Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks again for the continuing interest and support for this story. Reviews would be greatly appreciated though. Anyways, enjoy!

Zuko's ship, 100 AC

Takai stood next to the helmsman, looking out at the sea. "What are you doing here?", Lieutenant Jee asked from behind him. Their newest crew member continued to puzzle the experienced sailor.

The teen chuckled lightly, "Actually, I don't have anything to do, so I'm just standing here and try to find something that is not blue. My brother chose to meditate in his cabin, so I don't want to disturb him."

"Probably a wise choice. I mean no offense, but sometimes it's hard to believe that you two are brothers.", Jee said, walking up to him, shrugging his shoulders.

Takai laughed shortly, "You mean, we have not so much in common? That's not really correct, but then again, we do have some differences. We used to be very similar, as twins often are. Same face, hard to tell apart, you know. But we drifted apart since we were separated, about eleven years ago, because I can't bend. So, we then took different paths in our lives, and it formed different characters. But in many things, we still react the same way or at least not that different."

"And what would that be? Since you're here, you've been helpful to the crew members, even started to befriend some, you seem calm and collected, I never heard you yell at one of us. You don't order us around, you rather ask for help.", Jee really was persistent.

Takai sighed, "And you mean, my brother does not act that way, yes?", Jee nodded, slightly afraid that the teen would tell his brother, but the boy just laughed, "Don't worry, I won't tell him what you said. But it is like I said, we had different upbringings for more than a decade, but for example, we both share that level of determination. If we really want something, no matter how hard it is, we'll get it or die trying. And even though I try to be calm, usually, we do share that temper. You weren't with us at Zuko's Agni Kai in Ketu Harbor. When Commander Zhao tried to attack Zuko after the duel was over, I intervened and broke his leg, and probably one or two ribs."

"You two both have a strong protective instinct towards one another, don't you? But maybe that's a thing between twins.", Takai eyed the other man curiously, Jee could be quite observant when he wanted to.

In this moment, the door behind them opened, revealing Iroh. The retired general asked, "Takai, I have some news for Zuko. Would you be so kind to deliver them?"

Takai turned around and stared at his uncle, "Are they that bad?", and as Iroh shifted uncontrollably, he added, "Then I'll decline. I'll rather be unkind instead of a burned crisp."

His uncle sighed theatrically, "Since our encounter at the South Pole, we have collected various sightings of the Avatar, but currently, I have no idea where we should even begin searching. The trail has gone cold."

Takai pondered about it, this news was really unfortunate for his twin. He had to admit, he also had no idea how to find that kid. It was not like the Avatar left footprints behind on that giant flying bison. He moved his hands defensively, "No way I'm going to tell him that. You're his master, you have a chance of survival."

It was not like Takai was afraid that Zuko would really kill him, but his temper would for sure flare up, and that possibly meant that some kind of flaming eruption would take place, and amongst the things he, even with being half-symbiont, didn't like fire was very high on that list. Not even the black, symbiontic skin was immune to it, and that could endure a lot.

Looking like a hurt puppy, his uncle then retreated and went to deliver his other nephew the news. Takai proceeded to look out at the blue sea in front of them, but he flinched when he suddenly heard a loud "What?!" from below. Yep, that was Zuko. He wondered if his room was burning now.

"Don't you want to go down and check on him?", Jee asked.

Takai shook his head, "No, it'd appear to him as if I wanted to mock him. Better be patient and wait for an opportunity to talk to him when he has calmed somewhat down.", a small smile played around the teen's lips.

A few hours later, they had stopped at a small port, not far from Kyoshi island. Takai didn't know much about it, just that it was created by Avatar Kyoshi, an Earth Kingdom Avatar from a few centuries past, and as far as he heard home to a group of female warriors, and most importantly, still neutral in the war. The cook had asked him for help, and since he had nothing to do, and wanted to keep away from bumping into his twin, who was probably more than frustrated at the moment, he gladly agreed to get the bald, sturdy man his supplies.

He bought some vegetables, a lot of rice, and then approached a fishmonger. "Hello, sir. Our ship just stopped by to gather supplies, so, I'd like to buy some of your fish. I'll pay you well.", he said with the kindest smile he could manage.

The elderly man blinked a few times, then he quickly stood up, "Of course, my young friend. This is my catch from this morning. Everything fresh from the sea. How much do you want?"

