AN: Hey guys! Welcome to the first real chapter of WOTWT, this is where things are really going to start to pick up but before we start I wanted to get some things out of the way. First off? Reviews of course! Now, I realize that I'mnot going to get through to everyone's but I have read every single one - these are just the few I feel warrant being addressed.

Everpeach: You'll find out if Aang survives in this chapter but I would direct you to Greed720's Carry on my Wayward Son. Also pertains to your second review.

Callum Runchman: I was unaware of any other stories with the same title, save my own. Percy doesn't hate Poseidon's guts so much as he hates what the Olympians forced him to do - and the fact that they're little better than tyrants.

Screwthefates1806: I think you'll find that this is due to the help of my good friend Hkurtz2013 - my wonderful beta that has more than helped make these stories the best they can be!

One last note: I have the next three chapters of this story written and ready to be posted every two weeks up to Thanksgiving so I hope you enjoy a (hopefully) steady supply of chapters for that long at least. And onto the story!

XXX

With Percy...

'That was the most uncomfortable way I've ever traveled anywhere, and I grew up with the New York Subway,' I thought to myself as I gripped my stomach while plummeting through the air. It took me a few seconds before I even realized I was falling but by then I had plunged into the ocean below like a rock. It was unexpected but I sighed in relief as the sea washed away any aches and pains I had after my first experience with mist travel. It was something dad gave me in his knowledge of water and earth, but knowing how to do it and actually using the technique were two very different things. I grunted slightly as I launched myself from the water onto an iceberg in front of me, only to stop in shock at the beacon of light shining on the horizon. I knew I didn't have time to waste as I focused on the spot and willed myself forward. With the same horrible ripping, tearing sensation all over my body, I found myself thirty feet in the air above an iceberg that had ruptured in two as a body hovered in the air with its head thrown back with lightning dancing over it.

I fell through the sky and rapidly dropped level with the kid's body just hanging there. I watched in muted horror as the glowing of his tattoos began to flicker and dull. 'Oh, that's not good,' was my only thought as the sightless eyes met mine and began to glow even brighter. I reached out a hand toward the kid and he did the same. The white light surrounding him changed to a bright, vibrant blue as I saw a haze of green radiate from my body. I nearly panicked as I saw the streaks of gold flit through the green and knew instinctively that I was looking at what probably amounted to my very soul.

I swallowed nervously but kept the technique I just learned from Raava going, knowing that it could quite possibly kill her and me if I screwed this up…

XXX

Minutes Earlier…

"Lion turtles gave people the ability to bend? And they were big enough to carry entire cities on their back?" I asked flabbergasted but then remembered some of the things I had seen with my own eyes, including the metal monstrosity that was Talos and suddenly the city-sized Turtles didn't seem as far fetched. "Okay, point taken," I said, rubbing the back of my head lightly.

"Indeed," Raava said with a chuckle, "but their most impressive feat was in bending Chi itself to their will, this is how they were able to give the ability to bend. Theoretically, this energy can be used to connect to another on a spiritual level - I can give you access to this ability. You can give bending or take it away - but I cannot teach you how this is done."

"What are you getting at?" I asked cautiously.

"In order for me to bond with you, you will have to connect your very soul to Avatar Aang's and, by extension, me. But it will be dangerous."

"As dangerous as a snake or as dangerous as Gaia?" I snarked with a raised eyebrow.

"As dangerous as the golden spear hanging around your neck," Raava admonished gravely. I felt myself pale rapidly at the thought of that.

"I could fade?" I whispered hoarsely.

"Worse," Raava said heavily, "if you fail in this technique, not only will your very soul cease to exist, I will as well. I do not know what my true absence would do to the balance of the world… You must succeed, Perseus."

I could only nod.

XXX

Presently…

The blue and green lights swirled together, flecks of gold and bronze streaked through the haze lighting up the iceberg. I felt something like static course through the connection and could only stare as the Airbender's tattoos changed from blue to white in an instant, the shaft of light bridging our eyes together.

I watched as the white light intensified and swirled with blue. I gasped and as suddenly as it started, the light show ended.

I fell to my knees in the snow, exhausted and coated with sweat.

"What the spirits was that!?" I heard a guy yell behind me. I just laid in the snow face down, trying to catch my breath as fire coursed through my veins, "hey, what's wrong with him!? And where did he come from!?" I dimly heard the voice say.

