Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Destiny is a funny thing. It often takes you down roads you never would have imagined. Paths that shape and make you, and who you were meant to be. Destiny was said to be immutable, unchangeable, unbreakable. Yet, all it takes is one choice to change the course of your destiny in a way you never could have imagined. One small change was all it took to rewrite the timeline, and to forge a new destiny that breaks the mold that had been laid out for you. Like anything else, destiny could be reshaped, and a new destiny could be forged in the ashes of the old.

This was a truth few knew, but some experienced it, rather than learned of it. One of these was a young airbender named Aang, who had recently found out that he was the Avatar. The bridge between the spirits and the humans, the protector and preserver of nature, and the master of all four elements. The peacekeeper of the Four Nations. It was not a role that he had wanted, nor was it something he had been excited to be, but rather this fact had proved to be a burden to him. He had been given little choice, however, as he was indeed the Avatar.

Much had changed when it had been revealed that he was the Avatar. His friends would no longer let him play with them since they deemed it to be unfair to whichever team he was on due to his status as the Avatar, and much time was spent in training and little in freedom or fun. This was not what he had wanted, but he had accepted for the time being that this was his duty.

Until the day that he had learned something that would change the course of his destiny forever.

Monk Gyatso, his legal guardian and a man who had been like a father to him since he had never met his parents, had attempted to help Aang enjoy his childhood during breaks from his training. Another Monk, Monk Tashi, was not quite so concerned about the young Avatar's childhood. His eyes were fixed on the future, the elder monks of the Southern Air Temple being privy to rumors of war circulating throughout the world. He saw the need for Aang to be ready to fill his role in case war did break out, even though most Avatars were not even told of their identity until the age of sixteen. Gyatso had understood this, but he also understood that Aang was still a child, and should be allowed to have fun like the kid he was.

Because of this, the two elder monks had been at an impasse, neither willing to compromise their positions and knowing that they would need a third party to settle their dispute. Their argument was brought to the Head Monk Pasang, where unknown to them, Aang watched them argue their cases in secret from above.

"Aang needs to have freedom and fun," Gyatso insisted kindly as he looked at Pasang. "He needs to grow up as a normal boy."

Tashi glared at him, a clear look of disdain on his face as he huffed at Gyatso. "You cannot keep protecting him from his destiny."

Pasang, understanding where Gyatso was coming from, but agreeing with Tashi answered. "Gyatso, I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgement."

"All I want is what is best for him," Gyatso replied simply, still unwilling to back down from this for his young ward's sake.

"But what we need is what's best for the world," Pasang countered, remaining silent for a few moments as he finally came to a decision. "You and Aang must be separated! The Avatar will be sent away to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training!"

Aang's heart shattered as he heard this. They were going to send him away? Away from the only person who was truly looking out for him? As if it wasn't bad enough that his friends wouldn't let him play with them anymore, and now they wanted to send him away from the man who had been like a father to him?

Not being able to take this, Aang felt the fear course through his body and took off with a blast of air, unintentionally alerting Gyatso who had heard him airbend away. Letting out a sigh as he looked up at the hole in the ceiling where his pupil had been, Gyatso decided that he would have to talk to him later once they had ended their discussion. He knew that Aang would be upset, but he was not about to give up so easily. Something that he would be sure to tell Aang later when he went to visit him.

Unfortunately for him, he would never get to, as he would never see his young ward again.

Having been heart broken by what he had heard, Aang had fled to his room where he had been thinking over what he had witnessed. The monks were going to force him to continue his training at the Eastern Air Temple, away from his friends and more importantly, away from Gyatso. He would be forced into the life of the Avatar, a life that he had never wanted, and still did not. It was just so unfair. He was only twelve! How could they force this on him when he was still only a kid?

Feeling alone and confused, he found himself wishing that he could talk to Gyatso about this, but he knew that he was likely still talking to the other monks. This was too much for him to take on his own, and he felt like it could help if he could talk to one of his friends about it. The problem was, all of his friends outside of the Southern Air Temple were in the other nations. Bumi was in Omashu, and although he loved his friend, his eccentric ideas and ways of thinking would not be the best help for him in this situation.

Suddenly, Aang sat up as he remembered his friend Kuzon. Sure, he was in the Fire Nation, but Kuzon surely would be able to help him figure this out. Besides, if the monks really were going to force Aang to be separated from Gyatso and to spend the rest of his childhood in training to become the Avatar, Aang wanted to take one last trip to enjoy his freedom before he would submit to his duty.