Takai, knowing that the man would expect him to haggle at least a bit approached the crates with fish. He eyed them carefully, then he made a few pointing gestures, "I'd like three of these, and about ten of these smaller ones. I'll pay you, uhm, two silver coins for the bigger ones and three for the smaller.", he thought it a reasonable, maybe a bit low offer.

The man acted almost insulted, "This was a lot of work! Five silver coins for the bigger fish, and five for the smaller."

Takai raised an eyebrow, "No, that's too much. Three silver coins for the bigger fish and three and a bit of copper for the smaller."

"Deal.", the old man said, both of them smiling at each other, shaking their hands. Takai then paid the price and was handed the fish. He tried to balance them on top of the vegetables. Suddenly the fishmonger turned to him, in a secretive, whispering tone, "By the way, I heard that the Avatar is on Kyoshi Island."

Takai's eyes widened, "That sounds very interesting, sir. I'll take my leave then.", he said, bowing slightly. Afterwards he hurried back to their ship. Quickly he handed the cook his supplies, but just as he wanted to go search for his brother, the sturdy man asked for his help again. Rolling his eyes, he agreed to chop some vegetables. Suddenly the cook reminded him of Aunt May and how she slowly and steadily taught him to cook. He could still picture her standing in their apartment's kitchen, handing him an apron and a knife, smiling widely at him.

A hint of sadness washed over him, Aunt May had passed away from a disease the year before. It had broken all three of their hearts, Peter's, Miles' and his. He tried to shoo the picture away how he sat by the side of her bed in the hospital, knowing that she would die that night, and trying to comfort her and the others, trying to be strong, but in the end, failing miserably and crying his heart out.

Aunt May had been like a mother to him. Maybe even more than Uncle Ben became his father figure. He missed them both a lot. They had helped him in the hardest times, and he would never forget that. He knew that in his mind, they had filled the emptiness that his biological parents had left. Takai hated his father, Ozai, passionately for everything he had done and for everything he was still doing. It ran deep, from a more worldly range to a very personal grudge, not just because of his own fate, but also because of what that man had done to his brother and to his mother. And because of what he was turning his little sister into.

His mother was another story though. He didn't hate her, not in the slightest. But when he thought of her, there was just emptiness and sadness and grief. Takai had talked with Aunt May endlessly about it, because there was a time when he had blamed Ursa. But he learned to understand. Understand that she probably knew from the start where his fate was headed, and without any hope in saving him, she concentrated on saving his brother as much as possible. While her approach may had been however flawed, she at least made an effort. He had no doubt that wouldn't they have been the royal family, she would've tried to split her love evenly between her three children.

Suddenly, the cook's voice snapped him back into reality, "Careful, Takai! You're going to chop your own fingers off if you continue daydreaming like this."

Takai smiled at him, nodding, "Thank you. I, uhm, you just reminded me of someone I care about very much."

The older man raised an eyebrow, "Oh, is that so? Who?"

The teen's smile got notably sadder, "The woman who took me in after I was driven out of the Fire Nation. She was a very kind person, taking care of a helpless boy like me."

"She indeed sounds like a formidable person. Where is she now?", the cook inquired.

Takai's smile died, "She died about a year ago. She contracted an illness."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…", the old man stammered.

Takai chuckled lightly, "No need to be sorry. It's okay now. Is the fish ready?"

It was, so, he took the plate for his brother and went on to serve it to him. Before he entered the room where Zuko was sitting and waiting for his lunch, Takai stopped and took a deep breath, getting rid of all the sadness in his expression, before stepping in.

"Hey there, Sparky! Here's your lunch.", he said in a bright, bubbly tone.

Zuko stared at him, "I was wondering where you would be. I didn't expect you to mingle with the servants."

"Well, I'm full of surprises. I just helped out because I had some spare time. And guess what, while at it, I discovered some news that will surely pick your interest."

Zuko raised his eyebrow skeptically, "Is that so?"

Takai nodded, "Yes, or don't you want to know the Avatar's whereabouts?"

Zuko suddenly forgot the steaming fish before him, staring at his brother, then he stood up in an instant, "Spit it out!"

His twin took a step back, "Okay, okay, no need to be rude. That kid is on Kyoshi Island. It's not that far.", he said, trying to subtly remind his brother that who they were hunting was just a twelve years old boy.

Suddenly Zuko wrapped him in a tight embrace. It was short-lived though. Putting a hand on his twin's shoulder, the banished prince smiled at Takai, "Thank you, brother."

