"Sokka, look!" A young girl with dark brown hair and ocean blue eyes exclaimed with happy surprise as she carefully bended a fish from the water inside a globule of water.

"Shh, Katara, you're gonna scare it away." An older boy with similiar features to the girl hissed as he stared over the side of the canoe they were in and at the water where another fish was swimming. He shifted his grip on his spear, poising to the strike the fish as he licked his lips with a blissful expression, "Mmm... I can already smell it cookin'."

"But, Sokka!" Katara persisted as she carefully stood up and made circular movements with both of her arms, keeping the bubble of water with the fish inside suspended then she began moving it towards her and the canoe. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she shifted slowly to the side as she continued to direct the globule of water towards the basket in the middle of the canoe, "Sokka, I caught one!"

Still oblivious to his sister's success in catching a fish, the boy, Sokka, raised his spear and pulled his arm back, preparing to strike the fish he was watching. The butt of the spear hit the globule of water which Katara had barely begun to lower towards the basket and the water bubble promptly burst, accidently releasing the fish from the bubble and soaking him.

"Ugh!"

"Hey!" In disbelief, Katara watched the arc of the fish she'd caught as it soared through the air and back into the icy sea with a small splash. Her left brow twitched slightly and she jerked her head around to glare indignantly at Sokka.

Sokka whirled around angrily to face his sister while placing his spear parallel on the rim of the small boat they were in, "Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?" He demanded, gesticulating wildly for a moment before clenching his fists and wringing some of the water from his gloves.

"Urch!" Katara sighed in annoyance and she put her hands on her hips with righteous indignation, "It's not magic, it's waterbending! And it's-"

"Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah, blah, blah." Sokka interrupted her abruptly and he grabbed his warrior's wolf knot, squeezing the water out of it as he continued to speak, "I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

"You're calling me weird?" Katara demanded sharply, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at her brother with a quirked brow, "I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself everytime I see my reflection in the water."

She smiled mockingly at her brother as he turned to look over his shoulder at her, the happy expression that had been on his face as he observed his flexing arm muscles in his reflection disappearing into a sullen scowl. He turned slowly in his seat to face her with narrowed eyes and he opened his mouth to retort when the boat suddenly and violently jolted after being struck by a small chunk of ice. Sokka quickly turned to face the front again and his eyes widened when he realized that while he and his sister had been arguing, the canoe had strayed into dangerous rapids that were leading straight towards a small glacier that was crushing everything in its path.

Thinking quickly, Sokka grabbed the oar and began paddling the canoe in an attempt to stay clear of the many floating chunks of ice that littered the rapids. Sokka glanced over his shoulder when Katara gave a wordless cry after noticing two large chunks of ice rapidly approaching the small boat from either side and Sokka began to paddle face, gaining just enough speed to keep the canoe from being crushed by the two ice floes just as they slammed together. Sokka grunted with exertion as he continued to try and paddle the canoe away from the many ice floes around them.

"Watch out!" Katara shouted when they hit one of the small chunks of ice and she noticed several more rapidly converging in front of the little boat, "Go left! Go left!"

Sokka grunted again as the ice floes continued to close in on all sides of the canoe, bumping into the little boat. He managed to stay away from some of the large ice chunks for several more minutes before the canoe was forced onto an extremely narrow path between two large ice floes. Sokka grabbed his spear and quickly leapt onto one of the ice floes, grabbing the back of his sister's parka with his free hand and yanking her out of the small boat just as it was crushed between the two flat plains of ice.

Katara yelped quietly as she slid across the ice floe on her belly, nearly falling off the other side, but managing to stop just at the rim of the floe. She stared at the icy water inches from her face and swallowed thickly before pushing herself onto her elbows, staring in disbelief at the now calm waters and the numerous ice floes that surrounded the one she and Sokka were on.

Quickly shoving herself backwards, Katara scrambled away from the rim of the ice floe to the middle where Sokka had landed, his spear standing upright beside him in the ice. She glared at him accusingly, "You call that left?"

"You don't like my steering?" Sokka demanded sulkily then he mockingly began to make some waterbending movements with his arms, "Well, maybe you should'vewaterbended us out of the ice."

"So it's my fault?" Katara shot back indignantly as she got to her feet and stood in front of her brother with a scowl.

"I knew I should have left you home!" Sokka grumbled as he pulled his knees up and rested his elbows on them, while Katara glared down at the top of his head, "Leave it to a girl to screw things up!"

"You!" Katara yelled as she pointed at her brother with an expression of anger and annoyance, "Are the most sexist, immature, nut brained-Ugh!" She brought her up and swung them back down to emphasize her words, unintentionally creating a small wave of water behind her, which followed her every gesture as she continued to wave her arms around, "I'm embarrassed to be related to you!"

