Taking in the mid-morning sun, a cloak-less Tahu sat atop the ship's tower and watched out for any stragglers. His eyes only caught the ice which the ship passed for hours. Maybe if Tahu had a mask like that white stranger's, then he could see far enough to be sure.

A frown spread across Tahu's current mask. Despite its power, it couldn't shield his mind from the gnawing thoughts. The sight and the words of his strange "sibling" plagued him like the dreams of his long sleep. Tahu's irritation boiled against the frigid air, enough for his steam to join the ship's trail of black smoke.

"I thought you might be up here," said Iroh, rising through the roof hatch. He approached, a cloak in his arms. "I'm afraid the old one is done for, but you may take a liking to this new cloak. It matches your color well."

Letting his anger simmer, Tahu shivered slightly and stood to accept the gift. The cloak unfolded and draped over his shoulders, showing a plethora of fiery patterns over crimson folds. "It is well made. Thank you, General Iroh."

"Retired general," Iroh corrected with a playful smile. "You have been here long enough to call me Iroh. You can even call me uncle!"

"I don't think Prince Zuko would like that."

"No, he wouldn't." Iroh chuckled heartily while Tahu intently watched the passing ice. The retired general noticed and said with a straight face, "But it isn't my nephew that troubles you. It's those intruders, isn't it?"

Tahu nodded hesitantly. "One of them… He looked like me."

Iroh raised his bushy eyebrows. "Really?" Tahu nodded, and Iroh stroked his beard. "Hmm… my nephew didn't mention this to me, as I was-er-preoccupied."

Tahu wasn't surprised. Zuko and his men didn't get a good look at the white warrior. Iroh didn't either, having slept initially and then woke up to a frozen door. "Did the Fire Nation know?"

"No. We would have searched the entire globe if we did," Iroh answered honestly. "The Fire Nation has been to the South Pole many times and not once did they find another like you. They would have if he was a waterbender."

The acceptable answer didn't ease Tahu's thoughts, and the words of the white 'waterbender' echoed again in his mind. "They will come after us," Tahu told Iroh. "We might be seeing them again soon."

Iroh's hand left his beard. "My nephew thinks so. What will you do if we meet them?"

As Tahu pondered on his answer, a new head, gray-haired and spiky, popped through the roof latch. "Iroh, sir!" the man called. "We'll be departing soon! Prince Zuko is calling for you on the bridge!"

"Thank you, lieutenant," Iroh called back. Before leaving, he glanced at Tahu. "Do you want to come in? It is freezing up here."

A chilling breeze decided Tahu's answer, but before leaving, Tahu stopped and looked over his shoulder for any sign of pursuers. He found none, so he closed the latch behind him.

Outside of her village, Katara was in a rush. With barely any sleep from the past few hours, she swayed between exhaustion and exhilaration. Off to the side, her tribe calmly and quietly watched while she lugged a bag of supplies towards the bison named Appa. There was the occasional chatter, more from the little ones, but everyone else stayed silent out of respect.

Hours ago, the light surprised everyone in the village. They were more surprised when a giant bison floated in front of their tiny village, carrying two of their own and one stranger. Gran-Gran had her questions, and Katara answered the best she could; about the broken iceberg, Sokka's imprisonment by the Fire Nation (which Sokka tried to hide his embarrassment the entire time), and his escape thanks to Kopaka. The boy-no, the Avatar-with Sokka had been of particular interest and the deciding factor.

"Come on, Sokka!" Katara exclaimed from beside Appa.

"Hrgh, I'm coming!" Pulling on his bag, Sokka glanced over his shoulder. "... where's your friend? I haven't seen him around-!" He stopped, bumping into the answer in front. The tall and white Kopaka gave Sokka a slight "hrm…" before he walked to Appa.

Katara eyed her brother dragging his huge bag through the snow. "Isn't that a bit much?"

Sokka responded while pulling on the bag half his weight, "Hrgh, who knows what, grrr, we'll need out there?" His grunts stopped when he let his bag flop by Appa. "Whew! Better to be safe than sorry!"

"On that, I agree," said Gran-Gran from the crowd and approached her grandchildren.

