Altered Destiny Chapter 4: Return of the Avatar, a Naruto + Avatar: Last Airbender Crossover fanfic

So it's been like…how long?

I know, many of you wished for an update, but here it is - and I know that from one certain Discord Server the 'Azula When?' comments might come in sooner than I expect.

Beta-readers: ZaneLockwood, Potterheadfan7

So enjoy it for I am trying to keep myself motivated to write this fic - so please leave comments down below if you want more.

Still walking through the snow, Naruto and Kurama were not oblivious to what the light behind them was.

"You think it was that kid?" Kurama asked while hiding in his friend's parka, "The Avatar, I mean."

"You mean him going to that abandoned Fire Nation ship?" Without turning around for a moment, Naruto asked, "I wouldn't be surprised."

"Yet you react so damn calmly even when you should turn right back and berate him."

"Well, what good would that do except for wasting our time on something that has already happened? Nothing." Naruto argued and continued, "And secondly, given that the light of a few nights ago from that iceberg, I was already expecting the Fire Nation to ramp up its patrols and search parties.

"But it puts you in danger - you, me, and everyone who is connected to you."

It was then both individuals stopped in their tracks, with them stopping right in front of a large circle that was anything but snow.

It was made out of solid rock, quite a rare view to see in a place like the South Pole, within the middle of that circle laid a pillar that had a hole in it that the blond began approaching.

"That is why we need to deliver this message before they arrive."

Walking up the stone pillar, it had drawings on it that looked ancient from a time before the current state of the Water Tribe, but it also had one specific drawing that was a giveaway to what its usage was.

The White Lotus.

*KEH!*

A screeching sound was heard when a messenger hawk appeared out of the hole, with a tube connected to its chest, the little man had just awoken from a slumber in its prepared nest that was made out of materials from the village.

"Hello little guy, I got a message for you to give."

He began patting the hawk over its tiny head, it liked it before it was nudging towards its chest, where the tube was.

Opening it, Naruto found a note, and there he knew it was important - two message birds within a week? That meant trouble.

"I have no time to read this, but here," The blond puts his scroll into the tube and tells the hawk, "Bring this, it is a one-way trip, do not come back."

"It sure is a one-way trip, Uzumaki."

By that, a new voice entered the circle - a familiar but unfriendly one to Naruto's memory.

"It's been a while, Commander Zhao."

Turning around, the blond was facing the Fire Nation Commander Zhao himself, who was not alone. He was accompanied by dozens of his soldiers, regulars, and firebenders who were beginning to surround the area and encircle the young man standing there next to the pillar.

"It has been way too long, kid." Zhao replied, eyeing the blond with a confident but also arrogant grin that he had, "It is not easy to catch a traitor like you."

"As if I ever showed any loyalty to the Fire Nation." Naruto replied with contempt, "After all, I am just a peasant boy from the Colonies."

"Yet a peasant who somehow managed to come close to the inner circles of the Fire Nation's Royal Family." Zhao corrected him, "Close to nobility, military, and even secrets, which I will say fits not a traitor…but a spy."

Naruto did not dispute these words in his silence, as his actions that caused him to go into exile did merit those accusations.

"For whoever you spied for, either it is the Earth Kingdom or the Northern Water Tribe, that does not matter to me, but what does is the unknown - the fear of traitors within our country," Zhao said, "A young kid like you can't escape out of the Fire Nation on his own which mean you were being helped."

He pointed out at the stone pillar with the messenger hawk inside of it.

"That hawk with the scroll leads us to the conspirators against Fire Lord Ozai - men! I order you to capture it alive!"

*POOF!*

Suddenly the whole area around them turned into smoke, catching the Fire Nation men off guard who began coughing.

"What *cough* just happened!"

"*Cough!* *Cough!* A smoke bomb!"

*CRASH!*

The sound of something smashed up against the ground alerted Zhao before he felt something fly past him.

*KEH!*

The messenger hawk just flew past him and flew out into the air and without hesitation escaped the scene.

With speed on its side, the hawk escaped Zhao's grasp as it was already high up in the air.

"I should have expected you would destroy any evidence."

The smokescreen soon disintegrated into thin air, with the pillar seen smashed into the ground, The rubble surrounding Natuto's boots that were covered in dust - showing he broke it down into pieces.

Instead of anger, Zhao smiles. "You just confirmed all my suspicions, Uzumaki. All of this destruction means that you are hiding something bigger."

