I have a few things to say about this chapter, but I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll save the notes for the end.

One thing I do want to quickly not before you start is a interesting question King Elessar XII posed in his review of the previous chapter (I haven't forgotten you, I just felt the answers to your questions might interest other people :) )

Probably due to a previous note about Artirius being played in your heads by Johnny Yong Bosch, he asked if, while writing, I pictured all of the characters keeping their original Seiyus (voice actors) or used other well known Voice actors instead.
As a general thing, I don't really have a set voice actor list in my head (Unless Mike and Bryan suddenly write to me and say "Hey! A.V.A.T.A.R. Rocks! We want to adapt it!"), as such when I imagine up the scenes in my head before I write them, most of the original cast reprise thier roles. The only acceptions are characters who were children in the original, but are older in this fic, (e.g. Aang), or who are completely new to the series (E.g. Artirius). In addition, at some point or other, all characters have had different voices assigned to them, depending on the scene. For example: For the most part, Alistair Aang has the voice of Brad Swaile (Amuro Ray, Setsuna F. Seiei), but sometimes Crispin Freeman (Togusa, Jeremiah Gottwald) might take his place. Aritirus is often portrayed by Johnny Yong Bosch in my head, but sometimes Sam Vincent (Athrun Zala, Teiria Erde) will replace him. You yourselves might think of other actors as you read. I hope this was interesting, and to King Elessar XII, I hope this answers your question.

As to your other query concerning the appearence of U.S.A.C. Rangers. I will give this one spoiler: Clunkers.

Enjoy the chapter!

002

TOGETHER, ALONE

"I see…Yes…Yes…Thank you. That was Lifeboat Twelve," Doctor Fong sighed as he replaced the radio within the pockets of the lab coat that he wore over his uniform, "The First Officer thought you should know that everyone made it off the Gelion alright…bar three people,"

Sokka nodded glumly, his eyes focused on the calm waters ahead.

Three people…Alistair Aang, Katara Agura and Fredrick Ibram, the first two left behind because of the foolish dreams of the last. Now the Avat sailed onward towards New York, fifteen lifeboats anchored to the rear of the transport, the atmosphere over the tiny fleet clearly depressing.

"I should've done something,"

"What would you have done?" Fong, the fleet's liaison to the Avat, gave the younger man a sympathetic look, "If you'd gone after Lt. Aang, you'd be dead too, as would the wounded and nurses you took aboard. None of us knew how far Captain Ibram would take his little quest," He set a reassuring hand on Sokka's shoulder, "For what it's worth…I'm sorry for your loss,"

"Makes two of us," Sokka sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. Alistair Aang was dead, and Avatar was now without a pilot. His worst case scenario had been realised.

"So…what will you do now?"

"First I need to get you guys to New York," he set his sights back on the ocean before him, his hands once more going for the control sticks on the Avat's cockpit chair, "We'll be rendezvousing with Bhutan in about an hour. It's a neutral trading ship that circles the local islands before heading out to New York for re-supply. The market must be getting pretty bad is traders are willing to travel across the Atlantic just to get their stock. Once I'm sure you're all safe…I'll probably head for Japan. Avatar needs a new pilot, and there's a girl there that was at the top of Al's list,"

"And…if she doesn't want to pilot the Avatar,"
"Then I keep looking," Sokka scowled darkly at the horizon, "I'll try everyone I know, then I'll find people I don't. I'll just keep looking and looking…until Summer's End,"

Zuko was tired.

Now dressed in civilian clothes the pair had stolen from some poor farmer's washing line, his pale skin was covered in small cuts and bruises from pulling himself through tangled vines and prickly bushes.

Clearly any survival training the former G.U.N. Captain had gone through hadn't sunk in.

"No food, no water," the scarred man slumped angrily behind the two makeshift packs that now held his disassembled Exo-Suit, "We've been out here three days and I'm already sick of this lifestyle! I was never meant to be a fugitive," he sighed bitterly as he rested his head against his raised knees, "How on earth do people live like this?"

"Mm-Hm…"

"Uncle…" Zuko turned to the squatted form of his relative with curious eyes, "Have you heard a single word I've said?" his question was left unanswered, "I guess not. What are you looking at?"

"You're looking at a rare bush of wild Camellia sinensis," Iroh stood off to one side, allowing his nephew to view the small plant, tiny white flowers blowing in the wind, "You can make all kinds of wonderful teas with it's leaves stalks or stems! That…" he gazed at the bush uneasily as he stroked his beard, "Or it might be whiteshade; a poisonous plant developed by G.U.N. as biological warfare that was deployed during the Day of Blood…"

"Yes…well…" Zuko sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "While you're busy brooding over irrelevant things like whether your next cup of tea will kill you or not, I'm going to try and find us some fish or something…"

"Okay, don't be too long," his Uncle smiled cheerfully as the scarred man picked up a large stick from under a nearby tree, before going back to his examination, "Hmm…variety of tea…or deadly poison?"

"Lieutenant? Lieu~ten~ant…Up an atom soldier!"

Aang groaned heavily as he tried to open his eyes, only for him to squeeze them tight a moment later as his head swam.

His clothes were soaked, his hair felt gritted and sandy, and the strangely familiar voice seemed almost nagging in his ear.

Slowly opening his eyes, his mind quickly spinning into overdrive as he recognised the tall male standing over him.

He couldn't have been much older then Alistair, a mildly amused smirk etched into his pale almost average face, his sky blue eyes gazing down intently from beneath dark brown bangs.

An all to familiar crimson wraparound tunic that came down to his knees near the front and thigh at the back adorned the man's slim frame, blocks of black covering the shoulders, neck, cuffs and hem, with a bone pale belt keeping the uniform together.

Underneath this, simple black trousers and knee length matching boots adorned his legs, all of which added up to form the civilian uniform of the Black Core forces at Pacific Base.