Of them, Katara was more hesitant. After what happened, after deciding to leave, what more could she say? "Gran-Gran, I…"

Katara stopped as Gran-Gran held out the tiny bag in her hand and said, "This is a little something from me. Think of it as an apology for yesterday." A knowing Katara quietly accepted the gift and faced Gran-Gran's warm eyes. "You and your brother have been through a lot in such a short time, my little waterbender. I'm afraid it has only started. But remember, you can find your way home if you need to." Gran-Gran turned to Sokka. "And you, my warrior-"

"I know, I know. Be nice to Katara," Sokka sighed in faux dismay.

Smiling, Gran-Gran added, "That, and stay out of trouble. Both of you."

Katara, forgoing any more hesitation, hugged her grandmother. "We will, Gran-Gran," Katara whispered.

After returning the hug, Gran-Gran parted, and her grandchildren went towards the strange beast. Sokka got on board, and Katara joined him. Settling into the back, she called for Kopaka, "Are you ready?"

Gran-Gran stepped to Kopaka before he could get on Appa. "A moment," she said, eyes rising to meet Kopaka's mask. "I hope you can understand me, strange one. In all my years, I never thought I would come across something like this. Finding you may have been a sign. Maybe for something greater than I can imagine. But I know there is danger ahead. Please, promise me you will protect my grandchildren."

Kopaka's stoic look fell on the elder. Then, he nodded and said, "I will."

Gran-Gran blinked in surprise. "Well," she smiled, turning to him and Appa's passengers. "I suppose that's it. Be safe, all of you."

Once Kopaka got on the saddle, Katara nodded to her brother settling onto Appa's head. "Here, we go!" Sokka said, whipping the reins...

… and an unmoving Appa's softly groaned.

The two passengers and the crowd of spectators gazed at Sokka, confused. Realizing what happened, Sokka glanced at everyone else, his eyes blinking. "Oh! Uh, what was it he said again? Ah, right!" Sokka said to himself and whipped the reins again. "Yip-yip!"

With a loud bellow and a flap of the tail, Appa swam across the water. Despite not flying, the bison's speed put distance between the trio and the Southern Water Tribe. Katara looked behind her, eyes wistfully watching her home grow further and further away.

"Right, so where to?" Sokka said, catching her attention.

From the back of the saddle, Katara spotted Kopaka. He sat behind Sokka, his mask looking for the black ship. The scopes retracted, and his silent finger rose to the east. Katara didn't question the direction, knowing that Kopaka's far-sight was an advantage the enemy lacked. She did ask, "How far are they?"

"Far. Not," Kopaka said with his limited vocabulary.

Shrugging, Katara glanced at Sokka, who shrugged back. "Okay, off to save the world, I guess," Sokka said and pulled on the reins again.

It turned out saving the world was going to be a long and arduous process. Katara should've realized that sooner the minute she left her tribe. Aboard a bison slowly swimming through the sea, Katara felt the minutes drag into hours and hours into days.

Unlike Kopaka, who sat and watched, Katara needed to do something. Her waterbending training could do so much, especially when said training had meant trying-and failing-to summon a water whip from an entire body made of the stuff. Sokka had it worst, going from examining his map to lounging about the saddle with his fishing pole. With nothing to do, neither sibling noticed the sun passing its zenith.

Katara did notice a fish swimming in an uneven orb of water. "Hey, I caught something for you," she called, flicking the fish into the tiny pile on the saddle.

"Thanks," Sokka droned without looking.

When the sun had slightly dipped down, Katara asked, "Caught anything yet?"

"Nope. Not a thing," answered Sokka who had laid on his back, paying no mind to his own fishing rod that stuck out of the bag by his feet. Sokka did mind when the rod, not the bag, had been pulled into the ocean with a plop. "Ah, come on!"

"Don't worry Sokka, you can use mine," Katara assured Sokka, yet her boredom kept her from comforting her brother any further. She turned her eyes to Kopaka, the only interesting other thing aside from Appa. "Hey, Kopaka! You said that ship wasn't far, right?"

