Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Avatar Aang had failed his people. Again.

    The old monk gripped the reigns of his sky bison as he took off into the air, away from the burning Eastern Air Temple that he had called home for decades. The Fire Nation had done it; they destroyed the last of the Air Temple after almost 80 years of war. Aang could see the Earth Kingdom ships frantically pull away from the shore down below to return North, to return to the safety of Ba Sing Se. 

    Aang flew behind the Fire Navy, his white beard whipping behind his shoulder as he did. Fire Lord Azulon’s Navy had tore through Kyoshi Island and the nearby Archipelago just to finish what Sozin started: the total eradication of the Air Nomads. And yet, Aang lived on. He just barely survived the attack on the other Air Temples when he was 12 and escaped East, being harbored by the White Lotus in Ba Sing Se and the Eastern Air Temple until he mastered all four elements, but the shock of learning that his would-be Firebending teacher and long-time friend was actually the son of the one responsible for the destruction across the globe broke Aang. He had the pleasure of growing up with King Bumi and the two learning Earthbending together and Aang had wanted the same with Kuzon. 

    But Kuzon had lied to him all those years ago. Kuzon had lied about his real identity, his status and how easily he was pulled into Sozin’s madness. Aang had dreamed of growing old with Kuzon and Bumi, their children running around a grass field as they trained new benders in their individual elements, but that was a child’s fantasy. Kuzon had passed from old age, but left behind a country of turmoil for his son Azulon, two grandsons and even two very young great-grandsons that Aang would never meet and Aang was the first Avatar in recorded history to never learn Firebending. He hated it, despite the Monk’s teachings of the life-bringing abilities of flame. Anytime Aang smelled smoke, he wanted to waterbend to quench any flame from the world. 

    Because fire was the element that he associated with Kuzon and Kuzon had just destroyed the Eastern Air Temple.

    Aang steered his bison, Appa, southwest towards the ruins of the Southern Air Temple. He had visited the ruins during his hidden life, but never opened the vault within. He remembered many decades ago when Monk Gyatso told him that the vault could only be opened when he was a fully realized Avatar. Well, Aang figured, he was nearly 100 years old even if he never mastered the four elements, what’s more realization than the wisdom that came with age? 

    The old man wasted no time in finding the vault. He trekked past the airball stadium that was weed choked and the burned down bison stables to go deeper into the temple. Upon finding the large door with the seal of the Air Nation locking it, Aang felt a sense of deja vü from the experience despite having never been inside before. Someone sighed behind him. 

    “I knew that I would find you here, old man.” 

    The Monk turned around to see a young woman with black hair and sparkling amber eyes. The robe she wore was thick with white fur, but was a deep maroon in color. She was Ursa, the granddaughter of the previous Avatar Roku and was the wife of Fire Lord Azulon’s second eldest son. What was the young prince’s name? Ozai? Aang had known Ursa’s mother Rina in her life and visited Ember Island in the Fire Nation as often as he could to see the family of his previous life. Now that family was intertwined with the family that killed Aang’s entire Nation. His heart ached for her in knowing that this was only because Azulon wanted a grandchild from Roku’s line. 

    “If your husband knew you were here and not with your son—“ Aang was interrupted by a sudden hug from the young princess. 

    “Forgive me, Uncle Aang,” she used the title of Uncle despite Aang technically being her grandfather, “but I couldn’t stop the attack no matter how much I pleaded with Iroh, so I thought that you would come for the vault. My ladies in waiting are watching young Zuko now and are awaiting my return, but this is far more important. I don’t want you to see what the vault holds alone.”

    Aang stepped away from her, taken aback by her words. This was the first time she had referred to her and Ozai’s son by name. “Very well, my dear, but please stand back. I could never wish to see you harmed.”

    She did as she was instructed and watched as the old monk dropped into an Airbending stance. He pushed his arms forward and with them, a gust of wind found its way into the holes of the seal, creating a large resonating sound and letting the doors creak open. Aang stood up straight and felt a slight pain in his ribs. Dismissing the pain as a sign of old age, he held his arm out to Ursa. “Care to join me?”

    She took it with a small smile. “Let’s see what wisdom awaits you.”

    The two stepped inside tentatively, not wanting to disturb anything the vault held. Aang was surprised to come face to face with a stone statue of Ursa’s grandfather, Avatar Roku and quickly realized that the room was filled with stone statues.

    “They’re all Avatars?” Ursa approached the statue of Avatar Szeto. “Is this room some sort of spiritual place?”

    Aang didn’t answer her, instead he stepped around the statue and made his way to the center of the chamber, finding that the statues all spiraled down to the middle of the room. There was a blank spot where Aang’s statue would have stood if monks still lived in the temple. He sat down in the space and folded his legs into the lotus position, pushing his tattooed fists together and closing his eyes.

    Ursa watched the old man sit in silence meditating for a few minutes. She felt a sense of honor in being the first non-Air Nomad to ever step into this room, but at the same time felt like a violator of a sacred space. Part of her wanted to rush back to Appa and return to the Golden City to hold her baby tight, but another part of her knew that Avatar Aang needed company. Only hours ago he had watched the total annihilation of his people and now he sought guidance from his past lives. Ursa hoped that he found what he was looking for.

    Aang waited for the spirits of past avatars to appear, but nothing happened. He sat for a few more minutes, hoping to hear some wise proverb from Yangchen, a song from Kuruk, a kind word from Roku or even a playful jab from Kyoshi, but the only sound Aang heard were the soft steps of Ursa as she examined the statue of her grandfather. He opened his eyes and looked at the young woman with a sorrowful expression, ignoring that the pain in his chest was growing. “My dear, why don't you return to your nation? Nothing awaits you here but a sad old man such as myself.”

    Ursa crossed her arms and leaned against Kyoshi’s tall statue. “Because this is bigger than a single nation. If the Fire Lord truly succeeded, then you are the last Air Monk alive and I refuse to let you mourn alone.”

    Aang noticed how she never referred to Azulon by name, only as Fire Lord. “Then come sit by me, don't be a stranger,” he smiled at her, “and tell this old man stories of your son. Zuko, was it? Tell me about the boy.”

    She did as he said and crossed her legs next to him, letting him lean his bald head against her shoulder. “Well, the baby prince certainly eats like you. Once, we must have mashed up nearly ten bananas to keep Zuko full! His favorite spot in the castle is the turtleduck pond. Every time I take him there, he laughs and wants to get his feet wet. It’s a shame that he will grow up in the Golden City, I would have loved to bring him to Whaletail Island for a trip.”

    Ursa looked down at the monk who leaned against her and examined his peaceful face. His expressions were slack and Ursa could no longer hear his breathing. She gently laid him down on the vault floor and placed a kiss on the arrow tattoo on Aang’s forehead. “Don't worry, Uncle, I will find you again, one day.”

    She left him in the vault and returned to Appa, who nuzzled her and looked for his master. Ursa buried her face in his white coat and breathed deeply. She knew that somewhere in the Water Tribes of the north and south, a child was just born who would try to end this war. Ursa reached up and undid Appa’s reins and saddle, letting them fall to the ground. 

    “Go now,” she whispered to him, “There is nothing for you here.”

    The Sky Bison groaned in a way that reminded Ursa of a koiwhale’s soulful voice. She watched as Appa took to the sky and disappeared into the clouds, leaving the Fire Nation woman alone in the temple. She pulled her fur coat tighter around herself and returned to the komodo rhino that awaited her near the airball stadium. As her mount scaled the side of the mountain to the small Fire Nation fishing boat below, Ursa wondered how she would be able to send a message to the White Lotus to inform them of Avatar Aang’s fate. She received her answer when she reached the boat and saw her brother-in-law Iroh waiting for her.

    “Climbing to the temple without a Bison is risky business, Ursa.” He smiled faintly at her. “And it would do you well to hire more tight-lipped nannies for Prince Zuko.”