"I don't know but he looks like he's in pain," I heard a girl say quietly as someone knelt beside me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and was rolled over on my back.

"And what is he wearing?" the boy asked as I stared up at the sky, only to see a girl in a blue parka face to face with me.

"He's awake!" she said over her shoulder.

"He," I said slowly, startling the girl, "is tired and hungry… got any pizza?" I asked with a small smirk. The girl lifted a dark eyebrow over her crystal blue eyes.

"Pizza?" she said, as if testing the word.

"Is that some kind of Fire Nation food!?" I heard the boy cry as I was poked in the head by something. I grabbed the butt of the spear and growled at the boy who was nearly identical to the girl except with his head shaved on the sides while the top was tied in a short ponytail.

"No, but poke me with this damn thing again and you're going into the drink," I rolled over and pulled myself onto my knees before dragging myself to my feet. I almost fell but the Trident appeared in my hand for me to lean on. I almost felt bad using a symbol of power as a virtual crutch but it wasn't like I had much of a choice. I looked behind me at the brother and sister duo to see that their jaws were practically hanging on the ground. He was the first to recover.

"Katara, can you do that with your magic water?"

I blinked before I felt a grin split my face as I chuckled at the guy.

"I like you, dude. You're not half bad," he looked like I smacked him with a fish but blushed slightly.

"I don't even know who you are, magic spear guy," he said nervously - his own spear planted butt first in the ice.

"Percy," I said, extending my arm to him, "Percy Jackson."

"I'm Sokka…" he paused for a beat before obviously deciding on something, "Sokka Hakodason, nice to meet you?" The guy said with a small grin as he grabbed my forearm tightly.

"And I'm Katara," the girl said, "his sister," she said with a small sneer. I grinned broadly at her as I felt my balance return.

"The sensible one then?" she looked at me like I was stupid before she smiled just as widely as me.

"Oh definitely," she said before breaking down laughing. I laughed with her as the guy just looked at us like he was missing something.

"So, where are we?" I asked as I glanced around. I was about to say more before I saw something that made my blood freeze.

Aang's body.

I ran over to it and knelt down beside him, pressing my fingers to his neck but I didn't need to feel a pulse to know he was long gone. His skin was already blue and cold, his eyes open but sightless.

"Is he…" I heard Katara ask quietly, she didn't need to finish her sentence for me to know what she was going to say. I nodded slowly as I pulled his eyelids closed.

"Rest in Peace, Avatar. Your burden has been lifted," I said quietly.

"Avatar!? He's the Avatar!?" Sokka yelled.

"Yes," I replied simply.

"Oh, man! Now the avatar is a kid in the North Pole!?" Sokka wailed, falling to his knees. "Now the Fire Nation is sure to win this war!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I growled as I stood back up to face Sokka, picking up my Trident once again. "You remember that little light show a few minutes ago?"

"How could I forget it?" Sokka muttered as he brought his fingers to his chin and looked at me strangely, "the aurora is pretty common down here but that was way too intense."

I felt my jaw drop as I stared at the guy in shock, "uh, yeah. I'm sure." I said slowly.

"But where did you come from?" Katara asked me with an eyebrow raised.

"Not quite sure," I said scratching the back of my head, "I've been drifting for a while and ended up here - wherever here even is - in the middle of that light show," I said shaking my head slowly.

"The light show brought you here?" Sokka asked incredulously, "right, because you can just teleport, is that it?"

"Not quite," I said, scratching my head, "this weird, white, kite, thing," 'sorry, Raava…'

'All is well, Mr. Jackson,' Raava's voice said quietly in my head and she was definitely amused.

"...showed up and told me that it chose me."

"A spirit chose you?" Katara said, her eyes wide as Sokka just had his nose in the air, not saying anything. Before we could say anything else though, there was a low growl that rang through the air. As one, we froze where we were before turning back to the veritable wall of ice and snow. With a gesture, I pulled the ice wall down to reveal a huge, confused, six-legged, cow, thing standing there - his head swinging back and forth. 'Sky Bison,' I thought, remembering the term Raava used.