Alistair could only let his mouth hang agape as he recognized the mysterious figure

"Well then…Good Morning Flight Lieutenant Aang," Doctor Adam Kroy grinned as he crouched down beside the officer's head, "Are we ready to get up yet, or should I give you a few more hours?"

Alistair did nothing for a moment more…before he screamed in pure surprise, his hands scrabbling away at the pure white sand into the crystal clear ocean as Adam stood up with a sigh.

"Oh dear," the doctor ran a hand through his hair as several pebbles, followed by a pistol and half a dozen rocks passed harmlessly through his chest and head, "This isn't going well,"

Alistair stared in disbelief as the adrenaline quickly faded form his body, his eyes wide and almost fearful as Kroy stepped into the surf where the officer sat, the salty water apparently ignoring his booted feet as it lapped against the shore.

"You…you're Adam Kroy,"

"Nice to see you didn't bang your head too badly," Adam smiled as a ophthalmoscope seemed to appear out of nowhere in his hand, Aang wincing against the light as his comrade crouched down once more a peered intently through instrument into Alistair's eye, "And it doesn't look like you've got a concussion. Mind you…" the ophthalmoscope seemed to turn into an otoscope as the doctor turned to look into the officer's ear, "I'm a doctor of physics primarily, not biology," he chuckled slightly as the instrument changed once again into a stethoscope. Aang frowned as he felt no pressure as Adam pressed it against his chest, "But then again…I'm just a figment of your imagination. I'm just telling you what your brain already knows. Heart beat is normal and you're brain isn't leaking any fluid," Kroy sighed as he stood up once more, "All in all, considering you've spent half a day being tossed and turned through the Atlantic, you're in surprisingly good health,"
Aang gave the scientist a strange look as he slowly got to his feet, the doctor smiling friendlily in return.

"So…You're imaginary?"

"Yes Sir,"

"As in not real?"

"Yes Sir,"

"As in a hallucination?"

"Yes…Sir,"

"Well then I'm NOT VERY HEALTHY AM I!" The younger man flinched slightly under Alistair's rage, "IT'S NOT EXACTLY A GOOD THING WHEN I START SEEING DEAD PEOPLE! I'M GOING CRAZY!"

"Well…yes there's that," Adam shrugged helplessly, "But look at this way: At least you're still sane enough to know you're going crazy,"
"Ugh…You…Ugh," Aang's shoulders slumped as he ran a hand through his sand ridden hair, "What are you doing here anyway? Why not Sokka or…Katara…?" Memories flashed through Alistair's brain. The sinking of the Gelion, falling into the Sea of Burning Souls, being tugged away from his friend by the strong currents, "Where's Katara? Have you seen her?"

"No…I'm not actually here, remember?" Adam gave his friend a strange look as Aang began to walk briskly alone the sandy shoreline, "But I'm sure she can't be far. I'm sure if you wonder aimlessly in a general direction you'll come across her eventually…"

"Didn't your profile say you were supposed to be timid?" Aang gave the doctor an impatient look as he fell into step, "And what's with you're voice? You sound like Artirius!"

"Well…obviously your brain thought you'd need the company of someone you'd least expect to see," Kroy shrugged again helplessly, "But since you've never met the real Adam Kroy and he doesn't have any vocal prints on file, you mind probably took pieces of memories of other people close to Adam's age and combined them to fill in the gaps,"

"So…you're part Kroy, part Artirius, part…Sokka?"

"Probably," he shrugged again, "I'm just an extension of your brain though. I know what you know. I'm just here to make sure you don't go crazy and start talking to yourself…" he paused slightly, "Well…I'm here to create the illusion that you're not talking to yourself,"

"Great," Aang rolled his eyes as he continued to search for his missing friend, "Seeing as you seem to be tapped into my brain, maybe you can tell me where the hell I am?"

"Let's see…white sands, palm trees, warm sunshine…I'd say you were somewhere near Spain or Africa, probably an island like Porto Santo," the Doctor whistled quietly in amazement, "The currents really pulled you out this far? Something's really screwed up this planet…"

"That something happens to be the COMET System," Alistair growled darkly as he turned his eyes to the clear blue sky as though expecting to see the massive dish of G.U.N.'s ultimate superweapon hanging ominously overhead, "Damn…what kind of screwed up individual fires something like that against a planet anyway? Which advisor thought it a good plan to stick that idea in Sozin's head? I mean…AGH!"

Adam blinked in surprise as Alistair suddenly tripped over something hard half buried in the soft silt, something of a bemused smirk crossing the imaginary man's face as he took in the sight of the officer face down in the sand.

"Oh dear," Kroy smiled slightly as he crouched down beside his friend, "Not having the best days really are we?"

"Oh shut up," Aang cradled his head in one hand as he rolled over and into a sitting position, "But you're right. I'm shipwrecked, I'm imagining I'm talking to a guy I've never met and what's worse, I can't find head nor hide of…" he paused as he suddenly took in the object he had fallen over, her face now clearly visible as he knocked her onto her back.

Her breathing was deep and shallow, her clothes were covered in sand and seawater as she screwed her face up in pain while comatose.

But she was alive…and he had tripped over her.

"Katara!"

""Grab a stick," they say. "Make sure the point is sharp," they say. "It's a breeze, even a child could do it!" They say," Zuko threw the broken stick to the ground in agitation as he slumped back into the makeshift campsite, "Clearly the instructors of survival training at the Berlin Academy never practiced what they preached!"

"Yes, I'm sure you'll be filing a grievous report against them when you return to Berlin," Iroh nodded sagely from the shadows of a nearby tree, one hand scratching his face vigorously as he stepped forward into the light, "However, I believe I have something more important for us to deal with first. Remember that plant that I thought might be tea?"

Zuko looked up from the earthy ground, his face a picture of horror.

"You didn't…"

"Yes, I did," the old man sighed as he stepped out into the sunlight, "And it wasn't,"

Zuko reacted in disgust, the younger man recoiling and falling over one of their packs in the process.

