A/N:Merendinoemiliano: Thanks for the reviews. I'm not a very skilled writer, but I will try my best to follow your critique, thank you.

To the guest reviewers: Letting you know now this story is inspired by Ogro's "Distorted Reality" and is somewhat parallel to the canon storyline, so there will be eventual Aang/Azula.


Time slowed down for all three benders. Zuko, Aang, and Azula all stood facing Sokka and the lake shore, positioned between the Water Clan and the village. The villagers looked on apprehensively. Uncertainty hung in the air of what may happen if the Prince and Princess were defeated or worse, captured here.

"Think we can take them?" Azula asked the other two, her gaze switching between the enemy Prince and his soldiers. Her brother shrugged where he stood while Aang slowly aimed his staff, waiting for someone to make the next move.

As if to answer her question, more soldiers began filing out of the bow of the ship, joining the semi-circle of foes.

Sokka rolled his arms forward again, and the water in the lake obeyed. Some of the new soldiers mimicked the movement, increasing the size and width of the wave.

"..!" Surprised, Zuko clapped his hands together, flames spewing from his fingertips like an oversized whip, attempting to neutralize the offensive. The sheer volume of water made it seem like an impossible task. Even with Azula and Aang's help, with the Princess kicking out whips of flame herself and controlled air currents from the Avatar, dangerous amounts of water still managed to break through.

A torrent of cylinder shaped water crashed into Zuko, flinging him backwards into the dirt. Several soldiers took the chance to go after him, their animal skin boots kicking up dust. Azula turned to see the commotion.

"Aang! Go after the leader! I'll handle the others!" she shouted, punching towards the soldiers while they were distracted. One of them was hit in the back with concussive fire, knocking him unconscious as he hit the ground painfully. Aang nodded, though she already turned away.

Sokka made the first move, opting to draw his bone club from his sheath. Forgoing his bending for the moment, he sprinted towards the Avatar, swinging his weapon practiced ease.

Taking stock of his surroundings, Aang saw the massive Water Clan ship and the lake. The area was wide open, which worked to his advantage. Keeping the away end of his staff close to his chest, he used it as a guide to constantly nudge the Water Prince off target. Sokka managed to block the rare offensive attack from Aang's staff, but every thrust from himself was redirected by Aang.

"Darn it, kid, hold still!" Sokka shouted, attempting to reign in his frustration. Aang stuck his tongue out in concentration, ducking under Sokka's latest swing, and sliding over the ground under his opponent's legs. Kicking out with the assistance of an air current, Sokka was launched bottom up before landing painfully on his side near his ship.

Losing patience, Sokka jumped back to his feet and chopped sideways with his hand, throwing volumes of water towards Aang and his friends. Aang twirled his staff, allowing a cyclone of air to protect him from the attack. Zuko and Azula weren't so lucky.

Startled by the attack and thrown backwards, Zuko and Azula were caught in another ice prison by the soldiers. Those who could not bend raised their weapons at the siblings.

"If they bend, they get hurt," Sokka warned.

Aang looked back, seeing his friends trapped in ice up to the neck. The backdrop of trees almost looked ominous in the setting. Feeling helpless, Aang looked down, then at his staff, weighing his options.

He sighed internally, knowing what he had to do. He got them all into this mess. It was his responsibility to get them out of it.

Twirling his staff once, he held it in one hand, pointing his glider as if offering it to his enemy.

"If you let them go...I'll go with you," he said slowly.

Sokka hesitated a moment before relaxing, and nodded his head once. Without a word, he took Aang's offered staff and gestured for his men to return to the ship. As if they just weren't in a fight, the soldiers all settled back into a single-file line, following Aang and Sokka back up the ramp.

"Aang! Don't!" Azula tried to warn him as the slab of metal rose from the ground with an audible crunch. Hearing her exclamation, Aang turned around, smiling reassuringly. As the shadows of the closing ramp washed over him, his smile faded. The ramp was closed, and Azula's eyes narrowed as the ship's engine came to life.


Melting the ice off of themselves took a while longer this time. The ice was thicker and more resilient, but they did have the additional help of the villagers who did what they could to free them.

Thankfully, they were both out of the ice now.

If father were here, this never would have happened.

Azula angrily stared at the ground as they both walked from the clearing. Neither of them had an idea of what to do next. Azula wanted to rescue Aang somehow, but she wasn't sure of the next step, and was certain that Zuko was glad he was gone.