"Something you will never find out," Naruto said in return, "and I'll make sure of it."

"Take him in!"

Several firebenders began throwing fire at Naruto, but he just dodged it with ease as he began to run up towards one of them who was throwing multiple fireballs at the blond.

"Look out!"

With a swift kick, Naruto smashed his leg into the firebender's helmet, enough to knock the man unconscious before he turned to the other bender. With the other firebender attempting to lay a hit on him, the blond ducked and managed to kick some snow over the man's body before he tackled the guy's legs in.

"Don't get too close to him!" Zhao warned his men, "He's at his strongest then!"

Another Fire Nation soldier tried to attack him, using a sword he tried to slash Naruto at, but instead found himself getting flanked and hit from behind in the neck.

"Ugh,"

The soldier fell to the ground after getting hit in the neck, unable to move as he made the sudden realization.

"I-I can't move!"

"Chi-blocker! He's a Chi-blocker!"

The moment that was heard the soldiers took distance from the blond with extreme caution knowing fully well what a Chi-blocker could do, with two men even grabbing the paralyzed comrade and began dragging him to safety.

"You being a Chi-blocker does not surprise me, on the contrary, it only makes so many things clearer," Zhao stated while trying to puzzle the pieces, "You being a formidable fighter, a Chi blocker, and also close to the Royal Family, you are not some low-ranking kid."

At this point, the Firebenders were taking new positions, close enough but far enough not to get caught by Naruto's new surprises, with enough standing in a bending position surrounding him from all sides.

Naruto replied, "As much as I appreciate your commentary, I have to make my way out."

"Get out? Don't make me laugh, you are surrounded, kid." Zhao stated, "There is nowhere for you to go, so do yourself a favor and surrender."

"I think you might need to set up your priorities straight, Zhao."

*BOOM!*

An explosion erupted that caught Zhao and his men off guard, with the blast being enough to cause them to hit the ground for cover, with it being a full minute before the commander of the Fire Nation troops began to turn around to the source:

His ship was in flames, but not all of it - the engine room was partly burning with the crew inside seen coming out in numbers and trying to put the fires out as fast as they could.

"Commander Zhao - he's gone!"

Turning his head back, the spot where the blond was was now void of his presence, with only the footprints visible, the boy had made his escape in the middle of the short-lived diversion.

Zhao stood back up with the help of two of his men, one of them who was the captain of the ship immediately asked for orders.

"Should we pursue him?"

"No need for that," Zhao stated to his men, surprising them as he got rid of the snow on his clothing by melting it or whipping it off, "He's not planning to stay here long now we exposed his whereabouts." Then a man from the ship, a mechanic, ran up to the commander to debrief him.

"Damage report?"

"We don't know what happened, sir. But the engine room and coal storage have suffered extensive damage," The soldier informed him, "We found traces of powder, sabotage most likely."

"How is that possible? The boy was in front of us this whole time!" The captain was surprised by this and began berating the mechanic, "If I find out someone-"

"The boy's responsible, captain, not the men." Zhao told the captain to calm him down, whipping off the last bit of snow from his shoulder, "Send out a messenger hawk to the Southern Raiders outpost and tell them what happened."

"Yes, commander."

The men dispersed to do their jobs thus leaving Zhao by himself as he walked over to the broken stone pillar that he kneeled in front of and began going through the pieces, trying to look for a clue or something. Seeing that the blond managed to destroy the emblems or anything of significance, it looked like he was wasting his time.

"Ah…interesting."

There he then pulls out what looks like a small piece of the pillar, a minuscule piece that is - with it was a drawing that looked anciently made but was something he recognized.

"Hmm, this might be a start."

…

At a long distance away from the ambush, Naruto was making his way back toward the village, with the only thing left behind him was the broken pillar and a disabled Fire Nation ship that bought him some time for now.

"Naruto!"

Turning his head, he saw Kurama running towards him, jumping right into his coat, continuing to pick up the pace. They made small talk while running.

"And?"

"Engine room and coal, light them up before they even realized it was on fire," Kurama told him, raising his head to the blond, "I don't know what you are planning next but I say we pack it up and get out of here. It's only a matter of time before more of them arrive."

"Yeah, agreed. Just need to find Aang and convince him to go now."

"What about Katara, that village?"

"Just hope that Zhao doesn't get there before I do, or send a ship there, who knows." Naruto argued, "The only thing I know is that my presence here will do no good to anyone if I stay here any longer."

