Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: I think it certainly should.

Zigzagdoublezee: I think we all are. Kanna left precisely because of the same attitudes hurting Katara now.

As Always, Please Review!

Katara sat in the hut in the training centre, with a cup of warm liquid in her hands. Her friends sat around her.

"I really thought that would work," she shook her head. "I was certain of it."

"You'll win next time," Yue offered. She wasn't quite sure what to say.

"I wasn't trying to win," Katara pointed out. "Just demonstrate that I can fight. I think I did that."

"Some people are just too stuck in their ways to change," Rinzen sighed. "There comes a point where all you can do is leave them to it."

"But my training-"

"We'll have to find someone else," Sokka scowled. "Not him."

"Then who?"

"One of the others?" Yue suggested. "You do have your own masters in the South."

"If I could convince them, I would have been trained long ago," Katara stood up. "We need a rethink."

"What about the waterbending scroll you've been using?" Sokka asked. Katara instinctively went for the item.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"We have a library here," Sokka pointed out. "There may be others. If Pakku won't teach you how to do all that cool stuff with water vapour, teach yourself."

"They can't stop you from looking in your own library, you are the Princess."

Katara nodded.

"Then we'll do that," she decided. "Has there ever been a self-taught Avatar before?"

Yue smiled ruefully.

"Yes, I would prefer it if the Era of Yue had fewer firsts."

Katara led the way out of the door and back out onto the street. A few people stared at them, but nobody said anything.

"How long have we got?" Rinzen asked. "Until the Fire Nation arrive."

"I don't know, but it can't be that long," Sokka told him. "Their ships are not that slow."

"But if we win... when we win, we can continue training afterwards," Yue declared.

Rinzen frowned.

"And what makes you so certain that we will?"

Yue shrugged, and told him what she had already told Sokka.

"My home was destroyed by the Fire Nation. I'm not going to let the same thing happen here."

"Good to know," the Air Nomad nodded.

A few steps further on, Katara stopped.

"Wait, where's gran-gran?"

Yue stopped. She had forgotten all about her.

"I don't know," Sokka scratched his head. "Did she go after Pakku?"

"They have some history together," Rinzen observed. "Something awkward."

"She's never talked about it before," Sokka said.

"She mentioned it to Hama earlier."

Everyone turned to Katara."

"You've seen Hama?" Sokka asked.

"Who's that?" Yue leaned in.

"Gran-gran's friend," Sokka told her.

"Only briefly. She was having tea."

"What did they say about Pakku?"

"Nothing specific. Just that it was wierd seeing him again."

Yue raised a white eyebrow.

"Do you think the fact that she's your gran-gran is what's causing Pakku to be so stubborn? Maybe they have a feud."

"I'm not sure," Katara replied. "He never mentioned her in any of our arguments, did he?"

"It did seem like he just had a more general dislike of women learning to fight," Rinzen agreed. "Except you, of course."

"And when they spoke, it sounded awkward. Not angry," Sokka agreed.

"He's consistent, at least," Yue observed.

"Consistently stupid," Katara declared. "Consistently stubborn."

"He did save my life," Yue pointed out. "On the night all this began."

"He did?"

"You remember, you were there," Yue pointed at Sokka. "The night we first met, on the bridge. That man, that... combustion bender, he attacked us. He must have been sent by the Firelord to kill me. He missed his first shot, but the second... I dread to think what the second might have done if he hadn't come. He bought us the time to escape."

"Along with our father," Katara added.

"Indeed," Yue nodded in acknowledgement.

"So he did one good thing," Rinzen looked between them. "I'm not sure that makes up for this though."

"Perhaps not."

Yue looked up to where the tower of the Palace rose above the city's skyline.

"But there's only so many times we can beat our heads against the wall before we must think of another way."

"Oh yes!" Sokka brightened up. "We've seen the secret weapon."

"Secret weapon?" Katara asked, curious.

"It's not going to stay secret if you keep talking like that, is it?" Rinzen pointed out.

"It's fine, they're huge and sitting in the harbour for everyone to see," Sokka replied. "They're ice ships, except made out of some kind of strong, brown ice."

"Aren't we fighting firebenders?"

"They have thought of that."

And Sokka filled them in on the rest of the details about the ships. Katara was no more pleased than he had been to find out there were only six of them.

"And you're absolutely sure this will work?"

"To make sure nobody panics, I'm going to say yes," Sokka grinned a very unconvincing grin.

"Oh good," Rinzen sighed, the sarcasm creeping into his voice. "I was having doubts there."

By now they were nearly back to the Palace. A few people cheered them as they passed, either Yue for being the Avatar, Sokka and Katara for being Royal or Katara for the fight she had just had. The morning was crisp and cold, but the sky was a brilliant cloudless blue. Still, the mood was low in the group as they trudged towards the steps that led into the building. Up ahead, the doors opened and Kya emerged, standing at the top of the steps imperiously, waiting for them.

And then it began to snow.

Sokka looked up, curious.

"That's weird," he said. "Shouldn't there be clouds?"

"I admit I'm not an expert on snow like you are," Rinzen held out his hand flat to catch some, "but shouldn't snow be cold?"

"And white," Yue added.

They all realised what that meant at the same time. It wasn't snow at all.

Which meant their time was nearly up.

Author's Note: We are getting towards the end of what might be termed "Book 1" of this story. Would you prefer if I carried on in this story, or made a separate sequel for "Book 2" so we don't end up with a 300 chapter giant when all is said and done?