Takai shrugged his shoulders, "Sure thing."

Zuko nodded, a determined expression replacing the smile, "Go and ready the rhinos. He's not getting away from me this time."

His twin nodded shortly, then both left the room, heading in different directions. As he walked towards the rhinos' keep, Takai heard his uncle ask, "Are you going to finish that?"

He had to stifle his laughter when he heard his brother turn around on his heel, storm back into the room and snapping at their uncle, "I was going to save it for later!"

A few hours later he stood on deck, holding the reins of a komodo rhino, speaking to it quietly, "Look, I'm not going to discuss. You'll have to bear with my brother for some time, understood? I can be just as stubborn as you.", sighing he turned away from the massive animal, he looked over the railing as they approached the shore. He couldn't name it, but he had an uneasy feeling. Something lured in these waters.

The ship's walkway was lowered, and his brother snatched the reins of the animal from him. "What are you looking at?"

"There's something in these waters, I don't know what, but maybe we should just follow the boy to his next stop and skip this island.", Takai said worryingly.

"Nah, you're seeing ghosts. There is nothing in these waters. Stop behaving like a child and get on your mount already.", Zuko argued, annoyed as he often was.

Takai sighed and did so, he didn't like these animals. They were so immobile. But it would be of no use discussing with his brother here. Said brother turned to the other soldiers and ordered, "I want the Avatar alive.", and they headed out, Zuko in front, Takai at the end.

Suddenly he heard something, just a small sound, a step, somebody stepping on the rocks that surrounded them. Without anybody noticing, he stopped his rhino and looked towards the sound. His eyes widened as he saw a brown-haired head disappearing behind a rock. Takai jumped from his mount, quickly turning to it, whispering angrily, "You stay here, understood? Or I'm going to find you.", he looked it in the eyes, sporting the grimmest look he could muster. He saw something in the animal's eyes that might be understanding and started to climb the rocks.

Being a spider-man, he could've just walked up, but then, if someone of the soldiers would casually look backwards and see him, he'd have a lot to explain. Better act somehow believable, it would raise enough amazement if he just climbed the rock like this. As he reached the top, he saw his suspicion confirmed. There knelt Katara, the waterbender, a seemingly unconscious Avatar in her arms. She whispered at the boy, he couldn't make out what she was saying, but her voice sounded like she was panicking.

Takai slid off the rock and slowly, he sneaked over to her. The girl was so worried and busy with the boy in her arms that she didn't notice him until he knelt down beside her, calmly saying, "Hello Katara."

She turned around, eyes wide in shock. Quickly, he launched forward and covered her mouth with his hand, holding her head in place with his other hand at the back of her neck. "Shh!", he said in a low voice, careful if anybody should be close by. "Don't worry, I won't harm you or your friend. I'll uncover your mouth, but only if you promise not to scream."

She eyed him untrustingly for a long moment, then she nodded reluctantly. So, Takai let go of her. "What do you want?", she asked demandingly.

Somehow, that tone reminded him a lot of his brother. "My brother is here. Right now, he's searching the island for your friend here."

In this moment, the Avatar decided to wake up again, coughing out some water as he spoke in a weak voice, "Katara, don't ride Unagi. Not fun."

"Unagi?", Takai looked questioningly at the waterbender.

She shrugged her shoulders, "A giant, eel-like creature that lives around this island."

Takai's eyes widened, "So, there is something lurking in these waters. I knew it! My brother is such an idiot sometimes!"

"Brother?", the Avatar slowly came to his senses, he only now noticed the teen in Fire Nation uniform. His eyes widened for a moment, before he remembered the boy who helped him find a way out of the ship. "Who do you mean?"

Takai sighed, then a small smile played around his lips. He raised his left hand and covered one half of his face. "Actually, we're twins. We used to have the same face until, well, you see…", Katara and Aang blinked a few times, before it clicked in their heads.

"You don't say…", Katara whispered.

But Takai nodded, "We didn't get to introduce ourselves earlier. I'm Takai, Zuko's twin brother. Nice to meet you.", he stretched out his hand and after a brief moment of shock, Aang took it, both boys smiling at each other.

"You helped me earlier.", the airbender started, "If you're really his brother, why would you help me?"

Takai shrugged his shoulders, "We don't have much time, let's just say, that place ceased to be my home and that man ceased to be my father a long time ago. I don't want him to win this war. Anyway, the point is, Zuko has a short temper, he gets furious very easily at the moment. It'd take too long to explain why that is the case, but the thing is, he's now searching for you and since you're here, he won't find you. So, he'll probably get impatient and start burning things. You need to go."