"Azula-"

"What, Zuko?" she cut off impatiently, her own conclusions still fresh in her mind. She rolled her eyes. "Going to say 'told you so'," she continued sarcastically, imitating Zuko's voice as their feet crunched fallen leaves while they walked. Zuko frowned at the barb.

"I was going to say I was sorry," Zuko retorted, unable to keep some venom from entering his voice.

Azula cringed at the response, unable to look Zuko in the eyes. "Oh..."

Zuko sighed, his tone softening. "I was wrong," he said, tousling his hair absentmindedly. "He's just a kid that needs help."

"Well, glad you finally realized it," Azula couldn't help but snark. Zuko said nothing.

"Follow me," he insisted, breaking into a light jog. They had entered the village at this point, and Zuko ignored this as he continued to run.

"Where are we going?" Azula raised her voice so she could be heard. They just passed the market stalls they had past when they first arrived.

They past the village entirely, stopping at another clearing.

"Appa," Azula realized, seeing the Bison in the clearing. Groaning lightly, the fluffy beast gave Azula a large lick as she approached.

"Ugh..."

Zuko snorted at the sight of Azula covered in Appa's slobber. He walked up to the Bison, placing a hand on Appa's nose.

"I'm sure you were expecting someone else...Aang's in trouble," Zuko said, head bowed. "Will you help us?" Azula looked at her brother in surprise.

Appa roared as if agreeing, nuzzling his large nose against Zuko's palm.

"So, you're going after Aang," Azula asked, relieved.

"We're going after him," he corrected, a smile on his face.

"Hold on, children," another voice cut in, making them jump.

"Uncle!" Zuko recognized the voice first. The siblings looked behind them to see Fire Nation soldiers wading through the trees, followed by a palanquin carried by four attendants. Iroh jumped out of the vehicle almost as soon as it stopped. He sighed, almost looking relieved to be on solid ground.

"Ah, to be on solid ground again," he breathed, actually having kneeled down to kiss the grass.

Zuko ran over to pull him into a hug and Azula came over, standing off to the side of her brother.

"Don't deny your dear old Uncle a hug, Azula," Iroh scolded cheerfully, pulling her into the embrace.

"Hello, Uncle..." Azula greeted at a mumble, face coloring in embarrassment.

"I am sorry I could not get here sooner," Iroh said solemnly, releasing them from the hug. "I saw the flash of light, and I came as soon as I could."

"They took the Avatar," Azula replied, her tone urgent. She ran a hand through her hair. "Now, I know it's dangerous," Azula ventured, hoping she could convince Uncle. He raised a hand, though, gently cutting her off.

"I am not here to stop you," Iroh said, smiling as if he knew some secret. He waved over to one of the attendants at the Palanquin.

"Zuko, I took the liberty of bringing these to you."

Zuko's eyes widened, seeing the weapons the attendant brought. "My Dao swords..."

"And this is for you, my niece," Iroh continued, reaching into the folds of his robe. He pulled out a stylized hairpin. It was red with a red flame decal attached to it.

"My crown," Azula said softly. Her face fell remembering all the memories associated with it.

Her mother helped fix her hair into the traditional topknot, where it would be perfect. Every time.

Azula, you've always had such beautiful hair.

"Thank you, Uncle," Azula said sincerely. She didn't know how she felt about Mother right now, but she knew she was grateful Iroh had brought it. Shaking her head, another thought came to her. "How did you know we'd be here?"

"When I saw that beam of light," Iroh said, glancing at the Bison, "I knew that Avatar had returned. Both of your destinies are linked to his," Iroh hesitated before ushering the two onto the Bison. "Explanations can come later. You must hurry if you are to catch up with the Water Clan."

Zuko squeezed Iroh's shoulder. "Thank you, Uncle." Iroh returned the gesture with a nod before bidding them farewell.

Zuko and Azula rushed to clamber onto Appa.

Zuko scratched his head once he got ahold of the reigns. "What was it he said-"

"Yip, Yip!" Azula cut in.

With a loud roar, Appa slammed his tail onto the ground, launching into the air. Iroh and men shielded their faces as the displaced wind whipped at both the loose folds of their clothing and the forest. The trees swayed with the wind.

Iroh smiled as he lowered his arm. Great things awaited those two, he thought wistfully.