She swung her hands back forcefully, completely unaware that the gesture caused the iceberg behind her to crack. Sokka, annoyed with his sister's outburst, stared at the ground as she yelled, but the sound of the iceberg cracking caused him to lift his head. His eyes widened comically as he looked over his enraged sister's shoulder to stare at the iceberg as Katara continued to gesture wildly as she yelled.

"Ever since mom died," Katara placed her hands on her chest as she berated her brother, "I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!" She swung her arm to the side to emphasize her point, unknowningly enlarging the crack in the iceberg with her waterbending.

Sokka squeaked slightly and cowered back, "Uh...Katara..."

Katara ignored him as she continued to rant, pointing at his face accusingly, "I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, not pleasant!"

"Katara!" Sokka shouted in a high-pitched voice when his sister unconciously caused another crack to appear in the iceberg and he stared at her with wide eyes, "Settle down!"

"No! That's it! I'm done helping you! From now on you're. On. Your. OWN!" She shouted the last word and stomped her foot, throwing her arms backwards at the same time.

Sokka yelped and gasped as his sister's last movement caused the splits in the iceberg to crack even further, moving from the base of the iceberg all the way to the top. Katara spun and gasped, her eyes widening as she finally noticed the large chunk of ice behind her just as it began to collapse into the ocean. Katara yelped as she stumbled back to her brother as the collapsing iceberg sent up large wave that sent the ice floe the siblings were on back several feet. Sokka wrapped a protective arm around Katara's shoulders as they were forced to grab the rim of the ice floe to keep from sliding off the otherside and into the water as the wave tilted it dangerously.

"Okay," Sokka muttered wryly as he released his sister after the wave had dissipitated and the water had calmed again, "You've gone from weird to freakish, Katara."

Katara gaped at her brother in utter surprise, "You mean I did that?"

"Yep." Sokka replied sarcastically and he nudged his sister with his elbow, "Congratulations."

Katara gave her brother a dirty look but before she could retort, the water beneath and in front of their ice floe began to glow a brilliant blue, strange bubbles coming out of the water a moment later. The two siblings cowered back from the edge of the float, scrambling back onto their feet when they reached the middle of the ice. They gasped and stumbled back slightly when an enormous, spherical iceberg burst from the surface of the water, a brilliant bluish white light emitting from it.

Katara stared at the iceberg in awe, straying closer to the rim of the ice floe. Sokka made a noise of protest and stretched out his hand as if to hold her back, but he stopped at the last minute. Oblivious to her brother's trepidation, Katara squinted slightly as she moved to get a better look at the iceberg. She questioningly raised one brow at what appeared to be three figures encased in the ice. One, a young boy was perched in the lotus position with glowing arrows on his head and touching fists, while another curled into a slight ball behind the boy, and then the large creature curled above them.

Suddenly, the boy opened his eyes, which glowed as brilliant as the arrows on his head and hands, startling the two siblings.

"He's alive!" Katara exclaimed in shock and she grabbed Sokka's club out of its sheath on his back, "We have to help!" She yanked the hood of her parka over her head and raced towards the strange boy trapped in the iceberg.

"Katara, get back here!" Sokka barked as he stretched his hand out in an attempt to hold Katara back. She ignored him and he growled to himself before he yanked his spear out of their floe and raced after his sister, using several small ice floes as stepping stones, "We don't know what that thing is!"

Katara reached the iceberg first and she hit the iceberg with Sokka's club, grunting with the effort as she repeatedly struck the same spot several times. Cracks began to appear around the spot of impact and with another grunt, Katara swung the club with all her strength, slamming through the ice that the three figures were encased in.

"Woah!" She squealed as she and Sokka were thrown off their feet that escaped from the hole she had made in the iceberg.

Fissures began to run over the whole iceberg, starting from the hole Katara had created, and with an explosion of air and sound, the whole iceberg cracked in half and an incredible beam of bluish-white light erupted upwards, rocketing towards the sky. A nearby herd of tiger-seals reared up and roared at the sky.

Golden eyes widened in surprise then narrowed in satisfaction at the beam of bluish-white light shooting up into the sky.

"Finally." A young man in Fire Nation armor murmured and he turned towards an older man in light red Fire Nation robes sitting at a small table, "Uncle Iroh, do you realize what this means?!"

The older man looked up from the tile in his hand to stare at his nephew calmly, "I won't get to finish my game?"

"It means," The teen began as he turned around to glare in the direction the light was coming from, "My search is about to come to an end."

Iroh sighed uninterestedly and placed the tile he held onto the table, over another tile. The teenager whirled around to face his uncle again and gestured towards the light, "That light came from an incredibly powerful source!" Behind him, the light died down then disappeared entirely, "It has to be him!"

"Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko." The older man refuted gently and he looked down at the tile he'd just picked up, staring curiously at the airbending symbol emblossed on it, "I don't want you to get too excited over nothing."

He placed the tile on another that depicted the symbol for firebending then he gestured towards the open seat across the table from him and continued in a soothing voice, "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea?"

"I don't want any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar!" Prince Zuko exploded angrily as he spun to face his uncle again with a furious expression on his scarred face then he turned back around and pointed in the direction of where the light had been, "Helmsman, head a course for the light!"

Iroh calmly glanced away from his nephew and back to his game, staring at the tile he'd picked up. He carefully set the tile with the airbending symbol down on the previous tile he'd set down and a soft gust of wind washed over him, rattling the tiles on the table gently.

Cold.

That was the first thing Xiaodan became aware of as conciousness slowly returned to her and the cold seeped into her backside. Voices, one familiar and two not, were the second thing she became aware of and her eyelids began to flutter open. Sunlight, bright and unforgiving assaulted her senstive eyes and Xiaodan groaned, snapping her eyes shut tight only a second after opening them.

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

'Aang?' Xiaodan thought blearily as she rubbed at her eyes then she sat up, coming face-to-nose with a very familiar sky bison, 'Appa? What?'

Appa snored loudly, blowing hot air against the teenage girl's face and sending her already messy white hair every which way. The sound of someone scrambling in her direction pulled Xiaodan's attention away from the perplexing, but not uncommon, sight of the sleeping sky bison, who's large head was resting on her legs. A very familiar figure suddenly appeared over a ridge made of snow and Xiaodan threw her arms in the air happily when she saw her charge leap onto Appa's face.

"Aang!" The teen girl cried out ecstatically, "You're alive!"

"Xia!" the bald boy yelped and let go of Appa's head to drop down beside her, "Are you okay?"

Xiaodan gave him a cheeky smile that lit up her orange eyes, "Sure am, but can you help me get this big lug's head off my legs?" She wiggled slightly and scrunched up her nose in a comical expression of discomfort, "They're starting to go numb."

Aang grinned at her broadly and nodded rapidly in agreement before attempting to lift Appa's large head off her legs by standing with his back to the sky bison's face and pulling on his upper lip. Xiaodan flopped onto her back, blinking when she noticed a girl and a boy with similar features appear around the mound of snow just as Appa woke up and opened his mouth, licking Aang right off his feet.

"Yes! Freedom!" Xiaodan cheered excitedly and she used a gust of air to push herself to her feet and promptly fell onto her butt as blood rushed to the sleeping appendages, "Ow! Oooh, pins and needles!Ow, ow, ow!"

Aang laughed at his sister as he landed on his feet beside her before he hugged Appa's face again, "Appa, you're okay!"

The flying bison made a grumbling noise deep in his throat, nuzzling Aang happily while Xiaodan pulled herself back onto her feet a second time using the sky bison's cheek as support. She grinned slightly when she caught sight of the other two teens in blue parkas standing a couple feet away, stunned expressions on their tanned faces.

"What is that thing?!" The boy demanded as he and the girl came closer, warily looking between Aang, Xiaodan, and Appa.

"This is Appa." Xiaodan said helpfully with a happy grin on her tattooed face and she let go of Appa's cheek to rock back on her heels.

"He's my flying bison." Aang added with his own smile and he rubbed Appa's nose affectionately.

"Right." The boy drawled disbelievingly and he gestured towards the girl beside him with his thumb, "And this is Katara, my flying sister."

Xiaodan giggled at the look the girl, Katara, gave the boy. Suddenly, Appa began to make a growling sound low in his throat and his upper lip began to twitch. Aang and Xiaodan exchanged looks and ducked just as the flying bison sneezed, spraying the other boy with gooey, green snot.

"Eeewww! Aaahhhggg!" The boy screeched, rubbing himself against the snow in an attempt to get rid of the snot covering him.

Xiaodan giggled maniacally, doubling over and clutching her stomach while Aang just smiled innocently as he petted Appa's nose.

"Don't worry, it'll wash out."

The boy touched the snot on his face and pulled his hand away, making disgusted noises as it stretched, but remained stuck to his face. Xiaodan rocked back on her heels and looked around curiously before focusing on the two siblings, "So, do you guys live around here?"

Suddenly the boy Appa sneezed on was crouched in front of her and Aang, his spear pointed at their faces threateningly, "Don't answer that!" He snapped at his sister without taking his narrowed eyes off the two benders, "Did you see that crazy bolt of light? They were probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!"

Xiaodan furrowed her dark brows in confusion, looking at Aang from the corner of her eye as he held his hands up in submission. The girl, Katara rolled her eyes and stepped around her brother, pushing his spear down.