"His name is Appa," another voice said to my left, I whipped my head around to try and find out who on earth could have managed to find the iceberg only to see a glowing, translucent version of the kid lying on the ice, "he'll fly when you say yip-yip. Take care of him for me,' was all Aang said before he disappeared with the next breeze. I stared for a second until I felt Katara grab my bare forearm. That's when I became acutely aware of just how cold it really was and that I definitely wasn't dressed for the occasion in my Camp Jupiter t-shirt, jeans, and Nikes. I felt myself violently shiver, and pulled a layer of the ice around me reflexively - willing it to warm up. I sighed in relief as the coat of warm water settled around me and put my hand on Katara's. I looked into her wide, blue eyes and smiled gently.

"I've got this," I said quietly as I walked toward the Sky Bison. "Appa?" I laid my hand on his snout and he snorted quietly, sniffing it. Out of nowhere, he opened his mouth and I vaguely got the impression of Mrs. O'Leary.

Turns out, I wasn't too far off. The Bison licked me from foot to face in one long stroke. I stepped back, mildly disgusted but willed the drool off of me. I shook my head in disbelief as the Bison tried to nuzzle up to me closer.

"What the…" I heard Sokka mutter as I raised my hand to wave them over.

"S'all good guys, he's friendly," I called over my shoulder.

"I have to have Midnight sun madness," I heard Sokka mutter, "I'm going home where things make sen-" he stopped midword as he looked over the ice field. Apparently, this was Katara's cue to snap out of the daze she had been in since I coated myself in water.

"You're a waterbender!" She yelled, I actually winced at the girl's volume as she marched toward me, "will you teach me? Please!? I'm a waterbender and I need a master to teach me how to waterbend properly and you seem like you're really, really good!" Her eyes were wide with hope and I hesitated for a beat.

"I'm not sure I can," I said gently, "I'm not exactly a classically trained waterbender."

"That's okay!" She said, "anything is better than nothing!" And how could I disagree with that?

"Alright, alright. We'll start tomorrow, but first I think food would be great," I said just as my stomach rumbled. Sokka actually turned around and grinned broadly.

"My man!" he said happily, "but we broke our boat earlier, and we don't have another way home… We weren't planning on getting stranded so we didn't bring a lot of food," he said, slightly embarrassed.

"Then which way is home?" I asked as I frowned in concentration. The iceberg around us shifted and warped until we were standing on a small barge of ice. Sokka and Katara both stared wide-eyed at the construct as Sokka pointed off in the opposite direction of the sun. I nodded and willed the small barge forward, the prow pushing other icebergs aside with ease, "how far out are we?"

"Well, uh, a few hours by canoe," Sokka said as he scratched the back of his head hesitantly. I just grinned and pushed the barge faster as we entered an inlet of open water, pushing the boat to around thirty knots. Katara looked at me with a dropped jaw and then behind us at our wake.

"We'll be back to the South Pole in half an hour at this pace!" She said excitedly, "I don't think any other waterbender can make a boat go this fast!" I just raised my eyebrow at the girlish excitement rolling off her.

"Maybe not, but then again I am pretty special," I said with a grin, partially from finally figuring out where we were. She just rolled her eyes and smacked the back of my head lightly as Sokka sat at the prow with an expression of utter glee.

"This has to be what dad feels at the helm," he said wistfully as he stared off to the horizon.

XXX

It took twenty minutes to reach the village at thirty knots, it really would have taken them all day to get out that far by canoe and that was assuming they sailed part of it and didn't have to constantly paddle. Even so, the village was a welcome sight to all four of us - Appa included. As the barge plowed into the ice shelf, I willed a small ice coffin around Aang's body and gestured to Katara and Sokka to lift one end while I lifted the other.

Villagers flooded out of the small town, their eyes trained on me suspiciously - even more so when they saw the coffin Katara and Sokka were helping me carry.

"Halt!" An old woman wrapped in purple called out, I did as she asked and so did Sokka and Katara, "Sokka, Katara, who is this, and what do you carry?"

"This is Percy, Gran-Gran, he probably saved our lives. And it's not what, but who," Katara said seriously. Gran-Gran's eyes widened at that proclamation and she turned to three more of the women and nodded. Instantly, the suspicion vanished from their eyes as the ladies fell in at Katara and Sokka's sides. I was able to shift to the open spot on Katara's side and settle Aang's coffin on my shoulder.

"Who is this?" Gran-Gran asked quietly.

"Aang of the Southern Air Temple, he survived the genocide and was encased in ice for the past century. He was the last of his people," I could almost feel Katara's razor-sharp gaze on the back of my neck, "and the Avatar."