Guilt overtook his heart as he realized that he wouldn't be able to tell Gyatso about this before he left, but he knew that this was something that he needed to do. One last adventure to the Fire Nation where he hopefully would be able to figure out things with help from Kuzon. If not, then at least he would have one last adventure before he was robbed of the rest of his childhood. Being mostly content with this thought, Aang quickly got out a piece of paper and wrote a note to Gyatso, who he didn't doubt would inevitably come to check on him.

Once he had set the note somewhere Gyatso would easily find it, he took a deep breath to settle his nerves and gathered what little he had, walking out of his room and looking back at it one last time before finally making his way to the stables to get to his sky bison, Appa. Reaching the stables, Aang found his best friend and long-time companion and smiled weakly as Appa gave him a soft roar of greeting.

"Hey buddy," Aang greeted him back as he pet his nose for a few moments. "Are you up for a trip to the Fire Nation?" Appa groaned his affirmation, making Aang smile a little as the rather large sky bison stood up and shook himself. "Good. Here, I brought you some moon peaches."

Aang quickly gave Appa his food and, looking up at storm clouds gathering, knew that if he was going to leave, he would need to do so quickly before any of the adults caught him. As quickly as he could, he ensured that Appa was ready for flight and took his seat on his head, grabbing the reins as he shouted. "Yip Yip!"

Appa groaned and took off into the air, their course being West toward the Fire Nation where he hoped Kuzon could help him figure things out, and if not, then he would have one last free adventure before his life would forever change. Taking one last look at the place he had called home for most of his life, he once again felt a wave of guilt from how Gyatso would find out about him leaving, but when he got back he would apologize. He felt certain that Gyatso would understand, even if he was leaving in a rather unorthodox way.

And so, boy and bison flew off to the West, not knowing what fate had in store for them. The storm that had begun at their departure followed the young Avatar on his journey, and after a long time of traveling through it, Aang knew that they would not be able to escape it. They would just have to find a suitable place to wait the storm out before they continued their journey to the Fire Nation.

There was a problem, however. According to his map, the nearest land was a small island just inside the Fire Nation, and that was still quite a ways away. They were not given much choice, however, as there was nowhere to land and they were surrounded by water. Despite having been traveling for a good amount of time, they would need to press on until they could reach land.

A sudden tidal wave threatened to hit them, but Aang snapped to attention and guided Appa above it just in time, narrowly avoiding it and preventing them from getting thrown into the sea, much to his relief. The storm was not lessening up, however, and just appeared to be getting worse. The two companions pressed on through it anyway, doing everything they could to reach land safely.

Some time later, Aang looked out past the pouring rain and the raging waves and felt hope in his heart when he saw land in the distance. With renewed determination to get them to safety, Aang yelled over the rushing wind. "We're almost there, buddy! Yip Yip!" Appa groaned and went faster, both hoping they could make it to land before something bad happened.

Just as they were able to get a good look at the island in front of them, Aang gasped as an enormous tidal wave reared above them, causing their world to go dark as it sunk them deep into the water. Aang and Appa floated in the water, Aang's eyes closing as he let go of Appa's reins and began drifting. Then suddenly, with a burst of energy as his eyes and tattoos began to glow, he felt something take over him and his fists pressed together, a sphere of ice encasing the young Avatar and his bison under the waves with the storm above them raging on as the Avatar became entombed in an icy prison of his own making.

"Where are we going, Azula?"

Princess Azula of the Fire Nation rolled her eyes as she looked over to her brother, Prince Zuko, who apparently had forgotten why they had been sent to patrol along the outer rim of the Fire Nation islands. Deciding to answer him, she told him. "Don't you remember, nitwit? Father asked us to patrol the border and look out for any incoming Water Tribe invasions."

"But why us?" Zuko reasonably countered as he looked at his sister. "We have plenty of soldiers who could do it, and I'd rather be at home. I haven't seen Mai in weeks."

Rolling her eyes at her brother, Azula simply replied. "Because the soldiers are a bunch of simpletons who can't do anything right. Father trusts us to fight off any Water Tribe invasions that come, so we'll do as we're told and patrol the border."

"For how long?" Zuko asked in annoyance, clearly still not being very happy about this ordeal. "We're royalty, we shouldn't have to spend weeks out at sea."