    Ursa stepped onto the boat and embraced him. “You always know how to exploit my maids with your charms, what good would it do?”

    Iroh paused to stroke his short black beard. “The Avatar’s bison flew overhead not too long ago without a saddle. Is he--”

    “Gone. Do you think it is wise to alert the Water Sages and have them begin the search for the next avatar?”

    “Yes, but that information cannot come from either of us. I will send a messenger hawk to Prince Kuei in Ba Sing Se and let the White Lotus decide where to begin the search.” Iroh rested his arm against the side of the small boat. “I also have contacts in the two poles who can begin the search themselves.”

    “Then what should I do?” Ursa also leaned against the side of the small boat.

    “Go home, sister, and be with your son. I will leave you once we pass the edge of the Archipelago and return to Kyoshi Island to meet the Fire Lord’s fleet, but make haste. If it is revealed that you aided the Avatar in his final moments, who knows what will happen to you or your son.”

    Ursa nodded and turned to the setting sun in the distance. She knew that to the East behind her, the entire south Archipelago burned from the conquest of Azulon’s navy. The sun disappeared behind the horizon and the world fell silent save the sound of the waves against the side of the boat. Ursa let a single tear slip down the side of her face.

    The moon was rising now. The Winter Solstice had begun.

Chapter Text

    The two Water Tribe children sat in silence, staring at the icy water in anticipation. The older one, a boy with his hair pulled back into a Warrior’s Wolf Tail, held up a wooden spear with a tooth on the end for the point. He put a gloved finger to his lips and angled the spearhead at the water, the small fish below swimming just under the surface of the blue. 

    The girl sat back, a bored look on her face. Her shockingly blue eyes took in the landscape of icebergs around her while her companion stalked the fish with murderous intent.

    “Sokka, this is stupid, why can’t I just use my--”

    “ Shh ! You’ll scare the fish and I refuse to eat any more dried seaweed for dinner!” The boy glared at the girl and thrust the spear into the water. He pulled it back out and saw that he had speared the fish through its middle. “Yes! Katara, put this one in the bag!”

    The girl rolled her eyes with a smirk at Sokka’s excitement and took the fish off of the spearhead. She held a hand over the fish and moved her fingers slightly. Like magic, bits of water on and inside the fish slowly flew up to Katara’s fingertips, drying the fish instantly. She set the fish in the lionsealskin bag at the bottom of the wooden canoe they sat in. “That makes five. Is that enough?”

    Sokka sighed. “Yeah, okay. The first two were pretty big, the little ones can have those. So…” he looked around the icy waters surrounding them. “How are we gonna get back to the village?”

    Katara scoffed. “I thought that you were the master canoe steerer.”

    “And I thought that you were some magical water girl, but clearly we were both wrong.” Sokka spit back. 

    The young girl put a gloved hand to her chin and thought for a second. “We went west from Sedna’s Cove, passed the Fire Nation shipwreck and then north, so that means we need to go southeast to get back to the village.”

    “Sounds about right. Let’s go.” Sokka set the spear down and picked up an oar.

    The two paddled for a bit, letting their wooden canoe glide across the blue water and around floating sheets of ice. After a while, Katara stopped paddling and squinted her eyes. “Hey, Sokka?”

    “Why’d you stop?” Her older brother asked.

    “I think I see another boat!” Katara pointed into the distance.

    Sokka’s eyes widened. “Is it the Fire Nation?”

    “No… it’s a canoe like ours, but I don't see any people on it.”

    “It’s probably a decoy from the Fire Nation. Let’s just go around it.” Sokka began to turn the boat.

    “No! What if someone needs help, we’d be leaving them to starve!” Katara whipped her head around, her long dark hair flipping with her. She raised her arms and thrust them down, a wave of water propelling the canoe towards the new arrival. Sokka yelped and held the oar firm so as to not let the boat turn or flip over.

    The young man grit his teeth and fought back against his sister’s waterbending. “Katara, I’m telling you that it’s not worth it! Let’s just go home before you--”

    He let up his grip on his oar for a second and the canoe flipped. Both were launched into the icy water of the South Pole and Sokka quickly stuck his head up out of the water, gasping for air. “ Kataraaaaaa !”

    The girl came up for air and glared at Sokka. “If you hadn’t been so stubborn and just checked out the canoe, I wouldn’t have flipped us!”

    Sokka swam over to a floating ice sheet and hauled himself out of the water, his blue fur parka completely soaked. “Oh, so it’s my fault for trying to keep us away from the Fire Nation?! Get out of the water before you freeze to death!”

    Katara climbed up next to him. “Waterbenders don't worry about the cold. You would know that if you were a bender!”

    Sokka grumbled under his breath and fished his spear from the water. “Oh great, we lost the fish! Why don't you waterbend us home and into dry clothes?”

    His sister huffed. “Looks like we have to check out the other canoe after all.”

    He didn’t reply, only following her across the ice sheet towards the other wooden boat. Upon closer inspection, the two realized that the side of the canoe had carvings of swirls decorating it. The center of the boat had a dark blue cloth draped over both sides to rest oars on as well. Katara leaned over the side of the canoe and gasped. “Sokka, there’s someone here!”

    She climbed into the canoe despite her brother’s protests and sat down, cradling the person's head. Sokka was shocked to see that the young woman in the boat had white hair and wore dark blue fur. She seemed like she was from the Water Tribe, but neither recognized her. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing a light blue color, and she glanced around. 

    “Where… where am I?” Her voice was barely audible.

    “Don't answer that, she could be a spy!” Sokka whispered harshly.

    Katara ignored him and stroked her forehead with a glove. “It’s okay, we’ve got you. I’m Katara and the elephant koi over there is my brother, Sokka. Could you tell us your name?”

    The girl looked up at Katara. “My name is Yue, are we near Omashu?”

    Katara looked over to Sokka. “Omashu? I think Dad mentioned it being an Earth Kingdom City. Sorry, Yue, you’re a several week boat ride from there.”

    She sighed and looked to the sky. “As I thought. I went too far south.”

    “If you don't mind me asking, why do you need to get to Omashu?”

    Yue sat up and looked at the siblings. “I can’t tell you that, not unless I can trust you.”

    Sokka rolled his eyes. “Katara, she’s obviously a Fire Nation spy sent here to mix among the village and learn our secrets. Let’s go, you can use your magic water to get us home.”

    “It’s waterbending and I don't think Yue’s a threat.” Katara glared at him.

    Yue’s eyes lit up. “You’re a waterbender? Then this is the Southern Water Tribe! Tell me, is there a master I can speak to?”

    Katara looked out to the water. “No, it’s just me; the only Waterbender in the entire Southern Tribe.”

    Sokka groaned. “Okay, Yue ,” he spat her name out in annoyance. I mean, how pretentious is a name like “Yue”? It literally meant “moon”. “I don't know if you noticed, but I’m soaking wet, our canoe flipped, we lost our food and we’re a long way from home, so why don't you just take your boat and go north to Omash--”

    Yue stood up in the canoe. “Oh, do you need help? You can use my canoe to return to your village if you would like. I can manage on my own.”

    “Not a chance, you’re coming with us!” Katara smiled brightly. “I’ve never met another girl my age before, are you from the Northern Tribe? What’s it like? Are there lots of masters?”

    Sokka walked away from the girls and returned to his flipped canoe. He had every right to not trust the white haired girl! This Yue girl just magically showed up, talking about Earth Kingdom cities and waterbending and Sokka wanted nothing to do with any of it. His job was and always will be the security of his tribe. He stuck the end of his spear into the water and tried to hook the spearhead on the edge of his canoe, hoping to flip it his way. He struggled to fish the edge of the boat when it suddenly flipped his way. He nearly cheered, but then saw a bubble of water float up and splash inside the canoe. Sokka peered inside and saw that the bubble had dropped the sack of fish back into the canoe. He turned and saw Yue standing up, holding her arms in the air. Katara stood next to her with an open mouth and wide blue eyes.