"Yes," Kopaka answered without looking.

"And do you need to keep track of them all of the time?"

Kopaka paused to ponder. Then, he said, "No."

Almost assured, Katara's real question frothed out. "Do… do you think you can teach-?"

"Hey, Kopaka!" Sokka cut in

and cut Katara off in turn, "Can you use your magic to help get some fish?"

Kopaka didn't answer, since he didn't understand the question fully. Katara shot a glare at Sokka. "Well, I don't think he can help with that," she mumbled, annoyed. "Don't we have enough fish, already?"

"Hey, you can't have too much. Besides, Kopaka here is keeping watch here, aren't you?" Kopaka let out another "hrm," and Sokka told Katara, "See. We're all good. Nothing else for us to do now, is there?"

"Maybe not," Katara frowned.

She only heard Sokka yawn. "You might as well just sit around. Hopefully, night will be more exciting than this."

Night time proved Sokka wrong and became the siblings' only excitement, in a bad way. The sky above shifted from red-orange to blue to purple in mere hours, something Katara rarely saw in the South Pole. The sea mirrored the sky, including the chill, but Appa didn't catch a cold after swimming in the former for so long. Then again, Appa's fur coat was as thick as a glacier.

Katara and Sokka weren't as fortunate. The bitter cold nipped at their skins and shrieking winds kept them up. They had weathered such conditions in safe shelter back home, but out on the open back of a bison, they had to do one of their least favorite things: huddling close for warmth.

A waking Sokka groaned through chattered teeth. "H-h-hey! S-s-s-stop j-j-j-jab-b-b-b-b-bing y-y-y-y-your elbow in my side!" he barked.

Katara, creaking her eyes opened, snapped, "I-I-I-I am not!"

"Y-y-yes, y-y-you are!"

Fully awake, Katara yanked herself away from Sokka. Holding her own coat close and rubbing her arms, Katara stepped through the night air towards Kopaka. Immune to the low temperatures, he sat at the head of the saddle as he had all day. 'Did he even move?' Katara wondered.

"H-hey," Katara said to catch Kopaka's attention. The distant moon shone off Kopaka's mask, almost blinding Katara to him pointing at her trembling arms. "Hmm? Oh, i-i-it's because I'm c-c-c-cold," she explained, only to see the tiny telescopes on Kopaka's mask. "Forget it..."

Too tired and freezing, Katara turned around to find her brother hunched over. "Sokka, w-what are y-you d-d-doing?"

"Shelter," a shivering Sokka said tiredly as he yanked a blanket and some sticks from his pack. "G-go-gott-ta keep warm somehow…"

A sighing Katara sat down and watched Sokka enact another of his crazy ideas. This idea was setting up some kind of makeshift tent in the center of the saddle. It took Sokka six attempts - Katara counted - to get his sticks steady and standing before he put his blanket over them. On the seventh try, the blanket gently lowered and rested. For a moment, Katara thought it would actually stay.

"Aha!" Sokka cried proudly. "Let's see you try this with your freakish powers, Katara!"

Katara's eyes twitched from more than enough of Sokka's teasing. She threw her hands up, wishing Sokka's tent would fall apart to take him down a peg. Unknowingly, Katara had bended a tiny wave which rocked against Appa.

The bison shook, and so did everyone and everything on him. "Gah!" Sokka cried, falling down his backside while Appa's threw the tent up...

… and onto the white-clad figure at the front.

With a grunt, Kopaka rigidly removed the blanket. Frost extended over the areas he touched, and he remained icily silent as he returned the failed attempt of shelter to Sokka. "S-sorry about-" Sokka started to apologize but shrunk back from the white mask's cold glare. His head and his expression drooped when Kopaka turned around. "Aaaand I made him angry. Great."

"No… I wouldn't worry about it. I think that's just his way," Katara replied, eyeing Kopaka. "But I have to admit, he's been acting like that for a while."

"You mean since that red guy beat him-"

Katara put a finger to her lips. "Ssssh! Do you want him to hear you, Sokka?"

Sokka frowned. "What? It's not like he can understand us." He darted his eyes again to a shifting Kopaka. "Well… not fully anyway," Sokka added quietly.

