some sort. But as his vision cleared he could see that he was in a cave., the looming shadows splashed across the walls was the result of a small fire surrounded by several other men, all of them cloaked in black. Zuko glared at the two tall figures that loomed over him, he couldn't see their faces due to their masks.

"Welcome, Prince Zuko" said one man, in a deep, booming voice. "To our humble abode"

Zuko continued to glare at the man who spoke.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he snapped.

The reply he got was a kick to his gut, Zuko gasped as he felt the wind knocked out of him and he coughed violently until he regained his breathing.

"Understand this prince" said the man with the deep voice. "You are not in the Imperial City, you are far away from your base of authority"

"You don't know what you are talking about" said Zuko, in a raspy voice. "My regiment is not too far from here"

"Yes, but they cannot find us, to them these mountains are nothing more than a bunch of caves, only we know the true nature of the Dai Chi Mountains" Zuko frowned.

True nature?

The prince's thoughts were interrupted by another sharp jab to his side.

"Might as well as get used to it Prince" said the man with the deep voice. "You are stuck with us"

Zuko could only glare at them helplessly as his hands were tightly bound.

"What are you going to do to me?" he said.

The men ignored his question and instead, turned their back to him and made their way towards the campfire.

"Why are you keeping me here?" he roared.

His voice echoed across the cave, but there was no answer but deafening silence.

A/N: Wow, this chapter turned out to be completely different than from what I originally planned. I hope you guys enjoyed, what do you think of Sokka's POV (lack of a better term) and Aang's tantrum? Review and let me know.