    “Holy Sedna, how did you do that?!” Katara gasped.

    Yue put her arms down and folded her hands inside her sleeves. “With Waterbending, of course.”

    “I can barely make a small wave, how could you make that?” The dark haired girl looked back and forth between the canoe and Yue.

    She giggled and winked. “Years of practice, I suppose, and a little talent.”

    “Could you teach me to do that?”

    Sokka cleared his throat. “Stop stop stop. Yue, we appreciate the help, but we really must be going now. Katara, let’s go.”

    Katara groaned. “I finally met someone my age who can waterbend and all you can think about is going home to eat!”

    He pulled her towards him and hissed at her. “We don't know her. We can’t trust her.”

    “If she wanted to hurt us, she would have done it already.” Katara glared back.

    They were interrupted by the sound of a stomach rumbling loudly. The siblings looked to Yue, who flushed deeply and wrapped her arms around herself.

    “I-Ignore me, that was incredibly unlady-like!”

    Katara frowned. “When was the last time you ate something?”

    When Yue hesitated, Katara dragged her into the canoe with a giant smile.

    “Gran-Gran never lets anyone go hungry! C’mon, Sokka, we have to bring her home!”

    Against all of Sokka’s judgment, the three of them found their way back to the village. Really, it was Sokka navigating while Yue used waterbending to propel the two canoes in the direction he pointed in. Meanwhile, Katara sat in awe of Yue’s concentration as she windmilled her arms around to generate two different currents to move both boats.

    Whatever Yue was expecting when they arrived at the Southern Water Tribe, what she saw wasn’t it. She didn’t expect the village to be only a half-dozen dilapidated igloos and animal skin shacks with a crumbling wall of ice and snow. There was a single tower on the wall with a sad blue flag hanging limply from a stick stuck into the ice. A single bonfire sat in the center of the village with old women with infants tucked in their clothes preparing food and patching up clothes while a handful of small children played pretend with sticks nearby.

    Sokka noticed her disappointed face and scoffed. “What, not fancy enough for your North Tribe tastes?”

    “No, no, I just thought that it would be bigger. You have a beautiful home, I’m honored to be here.” She stopped the boats at a miniature ice dock and the three climbed.

    Katara shrugged and pulled her coat tighter around her. “All the men of the village left to go fight in the war and we don’t have any other benders besides me. We don’t really need any big or grand buildings, just what keeps us alive. Once I get better at waterbending, I’m sure I’ll be able to rebuild this place and make it a really magical place.”

    A group of children ran to greet them and they started to drag them towards the village, eliciting a sweet giggle from Yue. “It already seems magical.”

    Yue was introduced to the entire village and space was made for her in one of the tents closer to the bonfire. The women of the tribe gave her a roasted fish for lunch and kindly started probing her for questions. How old she was (fifteen, turning sixteen in a month or so), if she was married (she was not), what her parents thought of her traveling so far (no comment), and they continued to question her until Katara rescued her and dragged her away from the village with the promise of penguin sledding.

    “There’s no way the first girl I meet that’s my age is gonna get talked to death by the aunties.” Katara grumbled as they marched up a slope. “I’m really sorry about all of them, they can be so annoying and nagging.”

    Yue shook her head.  “I didn’t mind at all. Your grandmother, Miss Kanna, was especially kind to me and I really appreciate how kind and welcome you all are. The Northern Tribe may be large and beautiful, but it is also cold. I, too, don’t have any girl friends my age. Even though my destination was Omashu, I’m so happy that I landed here instead.”

    Katara kicked a snowdrift as they walked. “No girl friends? But you’re, like, so cool! Your waterbending is amazing!”

    “You would think that would make me popular, but no.” Yue sighed. “I spent most of my childhood in bending classes and etiquette lessons.”

    Katara stopped. “Wait, are you a sage? Is that why you were going to Omashu? Are you fighting in the war?!”

    Yue laughed nervously. “Oh, no, girls can’t be sages. I just got special privileges because... uh...” She searched for answers before gasping and pointing ahead of them. “What are those ?!”

    Down the hill in front of them was a large pod of otter penguins diving in and out of the icy ocean. Yue squealed and slid down the slope towards them, Katara following with a laugh. Together, they wrangled a couple otter penguins to use as sleds and trudged up to the top of a tall hill.

    They counted to three before throwing themselves off the hill, yelping and screeching in delight as gravity dragged them down down down through icy slopes. Wind ripped hair from intricate braids and clasps and drowned out shouts. 

    As Yue clutched to her otter penguin as tightly as she could, she glanced over to see Katara sitting on her knees and winding up her arms. “Hold on tight!”

    The ice slide in front of them vanished and they dropped down onto the tunnels inside of a massive iceberg. Yue screamed and squeezed her eyes shut as they sped up drastically. She vaguely sensed going upside down until the slide vanished again and they were soaring through the air.

    Yue opened her eyes to find that the otter penguin had spread its flippers and they were gliding. To her right, Katara burst out of a tunnel with a laugh, but both of them discovered that they were quickly losing altitude. Yue panicked and pulled up her arms, trusting her otter penguin to not drop her, and spun her arms around in the air, pulling frozen moisture in the air under their sleds and gently setting them down on the edge of an ice sheet.

    As soon as they touched down and caught their breaths, their otter penguins flipped them off and slunk into the water. Yue and Katara stared at each other before collapsing into a fit of giggles.

    “That was incredible! Let’s go again!” Yue got up and brushed herself off, looking around before pausing. “What...?”

    Katara got to her feet and stepped around Yue to see what she was looking at, her smile fading slowly.

    “Oh, that? Yeah, it’s there.”

    They were staring at a giant iron battleship half encased in/impaled on an iceberg. A faded, tattered, Fire Nation banner was hanging onto the side of the hull by threads. Katara saw a troubled look in Yue’s eyes and opened her mouth to suggest that they turn back, but Yue started to march towards the ship.

    “Yue, wait! We can’t go over there, Gran-Gran forbade it!” Katara grabbed at Yue’s hand, but the white haired girl was not going to be stopped. She pulled her hand away and planted her feet, holding her arms out in front of her and focusing.

    There was a rumbling under the ice and it began to crack. Katara yelped and jumped closer to Yue as a staircase began to form out of the ice. Up it went all the way to the top of the ship and Yue glanced back at Katara with a small smile. “Where’s your sense of adventure, hm?”

    Reluctantly, Katara followed Yue up the stairs to the deck of the battleship and they found a hole that led them down into the hull. How Yue knew where to step around hidden tripwires and pressure plates to avoid booby traps, Katara didn’t want to know, and suddenly Sokka’s warnings made a lot more sense.

    “Hey, Yue, are we looking for something specific here or are we just exploring?”

    Yue ducked into a small cartography room and started to rifle around in the drawers of the desks. “I’m looking for a picture.”

    “A picture of what?”

    “If a ship holds a picture of the previous Fire Avatar, we can date it back to before the war when Fire Nation maps weren’t coded and I can bring it to Omashu. And if it has a picture of the Fire Lord, then whatever we find can also be good. 

    “Oh, so you’re like a spy?” Katara started to help her look around. “You’ve probably traveled all over the world, then.”

    “Actually—“ Yue paused before pulling a dust-covered picture out from behind a fallen painting. “Look at this, it’s a picture of Fire Lord Kuzon. That’s so weird, he wasn’t even Fire Lord for very long and he didn’t contribute either way to the war. If anything, he was just a placeholder before Azulon took the throne.”

    Katara looked the picture over. “Woah…”

    She watched Yue frown at the picture before hearing the words ‘betrayed us’ escape her lips. Katara was about to ask what she meant, but a metal tile on the floor sunk down under her foot until it clicked into place. 

    “Oops.”

    Yue’s eyes widened and she tucked the picture into a pocket of her coat. “Stay still!”

