Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfictions.

Four words: Good-bye crew

P.S. Short chapter. Don't worry, next one's longer.

"He's heading north. The Northern Water Tribe. The Avatar needs to master waterbending. He's looking for a teacher."

Zhao was furious at his failure to capture the Avatar. One moment, he had captured the Avatar for good. The next, he had to hold off sending his speech to the Firelord because the Avatar was freed from his chains by a man in a blue mask. Then, he incapacitated the man when his back was figuratively turned, and when the dust settled -

They were all gone.

Zhao almost blew up the whole fortress in his rage, his vision consumed by the fire of anger. It felt good to release his pent-up emotions, although now even Shinu gazed upon him in reverence and fear.

But fear was good. Trust was for fools.

He studied the war map before him, having diligently recorded any and all reports of the Avatar and his location at the time of reports. Although there were some spots here and there - likely unfounded claims - they all had a pattern to them. His subordinates had gathered around the map like ants to a dollop of honey.

Captain Li stood up excitedly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!"

Zhao shook his head and raised a hand to still the eager young officer. "Patience, Captain Li. This isn't some little earth village we can just march into. The Water Tribe is a great nation. There's a reason they've survived a hundred years of war. The frozen tundra is treacherous, the landscape itself is an icy fortress. We'll need a massive invasion force." He turned towards his subordinates. "We need some time to procure a large enough fleet to besiege the North Pole. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do on my part..." he grinned wickedly, knowing exactly what to do.

A visit was in order. To a certain exile... and the crew he was about to take off his hand.


Aang and Sokka were hanging out in the top of the boat, talking to Zuko.

"Man, after a while, even Pai Sho gets boring," Aang yawned.

Sokka snorted. "As if it was entertaining in the first place!"

"Hey! I'll let you know that Pai Sho is an ancient, strategic game that happens to stimulate the mind and embolden the spirit -"

"In other words, it's a game for old gasbags like my Uncle," Zuko said dryly. Sokka laughed. Aang rolled his eyes.

"Well, I guess I am a hundred-twelve years old... hey, how about some respect, huh? Bow down to your elder, now!"

They all laughed at the ridiculousness of Aang's statement. Even if he had a white grey beard and was hunched over, Aang's childish perspective of the world made it impossible to take him seriously most of the time, let alone see him as an adult.

"Oh, man... I haven't laughed or smiled this much since Mai," Zuko choked out.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Who's Mai?"

"Zuko's girl back home," Aang said before Zuko could open his mouth.

"Really? What was she like?"

"She was done with the world, to put it simply."

"So basically, like how you were before finding Aang."

"Mmmm...meh. Kinda. We weren't done with each other though at least. She was always really nice to me, really smart, really beautiful..." he drifted off into a world where Mai was waiting for her knight's return home. Not that she was a damsel in distress, exactly...

Suddenly, Zuko saw a haze of grey at the ship's window. He peered outside to see a metal vessel approaching them. Zuko knew what the ship meant. "Zhao," he hissed.

Aang and Sokka needed no more. Quickly as they could, they snuck Appa out the side of the ship, and they slipped away into the forest behind them. Zuko quickly went to his room, pretending to be his old sulky self. He would find his friends later, after the Admiral was dealt with and the odd quartet didn't put themselves and the crew in imminent danger anymore.


Iroh and the rest of the crew were enjoying their music night - or rather, music day, as they had no pressing duties at hand.

"Winter, Spring... Summer and Fall. Winter, Spring... Summer and Fall. Four seasons... four loves. Four seasons... for love-lo-aacck!" Iroh choked upon seeing the imposing man before him. Jee played an high-strung note from the lute. The rest of the crew outside for music night stared at the party of three standing before them. Iroh recovered quickly. "Nice to meet you again, Captain Zhao!" he chirped, hoping that the boys above them had seen the incoming Fire Nation ship in time to leave and hide.

"It's Admiral Zhao now, General Iroh. Funny what destroying an Earth Kingdom vessel does for you." As the crew hastily offered their congratulations, Zhao looked around them all. "Speaking of my new ranking... I have an order for this ship..."

Iroh nodded. "Very well. We will discuss this in private. Come, let us go to Zuko's room. I'm sure he will be very happy to see you."

Zhao snorted. Not happening. The Prince hated his guts and superiority.

"And maybe we can have a cup or two of tea."

Okay, Iroh's tea, that was a different matter.


Zuko lounged around in his room, trying to amass his old anger.

It wasn't that hard, to be honest. He remembered Zhao. It was the second-to-last thing he saw before his face got burned, the utter satisfaction reflected in that man's smirk rubbing the humiliation into Zuko's scar all the more painfully. And then after that, Zhao had made it his personal ambition to make Zuko's life miserable, by taunting him, ordering him around like a dog... the works.

