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

Describing Yue from Sokka's perspective. Hope you all enjoy it.

By the way, I don't edit or revise these. These are my rough drafts. If I have time, I'll come back to them, tie up loose ends, fix grammar and conventions, and make the story better. Deal?

"Home, sweet home," Sokka said dourly.

"What do you mean? We're an entire world away from your home of icebergs and ocean and... oh."

Sokka leaned back on the saddle. "Exactly."

They were finally starting to see some small icebergs floating in the surrounding waters. Appa, taking a break, was lazily pedaling through the water, and the boys on his back were of equal lethargy. Well, most of them. Momo was lying on his back, stomach bulging from lychee nuts. Aang was lying facedown, hugging Appa's neck. Sokka was crying from seal jerky withdrawal.

But Zuko stood up straight, anxiously surveying the waters for anything out of the ordinary. "Zuko, sit down. This far up north, the only thing we'll see is water, ice, and clouds. Wait. They're all made out of water. But I mean, besides that, there won't be any Fire Nation ships to worry about. The only people we'll find are the North Pole Watertribesmen."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," retorted Zuko. "Even though the entire Fire Nation knows I'm a traitor, I don't know about the rest of the world."

Sokka's eyes widened. "Ah." He was about to say something either witty or reassuring, but he never got around to choosing. The moment he began to open his mouth, he was thrown roughly to the side of the saddle.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH! What was that, Aang?" He shouted angrily at the airbending boy, then his eyes bulged. "Oh... I see."

A cluster of ice spikes that definitely weren't there before had sprung up from the ground, and only Appa's reflexes saved them from becoming boys-on-a-bob. Grumbling about how luck was a sham, Sokka stood up, and found that they were slowly being encased in ice on all sides

Despite Appa's best efforts, they were unable to dodge all of the creeping ice converging on them, and Appa's legs became encased in ice, trapping them all in the middle of the ocean.

"Just our luck. We've been traveling for days on end, seeing nothing but blue, and now we're encased in weird growing water -" Sokka's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. Weird growing water?"

Sokka and Aang shared an excited grin. "We're here! We found them!" They waved their hands at the boats that approached them.

Suddenly, they found ice spikes and spears leveled at their chests. "What in the world do you think you're doing here?" snarled a man in a blue parka lined with fur.

"Uh... hi. What's the big deal? We come in peace. I'm the Avatar, but I only know airbending. I need a waterbending teacher,. So why are you guys so intent on killing us?" Aang said. Zuko cleared his throat, and Aang glanced at him blankly.

"Uh... hate to break it to you, buddy, but there might be something that they might be very suspicious of... maybe something from the Fire Nation, perhaps? Or rather, someone?" Zuko said sarcastically.

Sokka and Aang realized what Zuko was saying. "Oh..."

"We found them alright," Zuko sighed. "And they look gung-ho to kill me. And you guys, too."


They were escorted into the city. They all stared with bulging eyes - except Aang.

"Holy Spirits, this place is humongous!" Sokka shouted with glee. "The whole South Pole could fit in here - nine times!"

"Yeah, Sokka, this place is almost as big as your stomach," Zuko bantered, eyes glued to the scene before him.

For his part, Sokka was too busy gawking to make sense of what Zuko said.

Aang simply nodded. "It's pretty big. It never ceases to amaze you, the things sculpted from ice."

"Silence!" barked the man - Pali - who was a sort of spokesperson for the patrol that had apprehended them.

Despite all of their pleas and explanations and friendly talk, it took much convincing to bring the boys to their North Pole, much more to convince the men to let the boys enter their city alive. Zuko was the reason why.

"Any idiot can recognize that scar from halfway across the world, Prince Zuko. We don't know why or how you came here, but we do know that you're the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation -"

"Former," Zuko retorted dryly. "Why do you think I got this scar? From a training accident?"

"Save your stories for our chief! He will decide once and for all how to deal with you three -" he glanced at the three boys in front of him. "Ashmaker -" he jabbed his finger into Zuko's chest. "Southerner - I can't believe our former countrymen would betray us like that -" he pointed at Sokka.