As they made their way back to the village, they would only discover that they weren't the only ones who would have gotten themselves into an unwanted situation.

On the sea

Closing in, Zuko's ship was going through the icy water, closing in on the local village they spotted a few hours ago. And this meant preparing for conflict.

Walking through the hallways to go to his nephew, Iroh watched as the men on the ship were getting themselves ready for the expected battle in the Water Tribe village they were going to enter, with their blades being sharpened and firebenders putting their helmets on and practicing their bending technique. This didn't impress him as he knew the truth of what they most likely would come across were some communities of women, children, and elderly people who were no threat to them.

But when he entered his nephew's chamber, he saw him wearing his full gear, chest plates, and leg protectors, all with the help of his men who were dressing him up, the final touch was the three-pronged helmet that was put on him.

"Excuse me."

Zuko heard this and saw who it was at the door. "Uncle?"

"If you don't mind me speaking with my nephew in private?"

The two men nodded and walked out of the room, allowing the Dragon of the West and the Exiled Prince to be alone for a private discussion.

"What is it, uncle? I am trying to prepare myself for the upcoming battle," Zuko said while working his shoulder armor, "We don't know what we will face."

"What you most likely will face is a village full of children, women, and elderly - with most likely a hundred-year-old man who perhaps cannot fight," Iroh told his nephew, "The Southern Water Tribe has long been reduced to small communities by previous actions over the decades."

"Yes, I know, you told me that already."

"The men have all long left to fight in the Earth Kingdom, with even some of the local young population having moved to the Colonies to work." Iroh continued, "This is why I am here to ask you something very important."

"Uncle, stop wasting my time and say it already," Zuko turned irritated to his uncle and mentor, "What do you wish me to do?"

"Try to keep the damage as small as possible, know that we are dealing with an already defeated tribe, because if you are going to fight the Avatar, show mercy to the locals."

"You want me to give a pass to those hiding the Avatar?"

"I am asking you to do the same when you see what happened in the War Room, Prince Zuko - have compassion."

This request alongside the recalling of that memory of a few years ago earned the silence that took the room over. With the most likely chance, this would've been a rejection at first by the scarred prince.

"Fine, I will do that." Zuko conceded, turning back around to grab his helmet, he was ready to put it on his head, "But if one fights, I cannot be weak."

"I am not asking you to be weak, Prince Zuko - but to be wise and compassionate,"

Putting the helmet on his head, Zuko nodded and sighed.

"You sound just like him."

Then it happened one of the men of the ship arrived, with a message he was to give.

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh - the village is within our sights."

Aang

After the debacle that he caused with the boobytrap he set off in the destroyed ship, Aang found himself banished by the village, now with Appa sitting on ice somewhere outside the village where the thick mist covered them. Feeling guilty for his curiosity, Aang was thinking about what to do now as he was unable to properly say goodbye to everyone, with only his flying Bison as his company.

Appa growled, lying on its back this somehow was understood by his big buddy who sorrowfully responded.

"Yeah, I liked her too."

It was then the sound of the local animals like the penguins howling at something that caught Aang's attention - there he saw a Fire Nation ship advancing to the small Water Tribe village that could not see them because of the mist.

"The village!" Aang gasped, seeing they were about to reach the village, he needed to act. Sliding off the ice formation he then turned to his friend and told him, "Appa, wait here."

Appa responds by merely grunting lazily, prompting the Airbender to then leave.

The Village

Standing on the wall that was meant as a defense for his home, Sokka was standing there in his battle gear, with the traditional war paint on his face. He was armed with his club and boomerang as he was waiting for the Fire Nation - Alone.

The villagers themselves were trying to do some chores to keep their minds off the fact they would face the Fire Nation again. With even the mothers having trouble calming their children from what was to come.

Then a loud crack was heard, jerking up every head towards the foggy horizon with faces turning into fear at what was to come. With fright to see what the source of the noise was.

Kanna, who was sitting on a log by a campfire, sent the small children off, gasping for air as then the ground began to rumble underneath them - like a quack.

And just like a quack, it began to tremble the village from small cracks underneath Sokka's feet to his tower crumbling down on itself and then collapsing, much to the displeasure of the lone warrior.

Sokka sounded disappointed, "Oh, man!"

Panic ensued then as they began to flee from the scene, with Katara seen trying to help bring anyone to safety while she saw Sokka still standing his ground and waiting for them to arrive.