The village collectively gasped and looked at me in a new way, this time completely terrified of what that could mean.

"Then the Avatar should be a newborn babe in the arms of the Northern Tribe if this truly was him," the fierce old woman said sharply.

"I will answer any and all questions you may have after he is tended to, elder," I said quietly, immediately the woman's eyes softened as she stepped to her left to clear the way. I nodded my gratitude but said, "he was the Avatar, of that there is no doubt. Whatever your traditions are for burial will do."

"Then he will be buried at sea," she said quietly. "Hala, Umili, Karina, get whale blubber and fat! Hakala, fetch a Canoe." The four named people immediately jumped into action, running to do as the formidable woman commanded. She started walking and I instinctively knew to do two things, fall in step and follow. Together, the seven of us made our way to the edge of the ice shelf where a small canoe waited. It was full of jars and liberally coated with a layer of oil. We placed the coffin on the small canoe and I waved my hand, pulling the water out of the canoe and returning it to the sea. The little Airbender was then covered with a blanket that looked to have been soaked in fat as another woman came out of a hut holding a bow. I blanched at the weapon and Sokka saw that, he was the one who took the bow instead.

I nodded gratefully to him as I pushed the boat out to sea. Sokka waited a few moments for the canoe to drift out a safe distance before raising the short recurve bow and drawing back. He held the arrow for a second as a torch was placed under the arrowhead and concentrated on lining up his shot. Sure enough, Sokka released the arrow and it streaked away in a bolt of orange. The arrow took a shallow arc, landing directly on Avatar Aang's chest. The blanket flared up instantly and fire erupted as the jars of whale oil caught.

"Rest easy, Avatar," I said quietly as Sokka lowered the bow to his side, watching the canoe go up in a pillar of fire.

"That was our second funeral, and to think it was the Avatar's," Sokka said quietly as he stepped up to my left side, Katara stepping up to my right.

"Yeah, what he said," she said mournfully as she watched the boat finally sink beneath the waves, the last Avatar finally going to his final rest. "Come on, it's time to eat," she said quietly, taking my hand and leading me back to the village. I let her do it, I'm not sure why, but I did, "and we need to get you new clothes, you must be freezing!" she said as she glanced back at my short-sleeved shirt and relatively thin jeans.

I scratched the back of my head and grinned sheepishly, "well, yeah, I would be if I wasn't using water to keep myself warm," I said. Her eyes widened and she poked me in the chest.

"You are so teaching me that!" she said imperiously, her blue eyes glinting with steel. I swallowed and nodded slowly. Her fierce expression melted away and she grinned broadly, pulling me into a quick hug in her excitement, "thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh! This is so exciting! I've always wanted to learn waterbending but I'm the only waterbender in the tribe…" she kept on as we entered the village to see everyone gathered around a large fire pit with bowls in their laps and a large pot sitting over the fire.

"Tiger-seal," Gran-Gran said, shoving a bowl toward me and Katara, "since apparently someone didn't catch anything on their fishing trip except an Avatar and a strong Waterbender," her hard exterior finally cracked and she smiled broadly at me. "And how wonderful it is to have you."

"Percy, please ma'am," I said smiling slightly, "I'm just a simple man here to help in any way I can."

"Any way? Well then, if that's the case you and Sokka can go fishing tomorrow since he didn't have any luck at sea today."

"Deal," I said with a smile, these people were helping me - the least I could do was go fishing.

"Excellent, you'll be staying in our home tonight, Percy. Unless you can make your own shelter?" Gran-Gran said with a raised eyebrow. I smiled and just asked:

"Where's the best place for me to put up an igloo?" Gran-gran laughed merrily and just pointed to a place under the only tower on the wall. I frowned at the laughable fortifications and swore I would do something to fix that whenever I could. With a negligent wave of my hand, an igloo appeared with a familiar twist in my gut.

"Incredible," the elder whispered with wide eyes, "I've never seen waterbending like that before…"

I blushed slightly but thanked the woman who looked around the fire, saw everyone had eaten, and hobbled to her igloo. I raised my eyebrow toward Katara who just shrugged helplessly as we ate our soup in silence. I had nearly finished the bowl when the old lady came out of the igloo with a bundle in her arms that she shoved into mine after I upended my bowl and finished my soup.