Large angry red blotches covered his Uncle's face, his cheeks now swollen to the size of peaches giving his face an almost comical look. Every time he tried to scratch the obvious itch, his nephew couldn't help but wince slightly in repulsion.

"Well…this is another addition to my perfect day," Iroh smiled slightly at the sarcasm that dripped form Zuko's words, "You do know the effects whiteshade has on a human body right?"

"It causes the vessels to slowly expand, cutting of blood to the heart and eventually air to the lungs when it reaches the throat," Iroh smiled faintly, "It's a slow and painful death I'm afraid. No prisoners on the Day of Blood,"

"Perfect. The last thing I really need today is to have you die on me," Zuko sighed as he ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly, "We need to get help,"

"Where would we go?" Iroh frowned as his nephew pulled a pack onto his shoulders, "If we find a neutral village, they might turn us over to the next U.S.A.C. vessel that comes their way…on the other hand if we go to a G.U.N. controlled settlement they'll probably hand us over to Azura,"

A tense silence followed, the pair exchanging worried glances, before nodding in silent agreement.

"Look at it this way," Iroh grinned as he pulled the other pack onto his back, "If we get caught, we were heading for U.S.A.C. territory anyway!"

"How's she doing?"

"Considering you're supposed to be a part of my brain, you can say the most stupid things sometimes," Alistair smirked at the dark scowl Kroy sent his way as he picked up a long stick and headed towards the line of palm forest, "But since you asked, it doesn't look good. Not only was she sent surfing halfway across the Atlantic, but she also spent a good time dunked underwater by Ibram. I'm no doctor, but if her condition's been brought on by water in her lungs or a lack of oxygen…I don't know what to do,"

"I see," Adam frowned as Aang took his first swing at the undergrowth, the small plants bowing to the officer's make-shift sword, "What do you plan to do now?"

"I've pulled Katara up the beach into the shade so she won't get washed away with the tide and put her into the recovery position. She should be alright there," Aang gave his companion as strange look as the Doctor walked almost nonchalantly through the undergrowth, branches and plants passing harmlessly through his body, "In the meantime, rather then walk aimlessly around the edge of this landmass to see how big it is and if it's inhabited, I'm going to just cut through the middle and see where I come out. With any luck, I'll be able to find some dry wood for a signal fire and something to build a shelter with,"

"Then what?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Alistair sighed as he gave Adam another dark look, "Look, isn't there someone more useful I can talk to? You know, like Miss Fina or The Immortal Wanderer maybe…"

"Hey! You don't pop in on the Immortal Wanderer!" Kroy gave his companion a momentary indignant look, before breaking into a small grin, "The Immortal Wanderer pops in on you! Besides, they only ever come in when you need information on Avatarium or the fate of the world. You know…destiny stuff,"

"Yes, well right now the fate of the world isn't really on top of my list of priorities at the moment," the poor plants before the officer mercilessly thrashed aside from his violent slashes, "I'm shipwrecked in the middle of who knows where, my best friend is currently comatose because some twit thought it would be fun to hold her under a stormy sea, and meanwhile I'm complaining about all this to a guy that isn't actually here, and keeps walking through the foliage!" he sighed bitterly as the pair slumped into a clearing, "Could this day get any worse?"

"Well," Adam cocked an eyebrow at the fallen machine that lay before them, "It depends on what you think about that,"

Alistair blinked in surprise, his feet grinding to halt bare inches before the machine that lay before him.

"An…Endurance?"

Lying on the forest floor, the boxy Ranger lay prone on it's side, various weeds and undergrowth growing over it's tarnished and rusting armour.

What worried Aang however was the damage the unit had sustained; an arm had been completely blown away, a small crater was all that remained of it's boxy head, it's armour completely riddled with energy weapons fire.

"What's that on it's back?"

The officer frowned as he took in the strange assembly mounted over the Endurance's thruster assembly; a small oval metal canister roughly the size of the Avatar's forearm attached to several reinforced pipes that ran along the Ranger's shoulder blades to what appeared to be a compact rifle barrel, now half buried under the dirt that had piled up around the mech's right side.

"It looks like some kind of weapon's pack," Adam appeared to climb on top of the wreck with ease, voicing the same thought that had entered Alistair's head, "Some kind of high powered energy rifle. But…this doesn't make any sense…"

"I know," Alistair frowned as he ran a hand over the Endurance's battle damage, "I thought G.U.N. hadn't developed energy technology beyond melee weapons but this…no…wait…" images of a Ranger clad in onyx armour flashed across his mind, a rifle emitting bursts of green energy lighting up it's burning yellow eyes and V-shaped crest, "Eternal is equipped with a energy rifle. But Artirius said he found the weapon at Pacific Base…"

"Well…this thing doesn't look like a regular energy rifle," Adam frowned as he ran a hand over the canister, "If I had to guess…or rather, if you had to guess, from the size of this energy cell, this weapon has twice, maybe even three times the power of Avatar's rifle," he looked up suddenly as Aang abruptly walked beyond the wrecked machine towards the foliage, "If you could find a way to mount this on the Avatar, you could have a serious advantage over G.U.N. the next time you two tango. Too bad this thing's such a wreck though…"

"That might not be a problem,"

"Hm?" Kroy gave his comrade a look of bemusement as he hopped off the Endurance and joined Aang on the other side of the clearing as the officer pulled back a branch, "What makes you say that?"

"Take a look for yourself,"

Whether he already knew and just feigned surprise or he was generally bewildered, Alistair couldn't tell. Suffice to say his imaginary companion's eyes widened to the size of saucers as the pair took in the sight before them.

Surrounding a large circular parade ground that took up the kilometre clearing, large blocky buildings lay in various states of ruin and disrepair. Once pristine white complexes were now dirty with mud, fungus and vines. Four storey buildings had collapsed with age or the same strange energy weapons fire that had marked the Ranger behind the. Once more, a dozen or so Endurances littered the gravel and soil, a few caught in the rubble of the buildings that surrounded them. Some were equipped with the same energy rifle as the one behind them, others appeared to be equipped with larger thruster assemblies, large narrow missile launchers mounted on either side. A couple even seemed to have been designated for melee combat; a pair of what appeared to be giant energy swords and smaller daggers mounted on their backs and thighs.

