Author's Note: I don't know what it is about 2023, but January wasn't even over, and I had like the third new story idea, not that I know now when this is going to be posted, same for the other two, but still, it's a bit like, brain, what are you doing? Anyway, in this story, we'll be introduced to a character called Takai. He is the twin brother of Prince Zuko, but he's a nonbender, leaving him to be thrown out of the royal family at a very young age, but we'll hear more about that in the chapters. With his very last energy he managed to drag himself away and, by pure chance, fell into a portal, landing in New York. As I usually do, when writing about Marvel-related stuff, I'm going more or less to just take the characters and the places, and use them not really canonical, where the MCU is now is over my head anyway. Now, to make a long story short, and because we'll hear about it along the story anyway, Takai now shares his body with a symbiont, but neither one is controlling the other, they rather really became one being, and he also got bitten by a radioactive spider. That would be the point where our story starts, well, sort of. Hopefully you'll enjoy it anyway! Please Review.

Zuko's Ship, 100 AC

Zuko laid in his bed, utterly frustrated as he usually was these days. The search for the Avatar was going nowhere. He sailed the Earth Kingdom shores for the who knew how many times, yet there was no trace of him. He had to be over a hundred years old by now, it shouldn't be that difficult to find him. The other day he had ordered his crew to prepare, again, to sail towards the South Pole. They hadn't appreciated it, but he just had to visit the most hidden places ever and ever again if he wanted to catch this guy, so he'd finally be able to return home. He shook his head, maybe in the end, the old man sat in Ba Sing Se, playing Pai Sho all the time.

As soon as he drifted off into sleep, an old memory came up again. It did from time to time, he really tried to forget it, forget him, but to no avail. Back then he had still been a child, not even six years by then, and had just begun firebending. He knew that his father wasn't exactly pleased with his results, but for now, his sister hadn't started with it, though she showed talent, and then there was him. Takai, his brother. His twin brother, his nonbending twin brother.

They were separated a few weeks ago. Had they shared the best relationship before, now it was nonexistent. Zuko was repeatedly told to forget Takai, forget he had a twin, and that it was only Takai's fault that Zuko's bending was weaker than it should be. And slowly, Zuko began to hate Takai, believing what he was told.

Then, one night, he felt pain all over his body, though he was sleeping in his room. Somehow, he was dragged to the window of his room, the one that led to the outside of the palace and there he saw his brother. Just a little figure surrounded by a group of adults. He noticed that Takai's head was shaved, that he wore dirty, scratchy looking clothing, and that he was bound and seemingly gagged as well. Suddenly Takai looked up at him, as if he knew he was there, and Zuko saw something light up in his amber eyes, but he couldn't help but notice how beaten his brother looked. Zuko, being the child he was, had tears in his eyes as Takai was roughly shoved forward. Soon he vanished from his view. Zuko felt the urge to race behind them, whatever they'd do, stop it, but then he remembered what his father told him, "Takai is not your brother, he is the source of your weakness.", and so, he fought the tears down.

The next day, Azula walked into his room. As he asked what she was up to she replied in a cruel, almost singing voice, "Oh, I thought I should inform you that that Looser was taken care of the other day. No need to worry about him anymore. Congratulations, I guess."

He stared at her angrily, hissing, "What do you mean?"

"Well,", she raised a hand to her chin, "As far as I heard, his execution was ordered, and he was then killed. I heard they brought him out of the city in the middle of the night. Then they first burned his legs and his right arm to ashes before finally killing him. Must've been a good show.", she chuckled and left his room. Zuko just sat there, still in his bed, shivering at the thought of what had happened the other night, what he had witnessed. Then the tears came.

He remembered their last conversation as guilt washed over him. They had met unintentionally, a few weeks ago, on the floors of the palace. Zuko had needed a moment to recognize his brother. His hair was cut short, no top knot anymore, and he wore much more simple clothing. The little prince couldn't grasp it, but the other child looked somehow sick. Nevertheless, he smiled and waved his hand at his sight. His father's words echoed in Zuko's head as his brother came closer, greeting him, "Hey Sparky! Good to see you, brother. What are you up to these days? How's firebending?", he said in this bubbly tone, his twin sometimes had on him.