"Put these on," she said authoritatively, "they belonged to my son but should fit you well enough, Percy. Quickly now! You'll catch the shelf sickness!"

I nodded and pulled on the merciful warm and surprising comfortable parka with the three-fingered mittens after that. I grinned as I let the thin layer of warm water fall from around me, surprisingly I was just as warm in the parka as I was with the water layer. Gran-gran nodded and picked up my bowl from the floor, marching back to the fire and pouring a second helping from a ladle in the pot. She walked back to us and handed me the bowl, "a bender needs his strength. Eat, sleep. Tomorrow, you and Sokka will be on the water."

"Yes, elder," I said quietly and turned back to the bowl.

XXX

Next Morning…

"Percy!" I heard hissed in my ear. I jerked awake, ready to kill whatever monster woke me up. Turns out it was just a teenage girl, the worst monster the gods ever made.

"Katara, sorry," I said to the girl I nearly punched in the jaw. She sat frozen, staring at my fist before her eyes drifted to my naked torso.

"It's uh, it's morning," she stammered, turning bright red as she scampered away from the igloo. I smirked slightly as I pulled my camp Jupiter T on with a pair of thick, black woolen pants. I pulled off my pair of short, black socks and replaced them with a thick woolen pair that Gran-Gran gave me last night and a pair of long, comfortable, leather boots. I shook my head slightly as I pulled the parka on, it was a little wide in the chest but much better than constantly keeping warm water around me. I stepped out of the igloo into the arctic air and groaned, still not used to the shock of the cold.

"Percy! You're awake!" Sokka yelled across the way, but I could hear the edge in his voice, "two things," he said as he jogged up to me, "first of all, Gran-Gran wants us on the water as soon as possible but we burned our last boat last night. Second of all, you need to look at the bison."

"Yeah, sure," I said slightly confused, "where is he?"

"Right behind you," Sokka said flatly. I raised my eyebrow at him and turned around anyway and felt my jaw drop at the audacity of the Bison. He was lying around the igloo like a kid with a stuffie. I just brought my hand up to my forehead and rubbed it slowly.

"The ten ton monster acts like a dog… Because of course it does," I groaned in exasperation, "when did you want to set off again?"

"Right now."

And so we did. For the next three days, Sokka and I fell into a routine where he and I would go on fishing expeditions in the mornings to the afternoon while the evenings were reserved for the tribe to help us build another canoe, Sokka and I made do with a canoe of ice that I created that first day.

But it was also during that time that Katara made her crush on me a little more than obvious. I would have left for the rest of the world immediately but this was the most normal thing I had experienced in months - even if it was on the frozen arctic tundra. Besides the fact that Annabeth actually died just a few days ago - and I knew that pain wouldn't go away for a few years, if at all - that she would want me to move on… Not that I was doing very well with it. Katara was a beautiful girl who had obviously not been around anyone but the men of her tribe, outsider me? Well, I was prime meat.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"Whatcha thinking about, Perce," Sokka asked as he looked up from scanning the waters for fish.

"Nothing, Sokka," I said morosely.

"Is this about Katara?" He asked as he put his spear down and sat on one of the Canoe's benches. I nodded slowly as I sat on the opposite bench.

"You know she's my sister, right," Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow, "I'm supposed to protect her. It's the only thing my dad asked me to do before he sailed off to war: protect my sister," he said heavily, "but I don't think I need to protect her from you." Sokka's eyes never wavered from mine as he said all that. I nodded slowly as I thought of how to answer that.

"Katara's my friend, Sokka," I said quietly, "it's not the fact that I don't like her, she's an amazing, willful, strong woman, but it's the fact that I was with someone just days ago…"

"What happened to her?" Sokka asked quietly, apparently familiar with the tone.

"She was torn apart by monsters," I said quietly. Sokka blanched but I went on, "I can't tell you everything about my old life yet, Sokka, it's not that I don't trust you but I'm not ready to talk about it yet, man… I will tell you though that where I come from, there are monsters just as fierce as the Tiger-Seals you have but they're just as intelligent as you and I."

"Tui be merciful and La protect…" the Watertribesman said quietly as his blue eyes looked at me in horror, "you're not kidding?"

"No."

"Well crap on a Firebender," Sokka swore lowly, "that's rough, buddy."