"But the people here…", Aang started, but was quickly interrupted.

"The longer you'll stay, the more destruction will be caused. Show him that you're here, and then show him that you're leaving. That way, he'll run after you and leave as well.", Takai spoke urgently.

From the distance, they now heard fighting noises. Aang's eyes hardened. "Katara, pack our things. I'll go and fight Zuko until you're ready. Then I'll hop onto Appa."

Katara nodded. Takai smiled at the brave boy. "Fine. I'm going to escort you to your place, so you won't have to fear my brother. Then I'll cause some distraction as well."

Aang nodded at him and flew away with his glider. Takai then turned to the waterbender and quickly grabbed her hand, smiling at her, "Where do you stay, Katara?"

She blushed and his smile widened. "We, uhm, I'll lead the way.", she quickly threw at him, suddenly almost running past him, their hands still firm around each other's. She heard him laugh briefly as he hurried to keep up the pace.

They didn't talk as they made their way to the village. The fighting noises got louder and Takai could swear that he could make out his brother's voice, delivering some kind of little speech. He rolled his eyes, thinking, Sparky sounds like a villain, an idiotic one at that.

As they ran through the streets, he suddenly stopped, yanking Katara backwards and pushing her against the next house. She wanted to protest, but he quickly covered her mouth with his hand, "Shh!"

Shocked and angry she looked at him. But then two Fire Nation soldiers rode past their hiding spot on their rhinos. Only when they were out of earshot, Takai let go of her, "Sorry. But I can't have them spot us.", Katara's gaze shot to the ground for a second, she blushed and nodded. Carefully he squeezed the hand he was still holding, "Come on, let's go."

As Katara led Takai through the streets of the village, she felt somehow excited. If there wasn't a war going on, if there was no fight taking place, this could as well be a scene from a novel, a young couple running through the streets, holding hands. She was almost sad when they reached their stay. As she opened the door, Takai stood in the doorframe, a little bit awkward. "Uhm, do you need help packing? I mean, if…", his gaze trailing off to the side.

Katara chuckled, then she interrupted him, "I'll be fine. Thank you.", she didn't know why or how she had the nerve to do as she did, but quickly, she walked up and put a small kiss on his cheek. This time, Takai was blushing, grinning at her, momentarily at a loss for words. "Didn't you want to cause some distraction?", she asked, snapping him back into reality.

"Oh, uhm, sure. I guess, we'll see each other again, sometime. Good Luck!", hastily he turned around, and ran towards the center of the village, where the fighting noises were loudest. He saw numerous soldiers on their animals starting to burn down some houses and fight green-clothed women in armor. Famous female warriors, he thought, there they are. In the distance he could make out Aang and Zuko fighting one on one, more or less.

Then he thought of a way to cause distraction, if possible, without being visible as the cause. His thoughts quickly shifted to the heavy animals they brought with them. He spotted one without a rider and hurried over to it. He patted its head a few times, then he bowed down, looking into the dark animal eyes. Without anyone else seeing it, he showed the animal the symbiont appearing in his eyes, turning them fully black. He opened his mouth, showing the spiky teeth of the alien, whispering to the animal, "Guess who's going to be my dinner?"

The rhino instantly freaked out, frantically speeding in between the fighting soldiers, knocking some off their mounts, even sometimes knocking down other rhinos. Takai, whose face had turned back to normal, felt sorry for the animals, but then again, he needed a distraction and there it was. He disappeared in small side streets, looking out for his brother.

Sneaking through the streets, he slowly approached his brother's little duel with the Avatar. A panicked animal scream came from down the road all of sudden. The panicked rhino was storming towards the two other boys. Quickly, Takai jumped into action. He leaped towards the animal's side, grabbing hold of the reins. Then he used the symbiont to fasten himself to the ground, forcing the rhino to a halt. It struggled shortly, but then stopped. Takai stood next to it, now much more casual, petting its head again, talking quietly to calm it down, "Shh, big one. I'm sorry I frightened you. You won't be my dinner, I promise. I won't do that again."

Suddenly there was something moving behind him. Just in time, he turned around, catching the hand with the fan that almost hit him. It was one of the green-clothed warriors. They stared into each other's eyes as he held the other's hand in place, his left ready to answer with a punch as well. Then it clicked in his head, the blue eyes, the peculiar haircut. Even with all the make-up, this here was no warrior woman. This was Sokka.