    The ship rumbled around them until it suddenly stopped and popping noises could be heard overhead. They rushed back on deck to see fireworks being shot from the top of the hull and heard the ice holding the ship in place crack around them.

    A lone iron battleship glided through the ice waters of the South Pole, a young man in Fire Nation battle armor with a horrible scar on the left side of his face and all of his hair shaved off spare a singular ponytail clutched the railing and breathed heavily.

    “Young prince, try as you might, your gaze alone cannot melt the ice caps.” An old, fat man sat at a small table behind the young man with a teapot and a steaming plate of food. “If you don’t come over here and eat, I will gladly help myself to your roast duck.”

    “I don’t need any duck, Uncle!” The young man snapped, his amber colored eyes flared in rage. “What I need is to find the Avatar!”

    On cue, the sight of fireworks in the distance drew the prince’s attention. He shouted up to the bridge of the ship and called for them to head in the direction of the fireworks, the battleship groaning before making the turn. The young man eagerly rubbed his hands together.

    “ Finally , something interesting!”

    He glanced back to see his uncle eagerly scarfing down the plate of food without an ounce of shame in his body.

    “Uncle!”

    Katara grabbed Yue and started to run towards the stairs. “Go! Move it, missy!”

    The ship was starting to sink into the ocean. Katara dragged the other girl down the stairs and yelped when it started to shatter under their feet. She tried to go faster, but her foot slipped and she started to tumble off the side of the staircase.

    Yue tried to grab her, but missed. Katara was falling. A scream escaped Yue as the ship started to list towards them. There wasn’t enough time to figure out what to do, Katara had seconds at most.

~~~

    “Run! Get out of here!” A Water Tribe sailor shoved Yue into a canoe and cut the line holding it in place. Yue screamed for the sailor, but a burst of horrible flames sent him over the side of the wooden ship and into the churning sea.

    The skull-like mask of the Fire Nation soldier peered down at her as the canoe started to float away. He raised his fists to launch another fire attack.

~~~

    Yue threw herself off of the crumbling staircase and twisted herself around in the air, water dragging itself up from the sea and ice to her body and swirling around her legs like the bottom half of her torso was a whirlpool.

    The water moved on its own, forming swirling tendrils that shot to the side of the falling ship and froze, holding it back in place. Then, Yue moved more water to scoop up Katara and set her down on an ice sheet nearby. The younger girl watched in awe as Yue then froze all of the water under her feet to form a platform. Yue spread her feet and put her fists on her hips before pushing them out and up with a sturdiness that Katara had never seen before.

    She watched rock spring up from the sea floor, water following close behind. She watched Yue direct the forces of the earth and sea to push the ship onto its other side. Yue spun and it seemed that her eyes even glowed for a second before her ice tower melted and gently set her down in front of Katara.

    “Are you okay?” She asked.

    Katara’s eyes were the size of dinner plates. “Am I okay?! What about you?! That was some awesome bending!”

    Yue tried to laugh it off, but her legs gave out under her and she fell into Katara. “Sorry--”

    Katara caught her and started to pull her back towards the village. “L-Let’s just get home before we get in trouble for this.”

    The small battleship circled around the larger one that was still settling into the ice and rocks that had tipped it over. The prince examined the larger ship’s hull before his face hardened into a glare, seemingly lost in thought.

    “Prince Zuko,” his uncle walked up behind him with his hands folded into his red sleeves, “the captain wanted me to tell you that we are nearing the Southern Water Tribe. How do you wish to proceed?”

    Zuko turned to gaze out on the icy horizon. “The Southern Water Tribe have no benders, much less anyone capable of doing something like this. Set a course for the tribe, we’ve found the old man.”

Chapter Text

    Katara and Yue found a very angry Sokka waiting at the entrance of the village.

    “Are you CRAZY ?!” He screamed at them from inside their shared tent. “You bring home a total stranger and then you go and alert the Fire Nation that you went poking around in the old ship?! Katara, what is wrong with you?!”

    Yue sat in the back of the tent with her head down while Katara got up in Sokka’s face. “Well maybe if someone had explained why the ship was dangerous, I wouldn’t have been so curious to explore it!”

    “So you decide to drag Yue into a dangerous situation?!”

    Yue opened her mouth to correct the details but Katara spoke over her, defending her. “I’m not a little girl anymore, I can do what I want!”

    A horn was blown somewhere outside the tent and a child started to scream: “Fire Nation! The Fire Nation is coming!”

    Sokka’s eyes widened and he ducked out of the tent. “Stay here.”

    Katara moved to follow. “No! Yue and I are benders, we can help--”

    Sokka pushed her back into the tent with the most serious expression she had ever seen him make. “Stay. Here.”

    He left them in the tent and ran over to another, calling the children to take “battle stations” before sliding into the new tent and grabbing a jawbone dagger, a metal boomerang and a jar of face paint. He quickly covered his face in the markings of a wolf, the actions precise and memorized. He had been preparing for this moment his entire life.

    Sokka left the tent with his weapons in hand, the women of the village holding their small children protectively and looking like they’d join him in the fight if he asked him to. 

    The battleship was taller than the setting sun on the horizon. The Fire Nation flag was blood red and intimidating, but Sokka did not allow himself to show fear. He approached the ship with shaking steps that he hid well despite wanting to run back into his tent and hide under Gran-Gran’s hand-sewn blankets.

    A metal ramp extended down from the deck of the ship. Sokka clutched his weapons. A scarred man emerged from the ship and began marching down to the ice.

    “I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation and it is with my authority that I-- ghuck !”

    The “ghuck” noise was from Sokka’s boomerang striking him in his horned helmet. Zuko stumbled comically before snarling and standing up straight.

    “Strike me again and I will end you!” The boomerang came back around and struck him again.

    Zuko fell the rest of the way down the ramp before pushing himself up by flames jutting out of his fists and throwing off his dented helmet. “Enough! I know you have the Avatar here, surrender him to me now!”

    Sokka frowned. “What are you talking about?”

    Zuko snapped his fingers and the rest of his armed troops descended from the ship, surrounding the tribe and dragging them all to the center of the village. “Since you won’t cooperate, I’ll drag him out by force!”

    He marched into the crowd and grabbed Kanna, Sokka and Katara’s grandmother, by the arm. She was a sturdy looking woman, but the way Zuko dragged her away from the group made her seem frail and weightless. Sokka drew his jawbone dagger and charged Zuko.

    “Get your hands off of her!”

    Zuko easily tripped him and sent him sprawling before showing Kanna to the crowd. “I know the Avatar is here!” he repeated himself. “He should be an old man, about this old?”

    When he was met with faces of fear and confusion, Zuko snarled again and raised his hand to summon flames again when Yue pushed through the crowd with frantic eyes.

    “Enough! Stop it!” She took a fighting stance in front of Zuko, who merely pushed Kanna away and stared her down.

    “And who are you?”

    “The person who is going to send you home.” She jumped forward and when she landed, she pulled her arms forward and whips of water followed her movements, lashing out and attempting to strike at Zuko.

    Zuko punched forward, a burst of flames evaporating the water whips and he dropped down into a low spin kick. The wave of flames made Yue twist over them and kicked snow in Zuko’s eyes.

    He stumbled back and rubbed his eyes. “You fight like a child!”

    “And you fight like a teenager!” She shot back. “You’re not much better than me!”

    “You’re right.” Zuko backed off. “But I do have this on you.”

    He swept his arms through the air and an arc of fire nearly burned the village people. When Yue froze, he smirked and held his fists up at the people again. 

    “If you don’t surrender the Avatar, I will level this entire village, people and all.”

    Yue looked around at Sokka being held down by Fire Nation soldiers as he thrashed and snapped his teeth at them, at Katara holding Kanna close and debating trying to help, at the frightened faces of the women of the tribe.

    “It’s me. I’m the Avatar.” She put her hands up.