They arrived when the large shadowy figure appeared in front of the Water Tribe young man who was astonished by the size of the ship, something he hadn't seen since he was a child.

The ship continued to cut through the ice before it finally reached the village walls, causing Katara to shout to her brother before it was too late.

"Sokka, get out of the way!"

The bow of the ship plows through the snow. Sokka raises his club in defense, ready to strike.

But before he can strike, however, the bow shatters a large section of the wall into snow-covered rubble. The snow slides down and pushes Sokka back several meters before he comes to a halt with a loud hiss of steam, the ship also comes to a halt.

Not having even disembarked, the damage was already heavy for the village that now was barely standing, with slowly the small population coming out in droves and fear.

Burst of steam was released when the bow of the massive vessel began to be lowered down to where Sokka was, who was forced to take another few steps back to avoid getting crushed.

The bow was also a walkway where out of the ship walked three figures in red and black armor: that being Prince Zuko and two of his guards following him as he made his way downwards.

This was when the villagers began to hurdle up in one big group, with Katara up front with his grandmother, fearing what was to come.

But it was then that Sokka let out a battle cry and charged at the prince with his club - which resulted in the prince simply knocking the club out of his hand and then kicking Sokka in the face, sending him to the other side - with his head landing in the pile of snow.

With Sokka now stuck with his head in the pile of snow, there was nothing else that the villagers could do but watch the Fire Nation come into their home.

Standing in front of them, it didn't take long for Zuko's eyes to wander around, looking for something as he passed to the right, looking into the small crowd who were no threat.

"Where are you hiding him?" Zuko angrily commanded, yet did not raise his voice further.

The villagers only stood there in silence, not daring to respond, it was then that Zuko made the move by grabbing one person from the crowd, Kanna of all people, and yanking her by the parka.

"He'd be about this age, master of all the elements?"

Still no response from the villagers, Zuko shoved the elderly woman back into the crowd, into Katara's arm as they remained silent. This was testing Zuko's patience.

Zuko swings his arm out and releases an arc of fire that passes just over the heads of the people, causing them to cover their heads and cry out in fear.

"I know you're hiding him!"

Sokka's hand was only a few inches away from his club that was lying in the snow, he was about to rise and take this man out from behind, even if it would cost his own life.

"Stand down, Sokka."

Hearing that got Sokka's hand to flinch as he dropped his club, the Fire Nation soldiers noticed him and aimed their blades at him, about to neutralize him permanently-

"Zuko, order your men to stand down!"

Hearing that voice again, now Zuko's eyes widened as he turned to the crowd.

"No…"

Appearing from the crowd was a male close to Zuko's age and Katara who was looking at him with a horrified expression, as she was about to tell him to stop but got held back by her grandmother.

Wearing the same parka as them, the young man stood out with his tanned skin, whiskers, and blond hair, and the only blond person the exiled prince knew.

"Naruto-Ah!"

Without being given a chance to properly understand the situation Zuko's head took a spin in a literal sense when Aang came sliding in riding on a penguin and knocked the prince off his feet, his legs in the air. He spins around a few times before coming to a halt in front of his men, his helmet landing on his rear as they watch - A sight truly to behold.

The arrival of Aang alone made the children of the village happy to see him return, even when they got covered in snow by the Airbender sending a wave over their faces, something they at first were irritated at until they weren't.

Jumping off the penguin, Aang landed right next to his blond new friend with his staff pointed out, turning to his friends.

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka."

"Hey Aang," Sokka began moodily, still surrounded by the fire nation soldiers and on the ground, "Thanks for coming."

Then turning to his blond friend, Aang asked, "Are you alright?"

"Me? Sure, our friend out there," Naruto mentioned to the prince, "He's angry, for sure."

He meant Zuko who got back on his feet again. Upon his signal, his men spread out, surrounding Aang while Zuko assumes a fighting stance.

Aang assumes a fighting stance as well and surprises them by sweeping the ground side-to-side with his staff, showering the men with snow in all directions, leaving Zuko for last.

Zuko was already braced for the impact. After being sprayed with snow, and heating it so it would melt off, Zuko looked up angrily but also surprised, a mixture of both as he looked at the two standing in front of him.

Aang went on to ask, "Looking for me?"

"Really Naruto? Of all places, you are here?" Zuko asked now still in shock and his stance, "Here, and with the Avatar?"

The revelation was met with shock, a shock to the villagers but especially to the two siblings.

"Aang?" Katara muttered in surprise.