Needless to say, Zuko felt nearly like his old self when the door opened and his uncle escorted the Amiral into the room.

"Zuko, you know Admiral Zhao."

Zuko blinked, pretending he didn't know that already, pretending he wasn't the Blue Spirit. "You're an admiral now?" Zuko asked with pretend interest. "Congrats, I guess." Good thing he had hidden the mask away already. "So, hello, Admiral Zhao," he said, pronouncing the words as if they were needles on his tongue. "Welcome to my humble ship."

Zhao sneered. "Oh really? I didn't know this was your ship. I thought I tucked it under my wing when I planned on besieging the North Pole."

Zuko's eyes widened in utter confusion. No ship? No crew? Invasion? North Pole?

"Yes, you imbecile of a banished prince. I am bringing your ship under my command, in order to amass the necessary forces to destroy the North Pole for good." Oh. Apparently Zuko accidentally said his thoughts out loud.

"Why?" Zuko choked out.

"Why to what? Everything?" Zhao said, turning around to survey the room. Iroh handed the Admiral a steaming cup of tea, and he wandered about the room. He stopped at the meditation candles. "Well, first off, it's my destiny to wipe out the North Pole. This I'm sure of. Secondly, what use is my rank if I don't properly use it? I must take charge of this war to finish it and bring honor and glory to our nation. Not that I'd expect you, exile, to know of these two things."

Zuko didn't respond to that, wondering just how petty Zhao had been throughout his life. Zhao raised an eyebrow at this lack of response, and he moved on to the banner of the Fire Nation still hanging on Zuko's wall.

"And third," Zhao said. "Is to spite you. You have brought nothing but shame and failure to your nation." Zhao moved on to the third wall and stopped talking when he was confronted with a pair of swords hanging on the wall.

"Stop!" shouted Zhao. "The Avatar must be captured alive!"

If those idiots burned the Avatar to a crisp, all of his actions would have been in vain. Alas, his actions were still fruitless as the Blue Spirit brought its two swords on the Avatar's neck.

They stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Then Zhao had an idea. "Open the gates," Zhao said calmly.

"But sir!-"

"Open. The. Gates."

And with that, the Blue Spirit and the Avatar made their leave, and Zhao had a Yuyan Archer shoot an arrow at them to incapitate the two escapees.

Suddenly, a dust cloud formed over the two prone figures in the distance. "Capture them!" Zhao shouted to the already advancing soldiers.

But when they got there, all that was left was two imprints in the road.

Zhao did not need to see the Prince's guilt to know who was responsible for the Admiral's genius yet failed attempt to detain the Avatar. He, however, approached the awkward subject with tact. He took one of the swords and swung it experimentally. "I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko."

Zuko snorted. "What made you think I was able to use those swords? I'm a firebender, I don't need some pathetic pieces of metal to keep myself in one piece. Those are just for decoration."

That was some smooth lying, Zhao admitted to himself. But the glistening of a well-polished blade gave away everything. But enough with that. He turned to General Iroh. "Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?"

"Just rumors. I don't think he is real."

"Oh, he's real, all right," Zhao said, shoving the sword into Iroh's hands. "He's a criminal, and an enemy of the Fire Nation. But I have a feeling justice will catch up with him soon."

With that ominous threat, he walked out of the room. Closing the door behind him, he turned around, ready to leave, when a flash of white caught his eye.

A clump of hair. Flying bison fur, to be precise.

On top of a small stack of hay.

Zhao fumed, realizing the situation before him. He reopened the banished prince's door again. "On second thought, I'll leave your crew and ship behind. It's too small and pathetic to be used in something as important as a full-scale invasion of the North Pole," the Admiral said snidely. With that low blow, he closed the door to Zuko's ship for the last time.

He came here with the intention of recruiting loyal soldiers.

Looks like he'd be dispatching a group of traitors instead.


Zhao was back at his base, behind his desk littered with statistics, reconnaissance (well, as much as he could get as the element his scouts were in happened to be the one the North Pole ruled over), and a rather large wooden chest which he proffered to the questionable group before him. "I'm very impressed. You all seem highly qualified for the mission I have in mind," Zhao said with a smirk.

The pirate captain took the chest, opened it, and gaped, the brilliant radiance of its contents reflecting off the walls and the stunned crew. One of the pirates - a thick-lipped man - took one of the yellow coins and bit into it. "That's some tasty gold," he crowed, and the others glared him into silence.

Zhao was highly embarrassed by their antics, but so long as they got the job done, it would all work out. "What do you need us to do?" the captain asked, overwhelmed with greed at the treasure offered.

Zhao leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, fingers laced under his chin. "I believe you're acquainted with a certain ship's crew..."


