The heat of the area washed over his form, sweat dripping from his brow. Grunts heard all around him as he raised his arms and slammed his pickaxe into the vein of ore. His bones vibrated from the force of the pickaxe slamming into a particular solid piece of earth, and he heard one of the children down the line cry out as part of the mine's wall crumbled down on him. That might have been the worst part of being here, was the sound of the children being forced to work here as well. Let's ignore that he is not that much older than any of them and he would be called a child by many of the people also forced to work here, but that was besides the point.

He stopped and glanced down, seeing the filthy remains of what was once a Southern Water Tribe shirt on the young boy's buried body from the gaps in the rocks was once. Making his way over to the young boy, he quickly moved all the rocks off the of the boy's body.

"Argin, are you okay?" he asked as he looked down at the boy's bruised form

"I dunno Sokka" admitted the younger Southern Water Tribe boy, "I think my right arm is broken, I can't move it"

Sokka examined the arm, there was a sliver of a gap in the bone alone the inside of potion of the forearm. Based on his experience, he knew that the arm would be limited for at least 4 to 6 weeks. Ripping off his shirt, Sokka quickly tied it around Argin's body, making it into a makeshift sling for the younger boy.

"You should take it easy, work in the mine closer to the exit until your arm is good to go again" said Sokka as he lifted the boy up to his feet and sent him on his way.

"You're too kind for this shithole" noted another one of the older mining men, Fagito.

Fagito was a man in his late 40's, had long brown hair that he wore in a traditional Fire Nation bun. He had burns that covered the right side of his neck and torso, a hint of the punishment that he suffered for not agreeing to go to war. He was dressed in a plain white shirt and pants combo, stained to the point of turning brown.

"I have to look after my own" replied Sokka

"I know" admitted Fagito as he slammed his pickaxe into the wall, carving out another small piece of ore, "One day, we're going to leave this place and the kindness you've shown your fellow tribe members will not be forgotten"

Sokka nodded but didn't say anything else. Because he knew that it was just wishful thinking. None of them were ever getting out of here, none of them were going to escape the wraith of the Fire Nation.

They were going to die in this mine, about a mile under the surface of the ground. Nobody was coming to save them, nobody knew where they were. The Fire Nation had won and at best, Sokka knew that when things became too bad down here, he was going to take his pickaxe and go down swinging.

"You know, I think we're gonna work ourselves to death in here" said Sokka as he started t swing his pickaxe again, "Can someone get me in touch with HR? I would like to discuss my benefits package again"

A series of chuckles filled the small pocket of the mine, Sokka was well liked for this particular reason, everyone liked to have a laugh. Even those who were slaves.

Across the World: Southern Hemisphere

The icy air was starting to let up, but at the speed they were flying at, it was still biting into the skin of Katara. She was sitting, looking out into the vast ocean as she felt the burning of guilt flood her stomach once more.

I really left them behind

Every second that they flew away from the Southern Water Tribe, the more she felt like she had left her people behind to be slaughtered.

Glancing at Aang, she knew that the boy in front of her was the best chance she or anyone would ever have to make an impact on the Fire Nation's crushing grip on the world. He was their best chance to flip the war, he had shown that a ship full of Fire Nation soldiers wasn't worth one of him.

Yet, she also knew that there was just one of him. He couldn't be everywhere and that meant that her people would most likely suffer because of it. And the worst part was that if she stayed, she knew it wouldn't make a difference.

Aang said something that she couldn't make out as she was lost in her thoughts, deep in her own heart questioning everything. But the sound of his voice did pull her out of that mental state and she looked at Aang.

"Sorry, could you repeat that again?" she said

"Yeah, I found the only Fire Nation ship that is patrolling this far south" said Aang

"Just the one?" asked Katara

"Yup" confirmed Aang

"What about the one that you sent running away?" asked Katara

"Based on where it went, it was headed East to what I remember being an old repair port" said Aang as he pulled out a map as Appa slowly started to circle the ship below them.

"Ok, so what do you plan to do with this ship?" questioned Katara

"We take this ship over and we use it to save your people" said Aang as if it was common sense, "Noone else is going to die if I can help it. I may have lost my people. But that doesn't mean that you have too as well"

Katara felt a smile come onto her face, Aang was like a breath of fresh air. And she wasn't just saying that because he was an Air Bender.