"That doesn't mean you should say that!" Katara snapped.

Sokka's smirk grew. "Now look who's worried about making him mad?"

"Ugh! You're so frustrating!"

"Well, I'm sor-ry!" Sokka shot back. "It's not my fault it's cold!"

"What, you want me to wave it away with bending?"

"Well, that would be a good start-"

The sound of icicles cut through the argument. The very chill swirled around Kopaka's raised sword, catching Katara and Sokka's attention as he raised it up high. Then with a swing, Kopaka released the cold onto the splashing ocean.

The two siblings, feeling suddenly warm, stared at the tall wave of solid ice they passed. Of them, Katara looked to Kopaka who sat back down at the front. "Well… looks like he heard you Sokka," she told her brother.

"Yeah… sure…" Sokka grumbled, and he went back to setting up his tent.

The cold that Kopaka had banished swiftly came back, and despite Sokka's best attempts, his 'tent' served as a blanket at best. Katara, with the same amount of heat, shivered herself to sleep. Fortunately, neither of them had to worry too long about the cold.

Bits of sunlight had woken up Katara, who was astonished by how time had changed. Not to mention, the air also grew warmer the further she moved away from home. The sun moved over the horizon and in the sky, bringing more heat with it.

For Katara, who grew up in the South Pole, it was annoying. "Ugh, it's so hot here," she said and slumped on the left side of the saddle, too tired to wonder how the sky could be so clear far away from home.

"How does anyone handle this?" Sokka agreed from the right side. After wiping some sweat from his brow, he asked, "Kopaka, are you sure we're going the right way? You said they weren't far."

Kopaka, still at the front, paused and nodded his head.

By her moaning brother, Katara pointed to a distant tiny blob. "Hey, what is that?" she asked, and Kopaka, his mask on the blob the entire time, was about to speak.

"Land-hooooo!" Sokka cried, and even Appa groaned in excitement. Of course, Sokka hadn't noticed Kopaka's brief glare.

Even if it was a bunch of blurry triangles, land was a joy to the siblings. Upon a closer look, those triangles turned into tall mountains lying in the distance. They remained in the distance, yet Appa brought the trio closer, past a pair of gigantic rock faces blocking off most of the ocean. Left with a lake and a tiny beach, the siblings were shocked how much greener it was than home, even with the drifts of half melted snow everywhere.

"I get the green parts!" Sokka shouted, leaping onto the beach first and running across it.

"Hey, no fair!" Katara cried from atop Appa, unaware of Kopaka leaving to stroll along the beach.

"It's totally fair. I called dibs!" With that, Sokka went over to the green bushes. His hand rustling against the vegetation, his grin turned curious. "Huh, so these are leaves. Feels kinda soft and crinkly-Hey!"

Appa pushed Sokka aside as gently as a massive flying bison could be. It took Sokka everything to step back from Appa's giant mouth as it munched on the bush. Katara was more sympathetic than her brother, sliding off the bison and patting its fur. "Poor guy must be hungry," she said. "Who knows how long it's been since he last ate."

"Eh, who knows," Sokka mumbled, and he looked around. "Speaking of frozen guys, where's Kopaka?"

Katara separated herself from Appa, and she found her friend on one of the tiny cliffs they passed. "Kopaka," she called, "what are you-?"

"Quiet," Kopaka said, his voice cold like his unmoving gaze. "Ship. Here."

Katara and Sokka rushed to join him on the tiny cliff. Flanking their pale friend, the two found a familiar black-plated steam ship docked several feet down the shore. Sokka, eyes widened, asked Kopaka, "We're this close already? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Tried. You spoke," Kopaka said simply, ignoring Sokka's glare.

Eying a ship too far to properly see, Katara asked, "Is the Avatar still in there?"

Kopaka nodded, and Katara's heart almost leaped. They were so close. If they waited long enough, they could just walk in and snatch the Avatar away…

Sokka grabbed Katara's arm, saying, "Nuh-uh. That ship is probably guarded, Katara. No way we're not going in there without a plan."