"Hey! We're not the traitors! Zuko is! He's on our -"

"Silence!" Pali roared. He then raised an accusing finger at Aang. "And the Avatar - who brought us all into this misery - siding with former prince Zuko." He shook his head. "Doesn't take even a woman without brains to figure this one out. Patrol! Escort them to the city." And with that, Appa was gloomily prodded towards the imposing fortress that now laid before them.

But even with their grievances against their ally-captors, they sat in slack-jawed awe, taking in the sight before them in meek awe. "Wow..." Sokka breathed.

"What did I say?" Pali growled. Then his expression abated somewhat. "But yes, our home is amazing... nothing like the igloos my people have told stories about down South."

"It wasn't like that! At least, not until the Fire Nation started raiding us and you guys didn't bother to help us -"

Sokka was silenced by a spear leveled at his mouth. "Open your mouth again, and I will assure you that will be the last time your lips assail us with lies and treacheries," Pali hissed.

And so they watched as canal workers - countless waterbenders, and that was for a menial task as raising and lowering walls they rarely used! - raised and lowered parts of the wall, to allow water and boats to flow in and out, and to raise or lower the levels of water to let their passengers be able to access their next destination.

"Welp..." Zuko whispered to Aang. "If we get out of this one, we won't have any problem finding a waterbending teacher. Although the necessity that they must be willing to help us might be somewhat lacking..."

"Shut up," said Aang, Pali, and Sokka at the same time. They stared at each other, and after an awkward moment, resumed their original positions.

Several inhabitants came up to them to see what the commotion was about, and they gawked at the exotic visitors at their homes. Aang cheerfully waved to them, and they quickly cringed away from him and scurried away. Aang lowered his hand in defeat.

"Who knew bringing along a Fire Nation person would do this much against us," said Aang.

Zuko looked down, deep in thought. "Yeah..." he said.


Sokka crossed his arms and huffed in frustration.

He didn't know why, but all these years... he looked up to the North Pole. The tales, the legends, the epics, the heroics - he was enamored with the majesty of the Northern Water tribe. He had always wanted to gaze upon its towering walls, to see the people who were protected by those walls, and to see the place his people had came from.

But now... he saw that the only people who lived here were jerks. There was absolutely nothing good about this place. These people had heads bigger than his stomach! And that was saying something, especially with what Zuko had said before. He sighed. Northerners, he thought, huffing angrily. And their stupid, sucky city.

Then he saw a white object in the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was, shook his head, looked again, and leaned over the saddle, mind gone to mush.

A white boat was traveling the opposite direction to Appa, but that wasn't the thing that caught Sokka's eye. There were two men paddling the boat on its course, and between them was an angel. Her hair was done in an elegant high ponytail, streaming over her sides in hair loopies that looked especially beautiful on her. Not that anything would look bad on her. Her parka was a deep indigo, complementing the hair-thingies on her tails of hair streaming down, and a watertribe symbol adorned the top of her head. Her lips were luscious and full, but her eyes... her eyes were the color of the ice of her home, but unlike the ice, her eyes emanated a warmth and beauty that completed her look of perfection.

"This place is beautiful," Aang said in wonder.

"Yeah... she is..." Sokka said in a starstruck gaze, wandering off the saddle. Aang looked at Zuko quizzically. "Same face you wear when looking at Katara," Zuko said with a smirk.

Aang flushed indignantly, about to deny his feelings for Katara, then realized what Zuko was driving at. They giggled at the Southern Watertribe boy precariously leaning on Appa's tail, not caring that he'd fall into the water with one sudden move.

Northerners, Sokka thought dreamily, swooning over the angel that inhabited this magnificent city.


They were presented to the Chief during dinner time.

"All hail Chief Arnook, leader of our tribe." Everyone bowed in deference to the chief of the Northern Water tribe. Huh, that's strange, Sokka thought. Even as chief, no one bowed down to my father.

He was hit in the head by the end of a spear. "Ow!" he said. His eyes widened. "Wait. Did I said that out loud?" He hastily kowtowed to Arnook, banging his head hard in the process. " I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me!-"

Arnook waved a hand. "It's alright. Despite our customs, we do not heavily mire ourselves in tradition. As the Southern Watertribe represents, water isn't just about community and family. It's about change and adaptation."