"My God…" Adam shook his head in disbelief, "What happened here? Was this a Black Core installation?"

"No, this isn't one of the seven bases," Alistair frowned as he recognised a tattered image of a former Nazi swastika, with it's outer arms curved inwards to create a broken circle on a red background as it fluttered in the wind against it's flagpole, "This was a G.U.N. installation. Maybe a development centre of some kind…" his eyes widened, "And with any luck…it might have some kind of sick bay! Come on, we need to get back to Katara…"

At twenty years of age, Kiew Li-hua had decided she had seen almost every kind of illness to plague the fair shorelines of China.

Working in her mother's small clinic, she had seen everything from common colds to pneumonia pass through the simple wooden doors, as well as more then a few young men with over charged hormones feigning sickness to try and get close enough to ask her out.

But when an old man walked in and loudly announced he had tried to make tea with the poisonous whiteshade, well…the almost in her first statement didn't seem to quite make the cut.

Nevertheless, she pulled her mahogany shoulder length hair up into a short ponytail at the top of her skull and headed into the backroom to try and find a remedy within her mother's various medical journals.

"You know, whiteshade has been around for just over a hundred years," she smiled through the open door as she flicked through the various books before her, "You must not be from around here though. Most of our village can see the difference between it and a regular tea plant," She frowned slightly, "I think the last case of whiteshade tea poisoning was…eighty years ago,"

"What can I say?" the old man chuckled nervously as he scratched at the rashes that had had developed across his puffed up face, "I haven't drank good tea in three days…I was desperate!"

A small smile returned to Kiew's lips as she returned to the journals, her grey eyes flitting to the mysterious pair every now and again.

The older man's companion…intrigued her. An eerie feeling of familiarity crossed her mind whenever she took in his dark hair, amber eyes and pale skin, not to mention that strange scar that seemed to curve around the side of his face.

Something screamed at her that she should know this man. Perhaps they had just run into each other in the street, but something about him made her feel…uneasy.

And then there were the strange bulky packs the pair of them carried.

Her thumb finally flicked to the right remedy for the old man's illness: benidine.

A drug provided by their 'generous' overseers, the German Unified Nation.

"So…" Kiew broke the uneasy silence as she headed for the medicine cabinet, one hand subconsciously picking up a hypoinjector on her way past the desk, "Have you travelled far?"

"Yes…far," the scarred man spoke up before his older companion could reply, his amber eyes focused on the calm ocean outside the clinic's window as it was slowly dyed a deep orange by the sunset, "We're kind of in a hurry though. Is this going to take long?"

"No, one dose should be alright," she smiled slightly despite the cold tone of the young man's voice as she picked up a small vial of clear liquid from the cabinet and inserted into a slot on the back of the injector, "I do need a name…for the ledger you see,"

"A…name?" the scarred man swallowed thickly as he cast a nervous glance his companion's way, "Of course…I can understand that. I'm…" his mind seemed to be racing for a simple name as his eyes darted across the clinic looking for an answers, "I'm…Sigh…O…Ran…

"Syaoran?"

"Yes! Yes I'm…" his shoulders sagged slightly as though defeated, "I'm…I'm Syaoran,"

"Strange," Kiew frowned slightly as she approached the old man, "You look…a bit too western to have that name without getting some strange looks…"

"It was his mother's idea," Syaoran scowled as the older man chuckled, "Always loved all things Chinese…you should have seen the fight she got into with his father over his name," he froze slightly as she injected the liquid into his neck, only to relax with a pleasant smile, "That's better. Not my parents though, they gave me something more my nation. I'm Liam, Syaoran's uncle. Most people call me Lee though,"
"Syaoran…and Lee," She didn't feel entirely convinced, but decided to let it pass for now, "G.U.N.'s wonder drug will reduce the swelling within the hour, but I'd like you to rest for today. If you're going to do anymore travelling, you'll have to start in the morning," she smiled shyly at the scarred man as he turned to face her uneasily, "You know…we have a spare room upstairs if you want to stay the night. My mother was just about to cook dinner…"

"Thank you but no," she flinched slightly at his hard tone, "We really must be on our way…like now,"

"Oh…that's a shame," Kiew sighed dramatically, "My mom always makes too much roast duck…"

She flinched slightly as Lee lent in hungrily, "How long exactly is it until dinner?"

She couldn't help but inwardly smirk as Syaoran's shoulders slumped once more, a clear sign that either no one got between his uncle and his food, or he was just too tired to care.

This gave her more time however, to find out who this mysterious scarred man was…and why he was so familiar to her.

"So…find anything?"

Alistair shot Adam an angry glare from across the medical bay as he rifled through trashed cabinets and upturned crates.

Like the rest of the facility, the sickbay had long since succumbed to the local wildlife; the same vines that seemed to be growing everywhere slowly creeping across the floor and up several legs of various beds as moss and fungus dotted the once pristine walls.

It wasn't perfect, but it was better then staying

Sleeping quietly in comatose, Katara lay under thin sheets near the end of the room, the imaginary form of Adam seated quiet comfortably on the counter beside her as Aang continued to search for medication of any kind.

Other then the discovery my imaginary friend is completely useless, yes," the officer smirked as he pulled out a small bottle of yellowish liquid, Kroy scowling darkly behind his back, "This looks like it will cool down Katara's fever. She should wake up by tomorrow morning,"

"What are you going to do until then?"

"What else?" Aang gave Adam a pointed look, "This base came under heavy fire from something and was abandoned in a hurry.

I want to know why,"

As with the clinic below them, Kiew's home was modest if not simple in Zuko's eyes.

Built on top of their place of work, it consisted of two large rooms and a single smaller room, a sleeping area, living area and bathroom respectively.