"You're right," Azula haughtily admitted, her pride at being royalty just barely overcoming her pride that would normally not want to admit that her brother was right. "But Father gave us orders. Hopefully, all will be quiet and he'll call us back home."

"I am sure your father will be understanding," Iroh, their uncle and a second father figure to Zuko said to the siblings as he walked up to them and put a hand on their shoulders. "The Water Tribes have been very aggressive lately in their attempts to conquer us, so your father only wishes for his best soldiers to be on the front lines to guard our home." Azula smirked and stood up straighter in pride at Iroh's praise while Zuko just sighed, clearly not caring about being one of their nations best warriors and looked to his uncle.

"But we've been patrolling for weeks, Uncle," Zuko argued as Iroh put on a sympathetic look. "How much longer are we going to be out here? And we haven't even seen a single Water Tribe ship this whole time! How do we know they're even planning to attack?"

"Prince Zuko, the Water Tribe has been trying to conquer the rest of the world for a hundred years. It will not be long before they make another attempt to invade our home," Iroh reminded him, making Zuko sigh as he nodded, and Iroh put a hand on his shoulder as he looked at him with another look of sympathy. "I understand your frustration, my nephew, but you must be patient. Your father will not keep you out here forever. You will see your girlfriend again."

Zuko smiled a little as he heard this, knowing that Iroh was right and nodding to him. "Thank you, Uncle. You're right. I will." Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to stop thinking about his own desires and looked ahead at the waters that separated the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. "It just feels like we've spent all of this time patrolling for nothing."

"It certainly is not for nothing, Prince Zuko," Iroh told him with an understanding smile. "Destiny has a funny way of making our most meaningless moments be what begins us on our journey. Even if we are not attacked by the Water Tribes, I am sure that something will come of this."

"Like what?" Zuko asked with a shake of his head as he thought of the state of the world. "The Water Tribes have the advantage. We're stuck here defending our home, just waiting until we're attacked again. We can only do this so many times, Uncle. We need to do something to stop them."

"Zuzu's right," Azula spoke up, making both Zuko and Iroh look at her in surprise that she had called Zuko right twice in less than ten minutes. This was an unprecedented day. "Defending the Fire Nation is all well and good, but eventually the Water Tribes will wear us down. We should take the offensive and end this wretched war before they get the chance."

Iroh put a hand on Azula's shoulder as well, giving her a look of understanding, knowing that they both were right even if it wasn't what their current standings could afford to do. "Yes, if we had the resources to make such a move, I am certain we would. But we do not," he told them as he looked between them. "This war has eroded us over the last hundred years, and has only seemed to make the Water Tribes stronger. Especially with this new Chief who has managed to unite the tribes under one banner. We must be cautious about how we proceed, else we risk losing our beloved home."

"But if we don't do anything, we're going to lose it anyway," Zuko argued as he moved away from his Uncle and looked out at the sea. "How can we win if we don't have what we need to defeat the Water Tribes?" For once, Iroh did not have a good answer for him, and all he could do was remain silent as Zuko closed his eyes and let out a sigh. There was no answer to his question, only a lingering truth that none of them dared to say out loud. Deciding that worrying about it wouldn't do any good, Zuko pulled himself together and turned around to his family. "Let's not think about it for now. We'll just have to keep thinking of ways we can win this war."

"Yes, you are right," Iroh nodded, placing a hand on both of their shoulders as he gently suggested. "Why don't you two get some rest? A well-rested mind can think of a solution to any problem." Neither argued, although Azula partly looked like she wanted to, but both siblings made their way to their rooms. Iroh let out a sigh as he watched them go. They were not wrong, but there was not much they could do. They truly did not have the resources to wage a counter attack, and were stuck defending their home instead of fighting back. They would not be able to hold out forever.

Deciding not to dwell on this thought, Iroh decided that he would get some rest as well, knowing that they could be attacked at any moment and knowing that some rest would help him think as well. Though, as he returned to his room, he couldn't help but wonder… was there no way they could turn the tide of war?

While the Fire Nation royalty rested and pondered over how they might be able to save their home, unbeknownst to them, a single Water Tribe ship made its way toward the border. On it were many warriors, all of which were assigned to a special mission given from the Head Chief himself. Leading these warriors were none other than his beloved children, Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, and they found themselves discussing the plan before they put their plans to action.