Zuko reacted coldly, frowning at Takai, making him stop in his tracks. He hissed at him, "Step aside, filth. How dare you call me that? You did nothing but hinder me, all the time, now I see that."

He could see in Takai's eyes how shocked the other child was. In disbelief he stuttered, "But, brother…"

But Zuko interrupted him harshly, "I don't have a brother.", he tried his best to hold up a strict façade, but it was hard, since his twin in front of him dropped his head, tears running down his cheeks.

"Zuko, you can't be serious.", Takai whispered between sobs. But Zuko just stared hardly at him. In that moment two guards came and led Takai away.

In hindsight, he wished he had acted differently. Maybe he could've changed something. He woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. He felt like the guilt was suffocating him. So, he grabbed a coat and quickly walked on deck, only to find his uncle standing there, looking out onto the night sea.

The old man turned around and smiled at his nephew, "Ah, Prince Zuko. What keeps you up at night?"

Almost snappily, Zuko retorted, "I could ask you the same question, uncle."

Iroh chuckled lightly, "I've been thinking about something. Recently I got some interesting news from a source."

"About the Avatar?", Zuko asked with a glimmer of hope in his voice.

"Not exactly.", Iroh answered, "But maybe you'll find this interesting as well. It was news about your brother."

"I don't have a brother.", Zuko retorted, the sentence had become a mantra for him, like "Azula always lies.", it helped dealing with the guilt he felt.

Iroh seemed displeased about this. "If you think of Takai like that or not, you two still shared your mother's womb.", he lectured.

Zuko looked at the ground, almost mumbling to himself he said, "He's dead anyway, so what news can there be?"

"Well, my source says he isn't. At least he didn't die that night. She saw him drag himself away.", Iroh explained, "It could be worth a try to contact him. Maybe he can help us in our search."

Zuko shook his head, he suddenly felt light-headed, "That can't be, uncle. Besides, with the injuries that were reported, he wouldn't even be able to move himself in a wheelchair, if he really should be alive that is."

"If you don't want to write him, I will. I would very much like to see you two together again.", Iroh said happily.

New York, 100 AC

Takai sat on the roof of their apartment building. He loved this city. The skyscrapers, the sometimes-chaotic way life was buzzing in the streets, just the special kind of air, New York had. It was also an ideal place for him and his brothers, for Spider-Men. Swinging between the buildings, walking right up a wall, or just sitting on a roof far above the always busy streets.

"Hey, G-Man! Get down here! Peter brought dinner!", he heard Miles' voice from below. He sighed, Miles was like a little brother to him, but it would be great if he could call him by his name for once. He usually had two nicknames for him. G-Man, Government-Man, was the one he liked better. He started calling him that after he began his job as an agent at S.H.I.E.L.D. A very special kind of agent, he smiled. The other nickname was E.T. , because, well, because of the symbiont that merged with his DNA.

Slowly, he climbed down to their apartment. Peter and Miles already waited for him, along with two pizzas. He smiled widely as the smell of cheese filled his nose. As they all quickly sat down around their small table and started to eat, Takai eyed Peter curiously. After some time, he asked, "Hey, Peter, what's the matter?"

"Huh?", the nineteen-years old reacted a bit startled, "What do you mean?"

"Brother, we know each other for over ten years now. Something's up with you today, what is it?", the black clothed teen inquired further.

Peter looked to the side for a moment, fidgeting, "Uhm, well, there is, I guess. You see, I and MJ, well, we thought, we could… try again…"

Takai and Miles grinned at him, "So, you two are back together?", the youngest Spider-Man asked excitedly.

Peter Parker smiled and nodded slowly, "I guess, you could say so."

"That's great!", Takai cheered, then all of their eyes wandered to a photo on the wall, "They would be very proud of you.", he reassured. The photo showed an elderly couple with three kids in front of them, one about twelve years old that wore big glasses, another boy about seven with darker skin and a third boy about nine years old. He sat in an electric wheelchair, that he could stir with his only hand.

"How's Director Fury doing at the moment, Agent Parker?", Peter asked then, emphasizing on "Agent".