"I know," Katara frowned, yanking her arm free. "Kopaka, can you see anything?"

Kopaka's telescopes extended. A second later, he replied, "Marks. On ship."

"Probably from when you guys rescued me. They need to make repairs from Appa here," Sokka said, smiling at the bison below. "Good job, you hairy lug!"

The bison groaned from behind, and Katara pet his giant nose. "Don't worry, we'll get your friend out," she told Appa. She looked to Sokka and Kopaka. "Alright, so what's the plan?"

The plan was to wait and watch. The first part didn't take long, since the sun dipped closer to the horizon. For the second part, Kopaka studied the ship with-in Sokka's words-"those weird telescope things," even as the night began to creep on the sky's other end. When the ship began to move along the coast, the group trailed behind from a safe distance and with the nearby vegetation providing cover.

"Has there been anything?" asked Katara after crawling by the beach for several minutes. She stayed in the back with Appa to make sure he didn't fly off.

Kopaka gave another "hrm." "There's your answer, Katara," said Sokka.

Katara would have said more if Kopaka hadn't stopped. His gaze turned from the ship, his mask's telescopes extending towards the vegetation. His visible eye narrowed, and his finger pointed at her and Sokka, silently telling them to stay. Then, he went into the bushes and further inland.

Appa's soft growl mimicked Katara's growing anxiety. "It's okay," she told the bison, then she glanced at Sokka. "Where do you think he's going?"

"Maybe to use the bathroom," Sokka said offhandedly, earning a perplexed look from Katara. "What? You must have thought that at some point?"

Katara didn't dignify the question with a response. Crouching by a bush, Sokka pulled out his telescope to study the ship. "Okay, that's interesting…" he muttered.

"What? Are they still moving?" Katara asked again, leaving Appa to be with Sokka.

Her brother handed his telescope, and she looked through it. The thing paled in comparison to Kopaka's mask, but it got the job done. Through it, Katara saw the ship weighing anchor on a rocky beach. "They're stopping? For good?" she said.

"Well, after what our big friend did, let's hope so," Sokka remarked. In any other situation, those words were all he or Katara needed to charge at the ship and rescue the avatar. Experience from the last fight taught them to keep still.

However, a shudder turned Katara and Sokka to Appa behind them. Not having the same experience as them, the growling bison stepped towards the Fire Nation ship. Katara rushed alongside Appa to pet his head. "Woah, woah! It's okay!"

When Appa pushed Katara aside, Sokka stood up. "Stop being soft, Katara! Let me handle-" he began, getting in front of the bison. Air from Appa's nose promptly blew him onto a nearby bush. "Ugh! Oh, come on!" Sokka cried, so Katara tried again.

"Look, we'll get to him, but we can't-" Katara said, but she stumbled after Appa's massive tail went slap on the ground.

"Stop him!" Sokka said after the air blew out the twigs from his head.

Stopping Appa was the least of Katara's worries. She held onto the side of his furry head, and Sokka grabbed on a horn, with the hope of keeping the bison down. The two instead cried when Appa rose on a cushion of air. "W-woah!" came from Katara, her feet dangling. "Sokka, help!"

"Hrgh, hold on!" Sokka cried, kicking and pulling himself up Appa's head.

The trees swayed, and dizziness crawled over Katara's vision enough to cloud the ever-growing wide shot of the ground. Not enough to notice her grip was giving way. "S-Sokka!" she groaned. By then, Sokka got atop Appa's head. He whipped the reins over and over to the cry of "Yip-yip! Yip-yip! Yip-yip!"

As Appa towards the black ship, he returned into the bushes and trees in one long, large arc of leaves. Just in time for Katara to slip and fall onto the soft ground after Appa's landing, going thoom and flattening entire branches. "Katara, are you alright?" Sokka said from atop the bison.

"Y-yeah, I think so!" Katara said, her heart pounding. "That was a close call!"

"... Uh, I think we're gonna be in an even closer one!"

"Huh? What do you…?" Katara stopped asking after she heard shouting. Staring through a bush, she noticed they were closer to the ship than before and the tiny blurs of soldiers were approaching. "Quick! We got to hide!"