    Zuko blinked at her. “Yeah, right, unless you’re actually a hundred year old monk in a very good costume, I doubt it.”

    “It’s true, Avatar Aang has been dead for nearly sixteen years. I am Yue of the Northern Water Tribe. Did you see the old ship out on the ice? The rocks that pushed it over?”

    Zuko examined Yue once more before sneering. “Guards, arrest her. It’s time to go home.”

    Chains were locked around Yue’s wrists and she was marched inside the battleship, the only thing she said as she was led away was: “don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”

    And then she was gone.

    Before dawn the next morning, Sokka found Katara dumping a bag of supplies into a canoe around the back of the village. 

    “What are you doing?”

    “I’m going after Yue, don’t try to stop me!”

    “Who said I was gonna stop you?” He dropped his weapons into the canoe and climbed into it. “She defended the village. Avatar or not, she’s one of us.”

    Katara nudged him playfully. “Oooh~ Sokka’s got a crush~!”

    “I do not!”

    Her giggling was cut off by their Gran-Gran appearing behind them. “For a couple of runaways, stealth doesn’t seem to be one of your talents.”

    “Gran-Gran!” Sokka jumped out of the canoe. “We were just- I mean, I was just--”

    Kanna laughed and handed them another bag. “The call of adventure, I know it well.  Being the Avatar is lonely business, Miss Yue will need all the help she can get. If you can, take her to the Southern Air Temple, she will know what to do.”

    “Gran-Gran, how do you know this?” Katara frowned. 

    “Your grandmother wasn’t always a housewife, you know.” Kanna winked. “Now go, take the west currents, the Fire Nation has a big lead on you, you need to move fast.”

    And they were off. They pushed off the ice with wooden oars once they were done hugging their grandmother and followed her instructions of heading west, where the ice was deeper and the currents faster.

    The interior of the battleship was blisteringly hot. Yue was sweating buckets in her blue coat from where she was chained to a pole in the lower decks of the battleship. However, every time she asked for either water or to remove her coat, she was denied by the guards standing at the door of her cell. 

    At some point, an old man whom she assumed was this prince’s advisor, came by and dabbed her forehead with a cold rag.

    “Thank you, sir.” Yue smiled as he pulled out a fan and waved it in her face.

    “It’s the least my nephew’s crew could do.”

    “Nephew... then you’re General Iroh.”

    “ Retired General.” Iroh winked. “And that makes you Avatar...?”

    “Yue.”

    The old man continued to fan her face. “Avatar Yue, it is nice to meet you. I never had the pleasure of meeting your previous incarnation, but I can tell that you are destined for great things.”

    “You’re very kind, General, but turning me into the Fire Nation isn’t a good idea. You must understand how fragile the balance between the elements is right now.”

    Iroh stroked his beard. “I am aware, Avatar, but despite this, I still have a duty to my Fire Lord and to my nephew.”

    Yue nodded and resigned herself to her fate. Iroh looked conflicted for a moment before he set down his bucket of water with the damp cloth in it at Yue’s feet and left. The Avatar stared at the water and wriggled her hands around in her shackles, getting a feel of her very limited range of motion. She had enough wrist movement to move her hands 360 degrees, more than she had anticipated. Good, she could work with this.

    A small blob of water rose out of the bucket and floated over to the chains where she waved her fingers back and forth to mimic a slicing action, the water forming a thin line and doing the same.

    After a bit of sawing, one of the chain links gave way and Yue yanked herself free, deciding to get the shackles off her wrists once she was free. She pulled the rest of the water out of the bucket and let it settle around her hands like gauntlets before hardening it into ice and punching down the iron door. 

    The guards gasped and positioned their spears to hold back Yue, but she was focused and undeterred. She ducked under their spear swipes and spun with her arms out, her ice gauntlets turning into water whips and sweeping them off their feet.

    As soon as they hit the floor, she yelped an apology and took off down the hall, seemingly impressed by her own strength. Granted, Yue had never been in a fight before today, and she was exceeding her expectations of herself constantly. Perhaps all those years with the sages were actually worth it.

    “Row faster!” Katara shouted as the canoe sped through the water.

    Sokka frantically wiped sweat from his brow. “I’m going as fast as I can! Stop nagging me!”

    They paddled as fast as their arms would allow. Katara had attempted to propel them along with waterbending, but her technique was too shoddy for them to gain any real speed. Cue a very smug Sokka throwing an oar at her and telling her to do it the old fashioned way.

    The smoke of the battleship was coming into view now. The siblings steered their canoe closer. Did they have a plan of attack? No. Did they even have any fighting skills that would help them against a battleship full of Fire Nation soldiers? Also no. Were they optimistic? Absolutely not. It didn’t matter to them, Yue had defended their village and needed to be rescued.

    And if she really was the Avatar like she had claimed to be, Sokka concluded, then getting her to Omashu seemed really super important. After all, he was the only man in the tribe who didn’t leave to go support the war effort. He was left to protect the women and children, and from listening to Yue chat with the aunties, he was an entire week older than her. She was a woman and a child and needed protection. 

    They pulled up behind the ship and Sokka boosted Katara up onto a tiny metal ladder on the aft. He climbed up after her and hid behind a wooden crate that smelled of cured meat. Sokka gripped his boomerang and sized up the half dozen or so Fire Nation soldiers. Katara’s waterbending was mediocre at best, which left the fighting to Sokka. Okay, no biggie. He could handle it.

    He let out a war cry and charged right as a door that led below deck was blasted off its hinges. Sokka skidded to a stop as Yue ran out of the door with her hair flying in all directions and her coat scorched from flames. She stopped and stared at Sokka with water floating around her, ready to strike. 

    “Hi?” She blinked in confusion. 

    “Hey? You doing okay?” He lowered his boomerang. 

    “I’m alright, thank you for asking.”

    A giant flame erupted from the top of the ship and Zuko leaped down from the bridge. He took a fighting stance and stared down Yue with nothing but fury in his eyes. 

    “I advise you to return to your cell, Avatar, it’s a long trip back to the Golden City. I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.”

    Yue’s response was to cover her mouth with a hand as Katara ran up behind Zuko and body slammed him to the deck. He went down with an undignified yelp as more soldiers flooded the deck with weapons and fists raised to strike. 

    Sokka moved faster than Yue did as one firebender launched a fireball at her. He chucked his boomerang as hard as he could at the masked soldier as another swiped a polearm at him. He narrowly avoided being cut in half because the soldier lost his footing and fell on his face due to a pool of water having formed right under his boots.

    Katara had rolled off of a nearly-steaming Zuko and swiped her arms through the air to pull water from the sea and slip it under that soldier’s boots. Yue gave her an approving smile before turning to the other ten or so soldiers and raising her arms. The water floating around her spread out like a blanket over her head.

    Two fireballs extinguished by her pulling the water in front of her like a shield. A sliver of it streamed off to the side as Yue gracefully put one foot out in front of her and pushed her arms out and down. The stream took off the spearheads of several weapons, but her focus was drawn away by a yelp from Katara.

    She spun her head around to see Katara bending small spurts of water to counter an onslaught of practiced firebending techniques from Zuko. On the other side of the ship, Sokka was waving his jawbone dagger at soldiers who threatened to get closer to her. In front of Yue, the firebenders prepared to fire again. 

    Yue swiped her large water bubble at the firebenders in front of her, sweeping them off the side of the ship. They’d be fine. 

    While Sokka was outnumbered, Yue noticed that he was holding his own. He had no order to his wild swings, but he didn’t seem totally incompetent. Yue didn’t think that he was at all, but at the same time, being the only boy left behind when all the other men went to go fight in the war didn’t say much about his combat capabilities. On the other hand, Katara was keeping up with Zuko’s attacks, but looked to be running out of energy and options. Yue decided to go help her first. 