Zuko quietly crept to the woods, and tapped a complex sequence of code. Sokka came out, Aang close behind. Appa lumbered along, Momo on top of the saddle on the bison's back.

"Did you really force us to learn this code that you made up in ten minutes?" Zuko griped.

"Since you just tapped out 'coast is clear now' to us, I'm assuming yes, and very successfully at that."

Zuko rubbed his eyes. He'd long given up on matters like these. "Zhao's ship left. We're ready to go to - "

A rumble shook the ground, and a flock of birds hastily took to the skies and flew away from the commotion. "W-what was that?" asked Aang. "It sounded like -"

"An explosion," Zuko said.

Sokka finished it off. "It came from the dock."

"Was that... our ship?

They got their answer when the world beyond the forest exploded in flame.


Iroh was calmly sipping tea with the rest of his crew when he heard a creak of a wheel. "What was that?" he asked the others.

Lieutenant Jee looked up from his cup. "What was what?" the Lieutenant asked in confusion.

Iroh shook his head. "Never mind. It must be my old mind playing tricks on me. Be lucky you still have many years until your beard becomes like mine." The crew chuckled at Iroh's joke, and they continued with what they were doing again.

Cri-i-ik. Iroh looked furtively at the others to gauge their faces. He saw no reaction. But still. Twice was a coincidence.

And there was no such thing as a coincidence.

Sure enough, when a third creak sounded from within the ship, Iroh stood up. "If you will excuse me, good men," he said as cheerfully as he could. He exited the room and approached the source of the sound.

He heard the frantic whispering of men. That was not good. The entire crew was with Jee. He crept closer to hear a raspy whisper saying, "The blasting jelly is ready! Light the fuse!"

Iroh's eyes widened and he stumbled towards the crew. He had to warn them in time. Curse his soft stomach!-

He felt a rumble in the ship, and the vibrations caused him to lose his balance. He stumbled into a room. The door slammed shut. He raced to the door. Locked. Iroh's eyes shut in grief, knowing the crew couldn't be saved.

He conjured a flickering shield of flame around him before the blast reached him and blew his body off the decimated ship.


Aang, Sokka, and Zuko tripped as they scrambled towards their ship. Well, what remained of it.

Scraps of metal littered the ground haphazardly. Embers were still floating to the ground. The distinct smell of burnt blasting jelly permeated the air. They frantically scoured the wreckage, looking for any signs of survivors or victims.

They only found belongings. A melted tsungi horn. Ashes of a Fire Nation banner. Iroh's broken tea set. The White Lotus Tile. Masashi's shaving razor. The cooks' scorched pan. Jee's arm guards.

For a moment, they stood there in silence. Then Aang sat on the ground. "Everyone," he said. "Everyone with us dies. Everyone with me dies. Anyone trying to help me dies." He looked up to his friends, eyes hollow. "Is there even a point?"

Sokka retorted. "Nope. 'Cause we don't count. A Watertribe boy trying to make a difference in the world, and a Burned Prince seeking his honor from within. Nope. Not worth." But even Sokka's quipping didn't stop the tears from falling. It was as if they had died with their crew, and they were forcibly resurrected to bear witness to their follies.

"Uncle Iroh," Zuko hoarsely whispered. Aang suddenly sat up, ramrod straight.

"Got to see you change for the better. You changed to help us, just like your crew did. You gave him hope. That might be all we have left too, but that's what's gonna let us change this world for the better. Hope." Aang dragged them all up to their feet. "C'mon. We have people to protect - " he pointed to the necklace on his neck, and Zuko knew Aang was referencing more than his Katara. "We have a nation to put down - " he pointed at Zuko's scar. "And, most importantly, we have a flying bison. With him, we can go anywhere we need to. And after being cooped up in a metal cage, he's raring to get off the ground. We got nations to save. Let's come on and stop this madness!" Aang shouted with a grim look of determination, his eyes wild in near insanity. Sokka and Zuko wore the same maddened expressions of grief and grit. "Together," Aang continued. "We are... Team Avatar. And together, we're gonna end this war, no matter what it takes!"

"Let's stop this madness, stop these things from happening again," Zuko shouted, catching on to Aang's infectious bravado in the face of the devastation they had witnessed. "We're gonna save the world, and when we do, when we look back, it's going to be worth it. Because unlike Ozai, we're not fighting for our own purposes. We're fighting for the world! For something greater than ourselves!"

"Let's bring the Fire Nation down!" Sokka yelled.

Putting their hands together, they lifted them up, and roared into the night sky with steely determination. Suddenly, Appa growled, and they all ran straight into each other's arms, screaming all the while.

Once they finally calmed down and realized their silliness, they salvaged any necessity they could, paid their final respects to their late friends, and took to the skies, leaving the destruction behind them. They moved on from the bitter sacrifices made, ready for what came next.

But never forgetting.

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