Takai shrugged his shoulders, "I neither see nor hear from him often, and that I'm thankful for. Nothing big is happening at the moment, there's just this nuisance, Mr. Stark. I had to remind him a few times lately what happened the last time somebody experimented with me.", Peter shuddered slightly, he too remembered how the boy he thought of as a little brother staggered out of the laboratory, clothed in a hospital shirt, but with more than just shock in his eyes. They all wondered that he had obviously regained his limbs somehow, but it was noticeable, that he had still some trouble walking and there were some tubes still sticking out of his arms and upper body. He remembered how he caught him when he fell. Quickly he shook the memory from his mind.

Suddenly something knocked against the window. A hawk sat there, a Fire Nation messenger hawk, Takai recognized immediately. "I think that's for me.", he said to the other two and went to open the window. Quickly, the hawk sat down on his arm, and he retrieved the message that was bound to him.

Miles looked curiously at Takai as the black clothed teen read. His face went from surprise to shock and then to a small smile. "Hey, E.T., is home calling?", he asked after some time.

Takai grimaced at the nickname, but then replied dryly, "That place has ceased to be my home a long time ago. But this letter is from my uncle. He says, my brother could use my help.", afterwards, Takai began to act hastily. First, he took the hawk to his room and quickly wrote a short answer. Then he sent the bird out again.

He wrote a lengthy e-mail to Director Fury, telling him that he would be away for quite some time, family business, but that he would come back as soon as he could. Then he searched for one particular outfit. He needed to wear something that would fit in, and he knew just what. A few months ago, he had infiltrated an organization called the Hand. It was a ninja-organization, and thus he now wore a black ninja-suit, then he packed a few other things in a simple bag, he wouldn't need much. But he took the mask that he had from the same mission, it showed the lower half of a demon face with big spiky teeth, and a copy of the photo on the kitchen wall. At the end he hugged Peter and Miles, saying, he would come back to them, even if it took a while. They wished him good luck and out of the window he went.

An Earth Kingdom Port, 100 AC

Zuko leaned on the railing of his ship, his back facing the land, arms crossed, clearly frustrated and annoyed. His uncle had been adamant that they needed to wait for someone here. Zuko sighed, they could've been out at sea on their way to the South Pole now. But of course, his uncle most likely had to meet someone for a cup of tea first.

Iroh waited a few meters away from the ship. He knew that his nephew was boiling inside and didn't want to come to close before he had met the person he was waiting for. He already waited a while, maybe he won't come today, he thought, but then, as he scanned the dark landscape before him, he saw something moving in the darkness. As it came nearer, he could make out the silhouette of a person, a man, running towards him.

The man stopped a few meters away from him and backed his hood. His pale face was smiling at the former general as he slowly came closer. Then he bowed and said, "Hello, Uncle. Good to see you."

Iroh smiled back at him, then he pulled him into a tight hug, "Hello, nephew. Good to see you too. Let me have a look at you.", he held the teenager at arm's length in front of him and quickly checked on him, "Two arms, two legs… So, that reports what had happened to you were all lies, I see."

"Actually, they weren't all lies.", Takai said, leaving Iroh speechless in shock for a moment, so he added, "I was maimed, but not dead. So, I dragged myself away the best I could until I passed out. Later I was found by very kind people. They helped me, well, fix this.", he gestured to his right arm and legs. "Now, how is he?"

"Your brother?", Iroh assumed, "He's adamant in his pursuit of the Avatar. We're just about to head into the waters of the South Pole. Other than that, he's more and more angry, but I think this is caused by all the stress and pressure that has been put on him.", Takai nodded. His uncle had already told him about a lot in the letter he had sent him. "But you will see soon for yourself. I thought it would be fitting for you to have the room next to him, like in the old days."

Takai chuckled, "I really just need a hammock somewhere, Uncle. But thank you."

Zuko sighed relievedly as he heard the ramp being pulled in. He got up from his leaning position and walked over to where he saw his uncle standing. A black clothed man stood next to him. "Uncle! What's the meaning of this? You should've told me that you'd bring someone…"

But he was cut short as the black clothed man stepped in between him and Iroh, backing his hood, "But wouldn't that have spoiled the surprise, Sparky?"

The banished prince stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widened in shock, he whispered, "But, but… that can't be… Takai?"

The other teen grinned at him, "That's my name, brother. I heard you could use some help capturing the Avatar?", which left Zuko stunned until Takai pulled his twin in a hug. After he somewhat overcame his initial shock, Zuko hugged back.