"No arguing from me!" said Sokka after sliding off Appa. The bison was less agreeable when he pulled on the reins. "C'mon, you big lug!"

His feet kicked at the ground, dragging himself-but not Appa-in the opposite direction. In said direction, Katara found a familiar white figure popping out of some bushes. "Kopaka, how did you find…?" she asked but stopped, reminded of the telescopes on his mask. "Listen, we have to go now! The Fire Nation soldiers have found us!"

"Yeah, right! We can't go with this guy sticking around!" Sokka thumbed at Appa.

The bison's groan faded, and everyone's eyes whirled towards the shouting. "Where was that sound?" came from one and "I think it's over here!" from another, joined by more. Each of them froze Katara to the core. Memories of firebenders raiding her village, of her mother knelt before one, flashed before her eyes.

More rustling bushes brought Katara back to the present, and she expected to be captured right then and there. Instead five girls in green blurred past Katara's vision. They struck at the two firebenders who stepped into the area. A minute later, the same men laid unconscious on the ground.

One girl stood up, showing off the green kimono and dark armor. Brown hair and a golden headdress framed the white makeup and red eyeliner. "Come on, we have to go," she said in a voice no older than Katara's. The other similarly-dressed girls joined her.

"Wait, who are you people?" Katara asked.

"We don't have time," the girl said to walk away.

Sokka slid off Appa and in front of her. "Nu-uh, we're not going anywhere with you! Not until you give us answers!" he said, boomerang held threateningly in one hand.

A golden fan blocked the boomerang aside. Her other hand snatching it away, the girl said, "I promise we'll answer your questions." Her eyes rose to Kopaka. "Please, we don't mean you or yours friend any harm. We only want to help."

Katara looked to Kopaka, silent and watchful. "Kopaka?" she asked, hoping for a reply.

The white mask turned towards where the ship rested. After the telescopes shifted some more, Kopaka said, "Go. Now."

With that, the girls in green went for Appa. Approached by strangers made him groan, so Katara stepped forward and in front. "Easy, easy," she said as soothingly as possible.

Off to the side, Katara picked up Sokka's groan. "Great. Looks like we got even more weirdos around!"

Katara shushed Sokka. "Quiet! They might hear us!"

"So, you go easy on a ten-ton monster, but not me?"

Everyone else-sans Kopaka and Appa-shushed him.

"Hrmp, girls," Sokka muttered, but Katara ignored him to focus on their escape.

AN: Alright, this story is back! It only took what, two years?

Wait, really? *looks at calendar* ... ah crud.

Well, in the time since the last update, quite a few unrelated things obviously happened (a pandemic topping them all). Hopefully, these chapters will make the wait worthwhile. I do admit, part of this chapter does feel like filler, but that was the point to emphasize how long the journey could feel (... that and I prefer to write scenes out than summaries of events most of the time). Hopefully, the rest of the story will turn out better... if I can get the chapters out in time.

As is, it is amazing I got this far, and I couldn't have done it without help. Special thanks goes to the following (and if there is anyone I have missed, I apologize):

1) Toa Coy 2.0 - This guy has been generally quick to look over my work. He was the one I started showing this story to, and he still has been giving out thoughts/feedback tiny bits that helped to move it along.

2) CravenJester - My co-author for this chapter. When I presented to him what I intended to write, he sent me back a partial piece that help to move along the writing process. I incorporated parts of it into this chapter, and I hope to use the rest later on in the story. I haven't heard much from him recently, and even if he doesn't want to work anymore on this story, I am grateful and I hope he's doing alright.

3) H.R.C. Stanley - Another pre-reader willing to look at my story. Like with Toa Coy, I had sent him the excerpts and asked for his advice. Very helpful, and he has his own stories in mind, so go check them out whenever possible.

By the way, I'm thinking of updating bi-weekly instead of weekly, so I can better pace myself with this story. I don't know if I'll start that with this bunch of chapters (if I do, expect chapter 5 in two Fridays from now), but I hope it sets a better standard in the long run.

Until next time, take care.

Raika out.