    With a wave of her arms, she pulled a wave of water from the side of the ship and drenched Zuko. He turned his attention back to her and Katara was able to slip away to go to Sokka’s aid. 

    “Looks like I underestimated you.” Zuko began to launch an onslaught of attacks, the ones he had been practicing religiously.

    Each time Yue tried to form her water whips, Zuko blasted her with fire again and again and again. She took more steps back closer to the railing of the ship. Beyond Zuko, Sokka and Katara were surrounded. A fireball made Yue focus back on her opponent. She blocked this one only for another to collide with her water shield and sent her over the side of the ship.

    The last thing Yue heard before she plunged into the freezing water was Katara screaming her name. And just like earlier when Katara had fallen from the ancient Fire Navy ship, something powerful flipped on inside Yue.

    In the water, she twisted her body and she rose into the air, water swirling around her legs to give her something to stand on. She sliced one arm across the air and an iceberg split in two. She then squared her shoulders and with a heavy force, dragged her hands up and down, sending the split iceberg crashing into the hull of Zuko’s ship.

    The whirlpool set Yue down back on the deck and she collapsed like she did earlier, Katara using the chaos and confusion to run to her side and drag her back to the metal ladder. Sokka beat a soldier on the helmet with his boomerang and ran after them.

    “Move, move, move!”

    Zuko, who had toppled over the side of the ship when it crashed, pulled himself back up and roared in anger. “Don’t let them escape!”

    Katara handed Yue off to Sokka and raised her arms, the water left on the deck rising with her. With a twist of her arms, the remaining soldiers found that their feet had been frozen in ice and could not follow. Zuko fired off one last blast of fire that missed entirely and the three were able to get to their canoe.

    Zuko started to follow, but he looked around his frozen crew and decided against it.

    “Hurry and dig us out!” Some Firebenders started thawing out the frozen soldiers. “... as soon as you’re done with that.”

    As the canoe drifted through the ice fields, Sokka steered as Katara gave Yue some clean water to drink.

    After a while of floating in silence, Katara frowned. “So, why didn’t you tell us you were the Avatar?”

    Yue bowed her head. “I never meant to deceive, you have to understand. Once we get back to your village, I’ll be gone. I’m sorry to put you all in such danger.”

    Sokka turned the canoe slightly. “You need to get to Omashu, right?”

    “I can pay you for a canoe to borrow, or I can just take my old one.”

    Katara gave Sokka an evil look before glancing around. “Hey, this isn’t the way home.”

    “It’s not.” He smirked. “Any stops we need to make along the way, Avatar?”

    The girls shared a smile before Yue looked out onto the horizon. 

    “How does the Southern Air Temple sound? It could be useful to see what secrets were kept there.”

    Sokka turned the boat again and Katara cheered.

    “Southern Air Temple, here we come!”

Chapter Text

    It took some time for Yue to gain her strength again, but when she did, she happily relieved Sokka of his rowing duties and started waterbending the canoe north. They found a small island to rest on for the night and in the morning, set out for the Southern Air Temple.

    As they traveled with Sokka steering and Yue windmilling her arms, Katara found herself with a question.

    “Yue, what do you really think will be at the Air Temple?” Katara asked. “I mean, nobody’s been there for a hundred years. A lot can change in that time.”

    Yue kept her focus on her bending. “I know, but I need to see it for myself. Like with the Fire Navy ship back at the South Pole, there could be things I can bring with me to Omashu to help the war effort. It was also said that Avatars Aang and Yangchen frequented the Southern Air Temple to meditate. I want to see what spiritual secrets await.”

    Zuko and his uncle Iroh disembarked their nearly-destroyed battleship, one marching with near-smoke billowing out of his ears and the other following quietly behind.

    “Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don’t want to stay too long and risk losing her trail.” The prince ordered.

    Iroh nodded. “You mean the Avatar-?”

    “Don’t mention her name on these docks!” Zuko snapped around to glare at him. “Once word gets out that not only has she reincarnated into a little girl, but that she’s still training, every firebender will be out looking for her. And I don’t want anyone getting in the way.”

    “Getting in the way of what,” an older man in Fire Nation armor approached them, “Prince Zuko?”

    “Captain Zhao.” Zuko recognized him with crossed arms. 

    “It’s Commander, now.” Zhao bowed. “General Iroh, great hero of our nation.”

    “ Retired General,” Iroh corrected.”

    “The Fire Lord’s brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor?”

    Iroh gestured to the ship behind him. “Our ship is being repaired.”

    “That’s,” Zhao looked over the crumpled hull, “quite a bit of damage.”

    “Yes,” Zuko agreed, “you wouldn’t believe what happened.” When Iroh didn’t immediately give a believable lie as to why it was damaged, Zuko elbowed him. “ Uncle , tell Commander Zhao what happened.”

    Iroh’s eyes widened. “Yes, I will do that… It was incredible!” He then leaned closer to Zuko to whisper to him. “What, did we crash or something?”

    “Yes!” Zuko answered loudly. “We crashed right into an Earth Kingdom ship!”

    Zhao frowned. “Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details.” He leaned down to get close to Zuko’s scarred face. “Care to discuss it over a drink?”

    “Sorry, but we have to go.” Zuko started to walk away, but Iroh stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

    “Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect.” Iroh turned back to Zhao. “We would be honored to join you. Do you have any Ginseng tea? It’s my favorite.”

    “We should be reaching the Potola Mountain Range soon.” Katara looked over the faded map her grandmother had packed her.

    Yue took a second to wipe the sweat from her brow as she propelled the canoe forward. “Good, I’m starting to get winded.”

    Sokka stuck his face into a sack they had packed. When he pulled his head and hand out, the bag was empty.

    “Hey! Who ate my blubbered seal jerky?”

    The tips of Yue’s ears burned pink as she refused to look down at him. “That was food? I’m so sorry, I used it to start the fire last night.”

    Katara laughed at Sokka’s frown as he grumbled about the flames smelling delicious.

    As predicted, soon a mountain range came into view. Yue swapped with Sokka, who started rowing again, and Katara moved closer to her in the canoe.

    “So, Yue, about the Air Temple…”

    “What about it?” Yue dabbed her brow with her sleeve.

    “Well…” Katara stared at the mountains in the distance. “I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is known for its ruthlessness. They killed my mother, who knows what they did to the Airbenders.”

    Yue gave her a soft frown. “Do not think of me as too sheltered, please. And besides, the Air Temples, especially the Southern one, could only be accessed by a sky bison. The temples should be almost entirely intact, even if the occupants are gone.”

    “If you say so…”

    They beached the canoe and started looking around for a way to climb said inaccessible mountains. They searched around the base of the mountain they were closest to for hours for some sort of way up that wouldn’t involve Yue risking their lives with waterbending before electing to do just that.

    Yue waded into the sea and started to move her arms, pulling and raising the water until it formed a decently large platform for her and the siblings to stand on. Sokka protested the entire way up, even clinging to Katara when the platform rose above the clouds and deposited them on a flat cliff side.

    “Sokka,” Katara peeled her brother off of her, “you can open your eyes now.”

    He did and was amazed by what he saw. A temple built into and on top of the mountain sprawled out in front of them with spiraling towers and ancient architecture. This was the Southern Air Temple.

    “And by year’s end,” Commander Zhao stood proudly in front of a world map, “the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war”

    Zuko sat in a gilded chair in Zhao’s tiny war room. He eyed the Commander as Zhao sat in the chair next to him. “If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him blindly, then he is a fool.”

    “Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. How’s that search for the Avatar going?”

    Behind him, Iroh knocked over a rack of spears and naginatas he had been browsing, creating a loud crash . “Uh, my fault entirely.”

    “We haven’t found him yet.” Zuko answered Zhao.

    “Did you really expect to?” Zhao frowned. “The Avatar died a hundred years ago along with the rest of the Airbenders… unless you’ve found some evidence to the contrary?”

    “No. Nothing.”