Sokka got up, relieved that he wouldn't be fed to the polar-bear dogs. However, Arnook then turned a steely eye towards Aang and Zuko. "But this... is a very interesting circumstance. A Southern Watertribe boy - the son of their chief - the Avatar - the last airbender - and a Fire Nation man - the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation no less! All in front of me, waiting for my decision, one that will either change lives for the better or wipe them from existence! It is unfortunate that I don't know which decision will lead to which consequence. To think that the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation would visit us in these times..."

"Not anymore." The crowd gasped. Zuko drew upon this to gather up his courage and momentum. He continued to speak. "When I was thirteen years old... I was a very loyal Prince to the Fire Nation. I believed, with all my heart, that my Nation was the best, and that it truly deserved to spread its glory to other nations - even if it meant conquest and war." Spears were leveled at him, but he didn't care. "But... a day came. I managed to get into one of my father's meetings. A general... he talked about sending loyal, enthusiastic young men to their deaths - all as bait. Everyone else agreed with his idea. They were going to throw away their country's brave men without a second thought!" Zuko shouted. His voice became quiet. "I spoke out against it. It was wrong. I... I couldn't let this happen to innocent people." He added ruefully. "Although I do suppose innocence is destroyed by war."

"But because I spoke out against a general, I had to do an Agni Kai - a firebending duel - to defend my honor. But I wasn't afraid. I thought I was doing the right thing, and I wasn't afraid to stand up to some idiot general who spent more years cowering behind a desk than tasting the coppery scent of war. But when I turned around, ready to fight..." his voice broke. "My father was there."

"You of all people should understand. Fighting your own father! I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I fell to my knees. I pleaded my father, begged him not to do this to me. To our family. He... he..."

"He just laughed and put a hand to your face." Everyone turned to gasp at the Avatar. He nodded at Zuko. "Your Uncle told us everything, while you were sick aboard you ship."

"Yes. You were banished from your nation, dishonored unless you brought the Avatar back," Sokka added. "I thought our peoples had rough lives. But you... you've dealt with abuse and hatred throughout your life, trying to retain some semblance of good, trying to keep your hope and innocence, even with your mother gone."

"But that's not the point, is it?" Zuko let the tears hit the ground. "I did lose it. For three long years, I wallowed in my misery and guilt, wondering what I could've done, wondering where I went wrong, wondering what I could do, casting away everyone... even my Uncle." He choked back a sob as memories of his uncle flooded him... the letters from war... the music they made together... the tea they sipped... and then his love and support... all gone with the dying embers of his ship.

He had been so selfish.

"But that's changed." Zuko said, looking up with a fiery determination. "I met Aang. I realized I wasn't guilty, that my misery wasn't my fault. I couldn't have done anything differently, and even if I could, I wouldn't have changed my decision. But I can change my future. I am the decider of my own destiny. My Uncle finally got through to me... and I finally accepted his wisdom. There is no honor in my nation." He looked straight into Chief Arnook's blue eyes. "... and my destiny is to restore it and the world. Starting with helping the Avatar. I want to atone for the sins of my nation - of myself. No matter what others think of me, no matter what others do to me. For the first time in my life, I know what right and wrong is. And I'm not throwing my chance at redemption away."

Arnook kept a steady gaze on the burned prince. He nodded slowly. "You have a very touching and powerful story, young prince. But how can we possibly know that you're being honest? How can we possibly know that we can trust you? In fact, where is your Uncle that you keep talking about?"

Zuko brought his head down. He couldn't trust himself to speak. Sokka did the talking.

"Someone sabotaged our ship... we were in the forest when our ship blew apart with everyone else on board."

Arnook rubbed his chin. "Then it is a sorrowful day that finds us here. Your Uncle Iroh was a valued man full of wisdom... and a tad too much tea," he added wryly, making everyone look at him in surprise.

"How do you know Iroh?" Zuko asked.