"Alright," Sokka spoke as he gathered the warriors' attention while standing at the head of the war table where a map was laid out for them. "Here's the plan. While our main force launches a direct assault on the Fire Nation Navy guarding the border, we are going to sneak around while they are distracted and find our way to their flagship. The goal is to capture Prince Zuko and Princess Azula and hold them hostage, who our spies have reported to be a part of the fleet. With them in our possession, Firelord Ozai should have no choice but to surrender."

Katara, his sister, raised an eyebrow at him and decided to ask. "Are you sure this will work? From what I've heard, Firelord Ozai isn't exactly the best father. How do we know that he'll surrender once we have his kids?"

"Well… we don't…" Sokka awkwardly admitted. "But this is our best chance without launching a full scale attack on the Fire Nation. And considering that we've been trying for a hundred years now, I'm hoping that a more simple solution can be what gets them to surrender." Katara didn't look convinced, but she remained silent as Sokka continued. "Anyway, while the main force keeps them busy, a few of us will take a boat and sneak onto the flagship. With any luck, we can disable the crew and capture the Prince and Princess before we make our way back to the ship. Once we have them, we'll take them to a secure place and alert Firelord Ozai. If Ozai surrenders, we'll finally have beaten the Fire Nation and can focus our efforts on the Earth Kingdom."

"That's a big if Sokka," Katara spoke again, but stood up and nodded as she continued. "But it's worth a try. Even if the Fire Nation deserves to have a war brought to them," she muttered darkly, making Sokka give her a look of concern, but she just ignored it.

Knowing why she had muttered that, and deciding not to bring it up at this moment, Sokka instead focused on the situation at hand. "Alright, everyone who was picked to come with Katara and I onto the flagship, gather your gear and get ready. We'll be sailing into a war zone."

The soldiers nodded and set to work, and Sokka soon found himself with only his sister in the room. Looking at her and seeing the anger still burn in her eyes, he sighed and said. "Katara, I know that you blame the Fire Nation for what happened to Mom, but-"

"But what, Sokka?" she interrupted him as she looked over to him sharply. "I'm just supposed to forget that they killed our mother? And what about the Air Nomads that the Fire Nation wiped out a hundred years ago? Or the fact that they attacked us almost directly after that? Are we supposed to forget that, too?"

"No, of course not," Sokka replied gently, knowing that this was coming from a place of hurt that had been there for years, and knowing that even after all of this time she still hadn't gotten any closer to letting it go. "I'm just saying, she knew the risks that were involved for her mission. I'm sure she-"

"They didn't have to kill her!" Katara interrupted him, looking coldly at the ground. "She never attacked them! Our parents just wanted this stupid war to be over. If she had never tried to have a peace talk with them, maybe she'd…" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she took a deep breath and forced it away as she turned to Sokka. "The Fire Nation took our mother away, and I will never forgive them for that."

Remaining silent as he really didn't know what to say, Sokka just let out a sigh and decided to change the subject. "Well, let's get ready. We'll be leaving soon." Turning to leave the room, he looked back at his sister and said quietly. "I miss mom, too, but she wouldn't want to see you this way, Katara. None of us do." And with that, he left the room, leaving Katara alone with her thoughts as his words sunk into her heart.

The sound of alarm bells ringing woke Zuko up from his slumber, making him stand up quickly as he realized that they were under attack. Despite the fact that he knew it was inevitable that the Water Tribes would attack again, he couldn't shake off his shock that they were actually attacking. He had been fearing this moment since he and Azula had been sent to guard the border, and now the moment of truth was here. Now was the time to fight off the invaders, and their merit would be tested here and now.

Shaking off his nerves, he put on a serious face and quickly got his armor on before making his way up to the main deck. Sure enough, a fleet of Water Tribe ships were heading towards them. Much like the Fire Nation ships, they were made of iron and were coal-powered, but they had made their ships to resemble their original ships from before the war had begun, with some important differences that didn't leave them so exposed to attacks.

Having been in battles with the Water Tribes before, he knew that this would not be an easy fight. Along with having very skilled warriors who spent most of their time hunting or honing their skills, they also had a host of master waterbenders who could split a ship in two if they weren't stopped. This battle would prove to be a challenge, but it was a battle that they would need to win. If they let them break their blockade, then it wouldn't be long before they made their way to the capital.

Realizing the gravity of the situation they were in, Zuko took a deep breath and looked around, being relieved to see that Iroh and Azula were at the ready. Looking back at their quickly approaching enemies, it wasn't long before the Water Tribes began the battle with a large wave that was sent toward them.