Sokka laid just bewildered, "No way!"

It was then that a firebender took off and broke through the circle, this man was noticed by Naruto, and his helmet was knocked off - he turned out to be a middle-aged man with gray hair and sideburns, he looked directly at the blond.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Lieutenant Jee." Naruto recognized the middle-aged warrior, not lowering his stance down, he looked at the old acquaintance, "It is nice to see you still breathing, old man."

"Likewise."

Turning back to the main two, Naruto saw Aang and Zuko staring at one another while making circles around one another, waiting for the first person to make a move.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training, meditating." Zuko sounded angrily disappointed at what he saw, "You're just a child!"

Aang simply replied in confusion at his opponent with a tilted head, "Well, you're just a teenager."

Zuko responded by sending a series of fire blasts at Aang in anger, who defends himself by twirling his staff around to dissipate the flames into thin air.

Naruto watched as he tried to help the Avatar, but Lieutenant Jee got into his face and blocked him.

"Don't interfere."

About to fight him, Naruto then saw him gesture down at the ground, seeing how one firebender held his fist and pointed at Sokka who was now at their mercy.

"Jee…"

"Please don't…just surrender."

Then loud screaming caught the men off guard, seeing the villagers cower as the flames streamed through the air over their heads, with women covering their crying children while screaming in fear themselves.

And by this, Aang was the first to yield, lowering his staff he demanded, "

"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

The proposition that was just proposed was still met with swords poised at him but after a brief moment, Zuko nodded in agreement, as this was the best outcome for him.

"Naruto, lower your guard."

With the firebenders still aiming for the blond, he began to lower his arms, much to the dismay of two-

"NO!"

"GO AWAY!"

Several snowballs flew and hit the Firebenders on their helmets, with them coming from the crowd, two small girls, it being Siku and Sura who both were bending the snow at the soldiers in a desperate attempt to stop them from taking their big brother captive.

"Waterbenders?"

The pale look on the faces of the villagers was enough to cause someone to scream.

"STOP!"

Siku and Sura didn't stop as both worked together to send a stream of snow at the Firebender Jee, who just evaporated the snow with one punch of flame he used to melt it on the spot.

The size of Jee alone caused the sibling girls to then stand back frightened. Without thinking and acting out of emotions, they have just revealed their abilities to the Fire Nation…

"Arrest Naruto and the Avatar," Zuko commanded immediately, telling his men to prioritize, "We are not here to arrest little girls."

One Firebender pressed, "But Prince Zuko, they are Waterbenders, the policy is to arrest them all-"

"That's an order!"

The nameless soldier heard the voice of Jee as he was the one to confirm the order that was given.

He still looked at the two girls who now were looking at him directly, the veteran man turned back around to his men.

"Arrest them, now!"

Aang was immediately apprehended by Zuko's men who took his staff and began to escort him to the ship under heavy guard, with Zuko observing it from a distance.

He turned then to where Naruto was standing, as he was about to be taken in, it was then when the two younger sisters ran up to him, in tears and scared.

"No! Please don't go!"

"Big brother!"

Naruto looked at the Fire Nation veteran soldier, who could only look away, unable to see him in the eye - he however conceded:

"Say your farewell, kid."

Nodding, Naruto kneeled to the height of the two sisters and smiled at them and saw their tearing eyes, then embraced them into his arms and hugged them tightly as they did in return, with their tiny arms gripping him hard and trembling in sadness.

"You both are strong girls, you know that? You will grow into strong Waterbenders, I know that - so promise me you will be brave while I'm gone, alright?"

The sniffing into his parka could be heard and felt, but they both nodded hesitantly, looking up at their older brother figure with all the strength they could build.

"Don't worry about me, alright?" Naruto reassured them, "I'll be okay."

"Promise?" The small girl with the buns asked, "Will you?"

Naruto smiled at the smaller sister and said, "Of course - I don't break my promises."

The small happy moment ended with Jee placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder, with him breaking it.

"Let's go."

Naruto nodded and proceeded to pat the sisters on the cheeks and stood up to then be escorted by the Lieutenant to the ship. All in front of the rest of the villagers.

"No! Aang, Naruto!" Katara ran forward, and she begged, "Don't do this!"

"Don't worry, Katara. We'll be okay," Naruto told her in a calm tone, now surrounded by more soldiers who eyed him suspiciously without dropping their guard on him.

Aang was in the same situation by getting shoved into the ship, also being surprisingly calm. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back."