"Let's just say I've had some dealings with him in the past..." Arnook said cryptically. He turned around, and said, "I deem these men trustworthy. May they bring peace to the world. And now... let us feast!"


Sokka poked at his food.

There had been many, many, many protests at letting the three boys go. Obviously one of them was Pali, who proposed that they drown the boys at sea. Arnook snorted. "And then what? Aang bends them to safety, and we're the ones who will be in trouble. No; they do not want to cause us harm, and it will not end well for us to fight them anyways."

"Better to do something than nothing," Pali said, but Arnook glared him down, and that was the end of that matter.

Another matter, one much more pleasant, sat next next to him. Princess Yue... daughter of Chief Arnook... of course she was. She had everything a girl would be jealous about; beautiful looks, beautiful voice, beautiful personality, beautiful everything. Today was her birthday, and she had come of age.

And she was sitting next to Sokka. He was floating on top of the world. "Hi there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe," he drawled, leaning over, hoping he was doing the right things to catch her attention.

She looked over. Victory! "V-very nice to meet you," she said, bowing slightly. They sat there awkwardly looking at each other, and then Sokka finally decided to break the silence.

"So ... uhhh ... you're a princess, huh?" Yue nodded and her smile forced Sokka to recover his thoughts. "You know, back in my tribe, I'm kind of like a prince, myself."

"Prince of what? Getting your butt whooped?" Zuko smirked, having not touched the food. His royal taste buds were still unaccustomed to non-spicy foods, much less non Fire-Nation foods. He still felt good about teasing Sokka on his shortcomings, however.

Sokka's face turned red. "For the record, I'm prince of a lot of things! Except... not that last thing you said!" he noticed Yue giggling beside him, and he glared all the more at the prince next to him. "Now I'm trying to have a conversation here. Will you butt out?" Yue wasn't the only one laughing anymore. Aang and Zuko had joined in snickering at Sokka.

He facepalmed himself. Forget about them! he thought, irritated. He turned back to the white-haired beauty next to him. "So, it looks like I'm going to be in town... I mean, in the city!... for a while. I'm thinking ... maybe we could ... do an activity, together?" He winced at his choppiness. Smooth, he thought sarcastically."

Yue arched an entrancing eyebrow at Sokka. "Do an activity?" she asked, with a slight curve to her beautiful lips.

Sokka didn't even have the power to open his mouth to speak. He hastily grabbed a bun of bread, forced his mouth open, and stuffed the whole bun in. Yue looked at him, baffled at the development in the boy sitting next to her, while Aang and Zuko had fallen out of their chairs, clutching their stomachs.

Why am I so stupid? Sokka silently screamed to the spirits above.


"Aang... meet your new teacher. Master Pakku."

Aang bowed respectfully. Master Pakku sniffed disdainfully. "Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment."

Aang blinked in confusion. "I'm a monk. We aren't entitled to special treatment."

"In that case... see you at dawn," Pakku said curtly. He turned and strode a way.

"Master!" Master Pakku turned back to Aang. "What do you want?" he said, exasperated.

"Well..." Aang said. "I was kind of thinking of maybe taking a break for a few days to rest my sore muscles..."

"If you want to relax, then I suggest visiting a tropical island. If not, I'll see you at sunrise. Good night." He stormed away from Aang.

Arnook said apologetically, "Don't worry too much. He's always been bitter. Although he seems especially so around you..."

"I like him," Aang said with a grin. "He's sarcastic, biting, and is done with the world. I like his attitude. It's... cool. Ugh, pun unintended." Arnook looked at him with surprise.

"Well, I suppose that's good, because his face would otherwise probably be the one you'd get sick of first."


Aang fingered his necklace, laying in the place that had been provided him and his friends.

Although they were now guests instead of prisoners, certain precautions had been taken, due to the Fire Nation Prince amongst them. Guards were posted around them, and served as their permanent escorts for the duration of their stay.

But even with all the things that had been plaguing him today... like why was Mister - er, Master - Pakku so angry with him? ... he only had thoughts for one thing.

Or rather, one thing and one person.