He leapt off the head of Appa and floated downwards as if he was a leaf. Appa slowly started descending as well, but much slower than even Aang as he continued to circle the ship. Katara could barely make out the tiny dot that was the color robes of Aang's as he finally landed on the surface of the ship.

She could feel the blast of air that sent several dark dots flying away from the ship, the Fire Nation soldiers landing into the water with tiny splashes. Appa landed and Katara could feel the heat of flames crashing against the metal below her feet and Appa groaned with discomfort. Aang's laughter sent echo after echo rattling around from below before he came out the door that lead to the lower levels of the ship. Dozens of Fire Nation personnel came racing after him and he slid to a top on one side of the ship. The icy water was behind him and he smirked before he opened his mouth and sent a gust of strong wind that sent most of the people flying off the ship.

Whoever was left was no match for him and his staff as he weaved in and out of their attacks, carefully sending them crashing into the water below one by one.

He turned to Katara and smiled brightly, "Do you know how to stir this thing?"

The Mines:

Over the past couple of days, many of the miners had heard the grumblings of the Fire Benders who patrolled this area.

The disgraced Prince and his most of his ship's crew were sent packing from the Southern Water Tribe

That really shocked Sokka as he hadn't thought that his sister would ever become skilled enough as a water bender to drive off the Fire Nation by herself. Not because he didn't think she could, but rather because she had nobody to teach her how to control her powers. But apparently he was wrong and that got him thinking, was he really going to let a girl put more effort into defeating the Fire Nation than he was?

So, he slept on it, and on day 3, he had made his decision. He was a slacker this day, not unusual for anyone as the month was coming to an end. The Mines were also one of the lesser enforced prisons. The Fire Nation was willing to put up with mouthing off every now and then if it kept the people here mining consistently.

Sokka had benefited from over a year of hard labor, going from a slender swimmer build to a much fuller boat rower build with toned arms and legs. Nobody batted an eye at him half assing it all day, as he still managed to fill a full wheelbarrow. The guards simply shook their head at him as he gave lazy sloppy swing after lazy sloppy swing.

The night time rotation of both miners and guards came around and Sokka took his pickaxe with him back to his room, using it to slice into the thin slab of his cot and stashing it inside the layers of fabric by his feet.

It was almost midnight when he woke back up and listened for the sound of the radio, the sign that the guard had finished his patrol of their room. Dozens if not hundreds of cots lined the large room.

As silently as he could, Sokka rolled out of his bed and crawled around to pull the pickaxe out of the slash he created. Keeping low, he crawled until he was near the doorless room where the Fire Nation had someone watching over the people sleeping. But every night for as long as Sokka had been here, at some point the guard would stop paying attention to them and simply listen to the radio.

His back was turned to Sokka, away from the window facing the prisoners. Sokka glided up to his feet, never making a noise as he lifted his pickaxe and slammed it down back of the guard's neck. Blood sprayed all over Sokka as the sharp end of the pickaxe split the guard's skin and ripped through the soft tissue of the neck, exiting through the front of the man's neck.

He gargled blood as he tried to breath and Sokka put his hand over the man's mouth, silencing his final muffles as he died. Sokka waited an extra moment before he removed his hand and slowly pulled his pickaxe out of the man's neck.

Finding the keys to all the doors on the man's hip, Sokka took them as he let himself out of the sleeping quarter's back exit. However, as he opened the door, he saw the light glimmer off something out of the corner of his eye and turned to see another room. He walked into the room, and he grasped a lantern on the wall, turning the dial to allow the light to fill the room. It was an armory of sorts and as he looked around, he realized it was not just an armory, but it was filled with several stolen goods form the places they had captured the miners that filled his prison.

Smirking, Sokka turned around and looked around the series of cots, eyeing several of the grumpier guys to be forced into the room. He approached the bed of the biggest guy in the place, a man named Farnor.

Farnor was from the Earth Kingdom, standing at over 6 feet tall. He was built like a boulder, his long shaggy brown hair fell down to his shoulders. His tan skin was marred with burns all over his body. The most noticeable was a blotch of burnt skin around his mouth, it was the reason that he was here, the punishment for daring to speak out against the Fire Nation when they had conquered his village.

"Farnor" whispered Sokka as he ever so gently rocked the muscular man, who grunted as his eyes flickered open.

