A band of lone figures stalked their way through the night. In the distance, laughter could be heard; the kind of merriment that took place among comrades sharing a laugh around a campfire after a day of work. They were unaware that their bouts of careless conversation and easy mirth were about to come to a painful end.

"Remember the plan," ordered a hushed voice in the darkness. "Stick to the plan."

"We know the plan," retorted another. "Just be quiet and do your part. You'll give our position away with all your yammering."

The figure that had first spoken tightened their jaw and refrained from responding. Together, the group shadowed their way through the thick undergrowth that grew along the bank of the river. Even with the rocky terrain and variant of obstacles, the crew was silent in their advancement. The chirping crickets and lapping waves were monumentally louder then the human movement.

The stealth and secrecy of the water tribe scouts kept their targets blissfully unaware of their immediate danger. Firebenders gathered around the pleasant campfire, joyful to exchange conversation and jokes in the peaceful environment. These soldiers had little to worry about, with the war nearly over and their enlistment nearing an end. Soon they would be back on their home islands, celebrating the end of the war by drinking their way through their wages in one of the many arrays of Fire Nation pubs. For now, however, they were content to drink the night away on the cool shore with their fellow fire nation recruits.

In the shadows, the elite team of water tribe warriors prepared to make their move. Their leader, Hakoda, lead the march, along with his best man, Bato at his side. The two lead the way with the others trailing behind. They surrounded the homely scene and awaited the signal.

One of the firebenders approached the edge of the clearing to dispose of his sloshing innards in the nearby bushes. His friend accompanied him, supporting him as he heaved his secretion into the bushes. As he raised himself after disposing of his vomit, he caught sight of a gloved hand, lurking in the shadows.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked, leaning closer to get a better look. One of the water warrior's gloves had caught his attention.

"Look at this!" the incoherent man insisted to his friend, pushing him forward. "It kind of looks like-get back!"

With their presence discovered, the water tribe warriors went for the offensive attack.

In a flash, the fire benders were overcome. Their drunken, half-conscious state was no match for the somber, well-trained warriors. In a few minutes, the fire soldiers were more then overcome, and they had been secured thoroughly with generous amounts of rope.

Only then did their attackers reveal themselves.

"Good work team," said Hakoda, pulling off his mask. "The mission is a success!"

The other water tribe warriors cheered as they pulled off their masks as well. Hakoda's two children, Sokka and Katara, were near the front of the celebrations.

"This is excellent!" exclaimed Sokka excitedly as the team made their way to the fire soldier's ship. "Now we have a cover and a mode of transportation to make our way back through the Earth Kingdom!"

"I suppose," said Katara. "I'm still not so sure that this is the best idea. I don't really like the idea of impersonating Firebenders."

"It will only be for a little while, until you can finish healing Aang and we can get some sort of plan together to defeat the Fire Nation. Plus, it's our best bet to keep the Avatar's survival a secret and to keep our team mobile."

"I suppose…." agreed Katara hesitantly.

"Okay men, defensive positions! I'm not sure how many guards they left with the boat, so be prepared for an ambush!"

Hakoda's command was met with an immediate response. The water warriors quickly tensed themselves, ready for a fight. Hakoda and Bato led the way up the ship's ramp to the deck of the ship. The Firebenders had mostly left the ship unattended, preferring to celebrate the news of the Fire Nation's capture of Ba Sing Se on the beach. The Water Tribe Warriors did not meet anyone on their search of the main decks.

"Okay, let's split up and search the ship. Once we've secured it we'll lift the anchor and make our way down the river to meet up with the rest of our team."

The others nodded and quickly jumped to obey the command. Katara and Sokka split themselves into a group and made their way down to one of the lower decks.

"I do not hear anything," said Katara. "They couldn't have left the ship completely abandoned, could they?"

"I wouldn't put it past the Fire Nation soldiers," said Sokka through gritted teeth. "No doubt they got a little lazy after the news of Ba Sing Se's fall; who wouldn't? There's pretty much nothing else for them to do now that they're certain they've won the war."

"I suppose you're right."

The two continued their way deeper into the hull of the ship. The inner construction of the ship was entirely metal, lighted with an eerily red glow that came from the lamps hanging along the halls.

"We seem to be in the officer's questers," said Sokka. "There's less machinery here and I think these are staterooms."

He nodded to an upcoming door. "Let's check it out."

Katara readied a ball of water in a sharp point, ready to slice down any enemy they might find on the other side of the door. Sokka took a deep breath, and flung open the door.

The two quickly ducked into the room. They were met with no human resistance, but were instead assaulted with a cacophony of Fire Nation propaganda.