"Everyone, brace!" Zuko called out as everyone took shelter, the large wave partially scattering the fleet as they were pushed back from the border. Once the wave had rejoined the waters beneath them, Zuko stood up from his cover and looked back to their enemies, seeing that they were closing in on them. Turning to his lieutenant, he yelled. "Lieutenant! Signal the fleet to attack!" His lieutenant nodded and quickly rang the bell, and before long a strong stream of fire was shot back at the invading Navy.

However, all fire shot at them was consumed as the waterbenders raised up a wall that dissipated it into steam. Zuko frowned as he saw that they weren't going to get anywhere with this, but to his surprise, he heard the sound of crackling electricity and turned just in time to see Azula sheer off the top of one of the Water Tribe's ships with a bolt of lightning. This was something that the waterbenders had little defense against, but the problem was only a rare few firebenders had the ability to bend lightning. And the only ones among the fleet who could were Azula and Iroh.

Deciding that they would have to use what they had, Zuko turned to Azula and Iroh and said. "Uncle, Azula! Target the Water Tribes' engines! If we can stop their ships, they might be forced to retreat."

"I'm way ahead of you, Zuzu!" Azula smirked, even if part of her was chafed by taking orders from her brother. Technically, as the older sibling and the crowned prince, he outranked her. She did not like this one bit, however, and often tried to boss him around instead. But, for a serious situation like this, she swallowed her pride and listened to him. Iroh nodded silently in agreement and the two moved up, both taking turns throwing lightning bolts as they targeted the large fleet coming towards them.

However, despite their efforts, they had only managed to wear a few ships down before the fleet had gotten within boarding distance. Knowing that there was going to be a physical fight, Zuko yelled out. "Stop! We're not going to be able to stop them this way!" The two lightning benders stopped as Zuko turned to his lieutenant. "Get the fleet ready! We're about to be boarded!"

Before long, the Water Tribe ships had finally reached the fleet, and Zuko could only watch as the enemy warriors began boarding their ships. Taking a deep breath, Zuko centered himself and got ready for the upcoming fight. They would either stop them here or the Fire Nation would be ravaged with war. Opening his eyes, he watched as the ships in front of him were boarded, the battle he had been dreading finally unfolding before his eyes.

Sokka, Katara, and their chosen warriors were now in their boat, hoping to sneak their way into the Fire Nation fleet while they were occupied. Having recognized that a Water Tribe ship would be easily recognized, Sokka had seen fit to have a special boat customized to resemble the small boats the Fire Nation carried on their iron frigates. Also, to ensure that a peering eye wouldn't question them, the crew were currently dressed in Fire Nation uniforms save for himself and Katara, who instead were wearing simple red robes. They had also managed to procure a Fire Nation flag from one of their recent naval battles that would aid in the deception as well.

Looking through an eyeglass, Sokka surveyed the ships around them and soon found what he was looking for, a flag of the Fire Nation emblem with a special mark that indicated it to be the flagship of the fleet. "We've got it," he said to the crew around him, pointing to a ship in the middle of the fleet as he continued. "Take us to that ship! While the fleet's distracted, we'll take down the crew and capture the Prince and Princess. With any luck, we'll have them in our possession and retreat before any of them have a clue of what's happening."

"Could you be any louder, Sokka?" Katara hissed as she looked around at the fleet surrounding them before looking back to her brother. "We're supposed to sneak to the ship, not let them know we're here!"

Rolling his eyes, even if he knew that she was right, he lowered his voice and said. "Fine. Let's just get this done and get out of here." Before long, the crew had reached the flagship and settled right next to it. Sokka, standing up and making sure that no one was looking, grabbed a grappling hook and swung it a few times before throwing it up toward the railing. The hook wrapped itself around the railing a few times before it stopped, and Sokka tugged on it to ensure that it was secure. Being satisfied, Sokka silently motioned for the others to follow him as he began climbing the rope, the rest of the crew following him as he finally reached the deck.

Peering up and seeing a few soldiers walk by, he waited a few moments until the coast was clear before climbing up the rest of the way, helping everyone else up onto the deck and then turned to them. "Okay guys, you know the plan. Thanks to your armor, you guys shouldn't stand out too much. Take out the crew while we capture the Prince and Princess. It won't be easy, so be ready in case we need some help." The soldiers and waterbenders nodded, and with that he turned around and began making his way toward the main deck.