Zuko was the last to enter the ship, giving the orders.

"Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home."

Sokka just lay there on the ground, as he watched his sister kneel to the two little sisters, and they all then watched the bow of the ship closing up once the last man reached the top of the walkway.

The last sight was Aang giving a reassuring smile while Naruto was being shoved further into the ship - not allowed to have one last glimpse of the people with whom he had lived for a time.

As the hatch closed - they were leaving the South Pole soon.

A half-hour later

Not soon after the capture of the Avatar, the Prince's ship was making its course already out into the sea, with them having no other course but the Fire Nation.

Aang was still held on the deck of the ship, it was Naruto who was considered the more dangerous threat as he was put already in the prisoner hold where he was put under surveillance by several of the guards who were eying him from four different angles.

All while Naruto was chained from behind his back, both arms to the steel floor, he was holding his head up and staring at the ground to avoid any eye contact, who he could sense were staring at him.

'They haven't even checked your parka.'

'I don't think they're ordered to, Kurama.'

'Exactly, something smells fishy.'

'That might be the cooking.'

'Shut up.'

Then the steel door opened, causing the conversation to stop and all eyes in that room to turn to whoever was entering.

Coming in were both Lieutenant Jee and the Dragon of the West and Zuko's uncle - General Iroh, both having been saluted on the spot by the guards.

"General Iroh, Lieutenant Jee."

"Men, leave this room for now," Jee ordered his men, "The general wishes to speak to the prisoner alone."

The guards nodded and began to leave the room.

"Lieutenant, please guard the door outside, the men deserve a break."

"Of course…General." Jee responded with a bow before he left the room. Allowing Iroh and Naruto to be left alone for their little reunion…

"It has been a long time, Naruto."

"It has been, old man."

"Please Naruto, we are closer than that - call me uncle," Iroh said with a smile. Sitting down on the floor and genuinely happy to see the blond even in these circumstances, "After all, you are nearly close to being like a real nephew to me with the antics you've been into."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do-"

"Shut up, Kurama."

"I believe Kurama is in agreement with me on this," Iroh said with a chuckle, and asked, "Dare coming out of that parka?"

"Of course, Iroh." Kurama popped his head out and looked at the old general before turning to the boy above, "It is nice seeing you, even when circumstances do not favor us."

"Excuse me?"

"Zhao is here."

"Is he?..." The reaction of Iroh was that of calm as he stroked his beard, "This is not good, he's been searching for you for years now - almost obsessed with it from the looks of it."

"He didn't look obsessed, but I sensed it on him."

"Agreed, especially for a man like him who seeks glory," Iroh told the fox friend and turned to Naruto, "Have you made sure to erase any traces of our friends?"

"The stone pillar is destroyed and my messenger hawk flew out to our allies," Naruto informed him without too many details, "I got a message when I arrived there but didn't have the chance to read it."

"Most likely it was a warning of Zhao's incursion to find you, given his sworn oath to track you down is well known across the Fire Nation by now, an unhealthy element even when he's rising through the ranks," Iroh explained to him and then asked, "Where are you planning to go now?"

"I don't know."

"Are you about to join the Avatar?"

…

"For the moment, I have no other choice, do I?" Naruto replied with a question, "That is my duty as a member of the White Lotus, isn't it?"

*BANG!*

A loud bang was heard from above as it sounded like something had attacked the ship, but then the loud shout of some unnamed soldier could be heard.

"The Avatar has escaped!"

Naruto and Iroh looked at one another and then nodded.

"Kurama."

"Right."

The small fox jumped out from the parka and turned to Naruto's chains, only to take a large bit out of the metal and crunch it underneath his strong teeth like it was nothing freeing the young man's arms.

"Easy."

"Make your escape quickly," Iroh said as he stood up with Naruto, pulling out underneath his sleeve a scroll he handed to his subordinate member, "If you travel with the Avatar, give this to any of our friends on your journey - you know which locations I mean?"

"Of course, I do," Naruto accepted the scroll, "Kyoshi, Omashu, anything."

"With that scroll, you will be given the necessary supplies and information that will help the Avatar get to the North Pole - a task that we trust upon you."

"Yes, I know, master."

"Now go," Iroh told him, "Do your duty."

Kurama went back into Naruto's parka, he stood up and ran up to the steel door, only to find Jee standing there to open it.

They stood there still for a moment before Jee placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded before motioning for Naruto to hurry along.