He fingered Katara's necklace, thinking about her, wishing she was here to learn waterbending with him, wishing she could learn the part of her that was deeply rooted in her people and her culture. He vowed that, for her, he would devote all his energies to mastering waterbending, if only because she couldn't.

He drifted off to sleep, glad that the icy walls at least managed to block out most of Sokka's snoring.


"I am pretty amazed, Avatar. No, seriously. At this rate, you might beat my prediction of one hundred years until mastery by about ninety-nine years and eleven months!"

Aang had progressed in waterbending much, much faster than anyone could possibly have anticipated. Even though he had some basic training with his waterbending scroll, he was still kept in the dark about most of the fluid bending art.

And yet... he was almost a waterbending master, and it took only a few weeks to progress to that point. Some of it was from his diligent practice late into the night, and still more was from his innate talent as Avatar and as a fluid bender - but most of it was from the determination to learn what Katara could not, in her place, in her honor.

As he finally blasted down Pakku's final, penultimate student, Pakku sighed. "I have little more to teach you, Aang. You are almost a full-fledged waterbending master."

Aang smiled. "That's great!" he said.

Pakku studied the Avatar curious. "How exactly did you do it? I know all about your nightly excursions, but not one Avatar has ever mastered waterbending in under five years, let alone less than a month! Care to... enlighten me?" Pakku asked with a glint in his eye.

Aang's eyes narrowed. "If you're thinking I learned waterbending before, you're all wrong. Besides that waterbending scroll, I've literally had no prior experience to waterbending. No, I did it for a friend in the South Pole, who was a waterbender but never was able to learn. My friend was why I devoted all my energies to master waterbending... to honor my friend, who'll probably never learn about waterbending and stay in the South Pole forever," Aang said sadly.

Pakku blinked in surprise. "About that, Aang... the North Pole has begun to feel guilty about leaving our sister tribe stranded in the cold - rather, more so than was necessary. I was thinking of sending a group of people down South to assist in reconstruction and to maybe leave the South Pole with a better leader than an absent teenager."

Aang's eyes widened. "And you'll teach my friend about waterbending?" he asked hopefully.

Pakku sighed. "I suppose I have to, don't I?"

Aang hugged Pakku, who did not return the favor. "That's so awesome! She'll love it! I can't believe it... she's going to learn about the thing she's wanted her entire life..." Aang whispered ecstatically.

His joy was cut short.

"Wait. Did you say... she?"


Finally! He found her! Weeks and weeks of stalking and searching and... okay, forget he said anything. That just made him sound like some creep. But he finally found the girl that captured his heart! "Princess Yue, good morning!" he called out to the boat and a certain beauty sitting in it. "How about that picnic last night? Boy, your dad sure does know how to throw a party."

"I'm happy you enjoyed yourself," Yue said with a guarded look on her face.

"Well, it wasn't as much fun after you left," Sokka said. He blushed. "So... I'm still hoping we can see more of each other."

Yue smiled sneakily. "Do an activity, you mean?" Sokka blushed again.

"Yes ... at a place ... for some time." Sokka rubbed the back of his neck.

Yue laughed, and Sokka's heart did backflips. "I'd love to. I'll meet you on that bridge tonight."

She'd love to. She'd love to! "Great!" he chirped. "I'll see you– AAHH!" he screamed as he fell in the water.

Princess Yue put a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. "Sorry." But she couldn't help giggling at the boy. There was something about him... his goofiness and awkwardness and cuteness... and genuineness...

Sokka finally climbed out of the frigid water, staring blankly at the sky, not caring that he was making himself a fool in front of everyone. "Yeah... that's okay, it was worth it. See you tonight..."

He had a date. With the girl who took his heart.

He was the luckiest person in the world.


Aang nearly melted the door in his anger. He angrily passed Sokka, headed for his room, and started banging his head on the wall.

"Yo, Airhead, what's up? You seem pretty wound up at the world." Sokka's cheerful expression served a sharp contrast to Aang's boiling temper.

Aang growled, "He won't teach her."

After staring at Aang, Sokka went and sat on Aang's bed. Zuko popped his head in. "What's going on?"