I couldn't help the small smirk that crossed my face with the oath, "yeah. That's about right. C'mon, we have fish to catch." I grinned and picked my spear up, looking back into the water as I dipped my fingers into it. I tried to reach out for anything in reach but there was nothing to be found. I sighed and sat back, ready for a long day. Or at least until I noticed something strange in the water.

"Sokka?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, Percy?"

"Why is the snow black?" I reached my bare hand out to catch the black snow before looking back at him. Sokka's usual almond complexion was sheet white and his eyes were wide.

"We need to get back, now," he almost shouted, grabbing a paddle and turning the canoe toward home. I didn't say anything and willed the ship forward. The Canoe leaped out of the water like a torpedo, rocketing back to the tribe as fast as I could haul it.

"What's happening?" I asked Sokka and he only said four words.

"It's the Fire Nation." And with those short, grave words, I willed the boat to change shape. The wide, flat bottom boat transforming into something more similar to a racing ship back home, minus the sail. I instantly knew that the little boat couldn't take any more pressure but that was fine, we were almost back anyway. In five minutes we would be at the village at the speed we were going, I just prayed it was fast enough.

It was, but just barely. Sokka sprinted to his tent as I ran to the village wall, ignoring Katara and Kanna's questions. I made it to the top of the wall and forced the strange fog that occasionally cropped up on the water aside. We had beaten the iron sloop to the village long enough that the only thing visible on the warship was the tower. I raised my eyebrow at the thing, wondering how it was still floating.

But that wasn't the point or even relevant. I didn't have time to waste wondering how that metal monstrosity was seaworthy, I had to make sure the village was safe. That Kanna, Katara, and Sokka were safe. I closed my eyes and focused on what I needed, the image slipped into my head of the small village surrounded by walls of ice thick enough that not even modern artillery would pierce them. A ship of the line may make it through, but the sloop coming toward us wouldn't even be able to compete with a wooden Ship of the Line.

"Percy," Katara asked as she drew beside me on the wall, "what's hap- Tui and La, is that a Fire Nation Ship!?"

"Yes," I opened my eyes and looked at her, "warn the village." Was all I said as I drew my Trident, knowing I was going to need some help on the monstrous undertaking I was about to make. Katara's eyes widened as she slid down the sloping wall and took off running for the village center, yelling about the incoming ship. I smirked as I lifted the Trident, slamming it down onto the top of the wall of loose snow and occasional ice. The ground shook as the ocean drew itself up to what I wanted, walls taller than the ship's main tower with crenellations and archer slits along the way. I focused on carving a few holes in the cardinal directions of the walls and split the thinner ice, making doors in the wall capable of withstanding a more than a few hits from a ram. I fell to my knees, slightly drained but nowhere nearly as bad as I would have been back home - the ice giving me more strength than I thought possible, or maybe that was the Trident…

Whichever the case, the fortifications had been seen to. A circle of ice thirty feet high and twenty across at the base - fifteen at the crown. Watchtowers had been raised to forty-five feet and were placed at the inter-ordinal points of the compass and were big enough to fit two men comfortably. Stairs and ladders were carved into the walls themselves, strong and stable.

"Percy!" I heard Sokka's voice call out in astonishment, I looked down and couldn't help but scoff, "that was amazing!"

"Thanks, Sokka! What the Hades are you wearing!?" I called back.

"This is my war gear!" He called petulantly and I just smirked.

"Against what? Seals?" I grinned and jumped off the battlements, falling to the soft snow below with an explosive thump, "the cloth would be torn to ribbons and then used as kindling against a Firebender, man. I get wanting a bit more range of motion - but that may get you killed. I'm going to meet our... guests. Clean your face off and meet me out there. Alright? I can't keep you out of this and I know it."

Sokka groaned and gave me a baleful look but knelt down in the snow and rubbed it on his face, cleaning the paint off easily.

"There," he snarked, "happy?"

"Not at all," I said honestly but walked to the gate anyway, "but I'll live. C'mon, we have Firebenders to talk to."

Together, we walked out of the northern gate. I looked out to sea and saw that the sloop had changed course, angling away from the village slightly.

"Sokka, go get me two torches, a few jars of whale oil, firewood, a long stick, and a white strip of cloth as fast as you can," he looked at me oddly but I knelt down and strengthened the ice underneath us while extending it out to sea in a makeshift dock large enough, and strong enough, to bring the ship in. Sokka saw what I was doing and scowled but his eyes widened when he saw where the port was, a hundred yards west of the village and they would have to come to port on the side even further away.