"Sokka?" asked Farnor tiredly, "What is the meaning of this?"

Sokka looked around before whispering, "I killed the guard, they have a full armory for the non-Fire Benders here. I'm going raid it for a sword, figured you would want in"

Farnor sniffed loudly, "Kid, did you just say you killed the guard?"

Sokka gestured with his head and Farnor slipped out of bed as well and followed Sokka to the guard post, the slumped over body of the guard with the gaping hole in his neck remained where it was.

"You fucking did it" whispered Farnor before Sokka led him to the armory and Farnor found himself drawn to the large war axe from the Earth Kingdom. Sokka grabbed a standard steel sword, a bone boomerang, and a backpack to carry any extra supplies he may come across.

Upon finishing, Sokka handed Farnor the keys and Farnor grinned before he looked at Sokka as the pair of them sipped out the room.

Walking through the hallways, Farnor seemed to know where to go before he put his finger up to his lips and motioned for Sokka to make no noise. He used a key to open the room and inside Sokka found a trio of sleeping Fire Nation soldier.

Farnor made a slashing motion with his hand and Sokka walked over to the furthest soldier and looked down at the person he was about to kill. They muttered something in their sleep and Sokka realized that this person was not a guy, but a girl.

His mouth went dry, but he ignored that feeling and grabbed the hilt of the sword with both hands before in a single motion, buried the sword through the woman's slumbering mouth, cutting off her ability to make may noise as her brain was disconnected from the rest of her body. Her once pretty face was frozen in shock and Sokka felt his stomach churn at the sight of those amber eyes slowly losing life.

But if it meant that he lived longer, he would gladly trade her life for his own. Looking over to where Farnor was standing, he gestured to the other guard as he held his war axe in hand, but Sokka understood why he hadn't killed his guard yet. The axe would create too much of a mess and noise, but with Sokka killing the first and moving onto the second, they could take out all three of the guards with ease.

Farnor and Sokka both swung their weapons downwards at the same time, Sokka's blade slicing into the neck of the slumbering guard, blood spraying everywhere and he looked down to see the once white shirt of his now stained red rather than just brown from the mines.

Farnor was in a similar state as the man's clothing was splattered with brain matter and blood was dripping from his left cheek, but Farnor's eyes showed that he was feeling a large amount of joy in this moment.

Not that Sokka could blame him, he knew that this was a needed thing, that they had to kill the Fire Nation or they would simply hunt them down like animals. Farnor nodded at him as he gestured to the door, knowing that they had to hit the next room.

"We have to hit the guards in the mine" whispered Sokka, "I can't leave my people behind"

"We should wake up some of the others" noted Farnor, "But at the same time, we have the drop on them now, what do you think Sokka?"

"I think we should strike the guards in the mines as fast as we can before the new guards arrived in the morning, we can't let them catch us"

Farnor looked conflicted for a brief moment before grunting in confirmation. They exited the room and Sokka followed the familiar route to the mines. Walking carefully to not let anyone know they were coming, Sokka stopped right before the corner that would lead to the mine. Peaking around the corner, Sokka could make out the form of a guard in the darkness.

Farnor was leaning over him and saw the same thing, "I got a plan, be prepared"

Sokka didn't bother to ask for the plan as he readied his sword and Farnor picked up a small pebble and blasted it into the entrance of the mine. The rock hit a wall inside the mine and caused a thud that caused the guard to turn around.

Sokka blitzed forward as quickly as he could and as his feet hit the ground, the guard turned around just in time for Sokka's blade to push through his chest. He gasped as the blade pushed through his chest and pinned him to the wall, his mouth opened as wheezy airy gasps of air left the guard's mouth. Sokka looked the man in the eye before he twisted the blade inside the man, ending his suffering.

Farnor blurred past Sokka, swinging his war axe into the head of the another guard that had just arrived at the mine's entrance. The crunch of the guard's skull sent chills down Sokka's back.

"We kill every guard we see" hissed Farnor as he used the axe to behead the spasming guard and Sokka didn't need to be told. They continued to sneak forward, their job not done until every guard was dead at their feet or they were killed trying.

With Zuko:

His body hurt all over, his back covered in bruises from the force of the blast of air that had sent him crashing into the ship. He felt more than just pain though, he felt shame and embarrassment.

