Disclaimer: Bionicle belongs to LEGO, and Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon, Michael DeMartino, and Bryan Konietzko. I own none of it.

Taking in the mid-morning sun, Tahu sat atop the ship's tower to keep an eye out for any stragglers. There had only been ice of the South Pole. Tahu himself, Zuko, and the crew had passed by those for hours. He had a nagging feeling that if he had a mask like that white stranger, then he could see far enough to be sure.

A frown spread across Tahu's current mask. As much as it could shield him from attacks, it couldn't put away the concern gnawing at the back of his mind. The sight and the words of his strange "sibling" plagued him like his dreams once did. The mere thought made Tahu boil against the chill around him, steam forming from air around him and adding to the trail of burning coal.

"I thought you would be up here," said a voice unmistakably Iroh's.

Seeing the old man enter through the roof latch, Tahu simmered his anger and silently agreed with a tiny shiver. Iroh approached, a cloak in his arms. "I'm afraid the old one is done for, but you may take a liking to this new cloak. It matches your color well."

A slightly shivering Tahu stood and gratefully accepted the gift. The cloak unfolded and draped over his shoulders, showing a plethora of fiery patterns over crimson folds. "It is well made. Thank you, General Iroh," he said.

"Retired general," Iroh corrected patiently with a genuine smile. "You have been here long enough to call me Iroh. You can even call me uncle!"

"I don't think Prince Zuko would like that."

"No, he wouldn't," Iroh chuckled heartily, while Tahu quietly looked back to the ice instead of laughing. The retired general caught on and said with a straight face, "Still, it isn't my nephew that troubles you. It's those intruders, isn't it?"

Tahu nodded hesitantly. "One of them… he looked like me."

Iroh raised his bushy eyebrows. "Really?" Tahu nodded, and Iroh stroked his beard. "Hmm… my nephew hadn't mention this to me, as I was-er-preoccupied."

Tahu wasn't surprised. Neither Zuko nor his crew had a good look of the white warrior. Iroh wouldn't have either, have slept initially and woke up to find the door frozen over. Still, Tahu had to ask, "Did the Fire Nation knew?"

"No. We would have searched the entire globe if we did," Iroh answered honestly. "The Fire Nation has been to the South Pole many times and not once had they found another like you. They would have especially if he was a Waterbender."

The acceptable answer didn't ease Tahu's thoughts, and the words of the white 'Waterbender' echoed again. "They'll come after us," Tahu told Iroh after a moment. "I don't think that encounter will be the last one."

Iroh pulled his hand from his beard. "My nephew thinks so, too. What will you do if we find them again?"

Tahu hadn't thought of it. He pondered on his answer, only for a few moments. A new head, gray-haired and spiky, popped through the roof latch and called, "Iroh, sir! We'll be departing soon! Prince Zuko is calling for you on the bridge!"

"Thank you, lieutenant," Iroh called back. Before leaving, he glanced to Tahu. "Do you want to come in? It is freezing up here."

A chilling breeze decided Tahu's answer. "... Yes, thank you," he said and was about to follow the former Fire general.

Tahu stopped briefly. He looked over his shoulder for any sign, boat, or flying animal. He found none, so went back inside and closed the latch behind.

Outside of her village, Katara was in a rush. With barely any sleep from past few hours, she swayed between exhaustion and exhilaration. Oddly enough, her tribe had been seemingly calm and quiet while watching her lug her bag of supplies towards the bison named Appa. There were the occasional chatter, more from the little ones, but everyone else kept silent out of respect.

Hours ago, everyone in the Southern Water Tribe had been surprised by the light. They were more surprised when a giant bison floated in front of their tiny village, carrying two of their own and one stranger. Gran-Gran had her questions, and Katara answered the best she could; about the broken iceberg, Sokka's imprisonment by the Fire Nation (which Sokka tried to hide his embarrassment the entire time), and his escape thanks to Kopaka. The boy, the Avatar, with Sokka was of particular interest to Gran-Gran and had been the deciding factor on what to do next.