At a time like this, he highly doubted the royals would be hiding in the ship, so their best bet to find them would be on the main deck where the action would be. So, he and Katara snuck around while he watched their soldiers fan out and begin incapacitating the unsuspecting Fire Navy soldiers. With their help, and with Katara and Sokka taking turns in knocking out soldiers who got in their way, it wasn't long before the siblings had reached the main deck and hid behind a corner where the main force of the ship was currently standing.

"Look over there!" Sokka whispered to Katara who was peering around the corner next to him as he pointed to a young man who was shorter than the rest of the soldiers, his helmet being particularly different than the rest. "That must be Prince Zuko." Looking through the crowd, his eyes soon landed upon a young girl who was shooting bursts of lightning at the invading forces. "And that must be Princess Azula. She's the only woman in the royal family who can shoot lightning."

"Okay, so we know who we need to grab, but how do we get them without getting into a fight with all those soldiers?" Katara whispered back as she looked around the deck and saw at least forty soldiers surrounding the Fire Nation royals.

"Can't you just freeze them?" Sokka asked curiously, watching as Katara looked at him like he was crazy.

"Of course I can freeze them, but they're firebenders, Sokka. That would only work with the non-benders," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "I'd have to make the ice really thick for them to not be able to get out of it."

Sokka frowned as he realized that she was right, his attention turning back to the soldiers as he got an idea when he recognized some of the soldiers on the edges of the crowd. The Water Tribe soldiers who had joined them were marked with a subtle bit of war paint on the back of their necks so the siblings would be able to distinguish them from the actual Fire Nation soldiers. "Okay, our soldiers have surrounded what's left of the Fire Navy soldiers. If our waterbenders helped you, would you be able to make the ice thick enough?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Katara nodded as she came to a decision. "That should work. But how are they going to know what to do?"

"Don't worry, little Sis," Sokka grinned as he looked at his sister, Katara rolling her eyes yet again as she often did with her brother as he continued. "I've got that covered." Taking out his horn, he took a deep breath and blew into it, playing a very specific tune that made Katara look at him in surprise.

"What are you doing?! You might as well have yelled 'Hey, we're over here!'" Katara whispered sarcastically as she swiped the horn away from him. Sokka, however, was completely unfazed and smirked.

"Trust me. They know what to do now," he whispered back, the two looking back in time to see that just as a good majority of the Fire Navy soldiers had turned around to see where the sudden noise had come from, several of the disguised waterbenders reached down into the water surrounding them and crashed a wave into them, knocking the majority of them back against the wall and freezing them to it.

Katara looked at her brother, mildly impressed. "You taught them to recognize commands from your horn?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep. You're welcome," Sokka grinned as he looked at the nearly decimated force and remembered that they were in a time crunch. Snapping to attention, he turned back to Katara and quickly said. "Katara! Help the other waterbenders secure the ice while we capture the royals!"

"I'm right here, Sokka," Katara griped, having still been right next to him as he had yelled his orders at her, but she ignored the ringing in her ears and went to work. Being satisfied with this, Sokka decided to step out of the shadows and ran towards the rest of the soldiers who had already begun attacking what was left of the ship's forces. Unfortunately for them, they were faced with three master firebenders, so they were forced to disperse as large bursts of flame and lightning were shot at them.

"Citizens of the Fire Nation!" Zuko yelled out as he got himself ready for a fight. "Defend your Nation! Defend your people!"

Sokka, having narrowly avoided a blast of fire from Zuko, threw off his robe and got out his club and boomerang. This would not be an easy fight, but if they could keep them distracted long enough for the waterbenders to finish their work, then they should be able to defeat them once the waterbenders rejoined them.

Knowing that they needed to stall them, Sokka ran up to Zuko and took him head on, expertly dodging the barrages of flames and throwing his boomerang at the Prince, which narrowly missed. Unfortunately for Zuko, the boomerang came back right as he had been about to shoot another stream of fire and was interrupted as it hit him in the back of the head. Growling as he winced in pain, Zuko looked back up just in time to see Sokka coming in for a strike from above.

Thankfully for him, Iroh stepped in and grabbed Sokka before his club could land a blow, shoving him away from his nephew as he got in a defensive stance. Zuko quickly said, "Thank you, Uncle," as he got back into a fighting stance.

Sokka gasped as he recognized the old man before him. "General Iroh."