Aang glared at the two boys intruding on his privacy. "My teacher won't teach Katara waterbending."

Sokka held up both hands. "Woah, woah, woah. Start from the beginning, Aang. What happened, and why, and how?"

Taking a deep, frustrated breath, Aang angrily told them everything. His near mastery of waterbending, Pakku's curiosity, the South Pole reconstruction, and finally, the waterbending teacher's adamant refusal to teach his love waterbending.

Zuko, standing up, started pacing around. "So let me reiterate: you're almost a master waterbender - great! Pakku asked you why, and then it led to an expedition to the South Pole. You became happy when he offered to teach your friend, but as soon as he realized Katara was a girl, he just quit on you."

Aang nodded. "I can't believe it! He's so... so... ugh!"

"Like former sexist Sokka," Zuko said.

Sokka nodded. "Not denying it. But Aang, you do realize this isn't the end of it."

Aang lifted his head slowly. "It isn't?"

Sokka nodded again. "Yeah. Think about it. He won't teach my sister. But he will teach you. Why not teach Katara yourself?"

Aang's eyes widened in hope. "Hey that's even better! In that way, she'd look up to me even more! Me teaching her about a part of herself..." Aang thought with a dreamy look on his face. "Yes! That's it! I'll teach Katara waterbending!"

"But you won't be able to make her into a master if I refuse to teach you the last parts of waterbending." All three boys looked up in horror to see a certain white-bearded man storm from their door.

The boys sat there in stunned silence. Aang sagged. "This day gets worse and worse."

Sokka shrugged. "At least my day's still looking bright even after the sun's gone. See ya! I got someone to see - oh, hog monkeys," he muttered upon seeing a sudden change in Aang's face. "Yes! It's with Yue! On a bridge! Happy now?" Aang smirked and was about to nod when -

"I'm never happy," Zuko deadpanned, and they all laughed. Zuko slapped Sokka's shoulder. "Go get'er, Sokka."

Sokka grinned, and waved goodbye to them. They sat in silence until Zuko said, "Bet ya three gold pieces it won't last."

"You're on," Aang said, his mind temporarily taken off the disasters that had occurred previously.


The moon's light shimmered as it reflected on the water. Yue was gazing into the water when Sokka came rushing up to her.

"Hi, Princess Yue. I made you something. I carved it myself." He presented her with his wooden carving.

Yue looked at it. "It's a bear," she said.

"Actually, it's supposed to be a fish." He turned the fish around. "See, it has a fin."

"Oh," she said. She looked at Sokka. "I-I'm sorry," she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I made a mistake. I-I shouldn't have asked you to come here." She ran away, crying.

Sokka looked at the corner she turned long after she disappeared, stunned by the sudden turn of events. He suddenly turned the the bridge, and angrily flung his fish into the water.

Stupid world. Stupid water. Stupid fish. Stupid Yue.

Wait, no.

It wasn't her fault.

Curse his luck for being the most awkward, hopeless man in the world!


Aang was awoken by a slam. Sokka stormed into their quarters, went to his room, and cried himself to sleep.

Aang took out three gold pieces and handed them over to Zuko. "You know... I'm starting to feel bad that we did this bet. It seems so shallow... compared to that," Zuko said as Sokka's cries died away and he started to snore.

"Yeah. And you're the one who got the money from that bet! Ugh... I'm dreading tomorrow. Two heartbroken boys and a Fire Nation Boy having to appeal to the Watertribe council..."


"What do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

They were in a hall not unlike one where the airbending Council of Elders convened. Upon frozen steps, Master Pakku, Chief Arnook, Princess Yue, and many others were sitting, judging the three boys before them.

"Please," said Zuko. "The Avatar must master all four elements to confront my father and end this war. Pride and culture pale in comparison to the wanton destruction my father will wreak."

Zuko quailed at the glares directed at him. For all his sincerity and enthusiasm in helping the Avatar, the world didn't trust him.

And by extension, they didn't trust Aang when they needed to.

"Hmm..." Arnook said. "I suspect he might change his mind, if you swallow your pride and apologize to him."