From what the former captain could see, the living area was comprised mostly of a large table in the centre of the room, several mismatched dining chairs tucked underneath, three of the walls lined with shelf upon shelf of books of all kinds, from more medical journals to classic Chinese literature to this morning's newspaper. All of it was pushed up onto the wooden boards, out of everyone's way. The final wall appeared to contain the main facilities for keeping a simple house; a small fridge, gas oven and several cabinets and cupboards filled with various foods and supplies all surrounding the single large window in the walls centre, which was now open to allow ventilation.

"So, If I had to guess, I would say you were refugees," Zuko looked up from his thoughts as Kiew's mother gently laid a large Peking Duck between the four of them, "Oh don't look so surprised young man, we get a lot of people coming through here trying to make their way down south…though normally they're trying to Russia then away from it,"

"We're not trying to reach Russia," Iroh answered the silent question before Zuko could open his mouth, "Actually…we're trying to reach the U.S.A.C. We have…friends there,"

Zuko felt his eyebrows hike up at this unexpected news. As far as he was aware, the U.S.A.C. was merely the lesser of two evils. Better to be the prisoners of the states then at the mercy of Azura.

"The U.S.A.C.? Then I presume you'll be heading for Beijing, probably to charter a boat to Japan," the older woman smiled wisely as she slowly divided the duck between the four of them, "I here a lot of refugees can find a sailor willing to take them there from Nagasaki…for a price of course,"

"Really? That's interesting to hear," Iroh shot his nephew a pointed look, one he decided to ignore, "So…how long have you lived in this quaint little village? Or…are you one of those people who have lived here all your life?"

"No, we've only been here ten years or so," Kiew smiled slightly sadly as she stared down at her meal, "When I was a little girl, G.U.N. raided our farming village down in the Hubei providence. All the men were taken away, all because we couldn't meet out quota for that months," she sighed as she fidgeted with her hands, "That was the last time I saw my father,"

"I haven't seen my father in almost two years,"

"Oh, really?" she looked up in surprise to meet Zuko's amber orbs, "Is he fighting in the war then?"

A long pause met the question, the scarred man fully aware of his Uncle's eyes staring worriedly into the side of his skull.

He smiled grimly.

"You could say that,"

"It's amazing the nuclear reactor is still working…or even here," Alistair sighed as he stepped carefully over the roots of a large tree that had decided to near the entrance to a underground hanger, "Either these soldiers couldn't be bothered to take it with them, or they left in such a hurry they had to leave it behind,"

"You know…there is a third option," Adam smiled wryly as he wandered almost lazily down the ramp into the gloom beyond, "Maybe whoever attacked this place…didn't leave any survivors,"

"Nah, that can't be right," Alistair scowled as he felt along the side of the room for a light switch, "Why would the U.S.A.C. bother to kill perfectly good prisoners of war? And why leave all this technology behind afterwards?"

Adam merely continued to smile as the overhead lights clacked on one after another, "Whoever said it was the U.S.A.C. that did all this?"

Aang decided not to press the matter, his eyes instead taking in the scene before him.

Unlike the courtyard and the surrounding forest, where Endurances lay scattered far and wide, the aging Rangers sat quietly in their berths, the metallic walls and ground untouched by vines and fungus, the same strange weapons packs attached to their back in various formats.

"Look at this," the officer frowned, "They didn't even launch while their comrades were slaughtered," he quickly headed over to a nearby computer back held up by the door, the system quickly booting up and allowing him access to the base's main core without even a single password request, "I guess they didn't care much security around here," he frowned as he brought up various maps and blueprints onto the screen, "Well…we're defiantly on an island. So small it doesn't even have a name. Barely a kilometre across. We're a few klicks north east of North Africa if that's any help. They theorised this place must've come above the waves up when Sozin destroyed the British Isles. They seeded and fertilised the soil so they could hide a base here around thirty years ago,"

"Sounds interesting," Adam clasped his hands behind his back as he took in the nearest Endurance; a pair of twin swords strapped to it's back, "Any idea what they were doing here?"

"Hold on, it's coming up now…" Aang shook his head, "Why isn't this stuff encrypted? I'm not complaining or anything…but it's so strange. Here we go. Up until around five years ago this was nothing more then listening post to insure anyone on the local islands didn't think about rebellion. In 2040 though, the base was enlarged to facilitate a battalion of Endurances as well as five new prototype machines as part of several military experiments into the potency of a transformable modular Ranger. The general theory behind the prototypes was if parts of the machine were destroyed, the module could be replaced easily. Also, with a transformable ability, the machines could turn into a sleeker machine and reach battle zones far quicker then the less aerodynamic Rangers. In addition, weapons packs were also experimented on here in an attempt to breath new life into the ancient Endurances, a Ranger G.U.N.'s been using for over fifty years,"

"So what happened?"

"Hold on, I'm getting there. On November third 2040 AD, five test pilots and their machines were brought to the island to begin tests at the start of the following year. The weapons packs were already in the testing stage by February of 2041, and by March, all Endurances were outfitted with at least one variation of the weapons packs. The modular transformable Rangers weren't so effective however," Alistair frowned as he read the report through twice, "According to this, the g-forces involved with the transformation process had a negative effect on the pilots' minds and bodies, and the precise calculations required for the docking of the modules didn't seem to help much. Four of the five pilots went insane from the complications. They…they slaughtered everybody they could find with their machines and tried to destroy the base as well. In the end, the final pilot, who was actually beginning to show similar symptoms, was sent to destroy the other four prototypes and their pilots. The report ends there. It doesn't say if he was successful…or even what his name was for that matter,"

"Well, we can assume one thing," Adam turned back to his friend expectantly, "This weapons pack project was probably the last hope of the Endurance. After what happened here…it's pretty clear the project was shut down and the Fortitude Rangers were given the go-ahead instead,"

"I guess so," Aang sighed as he moved on to the blueprints, "I've just realised…this computer is password encrypted…it was just never shut off properly. The terminal just went into standby for all these years. I guess whoever was manning it left it in a hurry,"

"What about the weapons packs? Anything you can use?"