"Percy, you bloody genius," he muttered as he sprinted back through the gate.

Minutes later, he and three of the village women came out with jars, wood, and torches, I waved for them to follow me and we set out at a quick jog. I took the long stick and white banner and quickly tied the two together.

"Sokka," I said to the boy, pointing down the broad strip of ice, "set up a signal fire down there, Katara, Hala, and I will set one up over here," I said, indicating a point parallel of his but actually ashore.

"Can't you make an ice sled?" Sokka asked, worry obviously in his tone. I sighed and rubbed my forehead irritatedly.

"Sokka! Hush!" Katara said but Hala dropped her logs as soon as she saw that the ship was closing in. It was only about a mile offshore at this point. I sighed and collected the logs with the snow, picking them up and running to the point I indicated earlier with Katara.

"What's the point of this?" Katara asked angrily, kicking an empty whale oil jar as I tried to set up the signal fire as fast as I could, "they're Fire Nation, they don't need a fancy port!"

"No, but it puts them at ease," I said, looking up at her, "and look at where we're at. Where's the village?"

"Over there," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and she was obviously pissed about it too.

"Men in armor can't run through the snow like we can, and we're in snowshoes. The coup de grace? We're waterbenders," I said flatly. "They'll be in heavy, metal armor. Where do you think that'll put them if they try to raid the village by land?" Immediately, her eyes widened in understanding and she fell to her knees beside me, hugging me for all she was worth.

"That's genius! Insane, but genius!" she cried, keeping the torch in her hand well away from me as I upended another whale oil jar on the fire.

"Thank you," I said tightly, acutely aware of the pressure on my ribs, "but we need to light this, now," I took the torch from her fingers and stood up, her arms still cinched around my waist. I raised my torch and looked over to Sokka who raised his in return, I dipped my torch down and the whale oil leaped up in a small tower of flames equal to my eyes.

"You should go back to the village," I said as I managed to pry her arms off of me and got her face to face with me.

"I'm not leaving you or Sokka, Percy," she said defiantly, but brought her hand up to play with her hair loops nervously, "and they bolted the doors as soon as Kimelu ran back from helping Sokka."

"Katara!" Sokka's voice rang across the water as we jogged back to the head of the port, "why aren't you back in the village!?" he growled as he swung his club in loose, lazy circles at his thigh.

"They've bolted the door," she said simply. He only blinked and facepalmed.

"Idiots," he muttered as he glanced back at the walled form of the village.

"Guys," I said quietly, "we're about to have company." And we were, the sloop had obviously seen the jury-rigged port and signal fires and was going to use the port since it was there. I picked up the white flag and held it as high as I could comfortably, praying they knew what the white flag of truce meant. The ship nearly ran aground with a loud crunch! But they weighed anchor between the ice strips anyway. Stangely, there was no gangplank lowered, but the front of the ship hissed and let loose a small cloud of steam.

"Well… I've never seen a prow mounted gangplank on a ship," I said slightly confused as the prow itself fell to the ground and a trio of men in full armor came down the ramp with a fourth in what had to be his normal robes close behind. Two of the men were obviously grunts, paid soldiers who were only there because they had to be bodyguards. The other two were more intriguing.

The first was a scowling teenager with a hideous burn scar covering the entire left side of his face, marching down the ramp with his lips drawn tight and scowling the entire way down. The fourth man was a fat old man with a beard tumbling down his face but strangely he didn't have a mustache.

"Where is he!?" The teenager growled as he came face to face with me, "answer me, peasant! Where's the Avatar!?" I blinked in confusion but my mind was whirling. I heard Katara gasp slightly but Sokka was silent, "old man? Master of all four elements!? Is the coward hiding in your village!?" he barked into my face. I brought a hand up and wiped the spit off my face and leveled him with my best wolf stare. The guy blanched and took a step backward, giving me a little space.

"Dead, last I heard," I said flatly. Slamming the banner into the ice as I almost felt Katara and Sokka's stares boring into the back of my neck - but I held firm, "there's a village legend about how they found some Airbender kid frozen in a block of ice, but that was before my time."

"Dead?" The guy said, flatly, "then who raised those walls as we were sailing in!? Who made this port!?" he growled.