Lieutenant Jee walked up to Iroh, an eyebrow raised at the scene, "General Iroh, who is this?"

Iroh smiled, replying, "That is Takai, Zuko's twin brother. He's going to join our crew."

Jee looked at him, baffled, "There are two of that sort?", which left Iroh chuckling.

Zuko's Ship, Near the South Pole, 100 AC, a few weeks later

Takai had blended into the group faster and smoother than he himself had thought he would. Unlike his brother he tried to be nice to the crew, helping them out whenever he could. He still wondered that Zuko and Iroh had just accepted his little story of "I was helped.", and didn't ask further how he could have actually grown back limbs. Until now he had kept the symbiont and his powers a secret. It would be difficult enough to explain once he had to. And even then, he was unsure if his brother and uncle wouldn't chase him away.

He was not really fond of this mission his brother was sent on, but then again, without any lead to where the Avatar would possibly be, it left them travelling the world, which ultimately could be a good thing. Maybe Zuko would at some point start to become free of their father's destructive influence. Sighing he looked over to where his brother stood, at the front end of the ship, his red coat moving slightly in the icy wind, determination radiating off of him.

He himself sat next to his uncle, playing a card game and drinking tea. Takai was more than thankful for the hot liquid, since not everyone on board could warm himself with his own fiery breath. He wore one of the soldier's armors. His twin and he had had an argument earlier. Takai was adamant that he wouldn't take any weapon with him, not even a knife, let alone a sword or something else, which greatly irritated Zuko. But his brother had insisted that he at least wore some armor then, for protection and it would also make him look as if he could firebend, even if he couldn't, which might would keep people from attacking him.

So, there he sat, his helmet with the skull mask next to him, when suddenly a bright beam of light illuminated the sky. Takai blinked a few times, pondering over what that could have been. However, his brother was quicker in his decision, "Finally! Uncle, Takai, do you realize what this means?!"

Iroh looked calmly at the tile in his hand, "We won't get to finish our game?"

"It means my search is about to come to an end.", Zuko said determinedly.

Takai pouted slightly, "Now that I'm winning for once…"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, nephew.", Iroh said, chuckling.

Uninterested in their little conversation, Zuko still looked at the spot where the light had been seen, "That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!"

Takai frowned at the desperation in his brother's voice. That Zuko still longed for their father's approval, even after that cruel man caused that scar on his face was beyond him. He himself felt nothing but disgust for Ozai. He had ceased to be worthy of being called his father when he was all too willing to hand him over to a cruel death, even more so when he witnessed his almost execution without any emotion, at least without a negative one. But he knew it'd be in vain talking directly to Zuko about it, he would just earn himself an argument and hurt his brother. And that had happened enough already.

Lost in his thoughts, Takai hadn't listen to what Iroh said, only Zuko's reply shook him from his thinking, "I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar! Helmsman, head a course for the light!"

A while later, Zuko still stood at the front end of the ship. Takai and his uncle walked up to him, Iroh yawned and stretched, "I'm going to bed now. Yep, a man needs his rest. Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right, and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed."

Zuko almost snapped at the old man as he replied, "Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Takai rolled his eyes as Iroh disappeared below deck. After the former general was gone, the brothers stood silent for a little while, both staring at the icy waters in front of them. Then Takai spoke, "You know, he's right, at least in part."

Zuko looked at him in surprise, then his brows furrowed angrily, "Don't you start like that too.", he said in a warning tone.

His twin raised both of his hands in a defensive gesture, "I'm not going to give any proverb-formed cryptic advise, don't worry. I just think that you really should get some rest. I know, you are on an adrenaline high right now, but it'll wear off some time, and I don't want my brother to get hurt because he was overly tired in a moment of battle. On every other occasion I would totally be on your side and say that sleep is overrated."

"But the Avatar…", Zuko started, but trailed off.

"Don't worry, Sparky.", Takai interrupted him, "I'll keep watch and wake you up once we reach something interesting.", with a relieved smile Zuko shortly put his hand on his brother's shoulder before he disappeared below deck. Takai smiled at his little victory as he now stood alone.