"Well, Endurances are all flat backed like the Avatar. It should be too hard to rig any of them up over the thruster assembly. The terminal says there are three kinds to choose from; Blaze, Slash and Soar.

Blaze is the weapons pack we found in the clearing on our way in. As we thought, it's a high powered heavy artillery energy cannon, with easily twice, maybe three times the power of Avatar's energy rifle, more akin to the heavy gun you might find on a small warship. Capable of tearing through most alloys, it does have a tendency to overheat if fired five times in succession. Due to it's compact nature though, it's probably the most useful of the three for the Avatar.

Slash is a weapons pack designed with melee combat in mind, with main weapons being the two fifteen metre long energy swords, which can be used separately or combined to form a doubled bladed sword. Back-up weapons included are a pair of vibro-daggers. These short range weapons are designed with a vibrating re-enforced blade that turns even a glancing blow into a heavy gash through most unaltered metals. The main problem behind this pack was Endurances are generally slow and cumbersome, that's why they were never given melee weapons in the first place. This might be a good pack for times when local damage should be kept to a minimum though. The prototype apparently was also equipped with some kind of mirage system for blitzkrieg warfare, but it required extra generation plates to be added to the Ranger frame, so it wasn't used in alter models.

Soar is the final weapons pack and was designed with general use in mind. It's equipped with a larger ion thruster assembly which allows the Endurance to fly for short distances, thus negating the need for the Fat Albert Transport plane. It's also equipped with a pair of cluster missile launchers, both of which have the ability to three salvos each of firefly class cluster heat seeking missiles. I'm not really sure how useful this pack would be, seeing as Avatar already has flight capabilities, and it would be bothersome trying to restock the fireflies ever so often,"

"Still might be worth taking one anyway. Never know when an extra boost might come handy," Adam smiled as he seemed to take in the next Endurance in line; a machine equipped with a Blaze pack, "You've probably noticed already, but most of this equipment looks untouched. That tree out front must've forced it's way in recently. If you can rig any of this stuff up to the Avatar," he turned back to his companion, "It'll mean a huge advantage in the field,"

"I guess so…" Aang jumped as a crash of thunder suddenly echoed from outside the hanger, "Another storm? Just when I was recovering from the last one,"

"Looks pretty bad," Kroy joined the officer at the door as the first raindrops fell across the leaves of the nearby tree, "Maybe you should head back and check up on Katara. It's not like this stuff's going anywhere,"

"Guess you're right," placing a bracing arm against his forehead as the wind began to pick up, "It's getting dark anyway…"

"My God! They're slaughtering everybody!"

"Send in Squads Delta and Theta! Prototype Zero Three is inbound!"

Her Endurance had long since been downed, her breathing hard and laboured as he staggered onwards through the dense forest of palms, the assault rifle slippery in her sweaty hands, her usually pristine emerald uniform stained with dirt and blood.

All around her, the sounds of battle echoed over the trees as the setting sun dyed the sky a burning orange, the sounds of her comrades screams resonating through her brain from the radio that hung from her belt as she continued to run towards the ocean.

"How did this happen?" she voiced her thoughts aloud if anything to distract herself from the sounds of death that surrounded her, "How could they let this happen? All these lives, all this death…are we really so expendable to them?"

The scream of energy fire snapped her back to reality as the trees parted to reveal the waterfront, her fellow downed comrades congregating across the beaches as the remaining Endurance squads, all equipped with Soar Weapon packs, battled the rampaging four across the reddish sky, all silhouetted against the massive semicircle that was the setting sun.

"How are we doing?" she called out to a comrade as she shielded her eyes against the sun, "Are we pushing them back?"

"Pushing them back? We barely managed to get them over the ocean!" the brown haired man shook his head in disgust, "The base is safe at least, but good soldiers are being slaughtered because of those four…"

His voice abruptly died as a blinding blast of pure white energy arced over their heads, the shadow of a rampaging prototype engulfed in it's energy before exploding in a violent array of light and shrapnel.

"It's…It's Prototype Zero Three!"

Her joyful cry was quickly lost in the scream of the Ranger's engines as it soared over head, it's fighter form loosing shape as limbs extended and wings folded to become more angel-like.

Cheers and victorious shots into the air quickly filled the air as the second prototype fell into the ocean it's chest nothing more then a smoking hole as it's third comrade was skewered on the onyx machine's sword.

It was only then, as the allied machine went after the final Ranger, did she notice the tendrils of energy pouring from the open ports along it's wings, a anomaly she had never seen any of the prototypes use before now.

"Did you see that!" her comrade grinned at her triumphantly as the final prototype fell to another blast from it's shoulder mounted wings, "Zero Three destroyed them all! Just think, if we can re-create that machine, who knows how long it will be before G.U.N. will be victorious? A year? A Month? With people like him in our ranks there's no way we can…"

Then something exploded, and the world went black.

She was bleeding heavily as she came round a few moments later, the gritty sand stained with crimson and stinging painfully as it fell into her wounds.

The cries of her comrades sounded distant in her ears, the smells of burning wood and bodies chocking the air as billowing black smoke streaked across the sun.

With every muscle and joint screaming in protest, she slowly sat up amidst the chaos, her vision fuzzy and blurred, her heartbeat erratic.

"Who do you serve?"

Her eyes widened as she looked up from her pain, her entire body freezing as she took in the dark form of the Ranger that was supposed to save them.

It stood with it's back to her, it's angel wings now spread into a X-formation, the tendrils of energy wafting lazily in the atmosphere of the chaotic evening as it's burning yellow eyes took in the destruction it had wrought across the beachhead.

"W…what?"

"Who do you serve?"

"I…" The answer came almost immediately, although she was wary to give the machine her reply, "I serve the German Unified Nation as a loyal solider of my Führer, Julius Sozin,"

"Do you serve him loyally?"