"That would have been me," my tone was bored but the guy was obviously taken aback. With a snap of my fingers, a table and seven chairs rose from the ice. "Now, why don't we sit down and talk about this instead of you yelling in my face?" He looked like he was about ready to snap but another voice cut off the coming tirade.

"An excellent idea!" The old man said, "Prince Zuko, I believe there are explanations to your questions if we were to just sit down." I felt a chill run down my spine and instantly knew that this old man was a threat, he may not look like it but that was a voice of command, Reyna's voice. A tone used by people who were used to giving orders and having them obeyed without a second of hesitation.

"But Uncle, they surrendered!"

"Sit, Prince Zuko. You know as well as I that the white banner only means surrender on the battlefield. Here it is a symbol of peace, a request for parlay," the man snapped. I looked at him appraisingly, he was the uncle of a prince, the prince of the Fire Nation no less. This was the Fire Lord's brother. I didn't say anything as I turned around, giving Sokka and Katara a look that said 'don't say a damn word.' Thankfully, they got the message.

We sat down at the table, the Fire Nation royals on one side as their guards stood above them and us at the other.

"So, gentlemen," I started the conversation, "what brings you to the Southern Water Tribe?"

"A few questions," the old man said casually, "but first, would you care if we had this discussion over tea?" his tone was light and airy, almost relaxed if it wasn't for the note of tension thanks to the cold. These four were well out of their element.

"Of course," I said calmly, eyeing the old man cautiously. He was far and away the biggest threat sitting at the table, his nephew was just a hot head teenager. Yes, he could bend fire but he was a trout playing with sharks compared to Iroh and I.

"Percy!" Sokka protested, "we're sitting with the Fire Nation and now you want to have tea with them!?" he cried out. I looked at him with another wolf stare, getting him to shut up.

"Yes, because if this can be done in peace then these good men can be on their way. Tea would also be a wonderful way to warm up," I snapped at him but kept my tone light.

"I couldn't agree more," the old man said cheerily. "Lee, if you would fetch my teapot?" the guard on the right gave a quick bow and ran back to the ship, almost desperate to be back in the warm. I had to keep the smirk off my face as he fell through the snow layer up to his hips, Katara wasn't quite as restrained as she snorted lightly.

"Percy and Sokka, was it?" The old man said as he turned to Katara, "and who might you be?"

"Katara," she said simply, her good humor vanishing.

"Don't tell them your name!" Sokka burst out once more.

"Sokka Hokadason!" I snapped as I turned to glare at him but was watching the Fire Nationals out of the corner of my eye closely. All three of them visibly tensed at the name, "these are our guests! We are the last men of our tribe, be respectful!" I shook my head and turned back to the now uncomfortable Firebenders, "I apologize for him, these past few years have been particularly hard on all of us."

The old man nodded sagely, "indeed. I am Iroh Azulonson, this is my Nephew Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai - the Prince of the Fire Nation."

"Exiled prince," the teenager said bitterly and I had a sudden insight of where this was going.

"Ah," the old man winced, "yes. An unfortunate set of circumstances, you see. In short, Zuko has been tasked to recover the Avatar," Iroh met my eyes for a beat and I felt my blood run cold, "or never return home. He believes the Celestial Lights were a sign of the Avatar's return."

"I fear not," I said heavily, or at least attempting to sound like the words were, "while the lights are beautiful, the only thing they sign is a particularly bitter night."

Before Iroh or I could say anything else, the soldier came running back with a kettle in one hand and a domed tray tucked under his left arm.

"Ah, thank you, Corporal!" Iroh said as he took the kettle and platter from the soldier. He bowed once again and took his place at Iroh's shoulder while the other soldier stood like a statue at Zuko's. "You would not happen to have any firewood, would you?"

"No, I fear not," I said blandly. Sokka turned to look at me while Katara looked at the table, her hands clenched into fists under the table.

"Such a shame," he said sadly. "Prince Zuko, would you perhaps do the honors?"

"No, we're done here," the prince snapped as he pushed himself back, throwing his chair over and stalking back toward the ship with both the soldiers at his side.

"Oh dear," the old man said heavily, "this cup of tea must be taken quickly, young ones. In his rage, he will want vengeance - and his wrath will fall on you once he discovers that you are the Avatar. He will not like being deceived, even if you were unaware that you were indeed the Avatar, young man."

I felt myself tense as Katara and Sokka's eyes snapped up to the old man directing a small tongue of fire underneath his teapot.