How could this be? How could a goofy faced child do this to him with a swing of that staff? It didn't make any sense to him, he had read the scrolls of the past encounters with the Air Benders, only the Air Bending masters had been able to put up a fight against the Fire Nation from what he had read. There was no way that boy should have been a match for him, if he was, then it was time for him to up his training.

Groaning as he struggled to stand up, he felt his back flare up with pain and all but demand that he remain down. But life demanded that he found a manner of redeeming his honor. Losing to a child was not the way that he would regain it, he was sure of it.

Stumbling through the ship, he made his way out onto the deck where his uncle was mediating, flames spewing from his nose as he breathed in and out, control of the flames was evident to Zuko.

"Uncle" greeted Zuko

"Nephew, you should be sleeping. Preferably on your stomach to avoid that nasty bruise on your back" said Iroh without opening his eyes

"I do not have time to rest" complained Zuko, "Did you not see what that child did to me"

"I did" confirmed Iroh, "I also saw the tattoos that covered his limbs and head. You did not lose to a mere child as you are making it out to be, Prince Zuko. That child was an Air Bending Master and is undoubtedly the Avatar. You went head to head with a child blessed by Fate, you should be thankful to survive his rage"

"That boy … a child, was an Air Bending Master?" questioned Zuko, partly in awe and partly in disbelief

"Yes, in their culture, the only way to get those tattoos is to past their test to become a master" answered Iroh before he reached out and grabbed a cup of Jasmine Tea, heating it to perfect with just his grip, "Many pieces of knowledge about the Air Bending Nations has been lost to time sadly, but I have read many of their scrolls and books in hopes of understanding them"

"Why care about a dead nation?" asked Zuko as he carefully dropped to his knees and crawled over to his uncle, sitting across from the man and reaching for a cup of tea as well.

"Because the last Avatar was said to be an Air Bender, and it is important to know about what that means" answered Iroh

Both of them took a sip of tea, Iroh enjoying the taste as Zuko basked more in the warmth it provided his body than anything else.

"Tell me Prince Zuko, what do you believe the Avatar to be?" asked Iroh after a brief silence between the two of them.

"A bender capable of mastering all four elements" answered Zuko

"A surface level answer" tsk'd Iroh as he sipped his tea

"There is more to the Avatar than that? I thought he was just some guy born over and over again" questioned Zuko

"The Avatar is about Balance, Zuko" corrected Iroh, "Do not let the bias teachings of the Fire Nation blind you to the deeper meaning of the world around us. The Avatar is not just 'a bender capable of mastering all four elements' or 'some guy born over and over again' as you put it. The Avatar is a person who transcends the four nations, bridging the differences between them"

"How do you know that?" asked Zuko

"Because I have traveled the world, I have read the accounts of the previous Avatars and this type of thing has happened before" admitted Iroh, "The Avatar isn't some perfect being nor are they some all powerful being. The Avatar has a job to do, unite the world in a manner that brings balance to all nations on this plane. There is a spiritual aspect to their job, but that is something for a later time. As a matter of fact, the last Avatar, Roku was the friend of your grandfather. He had a chance to stop this war before it ever even started, but he showed his friend mercy and Sozin took advantage of that moment of weakness"

"I didn't know they were friends" commented Zuko

"Why would Sozin admit to backstabbing the Avatar after years of friendship?" asked Iron

"I … I would either" admitted Zuko

"Exactly Prince Zuko, whether it be shame, or perhaps just a refusal to admit what actually happened, your grandfather refused to admit how things happened. Sometimes the biggest barrier you will face in life, is your pride" explained Iroh, "My pride in being part of the Fire Nation was why I eagerly agreed to be part of the war, it is part of why I marched on Ba Sing Se and it is why I left so easily when I lost my son. You'll find that Destiny does not favor anyone more than the other. All of the pain and suffering that the Fire Nation has dished out, it will back around to us at some point. That is the point of Balance"

Zuko looked at his uncle, "You've given me a lot to think about Uncle, perhaps I will rest"

"You should do that Prince Zuko, rest until your body is right and then we will work you until you are broken once more" said Iroh, "There is balance inside of each of us that we have to maintain as well, not just the four Nations. Take the time you need for your back to heal, or you will find that it will fail to carry the burdens you will need it to"

A/N: A quick chapter, this story is going to be dark, people are going to die. People are going to suffer. When I say dark, I don't mean edgy, shit will hit the fan.