Of course, nothing interesting happened. Thus, a few hours later, Zuko was training on the lower deck with a few soldiers under the guidance of their uncle, and Takai was left alone on the upper deck. He stretched and looked around himself, making sure nobody was watching. Then he began a few exercises for himself. First he grabbed the iron railing in front of him and pulled himself up into a handstand on it. He held the pose for a moment before he started turning around the railing, performing several jumps and rolls as he went. Afterwards he went onto some more complicated exercises, in the end just hung from the railing upside down for a few long moments, then he jumped off, landing roughly where he had stood before with a small thud.

"Takai…", someone said, almost whispered, behind him, obviously in disbelief. In the open iron door stood his brother, staring at him. Takai stared back with his amber eyes looking like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck. How long had his brother been standing there? How much had he seen?

"Zuko, what are you doing here?", he asked, too surprised to think of anything smart.

His brother's face twitched, then he exploded, "What do you think you're doing?! That was extremely dangerous! If you slipped, if you fell, you would've been dead, crushed at the lower deck! What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all?!"

"Zuko, calm down…", Takai started, but he was quickly interrupted.

"I should calm down?! You almost got yourself killed out of no reason! And I should calm down?", he yelled at his twin.

Takai sighed, "Zuko, please. I'm not dead, okay? I had everything under control.", he could see his brother panting heavily, but this time he wouldn't let him interrupt him, "I promise I won't do it again, okay?", Zuko nodded, still fuming, "Now, what brings you here, little brother?"

"I saw the Avatar, he is here at the South Pole.", Zuko said sharply. He hated it when Takai called him little brother. It was almost worse than Azula's Zuzu. While he wasn't fond of being called Sparky, he preferred it to being reminded that Takai was nine minutes older than him.

"So, what are we going to do now?", Takai asked, snapping Zuko back into reality.

"There's a village where he's hiding. We'll go there and drag him out.", Simple plan, Takai thought.

"And by going there you mean we're about to crash into it, am I right?", the older twin asked.

"I'm not going to run up a freaking ice wall, Takai.", Zuko replied, annoyed, "Remember your helmet.", he shot at him as he disappeared below deck to get into his own armor.

Takai rolled his eyes, "Yes, of course, mom."

A little while later they stood behind the ship's bow, waiting for the vessel to make contact. Takai was one of two soldiers accompanying his brother. He whispered to Zuko, "If I'd ask you to try not to harm innocent people, would you do it?"

Zuko shot him a quick, irritated glance, then he replied, "I'll try if it calms you. Try not to get into too much danger though."

"I can handle myself in a fight, don't worry.", Takai replied matter-of-factly, earning himself a raised eyebrow from his brother.

Then they heard people scream in fear and something rumble under the ship. All of sudden it came to a halt and the bow opened, releasing a large mist cloud, the trio in the middle. A silhouette appeared in front of them, it let out a battle cry and threw something, a spear. Takai realized almost too late that the projectile was aimed at him.

Evading the impact, he leaned to the side and caught the spear below the sharp end. Everyone of their little group was staring at him, while he stared first at the spear, then at the boy who had thrown it. He had a blueish armor on and war paint on his face.

Takai knew what he said about trying not to harm innocent people, but this had just become personal. He threw the spear to the side angrily and then moved past Zuko down the walkway. His brother quickly grabbed his arm, holding him back, Zuko hissed at him, "What did I say about staying out of trouble?"

Behind his skull mask Takai glared at his brother, ripping himself from his grip he said, "My fight.", and walked down the walkway.

The Water Tribe boy screamed and attacked again, swinging a club, but this time, Takai had more time to deal with him accordingly. Without saying anything, he just nonchalantly used the boy's own momentum against him, kicking first the club out of his hand and to the side and then the boy to the other. His opponent landed face first in the snow.

His attention then shifted to the rest of the crowd, scanning it for more possible attackers. But he found no one in armor, it looked like there were only women and children aside from the teen he just kicked away. Not that women couldn't fight, but these ones seemed to cower in fear.

As he scanned the crowd, he got distracted. There was a girl about his age, maybe a little younger. She wore a blue parka like everyone else as she stood next to an elderly lady, seemingly supporting her. The girl looked very worried at the boy still stuck in the snow. Immediately, Takai was interested. Who was he to her? A family member? Her boyfriend? Then her gaze shifted to him, and he lost himself in her blue eyes.