At the same moment the Water Tribe boy seemed to remember him, staring into his amber eyes. "What…", he begun.

But Takai interrupted him, suddenly letting the boy's hand go and holding his stomach as he burst out into laughter. He couldn't contain it at that sight. He just couldn't.

He heard an angry grunt from the other teen and then a fist hit his face, right above his eye, causing a little bleeding cut. Takai fell backwards, still laughing, as Sokka started to kick him. A few meters away, Zuko was startled at the sound of his twin laughing just as well as Aang. The fight stopped for a long moment, both staring at the scene of the Fire Nation teen laying on the ground, laughing hardly, and the Water Tribe boy in Kyoshi Warrior uniform angrily kicking him. Takai didn't seem to mind, however.

As Zuko was still distracted, Aang quickly seized the opportunity and blasted him into a building, knocking the firebender out for a moment. Meanwhile, Takai got up on his feet again, still giggling. He held out his hand in a defensive gesture, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. You look hilarious, though. Why don't you go back to your friends and wear trousers again?"

Angrily Sokka answered, "This is a warrior's uniform!"

"A uniform for female warriors.", Takai interrupted him. At this Sokka just grunted and tried to attack him again. Takai didn't know why he kept provoking the other teen. But it was fun though, and fun was a rare gift on his brother's ship. Sokka tried to land a punch, but this time, Takai evaded, quickly grabbing the boy's arm at the wrist and at the elbow, thus dragging him closer to Aang.

There he shoved the other teen to the ground. Furiously, Sokka stood up again and leapt towards the other boy. Takai however, used Sokka's own momentum against him, again grabbing his arm and twirling him around. As he let go, the Water Tribe boy slammed into a wall next to Aang. Takai let out a short sigh, he had hoped not to hit the Avatar.

Said Avatar shared a brief glance with the Fire Nation teen. Both nodded shortly. A big shadow appeared over them, Katara on Appa. Aang grabbed Sokka, who was a bit dizzy from the impact and jumped onto his bison, just as Zuko freed himself out of the building he had been blasted into.

Takai quickly hurried over to his brother's side, "Are you alright?", he asked.

Zuko glared at him, first angrily, then his eyes changed into sorrow and then questioning, "I'm not the one who's bleeding.", Takai blinked, ah, yes, the cut.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I kind of deserved that."

"You should let uncle check that later.", Zuko insisted, then they both heard the bison growl. Looking up, Zuko cursed under his breath, causing Takai to raise his eyebrows. Then he yelled at his men, "Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!"

Takai rolled his eyes, but every soldier immediately ceased all fighting and hurried back towards their ship. Before they could reach it though, a giant eel-like monster rose from the water, the Unagi, Takai suspected. The Avatar stood on its head, holding its whiskers to stir it. It opened its mouth and water emerged, putting out the fires in the village and then soaking Zuko, Takai and their soldiers. Takai had to stifle his laughter at Zuko's humiliated expression. Aang then leapt into the air and back onto Appa, disappearing into the sky.

Back on the ship, Zuko led Takai straight to their uncle's room. Inside Takai wondered at all the, well, decorative items his uncle apparently fitted in here. Meanwhile Zuko wakened their uncle from his nap. "Uncle, wake up! The Avatar escaped and Takai got hurt.", he said in an urgent tone.

Iroh rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He heard Takai trying to reason with his brother, "Zuko, I told you, it's nothing serious. You won't even see it tomorrow."

"And if it gets infected and you die?!", Zuko was by now really annoyed with his brother.

Takai shook his head, "It won't. I promise.", but Zuko only let out a disapproving sound.

Iroh sighed, "Let me see, nephew.", as he turned towards Takai, carefully holding the boy's chin up, examining the cut. After a moment of examination, he concluded, "Nothing to worry about, Zuko. Takai's right, nothing serious."

Slightly embarrassed, Zuko stormed out of the room, leaving Takai and Iroh staring after him, then turning to each other, both smiling. But Iroh's smile soon vanished, "Takai, can you explain to me the blood on your face? And don't say the cut, there is no wound on your head."

Shocked, Takai blinked for a long moment, then he smiled at his uncle, "It's all mine. I swear there was a cut. But my body always heals fast, so… uhm, I guess, I'll just go and wash my face."

As the teen rushed out of the room, Iroh looked after him sceptically.