    “Prince Zuko,” Zhao stood up, “the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty, you’ll tell me what you’ve found.”

    Zuko stared straight ahead, past Zhao. “I haven't found anything . It’s like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago. Uncle, we should be going now.”

    But as he also stood to leave, the guards at the door crossed their spears and another emerged from the doorway.

    “Commander Zhao, we interrogated the prince’s crew as you ordered. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let her escape.”

    “ Her ?” Zhao sneered. He stepped closer to Zuko to hiss in his ear. “Now, remind me, how exactly was your ship damaged?”

    Yue excitedly ran ahead of Sokka and Katara towards the front gates of the Air Temple.

    “So where do I get something to eat?” Sokka groaned.

    “We’re lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an Airbender Temple, and all you can think about is food?” Katara chastised.

    “I’m just a simple guy with simple needs.”

    Yue led them to a small drop-off on the path and pointed around. “So that must be where they played Airball, and that must have been where the sky bison slept!”

    Katara took note of all the untouched snow and weeds choking every stone on the path. “Hey, Yue, how about you keep showing us around!”

    Yue clapped and sped off again, but Sokka snagged Katara’s arm before she could follow.

    “Hey, it’s most likely that the Fire Nation was here. Does she know that?”

    Katara pulled herself free. “I don’t think she’s ever been away from the North Pole before she was sent to Omashu, I want her to have this.”

    “But if she’s never seen the real world, then it could be dangerous if she keeps running off into the unknown.” Sokka warned. “We can’t pretend it wasn’t the Fire Nation that destroyed the Air Nation.”

    “I can for Yue’s sake.” Katara stepped past him. “She really thinks that this temple holds all the secrets of the Avatars and that she can use what’s in this place to help stop the war. Wouldn’t you give anything for that?”

    “She’s not a little kid, Katara.” Sokka started to follow her. “You shouldn’t treat her like one.”

    Before Katara could respond, Yue appeared again and took her by the hand to drag her deeper into the temple.

    “Over here! Come look, a statue of one of the Monks!” Yue pulled her to an aged stone carving of a smiling bald man. “This was Master Gyatso, the master of Avatar Aang!”

    She bowed respectfully to the statue before moving around it and inside of one of the swirling towers. Sokka gave Katara a pointed look before Katara sighed and followed Yue closely.

    “Yue…”

    “This is it! We should be close to the Airbender Sanctum!” Yue clapped again, nearly skipping with each step. “Legends say that there is someone inside who helps Avatars fully realize their potentials.”

    “You really care a lot about the previous Avatars.”

    Yue nodded giddily. “Back home in the North Pole, there’s not a lot of text on the previous Avatars. The last Water Tribe Avatar died very young, and then the Avatar after him lived to be two centuries old and only ever visited the Water Tribes a few times in all those years. Besides, I will have to learn airbending eventually, and what better place to start studying than an Air Temple?”

    Katara took her by the arm to keep pace with her. “Then let’s keep looking around!”

    Behind her, she heard Sokka groan. Katara elected not to point out the firebender mask she saw half-hidden in a snow drift and kicked more snow on top of it when she walked past.

    Eventually, the hallway led them to a set of giant doors decorated with pipes and Air Nomad symbols. But, to the surprise and shock of the trio, the doors were already open and a cold air flowed through the dark doorway.

    Yue detangled her arm from Katara’s and started walking towards it. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

    Zhao paced in front of Zuko with his hands behind his back, the prince seated back in his chair and surrounded by guards. “So a teenage girl bested you and your firebenders with children’s techniques. You’re more pathetic than I thought.”

    “I underestimated her once.” Zuko took deep breaths to keep his voice as level as possible despite the literal burning rage in his chest. “It won't happen again.”

    “No it will not. Because you won't have a second chance.”

    “Commander Zhao, I’ve been hunting the Avatar for two years, and I-”

    “And you failed!” Zhao spun around and a burst of flame flew from his swinging fist. “Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager’s hands. She’s mine now.”

    Zuko burst out of his seat in anger, but the guards behind him snagged him and held him back. Zhao sneered.

    “Keep them here.” The Commander left the room.

    In a fury, Zuko kicked over the table next to him. Iroh lifted his tea cup just in time and sipped the remaining liquid before holding it up to the guards.

    “More tea, please?”

    Inside the Airbender Sanctum, the trio were surprised to find a seemingly endless number of statues spiraling up along the walls.

    Yue ran towards them and looked at them excitedly.

    “Statues?” Sokka frowned. “That’s it?”

    “Who are all these people?” Katara went to Yue’s side.

    “I’m not sure,” Yue traced the hand of a statue of a woman wearing a beaverbear skin on her head, “but it feels like I know these people somehow. Look, this one’s a waterbender!”

    Katara pointed to the statue next to Yue’s. “And this one’s an earthbender!” She stepped back to examine the group of statues in front of her. “Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, it’s a pattern.”

    “It’s the Avatar Cycle.” Yue gasped.

    “Of course, they’re Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Yue.”

    Yue spun around with her head craned towards the ceiling, trying to catch a glimpse of all the statues. “There’s so many…”

    “Past lives?” Sokka directed his frown at his sister. “Katara, do you really believe in that stuff?”

    “It’s all true. When the Avatar dies, they’re reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle.”

    Yue spun back over to them with a giant smile. “I just know that Avatar Aang left something behind here for me to use to begin my journey as an Avatar.”

    Katara opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly, something white flew into the sanctum right between them. The three shrieked before realizing that it was a winged lemur with green eyes that perched itself on top of the head of a statue. They also realized that it had snagged Sokka’s boomerang off of his back.

    Sokka swiped at the lemur, but it easily flew away with the boomerang in its clutches. Katara laughed and followed after it. “I got it! Catching small things was my specialty back home!”

    “You better!” Sokka called after her. Once she was gone, he sighed and leaned against a statue. “So, Yue, you take this Avatar thing really seriously.”

    Yue nodded, her excitement now under control. “Of course I do. It is an honor to serve my people and the world in such a way.”

    “Before we left, Gran-Gran said something about how being the Avatar is lonely. Is it?”

    “Well…” Yue’s smile faded and she wrung her gloved hands together. “It is, yes… I was raised differently because of my status. The sages told me that Avatars don’t begin their training until they turn sixteen, but because of the war they wanted me to be fully trained by sixteen.”

    Sokka’s frown softened. “That sounds harsh.”

    Yue shrugged and started to wander around the statues again. “I learned how to read complicated codes and predict the outcome of strategy games within the first moves before I could write my own name. Every waking moment was scheduled with lessons and training and meetings and more lessons, so when I got on the boat to Omashu, it was the first time I finally felt free.”

    Sokka pushed off the statue he leaned against to follow. “I can’t imagine. Well, maybe a little. Dad and the rest of the village left to go fight in the war a few years ago. Since then, it’s been me taking care of everyone. I’m always hoping that one day, they’ll come back and I can go back to being a kid. I think we might have both missed that chance, though.”

    Yue made a sad noise of agreement.

    Zhao returned to where Zuko and Iroh were being watched.

    “My search party is ready. Once we are out to sea, the two of you will be escorted back to your ship.”

    “Why?” Zuko glared at him. “Are you worried I’m going to try and stop you?”

    Zhao laughed at him. “You? Stop me? Impossible.”

    Zuko got to his feet. “Don’t underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you.”

    Iroh also stood. “Prince Zuko, that’s enough.”

    Zhao looked down his nose at the prince. “You can’t compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you, you’re just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn’t even want you.”

    “You’re wrong .” Zuko snapped. “Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne.”

    “If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now. Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are nothing but a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation.”

    “That’s not true.”

    “You have the scar to prove it.”

    Zuko snarled and got in Zhao’s face. “Maybe you’d like one to match!”

    “Is that a challenge?”

    “An Agni Kai. At sunset.”

    Zhao smiled. “Very well. It’s a shame your father won’t be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do.”