All of sudden something hit him in the head, or rather, in the helmet, with a loud clank, leaving the metal vibrating and swinging, which felt horrible being inside of that metal box. Takai let out a yelp of pain, grabbing his head. Desperately he took the helmet off. Shaking his head to get rid of that damned sound ringing in his ears, he looked angrily first at the boy, who obviously had thrown something, then equally angry at the helmet.

Making a quick decision, and ignoring his brother's obvious disappointment that he had taken the helmet off, he kicked it, so it flew onto their ship, landing with a loud clonk. Then he turned to the boy again. This was getting way more personal than he had intended.

A smaller boy threw a spear to the teen as he rose from his cowering position in the snow. The child yelled, "Show no fear!", which made the scene rather adorable, and maybe Takai would've smiled if he hadn't been the one on the sharp end of the spear.

As the boy ran up at him, Takai grabbed hold of the spear, evading the pointy end as he swung to the side. He knew he could handle this more modest, but that boy had angered him and he wanted to put up a bit of a show. So, he swung himself around the spear, freeing it from the boy's grip. The boy's eyes grew wide as did those of everyone who watched as Takai seemingly effortlessly made that jump, successfully grabbing the spear and landing on his feet again.

His opponent could stop right in time before he crashed into the remains of an ice wall. Takai could feel everyone staring at him, as he now straightened himself and without much effort, broke the spear in two over his knee. He threw both ends to either side and proceeded towards the boy. A quick melee fight was put to an even faster end by the boy's lack of skills. In seconds, the water tribe boy laid on the icy ground, Takai one knee at the boy's back, holding his opponent's hands behind his back in a grip he had learned becoming an agent.

He bowed down towards the boy's ear and hissed at him, "You're lucky that we aren't interested in you.", then he quickly took one of the bands that the boy had used to fasten his armor and used it to tie the teen's hands behind his back. Afterwards Takai raised, forcing the boy to do so as well and kicked him in his behind, thus sending him back to his tribe.

Then Takai turned back to his brother, smiling at him as he went back to his position behind him, with a somewhat pleased, "Proceed."

Zuko blinked confusedly a few times, trying to sort what had just happened. Then he stepped forward. He scanned the crowd, before angrily yelling at them, "Where are you hiding him?"

No one answered, no sounds, no guilty looks, nothing. Suddenly Zuko grabbed the elderly lady by her parka, shaking her, "He'd be about this age, master of all elements?", Takai meanwhile upheld a straight face. It wouldn't be good to show his disappointment in his brother's action just now, but he wondered about how desperate Zuko sounded. Said brother just shoved the elderly lady back into the girl's arms and bending an arc of fire over the heads of the already fearful villagers. Takai looked apologetically towards the girl, who shot angry glares at him and his brother. The elderly women shuddered in fear and held tight onto her, probably, grandchild. That was not right, Takai knew. It wasn't right to terrorize people like this, but he knew, right now he couldn't do anything about it. He sighed. This whole mission was wrong to begin with. Everything about it.

"I know you're hiding him!", his brother exploded at the still cowering crowd. Suddenly there was a small sound, Takai looked around curiously, then a loud clonk as a flying object hit his brother's helmet. Surprised he looked at the crowd, apparently the teenage boy had managed to untie himself and threw his boomerang again. Takai had to admit, the boy was pretty skilled with it, concerning he landed two headshots today.

His brother angrily rearranged his helmet and formed two fire daggers in his fists. Takai grimaced, he didn't want to see someone burnt today. Just as he thought of what he could do about it, something rushed into the scene, too quick for even him to react. At first it looked like a wave of ice and snow had crashed into Zuko, sending him off flying and landing on his face, his helmet landing on his rear end. The villagers cheered at the orange and yellow clothed boy who emerged from the wave flying on some kind of glider. Even Takai giggled, but quickly stifled his laughter as he caught a death glare from his twin. Quickly, he helped him up.

The smaller boy landed in front of the girl, who stood beside her brother and grandmother. Cheerily he said, "Hey Katara! Hey Sokka!". Takai made a mental note about this, so her name was Katara, and his name was Sokka. But he shoved down all thoughts of his hormone-driven teenager mind. The question if she would go out with him sometime was really not in place now.