"Y…Yes…"

"Without question?"

"He is my Führer," her eyes narrowed to slits, the power in her voice increasing, "There is no man greater then him. He will not lead me astray,"

"Will you not see through his deception?" the voice continued to speak. Not through her radio, but through her very mind, "Will you not look upon his travesties and see them for what they are?"

"This war is necessary," she tried to pull herself to her feet, only to collapse when she realised both her legs were bloodied and broken, "We must throw off the shackles that have bound us for so long! We are all loyal to the cause here pilot. The only deserter here is you…"

Her voice died as the giant Ranger finally turned to face her, it's eyes flashing yellow as it raised it's energy rifle to face her.

"If that is the case," the voice suddenly became mournful and filled with sorrow, "There is no hope…for any of you,"

"No…wait…" her heat clenched with fear as the unmistakable whine of the rifle's energy pack filled the air, "You…You're nothing more then a murderous demon!"

The black giant didn't reply. It just stared at her unemotional yellow eyes from beneath it's V-shaped crest, before it pulled the trigger, and her whole world went white.

Katara sat bolt-upright with a startled gasp as lightning forked across the nearby window as thunder rumbled across the darkened sky.

She was shaking, her body drenched in cold sweat that caused her vest and hair to stick to her skin. But she was alive.

"Just a dream,"

"Ugh…Katara?"

The Australian girl blinked in surprise as the body at the foot of the bed shifted from where he had been apparently sleeping, the grey eyes of Alistair Aang blinking blearily in her direction as he slowly sat up.

"Oh good, you're awake," the officer yawned as he glanced at his watch, "But it's two in the morning…couldn't you've waited a few more hours?" he glanced at her with a small smile, only for it to disappear when he took in her current state, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Just a bad dream," she shuddered again as the memories resurfaced, her arms coming around her waist in an attempt to warm herself against the cold that enshrouded her, "It was so scary…I saw death…G.U.N.…It's still so clear," she frowned as she suddenly took in her surroundings, "Wait…where are we? This doesn't look like the Gelion…"

"The Gelion was sunk by G.U.N. patrol ships, don't you remember?" Alistair scooted up the bed to her side, "You've been in a coma for most of the day. This is an abandoned G.U.N. installation near North Africa. I figured…seeing as it was here…this would be a good place for you to get better,"

"I see,"

"You sure you're alright?" she flinched as she felt his hand against her forehead, "You're still really hot. Maybe you should lie down for a bit longer…"

"I…I don't want to dream,"

"It's alright," Aang smiled reassuringly as he squeezed her shoulder, "You're safe here alright? Just work on getting better,"

Katara merely nodded and curled up around his arm, her eyes gently closing as she fell into back into slumber.

When she woke up the next morning, she wouldn't remember if her dreams had been pleasant or frightening at all.

It was surprisingly warm, sitting on top of the roof of Kiew's home. Perhaps it was because the village was further inland then he had been in a while. Maybe his body was still adjusted to the harsh cold that had enshrouded Russia up until only a few months ago.

All Zuko knew was that it was surprisingly warm that morning, darkness still enshrouding the various houses as he looked towards the horizon where the lights of Beijing twinkled in the distance.

If his Uncle wasn't such a heavy sleeper, he would have wanted to make a start with the hour.

As such, rousing his elderly relation was like trying to raise the dead. Especially if he had had a particularly large dinner the night before.

"So…here you are,"

The former Captain frowned slightly as Kiew pulled herself through the bedroom window by the gutter, the large shirt she used as a nightgown tied down by a simple belt around her waist.

"Mind if I join you?"

Zuko shrugged as she crawled up beside him, carefully turning against the slanted roof to come to sit by his left hand side.

"You know…when we first came here, I'd spend a lot of time up here," Kiew pulled her knees up as she followed his gaze to the light of Beijing, "I was lonely and hurt. I just wanted to be left alone. No one could find me up here. I could stay up here for hours…no one ever thought to look right under their very noses," she glanced at her companion, as though expecting a reaction. He gave none, "So tell me…Zachariah Sozin…is that what you're doing now? Hiding from G.U.N.…right under their noses?"

That got his attention.

Before she could so much as squeak in surprise, the scarred man forced her down against the tiles, one arm coming across her throat as he straddled her and bringing his face to barely an inch of her own.

"How do you know?"

"Your face…it was on a wanted poster in the newspaper this morning," his arm was digging into her windpipe. Not enough for her to choke, but just enough to stop her from speaking in anything higher then a whisper, "You're scar is…distinctive. You should have done something to cover it up,"
"Who else have you told about this?"

"No one…"

"Don't lie to me," her eyes bugged out slightly as he pressed harder into her throat, "I'm willing to bet Azura put a high local credit stake on information or my capture. I will kill you now if you don't tell me…"
"I…swear…" she didn't try to remove his arm. She just gazed up into his amber orbs as she struggled to breath, "I…haven't…told anyone. Not even…my own…mother,"

He lessened his hold on her, just enough to allow her breath normally again.

"Why?"

He felt his own breath catch in his throat as she gently raised a hand to his face, her pale fingers gently tracing his scar from the hairline right down his lip.

"Because," the same hand slowly moved to her shirt, tugging a portion of it's right side clear of the belt, "G.U.N. has hurt you…just like it hurt me,"

Zuko couldn't help but balk slightly as she pulled the shirt high enough for him to see it.

A long large scar, now white from age, had been gouged into her side. Beginning halfway down her ribcage, it zigzagged down her side like a bolt of lightning, disappearing under her belt and the strap of her underwear to finish halfway down her thigh.

"How can I turn in someone…who is the first person I've met in over a decade who might actually understand the pain I've felt?" she let the shirt slip back down again, "I've heard the stories though…you're searching for the Avatar right?"

There seemed little point to argue. Zuko merely turned his head away.

"Yes,"

"Why?"