Naruto proceeded to do so with a smile and left in a hurry.

Once out of sight, Iroh approached the lieutenant who watched the blond disappear through the hallway, leaving the two by themselves, with the older man seeing the seasoned veteran's face of worry.

"Trust in the boy, Jee."

"I do, it's the Avatar who I am concerned about," Jee complained shaking his head, "I think that in a different life, Naruto would fit as a better Avatar."

Iroh chuckled, "Perhaps, but everyone got to start somewhere,"

…

Running through the hallways, Naruto was trying to make his way up toward the deck, hearing only blasts and grunts, sounding like fighting was going on from the top, he finally got to some stairs and climbed to the open deck.

And on that deck were Aang and Zuko, both spotting Naruto having joined them.

Aang smiled, "Naruto!"

"Naruto!" Zuko angrily yelled at him.

This caused the air and firebender to look at each other in quick confusion.

*Growl!*

Zuko wondered, "What is that?"

Another sound joined in the standoff, it coming from the sky - a flying bison was seen heading for the ship - with sitting in the saddle it is Katara and Sokka.

Aang looked overjoyed, "Appa!"

"Aang! Focus!"

The warning came too late when Zuko fired multiple flames at the Airbender, who deflected the fires while being sent nearly over the edge with his staff.

"There's the prisoner!" Several soldiers came out and spotted Naruto, "Surround him!"

Naruto himself was surrounded quickly by Zuko's men, causing them to be obstacles to helping Aang who-

"HA!"

Got hit by one last blast sent by Zuko, knocking him out cold and he fell backward off the ship into the cold water,

"Aang!"

It was then Zuko turned back to Naruto, surrounding him and outnumbered, the blond got into his defensive stance, with Zuko about to speak-

*SPLASH!*

A humongous spinning water vortex erupted from the water that stood taller than the ship itself, and on top of that vortex was Aang with his eyes glowing white with his arrow tattoos also glowing brightly.

Those on deck were shocked to see this but before they could react properly, Aang landed in the middle of the ship - with the huge stream of water under his control, making his next move:

Aang brought his hands around behind his head. The water swirls around him, forming a protective circle, before spreading outward, knocking those soldiers out and even knocking some into the water.

Among those unlucky was Zuko who fell into the water, and with only Naruto spared from the water sending him off, he stood there by himself and was staring at Aang.

"So this is the Avatar Trance…"

Watching as the glowing ended, the boy began to fall on his knees - prompting Naruto to get over there quickly before he hit his head on the floor, just as Appa began to land down on the deck.

"Aang! Are you okay?"

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Hey Naruto," Aang sounded exhausted, "Thanks for coming."

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory." Sokka joked.

Aang looked over, "I dropped my staff."

"Sokka will get it, let me help you out," Naruto said grabbing Aang by the arms and pulling up up as he started going for Appa.

As Sokka went on to grab the staff that Aang used earlier, he happened to be not the only one trying to grab it - with Zuko also having gotten a hold of it, trying to climb himself back on deck.

The two struggle for a bit before Sokka pokes Zuko repeatedly in the head, causing him to fall off the ship and only grab the anchor in time before he can fall into the water.

"Ha!" Sokka sounded triumphant, "That's from the Water Tribe!"

Katara helped Aang get on Appa's head but then spotted several Fire Nation soldiers grab for their blades, trying to stop them from leaving.

Seeing them, Katara started to swing her arms around in an attempt to whip them with her bending, however, only succeeded in freezing a channel of water behind her on the deck, encasing Sokka's legs in ice in the process.

"Katara!"

The soldiers resume their approach to Katara.

Quickly thinking, she turned around and did the same swing again with a stream of water hitting them this time, she looked around to see the soldiers frozen in the water with one of them nearly having reached her with his hand.

"Everybody on!" Naruto shouted, turning to Sokka who was cutting himself loose, "Sokka, hurry!"

"I'm just a guy, with a boomerang," Sokka muttered while freeing himself from the ice with his boomerang, "I didn't ask for all this flying and magic!"

"Come on!"

"Coming!" Sokka shouted as he ran up Appa's tail, "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!"

Appa took off again and started to fly off from the ship's deck, just as Iroh and Jee came out from the deck, watching as they were stunned to see the flying beast right in front of their eyes.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?"

"No, Lieutenant, they are not…"

With Appa greatening his distance away from the Fire Nation ship, it was at this time that Zuko managed to get back on deck with the help of his uncle, and saw the Avatar about to escape.