The water tribe boy, Sokka, answered moodily, "Hi Aang. Thanks for coming.", Takai and the other soldiers then encircled Aang, his brother in the center, assuming a fighting stance. With a quick movement of his staff, the boy covered all the soldiers in snow, before slamming it into the ground, thus also spraying Zuko with white, powdery snow. While the banished prince could melt it off quickly, his brother struggled a bit to get out. Aang, Sokka and Katara wondered about this. That guy wore a firebender's armor, why didn't he just melt the snow as the others did?

Then the airbender remembered his main opponent and asked, "Looking for me?"

Takai could make out the shock in his brother's voice, "You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?"

The others in the crowd reacted surprised, bewildered even. Takai realized they hadn't known. Then his gaze focused again on the duel in front of him.

Zuko almost sounded disappointed as he said, "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating. You're just a child!"

"Well, you're just a teenager.", the boy answered. Good point, Takai acknowledged. We're all just children, we shouldn't be here, we shouldn't be doing this. He watched as his brother shot a few fire blasts at the boy, the airbender twirled his staff around in defense, but it managed to redirect the flames at the village crowd. They cowered and screamed in horror.

Guiltily, Aang looked back at them, then he straightened himself, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?", Takai was surprised at how easy that was. He had anticipated more of a fight, but maybe that would come later, he thought. He admired the bravery that kid showed though. Zuko hesitated, then he nodded, agreeing to the boy's offer. One of the soldiers took the boy's staff as they surrounded him and led him into the ship.

As they were almost there, the girl, Katara ran up to them, "No! Aang, don't do this!", that sounded so sad, it sent a pang of guilt through Takai. Part of his mind wanted to shove the boy towards her, close that ship behind them and then knock some sense into his brother. He shoved the thought away, that was probably his symbiont part talking, and just looked at the ground.

The kid however reacted extremely calmly, "Don't worry Katara. It'll be okay. Take care of Appa for me until I get back.", Takai raised an eyebrow, who or what was Appa?

Anyway, they boarded the ship. His brother ordered his men around, "Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home."

Takai tapped on his shoulder, "Could you drop me off somewhere first?"

Confused, Zuko turned to him, "What? But don't you want to go home too?"

Takai smiled sadly, "Yes, I do. That's exactly why I want you to drop me off somewhere. The Fire Nation ceased to be my home a long time ago, and I'm certainly not welcome there either. I want to go back to the place where I lived all those years."

Zuko's eyes turned sad, he sounded pleading, "Takai, of course you'll be welcomed back home, just as me. I'm sure when we return with the Avatar, Father will…"

But he was interrupted by his twin. The other boy sounded surprisingly serious, almost hurt, "No, don't say he would in any case want me back there. Because he won't. I'm sorry, Zuko, but this search for the Avatar, it's your ticket home, not mine. I was not banished, I was almost killed, tortured, hell, he wanted me executed when I was still a child. Zuko, you don't know what happened that night. You don't know the suffering I've been through. Like I said, just drop me off somewhere."

Shocked, Zuko held his brother back from walking away, "Takai, what happened that night?"

But his brother just shook his head, "It's better for you if you don't know.", then Takai walked away.

Zuko stood there for a moment, he had asked his uncle the same question a few times over the years, but the elder man hadn't known an answer to it, he had been on campaign back then.

Later that day, Takai walked through the labyrinth of the interior of the ship. He wasn't sure if he'd miss it. Anyway, this mission had turned out quicker than he thought. About two weeks and now they were ready to hand his father his key to world domination and the twins could both go back to their respective homes. He sighed. He hadn't imagined it to turn out like this. Then again, he could see his other brothers and the city he loved again soon. So, why bother with anything from this world?

Suddenly he heard a noise. Someone was slammed into a wall. Then quick steps and a voice calling, "The Avatar has escaped.", Takai smiled, now it was getting interesting. Casually strolling he walked in the direction of the noise the airbender left behind him. He was surprised as the kid ran deeper into the compartments of the ship and towards their private quarters. A door was closed and he was sure, his brother had enclosed the Avatar in his room, and was probably fighting him. With his symbiont-enhanced ears he could hear his brother fighting angrily, it seemed like the kid was good at evading. Something, furniture probably, cracked and then his brother was slammed into something, he could make out his almost silent "Oof.", and grinned.