"Former General Iroh," Iroh answered him, shooting a burst of flame at the young warrior, which he managed to dodge before pressing the attack. Despite bending and weapons being different forms of fighting, Sokka managed to hold his own as he simultaneously dodged Iroh and Zuko's fire blasts and attempted to find a way to incapacitate them. Iroh was older, but he clearly was very skilled, while Zuko had youth but was not nearly as skilled as his uncle.

After a little while of fighting, Iroh and Zuko finally managed to work together and knocked Sokka off of his feet with a combined blast that would have cooked his flesh if he had been a second slower. Landing on his back, Sokka looked up as the two firebenders got into position with their fists pointing at him.

"Get away from my brother!"

Recognizing his sister's voice, Sokka looked just in time as Katara summoned a large amount of water and blasted the two away from him. Running over to him, she helped him up and asked. "Are you okay, Sokka?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sokka assured her with a grin. "Thanks for the rescue, Sis." Katara grinned and nodded as the two looked back at the Fire Nation royals. The other waterbenders and soldiers who weren't fighting Azula were fighting the remaining soldiers who hadn't been frozen, leaving Katara and Sokka to deal with Zuko and Iroh.

"We should work together to get these two," Sokka said as he stared down the two firebenders across from them who were slowly getting up.

"No, I've got them," Katara told him as she stepped forward and got into a fighting stance. "Princess Azula's the most dangerous one. Go help the others take her down. If you manage to get her under control before I do with these two, then you can come help me."

Sokka didn't like this, but he knew that Katara was easily the most powerful waterbender in both of the Tribes. If anyone could take on two Fire Nation royals, it was her. "Alright, be careful, Katara."

"You too," she replied before jumping into action, making him smile a little to see the warrior that his sister was before he refocused on the task at hand. Currently, Princess Azula was entangled in a fight with a few waterbenders. Though she was surrounded, she was holding her own fairly well, keeping the waterbenders at bay.

"Enough!" she yelled once she had grown tired of the waterbenders constant attack. Taking a deep breath, she created a ring of fire around her and stomped forward, sending it outward toward her attackers who were flung back away from her. Smirking at her victory, she turned and saw that Sokka was running to her. Deciding that she had enough of using fire for the moment, she quickly switched to her lightning bending stance and shot a bolt at Sokka, which he barely managed to dodge as he kept running toward her.

Another bolt was sent at him, but he just rolled onto the ground, narrowly avoiding it once again as he got back up on his feet and continued running. Frustrated by her lack of success in this, Azula once again started the motions for lightning, but was surprised as Sokka lunged forward and pushed her to the edge of the ship and grabbed her hand, forcing it to point downward toward the water as the lightning left her fingers and went deep into the water.

Unbeknownst to them as Azula switched back to fire, the lightning bolt that had been shot into the water went deep into the darkness until it reached a frozen sphere. The sphere, having been undisturbed for a hundred years, was suddenly pushed down deeper into the water as the lightning bolt crashed into it. The outer layer of the icy sphere was shattered, but the core remained intact.

However, the force from the lightning bolt and the loss of the outer shell of the sphere caused it to begin rising up back to the surface while the fighting from above continued. Just as Sokka managed to knock Azula off her feet with his club while Katara had Zuko and Iroh cornered against the wall of the ship, the large, icy sphere finally broke the surface with an enormous burst that spread all of the ships in the area apart, making everyone grab for cover as they were forcibly moved away from the sphere.

Once the flagship had settled, everyone forgot that they had been fighting just moments prior and looked toward the source of the disturbance, and all looked in awe at the large sphere in front of them. As they all stood frozen in shock, they peered closely at it and their eyes widened as they recognized the figure of a human standing out amidst the bright glow that emanated from the inside. From the looks of it, the bright light was coming from the boy inside it, if his bright eyes and the tattoo on his head were any indication. Forgetting all about their fight for the moment, all eyes remained transfixed on the figure before them, Katara suddenly gasping while the rest could only blink in surprise as they watched the figure blink as she said. "He's alive!"

Responses to reviews to Joyful Engagement:

Vapor23: Thank you! I'm glad that you liked it and I'm honored that I'm one of your favorite writers! And I'm glad that you love the simplicity and wholesomeness of Kataang like I do.

Stegosaurus1412: Thank you! I'm glad that I can still write some things. I'm glad that you liked it. It was a lot different than I originally intended it to be, but I like how it turned out.

Ashley Barbosa: Thanks, Ashley! I appreciate your reviews!