The entire room seethed with striking decorations in the most violent shade of burnt orange imaginable. The floors were covered in thick orange carpet, the bed was covered in a reddish-orange cover, and the walls were draped in stridently scarlet tapestries, complete with a black outline of the Fire Nation insignia. The nauseating look was completed by the orange-ish glow seeping in from the hallway behind them.

"I guess the Fire Nation decorating team doesn't care much for class," commented Katara bitterly. "So long as their rooms are drenched in Fire Nation propaganda."

"I guess so," agreed Sokka. The room was making him feel a little ill. Every direction he glanced was another reminder of the cruel Fire Nation, and everything they had taken away from the free world with their dominance. "Come on, this part of the ship looks clear. Let's head up to the deck and see what the others found."

Katara made her way out of the room and Sokka followed, shutting the door firmly on the vibrant color. Back on deck, the other warriors were exchanging their findings.

"No one on the starboard side."

"There was one lone guard in the bridge, but we took him out and left him with the others. The ship looks ready to sail, sir."

"The stern is clear too, just captain quarters down there and they're all empty," reported Sokka.

"Excellent," said Hakoda. "Thank-you."

"We should be ready to sail soon," said Bato. "Hang tight everyone, we'll pick up the rest of our team soon."

Bato and Hakoda made their way to the bridge of the ship, along with a few of the more mechanically-driven of the warriors. The others mulled around the deck of the ship, talking with each other and lounging on the side of the deck.

Katara trailed slowly to the bow of the ship, peering out over the sparkling river. Sokka followed her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, leaning against the rail of the ship. "You seem particularly quiet. You should be happy; this was a win for us. Soon we'll have Aang, and we'll be one step closer to completing this mission."

Katara took a deep breath and appeared to mentally stabilize herself before answering. She looked like she was struggling to put her thoughts into words.

"We don't even really know what our mission is," She said at last.

"Sure we do," replied Sokka. "Heal Aang, stop the Fire Nation, defeat the Fire Lord, easy as that."

"No, not as easy as that," snapped Katara. She turned her back to him and continued glaring out at the river, as if it had been the cause for all their misfortune. Sokka wanted to retort, but he kept quiet. Finally, Katara continued.

"Do you ever wonder if we should have stayed home?"

Surprised, Sokka looked at Katara to confirm she had really said such a thing.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not sure he wanted to know.

"You know, when Zuko first burst into the Southern Water Tribe and took Aang prisoner. When I left after him and you followed me. Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't done that? If we had never joined him on this quest? If we had just stayed put?"

"No," said Sokka slowly. "I guess not. We've been so busy, doing so much…I never had time to think about it. Why are you thinking about it?"

"Because, it doesn't feel like we're getting anything done!" snapped Katara suddenly. She slammed her hand against the rail angrily. "We have been on this mission for months, and we're no nearer to completing our goal! Every time we get a step closer, the Fire Nation comes and stamps all over our plans and sets us back to where we began!"

"Whoa, calm down," said Sokka, taking a step back. His sister didn't usually react so violently and emotionally, and it made him uncomfortable. He did not really know how to react to outbursts from such a generally mild-mannered girl.

"It just seems so hopeless," she said suddenly. "I sometimes wonder if we've really ever gotten anything done. Or if we've just been aimlessly wandering the world as the Fire Nation completes their mission of engulfing the entire world."

"We've completed a lot!" exclaimed Sokka indignantly. "We've gathered support for the cause across the world, we've helped Aang master both Water and Earthbening, we discovered there's a solar eclipse coming! Trust me, we've done a lot."

"But will it be enough to complete Aang's destiny and bring down the Fire Nation?"

Sokka sighed. "I do not know if it will be enough," he admitted. "I do not know what will be enough to complete our mission. But I do know that if we had never left the Southern Water Tribe, we would never have even had a chance to find out."

"I suppose you're right," admitted Katara after awhile.

The two siblings stood in silence for a moment, watching the river lap against the shore lazily far below them. Suddenly, the boat began to move.

"We're on our way!" called one of the Water Tribe Warriors from behind them.

The boat maneuvered its way off of the bank, and began to make its way smoothly down the river.

"I don't know if we'll be able to finish what we've started, and take down the Fire Nation," said Katara slowly. "But I know we are on our way to try!"

A/N

Team: Fire Nation

Round: 4 (Completion)

Category: Themed

Prompt: 1. (Speech) "Look at this! It kind of looks like—get back!" 2. (Speech) "Do you ever wonder if we should have stayed home?" 7. (Color) Burnt orange

Word count: 1881