By then, he was close to the seemingly irritated airbender. It was obvious from his step pattern that he didn't know where to go. Turning sharply around the next corner, Takai grabbed hold of the boy, holding him up by his collar against the wall with one hand, the other covering the boy's mouth. "Where do you think you're going?", he said in a normal voice, then he came closer and whispered into the boy's ear, "If you want to get out, run down this floor, turn left and then right two times, then take the stairs to the upped deck.", the boy's eyes lit up in surprise.

Takai heard something ruffle at the end of the floor, his brother was coming. He whispered again, "Quickly, blast me into the wall.", and as the kid hesitated, "Don't worry, I can take a hit.", he released his hand from the kid's mouth, but kept the one on his collar in place, so as Zuko came into view, it looked like Takai had captured the boy, but in the next second, his twin was sent into the next wall and the kid ran away.

Surprised, Zuko yelled, "Takai!", and ran up to his brother, quickly helping him up.

The impact had been harder than Takai had anticipated. It really knocked all air out of him and confused his sense of balance for a short time. He would've been thankful if Zuko hadn't helped him up that fast. "Are you okay?", his brother asked, he himself looking a little beaten.

Takai nodded, "I think so, I just need a moment. Thanks.", Zuko then rushed away to catch the airbender. Takai leaned against the wall for a long moment, ignoring the fighting noises from outside, just breathing. Then he hurried out of there as well.

As he stood at the top of the stairs, he witnessed a scene of absolute chaos. A giant beast, seemingly some kind of bison, had landed, Katara and Sokka arriving with it. His brother and a few soldiers were fighting them and Aang. As he stood there analyzing and pondering where he would be of use, the girl focused on him. A moment later he corrected himself, the waterbender focused on him. His eyes grew big, too fascinated to evade as a wave rushed towards him and knocked him down the stairs again.

For a moment everything went black. He laid there a bit longer than he had to, his eyes closed, trying to block out the pain in his head and spine, groaning he slowly raised. Smiling he whispered to himself, "I like her, I really do.", chuckling.

A sudden scream from the deck made him snap out of his daze and hurry back. Wondering what had happened, he took in the scene to find the young Avatar missing. Then his eyes grew big, he didn't fall into the icy water, did he?

Apparently, he did as moments later a water vortex rose from below the ship, Aang on top of it. His eyes and tattoos glowed in a bright light. Wondering, Takai only stared at it for a moment, before his instincts kicked in. He managed to evade the stream of water that came to him and quickly ducked behind the next corner.

Only when the storm was over, he came out again. No Fire Nation soldier on deck was standing anymore, except some that were encased in ice. Katara and Sokka were just supporting a seemingly exhausted Aang. Then Sokka went to search for something. Sokka spotted Aang's staff as soon as Takai did too, it laid near the edge of the ship. Just as Takai was hurrying over, Sokka wanted to take it, but it seemed not as easy.

Apparently his brother was hanging on the other end of the staff. Takai fastened his steps, he couldn't let his brother fall into the icy waters, that would be a death sentence. Just as Sokka triumphantly poked his twin in the head, causing Zuko to lose his grip, Takai jumped over the railing without hesitation, grabbing Zuko's arm before he could fall. Shocked, the other teen looked at him. "Come on, Sparky! Get up!", he yelled at him. Stunned for a moment, Zuko then nodded and with his brother's help reached the safety of the deck again.

As they stood there, they could only see the bison with the little group on top fly away. Takai wanted to turn away, sighing, as he saw his uncle, yawning and stretching. Zuko quickly walked over to the old man, "We can still shoot them down!", for once, Iroh didn't discuss and just did what his nephew wanted. They produced a large fireball and sent it off towards the bison. However, the Avatar quickly swung his staff, sending the fireball into the ice next to them, causing a huge avalanche to rain down on them and their ship. Takai barely managed to pull Zuko out of its way, as it buried the front of the ship.

Fascinated by the whole thing, Takai watched as the bison disappeared behind an ice cliff. His brother however, was seething in rage, he yelled orders at his crew, "Dig the ship out and follow them!"

"Uhm, Sparky?", Takai raised a hand, pointing towards the still frozen soldiers. Other crew members had approached them and began to unfreeze them with firebending.

"As soon as you're done with that.", Zuko added, slightly embarrassed. Takai chuckled, smiling at his twin.