Aang sighed. "Alright. Fine. I'll do it." He opened his mouth, ready to say words he didn't mean.

"I'm waiting for your apology, boy," Pakku almost sang.

And Aang saw the smug look in his face, one self-assured that he was always in the right, that he was always in the winning side. That girls were inferior to boys.

That Katara wasn't worthy at all.

"No." Even Aang and Pakku were surprised at the word that came out of Aang's mouth. "No," he repeated, feeling something powerful surging through him. "No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you! A sexist jerk who is completely opposite the element he bends!" he ranted, pointing an angry finger at a thoroughly shocked Pakku. "You are the one talking about how you need to uphold your culture, how you need to honor your customs. Well, let me, a twelve-year-old boy, enlighten a decades-old, stingy waterbending man. Even Chief Arnook said it; water is the element of change and adaptability. If you choose to ignore this, you are ignoring the foundations on which your entire culture was built!" He turned away from the shocked gathering before him. "I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me," he snapped, earning a gasp from every living soul in the room.

Zuko and Sokka didn't even bother trying to cover for Aang. "I think he meant that," Zuko said grimly.

"Yeah, me too," said Sokka. "Let's go and try to slap some sense into that airhead of an Avatar. Clearly, his brain was left frozen when you broke him from that iceberg, Zuko."


Aang was stomping down the stairs when Sokka and Zuko finally caught up to him.

"Are... you... in... sane?" Zuko simultaneously hissed and gasped.

"No. It's about time someone taught that old gasbag a lesson," growled Aang.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Suddenly, Aang felt a presence hurtling towards his back. He quickly pushed his friends out of the way to avoid an ice disk whirling towards them.

"Now really, Pakku?" Aang said, deliberately leaving out the "Master" part. "Stooping so low as to trying to kill my friends who don't have any part in this? At least you decided to show up and fight me."

Pakku said nothing, and bent two streams and charged them at Aang.

Aang simply redirected the streams, and Pakku was forced to create an ice wall to block the water. He then melted his wall - to be nearly sliced in two by a disc hurled at him.

"How do you like a taste of your own medicine?" Aang sneered. He bent the water from a nearby fountain and then sent it arcing through the air like a boomerang.

Aang saw Pakku stumble. Good. "Looks like you can't even stand on your feet. And you claim to be a man -"

He realized his mistake. He had taunted his opponent during his fight, and now with his mouth moving, he was distracted enough to let his guard down. Pakku quickly melted the ice under Aang, and trapped his legs. Try as he might, Aang could not break free. Pakku walked up to him. He raised an icicle.

"That's for your disrespect, former pupil," Pakku snarled. "I wish it did not come to this, but with your actions... not only have you disrespected your elders, you have disrespected my people, my culture, and disavowed the superiority of our sex. You deserve nothing more than an end to your life."

Aang, however, didn't pale. He did not cower, and he did not beg for mercy. He brought his head up and gazed up defiantly at his killer, glad that he had stood up for what was right, glad that he had stood up for Katara, until the very end.

It was this that saved his life.

A glint of metal on his neck caught Pakku's eye when the Avatar moved his head. He couldn't help but become curious about what was reflecting the light so brightly. His eyes lowered to reveal... a necklace. But not just any necklace.

No...

It couldn't be...

He slowly lowered the icicle to Aang's neck. Aang stared in confusion. "Where. Did. You. Get that?" Pakku said harshly.

Aang glared up at him. "My friend gave me that. Why are you so angry about that? Why haven't you avenged your so-called mighty ancestors? Why aren't you carrying out your decision to kill me? Why haven't you already done it? What are you waiting for? Kill me now!"

But Pakku ignored Aang's goading. He wasn't done. "I recognize this..." Pakku said slowly. "Sixty years ago... I made this necklace... for the love of my life. For Kanna."

Aang stared up at him in shock, forgetting all about the precarious situation he was in. "You know my friend's grandmother?" he asked, eyes wide, face pale.

Pakku stared down at the boy in surprise. Kanna lived in the South Pole? She had a granddaughter? Who was the Avatar's friend?

"Tell me. Tell me everything" Pakku choked out.

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