"Shoot them down!"

With Appa flying only upwards to gain more altitude, Zuko and Iroh worked together by synchronizing a firebending move and sent a powerful blast of fire, directed at the bison.

Just before it could reach them, Aang leaps onto the saddle and opens the small tail wing of his staff, swings his glider around with a powerful swipe of air he uses to redirect the fireball into a nearby cliffside.

This caused the fireball to crash into the ice wall, with the impact causing an avalanche of snow and ice to begin falling to the ship and crashing into the front of it with a huge amount of ice and snow halting them.

This provides the perfect moment for Appa to fly away, escaping out of Zuko's grasp and that of the Fire Nation.

On the deck of the ship, Iroh rose back up from the impact with Lieutenant Jee helping him up, both watched the prince on the floor.

"Good news for the Fire Lord," Iroh spoke easily of this event, "The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid."

"And the bad news is that he's joined by the fugitive, Uncle." Zuko responded with held-back rage to him, "And that "kid", Uncle, just did this. I won't underestimate him again."

Lieutenant Jee asked, "Should I send a messenger hawk for help, Prince Zuko?"

"...Yes, but say we came across Naruto and he escaped us, I don't want anyone else to know now that the Avatar is alive," Zuko responded and ordered, "And Dig the ship out and follow them!"

"Uhm…" Jee pointed out to the back.

There Fire Nation soldiers were using their bending to melt the ice around the victims of the water-bending attack.

"As soon as you're done with that."

Once finishing his orders, Zuko turned back to the sky that now was void of the flying creature that was carrying the avatar…

…and the person he once called his best friend.

Later

Among the clouds, Appa was flying at his normal pace with no danger in sight as the day was reaching its end with the sun settling down, Aang was perched on the rim of the saddle while Sokka and Katara sat at the back of it with Naruto who was observing it all with Kurama on his lap.

"How did you do that?! With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" Katara spoke utterly bewildered by what she had witnessed earlier.

Aang just buried his head in his shoulders while answering, "I don't know. I just sort of ... did it."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?"

The question that was on Naruto's mind was asked by Katara, watching more closely now the blond wanted to know what the answer was, with Kurama also watching with curiosity.

"Because ... I never wanted to be," Aang answered while looking away, saddened by it.

Hearing this got Naruto and Kurama to look at each other, this they did not expect - but nodded in agreement to not talk about it for now.

It was at this point a a dark cloud passed overhead, shadowing Appa and everyone on it before

shafts of sunlight streaming through the clouds and on them.

"But Aang," Katara began calmly, trying to speak to the young boy, "the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war."

"And how am I going to do that?"

"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?" Katara brought up.

Aang looked at her, "That's what the monks told me."

"Well, if we go to the North Pole," Katara began to brighten up, "you can master waterbending!"

This helped Aang be excited, "We can learn it together!"

"And Sokka," Katara turned to her brother, "I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way."

"I'd like that." Sokka said, lowkey looking forward to it "I'd reeally like that."

"Naruto?" Aang turned to him, "What about you?"

Naruto and Kurama looked at one another before they smiled and replied to him.

"Sure, why not?"

Katara smiled brightly at him, "Then we're in this together!"

"All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to." Aang sounded ecstatic as he pulled out a scroll from out of nowhere, revealing it to be a map and pointing out several places. "Here, here, and here."

"What's there?"

While Aang was explaining his reasons for going there to Katara, Naruto found himself getting pocked in the shoulder by Sokka, who handed him over a package.

"Don't open it yet - it's from the village," Sokka whispered to him, "Open it later."

Hearing that caused Naruto to be curious but nodded to it.

With Aang's crazy plans being fully displayed, Appa just flew through the sky to who knows where.

Starting the journey with the Avatar.

Meanwhile

Deep inside Fire Nation territory, off the shores of the homeland, a massive ship that was bigger than that of the Prince, just left port.

On the deck sat a young lady who was reading a scroll she had just handed over, with her two advisors at the side.

"With news like that, confirmed by Zhao and Zuko - that means two ships are damaged in the South Pole with the same description of the suspect."

"That clears all doubt and means we now know where he was."

The advisors are known as Lo and Li, and the person with whom they just were assigned, was someone from the Royal Family, a young upcoming woman who was just eager to find this person.

Her name was Azula, and the smile on her face was both genuine and terrifying which fit the beauty.