    Zhao left and Iroh frowned at his nephew. “Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you tried to battle a master?”

    Zuko’s scar stung and itched.

    “I will never forget.”

    Yue and Sokka wandered the statues, going closer and closer to the center of the room to the end of the spiral when Yue suddenly stopped. A hand flew to her mouth in a horrified gasp.

    “What? What is it-!” Sokka ran to her side and screamed.

    Slumped over on its back next to a statue of a firebender was the skeletal remains of a monk in yellow and orange robes. Yue knelt down next to the skeleton and laid a hand on its knee, her eyes suddenly flashing blue and she jolted back like she had been burned. The skeleton remained nothing but a pile of bones.

    “No…” Yue stared at the skeleton, her breathing speeding up dramatically and tears forming in her eyes that continued to flash blue. “No, no, no, no, it can’t be!”

    “Yue? Who is it? Who is that?”

    Yue voice came out as a wail. “It’s me! But it’s not, it’s him ! He couldn’t do it!”

    “Who?!” Sokka was at her side, nearly shaking her. “Who is it?!”

    Around him, the statues’ eyes also began to flash blue. Little did the two of them know, all around the world, temples dedicated to all previous Avatars started to change. Statues and murals and shrines all glowed with spiritual energy. In one particular Fire Nation temple, the sages within ran around frantically trying to write a letter to the Fire Lord; the Avatar had returned!

    But in the Southern Air Temple, there was more than just glowing statues. Sokka watched the melted snow in his and Yue’s clothing get pulled from the fabric and swirl around her in a thin ball, caging her inside. More and more snow was pulled from the outside through the doors and windows, the spinning ball speeding up more and more until Sokka knew that touching it would tear the skin from his hands.

    “Yue! Snap out of it!”

    Her gloved hands pulled at her hair. “There’s nothing I can do! He failed! He let the Fire Nation defeat him! I see it all! He failed and left me with nothing !”

    Sunset came, the two firebenders kneeling at opposite ends of an outdoor arena.

    Iroh stood before his nephew. “Remember your basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons.”

    “I won’t let him break me.” Zuko stood and shucked off the ceremonial tunic he and Zhao both wore.

    Across the arena, Zhao did the same, both dropping into fighting stances and staring each other down before Zuko launched the first attack.

    Zuko punched and kicked, launching flame after flame that Zhao easily blocked. Then it was Zhao’s turn, the older man rushing in close with long waves. Zuko brought his arms up to defend himself and behind him, Iroh cheered him on.

    “Basics, Zuko! Break his root!”

    Zhao punched forward once. Zuko jumped back with a simple block. Zhao punched again. Zuko’s block faltered a little. Zhao punched a third time and Zuko’s arms couldn’t stop the blast of heat that knocked him onto his back. As Zuko sputtered and tried to get back to his feet, Zhao leaped at him and moved in for what would be a killing blow on the battlefield.

    Zuko was faster, planting his hands below him and spinning his legs. First, one heel kicked hard enough to swipe the flame away. Second, his other foot collided with Zhao’s ankle and sent the Commander stumbling awkwardly.

    Zuko was back on his feet. He skidded his foot flat against the ground, creating a spurt of fire that further sent Zhao backwards. He did it again, and again, until Zhao couldn’t plant his feet properly to attack again and finished with a high kick that created a burst of fire that had Zhao rolling on the ground.

    The Prince moved in close and held his fists up to strike again if needed. Zhao glared at him.

    “Do it!” He commanded.

    Zuko did strike, but the fire merely singed the ground next to Zhao’s head.

    “That’s it?” The Commander scoffed. “Your father raised a coward.”

    “Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won’t hold back.” Zuko turned and walked back to his uncle.

    Zhao got to his feet and swung a kick at Zuko with a roar, but it was easily caught and stopped by Iroh. Iroh pushed Zhao back and turned to hold back Zuko, who was ready to launch a counter attack.

    “No, Prince Zuko, do not taint your victory.” Iroh ordered before turning back to Zhao. “So this is how the Great Commander Zhao behaves in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you. Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious.” He bowed and walked out of the arena with Zuko on his heels.

    “Uncle, do you really mean that?” His eyes were as soft as they had ever been.

    “Of course, I told you Ginseng tea is my favorite.” Iroh smiled.

    Zuko smiled back and the two departed the dock together.

    Back at the Air Temple, Yue was only slipping further away.

    The wind ripped through Sokka’s clothes as he clung to a glowing statue, trying to think of something to say. What would Katara say in a situation like this? What would his mother say?

    “Yue! I know you’re scared!” He shouted above the howling wind and water. “I get it, a lot of responsibility was dumped on you! Even if it was gonna happen eventually, it still wasn’t fair!”

    The sphere of water’s spinning speed increased. The statue of the firebending Avatar before Avatar Aang was destroyed along with Avatar Aang’s remains. Sokka pressed his back against a statue so he could try to speak directly at Yue.

    “I went through the same thing when my dad left. Suddenly, everyone was counting on me to feed and clothe and heal and defend the entire Tribe, and I was just a kid! But I wasn’t alone, I never was. I had Katara with me, and now you do, too! We’re gonna be here for you, every step of the way! This isn’t your burden anymore, we’ll help you figure out how you want to live your life! That’s what families do!”

    The water slowed to form a bubble around Yue. Sokka could see that she had fallen to her knees and was hugging herself tightly. Sokka touched the bubbled and it popped, allowing him to go to Yue’s side and hug her tightly. She clung to him for dear life.

    “I wasn’t ready to be the Avatar…” she whispered into his arm. “I don’t even know where to begin…”

    “That’s okay. We’ll figure it out. Together. Promise.” Sokka rocked her back and forth.

    Katara emerged from the doorway. “What just happened?! I leave for five minutes and the mountain starts shaking like crazy!”

    Yue pulled herself away from Sokka and stood with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I got a little emotional, is all.”

    Katara quickly moved to her and wrapped her in a big hug. “That’s okay, everyone gets emotional from time to time. Now come with me, I found something you’re gonna love!”

    She took Yue’s and Sokka’s hands and dragged them out of the sanctum. When they emerged back into the dusk, they saw something truly magical. 

    Floating in the sky all around them, of various shapes and sizes, was a herd of sky bison!

    Yue started squealing in delight and even Sokka had to admit that it was an adorable view. One flew down and landed in the courtyard in front of them, Katara moving to it and petting its fur.

    “This is the one our little lemur friend introduced me to. When the mountain started shaking, this guy here let me hop onto his back! I found an old saddle somewhere, think we can ditch the canoe?”

    Sokka approached the massive beast. “Katara, I know I don’t say this enough, but you may be a genius.”

    Yue also moved to pet the bison. “Do you have a name, my friend?”

    Katara shoved her face in the bison’s warm fur, muffling her voice. “In my head, I’ve just been calling him Niú.”

    Yue repeated the name to herself and giggled again. Off to the side, Sokka found the saddle that Katara had mentioned and somehow dragged the massive thing over to the group.

    “Maybe Avatar Aang did leave something behind for us!” 

    It took them a while, but the three managed to get the saddle onto Niú’s back and tie reins around his horns. As they worked, the lemur from before reappeared and brought them various fruits from high trees while also returning Sokka's boomerang. Yue decided to call the lemur Momo.

    They piled into Niú’s saddle, Sokka snapped his reins, and they floated up into the sky, heading north with help from the moon.

    Yue stared at the Southern Air Temple as they floated away, silent. Katara climbed onto Niú’s head to sit next to Sokka. She hugged him.

    “I heard what you said to Yue. That was really sweet of you.” She whispered.

    Sokka shrugged. “All in a day’s work as the Avatar’s chaperone.”

    “No, I distinctly heard you say the Avatar’s family .”

    “Lies! All of it!”

    Katara laughed and leaned against him, the moon rising further into the sky and the clouds coating their path.