"Come on, Sokka!" Katara exclaimed from beside Appa.

"Hrgh, I'm coming!" said Sokka, pulling on his bag and glancing over his shoulder. "... where's your friend? I haven't seen him around-!" He bumped into the answer, unaware he was right in front. The tall and white Kopaka turned, regarding Sokka with a slight "hrm…" before he continued towards Appa.

Seeing her brother drag an immense bag half his weight through the snow, Katara asked, "Isn't that a bit much?"

Sokka responded while pulling on said bag, "Hrgh, who knows what, grrr, we'll need out there?" His grunts stopped when he let his bag flop by Appa. "Whew! Better to be safe than sorry!"

"On that, I agree," said Gran-Gran from the crowd. Both her grandchildren glanced at each other then at her, Katara more hesitant to say anything than Sokka. After what happened, after the decision to leave, what more could she say?

"Gran-Gran, I…" Katara began, but Gran-Gran held out the tiny bag in her hand.

"This is a little something from me. Think of it as an apology for yesterday." A knowing Katara quietly accepted the gift and faced Gran-Gran's warm eyes. "You have been through a lot in such a short time, my little Waterbender. And I'm afraid it won't end just yet. Remember, you can find your way home if you need to." Gran-Gran turned to Sokka. "And you, my warrior-"

"I know, I know. Be nice to Katara," Sokka sighed in faux dismay.

Gran-Gran smiled. "That, and stay out of trouble. The both of you."

Katara, forgoing anymore hesitation, smiled back and hugged her grandmother. "We will, Gran-Gran," Katara whispered.

After returning the hug, Gran-Gran parted, and her granddaughter and grandson went towards the strange beast. Sokka had been the first to board, and Katara joined him. Settling into the back, she eyed Kopaka still on the ground and called, "Are you ready?"

Gran-Gran stepped to Kopaka before he could get on Appa. "A moment," she said, eyes turning up to stare straight into Kopaka's mask. "You may not understand me, strange one, but I hope you can. In all my years, I never thought I would come across something like this. Finding you may have been a sign. I don't know why. Perhaps, for something far greater than whatever I can imagine. But I do know this; there is danger ahead, and I want my grandchildren to stay safe… Please promise me you will try to protect them."

Kopaka's own neck tilted down. He regarded the Water Tribe elder with his stoic look. Then, he nodded and said, "I will."

Gran-Gran blinked in surprise. "Well," she smiled, turning to him and Appa's passengers. "I suppose that's it. Be safe, all of you."

While Kopaka got on the saddle, Katara turned to Sokka. "We're ready to go."

Sokka settled himself onto Appa's head. "Here, we go!" he said, whipping the reins.

And a soft growl of an unmoving Appa answered him.

The two passengers and the crowd of spectators gazed Sokka curiously. Realizing what happened, Sokka glanced at everyone else, his eyes blinking curiously. "Oh! Uh, what was it he said again?" he said to himself and whipped the reins again. "Ah, right! Yip-yip!"

With a loud bellow and a flap of the tail, Appa swam across the water. It hadn't been flight, but the bison's speed put distance between the trio and the Southern Water Tribe. Katara looked behind her, eyes wistfully watching her home become smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Right, so where to," Sokka said, his voice catching her attention.

From the back of the saddle, Katara spotted Kopaka. He sat behind Sokka, his mask looking for the black ship. The scopes retracted, and his silent finger rose to the east. Katara didn't question the direction, knowing that Kopaka's far-sight was an advantage the enemy lacked. She did ask, "How far are they?"

Kopaka looked for the words then said, "Far. Not very."

"I guess that will work," Katara sighed, glancing to her brother.

Sokka glanced back and shrugged. "Okay," he breathed, pulling on the reins again, "off to save the world, I guess."

AN: I hope you enjoyed that. It's just a preview of what may possibly be the next chapter of my Bionicle/ATLA crossover, Bending the Legend. Hopefully, I can find a co-author to help out and publish this chapter and other chapters in the near future (can't say if or when that will happen, though).

Raika out.