"Because the man who gave me this," he indicated to his scar with his free hand, "will return my honour if I present it to him,"

"I see," she frowned slightly, but decided not to press the matter, "Are you going to kill me?"

"Depends," he turned to face her, "Are you going to tell anyone?"

"No," she smiled slightly, "And you can be sure of that, I promise you,"

"And why is that?"

"Because I'll take you directly to America," her smile increased as his eyes widened in bewilderment, "I have a trader friend who heads out to Mexico to re-supply. He'll be leaving in the morning,"

Zuko frowned, before releasing her from his grip entirely and rolled off her onto his side.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know," Kiew smiled again as she gently caressed the side of his face, "Maybe I just like you,"

"You know, I've never known my daughter to be…impulsive," Kiew's mother smiled fondly as she watched her daughter climb the gangway up onto the large trading ship, Syaoran's Uncle following at a slower pace as he hauled his pack onto his back. She cast a look the younger man's way, "She must really see something in you, you know,"

Syaoran shrugged uncomfortably, "Can't imagine what,"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," the mother smiled wisely, "Kiew has always seen something in people that most will completely miss. She can see the good in the meanest of men, the corruption behind the smile of the most apparently benign politician. She sees something in you," she cocked her head to one side as though to study his scar, "In this case…maybe she sees a little bit of herself in you,"

"I doubt it…Ma'am,"

She merely smiled slightly at his cold tone, before turning her attention back to the ship.

"The U.S.A.C. has been getting more and more chaotic recently. I'm worried about her safety. To be honest, the fact she's decided to travel with you isn't reassuring…what with you're current status in the world. Don't look so tense," she chuckled slightly as Syaoran's body froze beside her, "She didn't say anything. But if you're going to have a conversation on my roof, you might want to be a bit more discreet about it. I'm not going to tell anyone who you are Captain. You may be the son of a man most...dislike, and you may have done many things that I don't…approve of. But my daughter sees something in you. And that is good enough for me. Just take care of her. I know…with the war as it is…I may never see her again…but I would hope you wouldn't put her in any danger…intentionally,"

Syaoran…Zuko…regarded her quietly out of the corner of his eye, before shoulder his own pack with a sigh.

"As you say, I'm a wanted fugitive. There will always be the chance of danger…and death. However…he looked up to the deck of the ship, where his Uncle and newest companion stood waiting for him, "I will do my best to keep her safe. I can't promise more then that,"

"Well well. Don't you two look cute together?"

Alistair groaned sleepily as the familiar metallic tinted voice pierced his tired brain, his joints groaning in protest as he scowled at the familiar robed form that seemed to condense out of the shadows.

"About time you showed up," the officer growled as he raised his head off the hard mattress, "Where have you been? I've been talking to myself for the best part of the day,"
"I'm not your babysitter. I don't just appear when it's convenient for you," The Wanderer smiled slightly, "Besides, this was an excellent opportunity for you to evolve as a human being, bringing you a few steps closer to receiving my gift to you,"

"So…am I ready yet?"

"No,"

"Didn't think so,"

"You still have a lot to learn," his robed companion seemed to glide across the infirmary as Aang gently removed his arm from Katara's grip, "There's still a few months yet until Summer's End,"

"Yeah well," the officer sighed as he slumped against the side of the bed to the mossy ground, "Until I find a way off this island and find Sokka and the Avatar, Summer's End isn't really on top of my list of things I need to do. I was thinking of taking one of the Endurances out to the nearby islands…"

"Or you could just wait right here until morning,"

"Or I could just wait right here until morning…" the officer frowned as he took in what he had just repeated, "Why should I just wait right here until morning?"

The enigmatic smirk that crossed what was visible of the Immortal Wanderer's face told him everything he needed to know.

"You've already told Sokka where we are,"

"You'll be happy to know your friend and the survivors of the USHS Eva N. Gelion were picked up by a passing trading vessel within six hours of the vessel's sinking. Of the shipwreck, the only fatality was it's Captain. He knows of your location, and will be here in a few hours,"

"You knew we were here the whole time," Aang scowled slightly, "Why didn't you say anything? Come and help us? I've been talking to a guy who's been dead for a hundred years all day!"

"There is more to my life then just giving you the answers Mr. Aang," The Wanderer's smile slowly disappeared, "Preparations must be made. The flow of time is chaotic at present. Events are not transpiring as they should. The recent attacks against New York are just a prime example,"

"New York?" Alistair tensed slightly, a feeling of dread quickly washing over him, "What's happened? Are they under siege?"

"Worse," The Wanderer's hands clenched into fists, "the future currently leans towards Sozin's favour. New York has fallen to the German Unified Nation, and for the first time since the beginning of this war, G.U.N. has a strong foothold within U.S.A.C. territory, a position they can hold with little opposition unlike the frontlines of Brazil. If something isn't done quickly, Washington DC may fall before Summer's End.

The war will be won…and it will be victory in Julius Sozin's favour,"

More talking then action for this chapter I'm afraid. Don't worry, I'll make up for it in the next one...I hope (Sweatdrop)

First thing's first, all credit for the idea of weapons packs for the Avatar goes to Tellemicus Sundance, who's given me a ton of ideas for this season. Thanks a lot!

This is the first chapter which is radically different from the original script of the episode though. the previous chapter, for example, even though it was set on a ship, you could still tell it was based on 'The Avatar State'. Aside from the Zuko and Iroh parts, I barely even looked at the script for 'Cave of Two Lovers'. As such, I'm actually kinda pleased with how it came out, even if it was moslty just talking and going in a bit deeper into the lore of this universe.

Kiew's addition to Team Zuko comes from my thought halfway through the original episode that Song was going to do the same thing, although not because she realsied who Zuko was. I'm not Maiko is dead (at preasent, no pairing is for certain), but she's there to make his jounry more...interesting, and to make the story as a whole more original.

Anyway, that's all for now folks. Next chapter will probably be up around late March with any luck. Just depends on how my life is going

Hope you enjoyed it!

Dearing