"Oh yeah," She drawled sarcastically as she shoved her brother away from the other two, "I'm sure they're spies for the Fire Navy. You can tell by that evil look in their eyes." Aang and Xiaodan looked at the boy with wide innocent eyes and earnest smiles, but he just eyed them suspiciously. Katara rolled her eyes again then smiled at the two benders as she gestured towards the boy, "The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your names."

"I'm A-ahh-ahh...Achoo!" Aang started to sniffle and Xiaodan took a few steps back just before he sneezed and flew several feet up into the air. Xiaodan laughed as he came sliding down and skidded to a stop in front of the siblings, pin-wheeling his arms to keep his balance then he smiled at them, "I'm Aang and this is my sister, Xiaodan."

"Hi!" Xiaodan greeted them in a bubbly manner as she waved, "You can call me Xia."

The two siblings stared at them in disbelief and Sokka pointed a finger in the air, "You just sneezed and flew ten feet in the air."

"Huh," Xiaodan mused thoughtfully as she tilted her head back curiously, "I thought it was higher."

Aang looked up too, "It did feel higher than that."

"Oh!" Katara suddenly gasped with realization, "You're an Airbender!"

"Sure am." Aang replied with a grin and he gestured to himself then to Xiaodan, "Both of us are."

"Giant light beams, flying bison, Airbenders." Sokka muttered in bemusement as he turned and started walking away, "I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness. I'm going home where everything makes sense."

"Midnight Sun Madness?" Xiaodan blinked and scratched her cheek, canting her head to the side as she eyed Sokka's back in a curious manner. She shrugged and turned around, using a gust of air to launch herself onto Appa's back, not noticing how Sokka was despondently staring out at the endless sea of water that was basically trapping them on remains of the glacier.

"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa, Xia, and I can give you a lift." Aang offered before he executed a spinning jump that carried him onto the bridge of Appa's nose then he jumped again so that he was sitting atop the sky bison's head.

"We'd love a ride!" Katara replied excitedly with a bright grin, "Thanks!"

Xiaodan jumped down from Appa's saddle, taking Aang's place on Appa's head when the younger Airbender went to help Katara onto Appa's back.

Sokka turned to face them with a stricken expression, "Oh no, I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster."

"Really?" Xiaodan asked and gave him an amused look as she picked up the reins, "Is some other monster going to give you a ride back to your home?"

"Yeah," Katara agreed with a smirk as she stood beside Aang in teh saddle, "You know, before youfreeze to death."

Sokka opened his mouth to retort then sighed in resignation when he realized that the two girls were right.

Xiaodan clapped her hands as she sat facing the two Water Tribe siblings sitting in the saddle while Aang took up Appa's reins behind her, "Okay, first time fliers!" She exclaimed giddly with an eager grin on her face, "Hold on tight!"

Aang grinned at her over his shoulder then turned around and snapped the reins lightly, "Appa, yip-yip!"

Appa growled lowly in response and began moving his tail up and down then he leapt high into the air. He seemed to hover in the air for a few moments before belly flopping into the water with a loud splash. Xiaodan squawked as some of the water splashed her and she tumbled off the saddle edge she was perched on, landing in an awkward heap on Appa's neck as the sky bison began to trudge slowly through the water.

Katara crawled across the saddle to the front while Aang urged Appa to fly by flicking the reins again, "Come on, Appa. Yip-yip!"

"Wow..." Sokka drawled sarcastically as he leaned back against the saddle with his arms crossed over his chest and a sullen expression on his face, "That was truly amazing. Really, I'm impressed."

Katara turned to glare at her older brother as Xiaodan scrambled into an upright position, white hair plastered to her skull, then she airbended herself up and over Katara's head. She landed behind the dark-haired girl and stuck her tongue out at the Sokka then she touched her fists together, airbending the water from her hair and clothes.

"Appa's just tired." Aang just smiled good naturedly over his shoulder and patted the sky bison's head then he gestured towards the sky, "A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see." He smiled at Katara, who returned the gesture easily. She turned to move back by her brother, but paused when she realized that Aang was still smiling at her. Xiaodan jumped easily onto the rim of the saddle and stretched her arms out to keep her balance as she glanced over at her brother, giggling slightly at the dreamy expression on his face as he stared up at Katara.

"Um...Why are you smiling at me like that?" Katara asked in a slightly uncomfortable tone, one brow quirked at the bald boy.

"O-oh," Aang squeaked slightly in embarrassment and he rubbed the back of his head, "I was smiling?"

Katara gave him a surprised and bewildered smile in response, causing Xiaodan to giggle some more. Sokka tilted his head back and stuck his tongue out with an overly exagerated and loud groan of disgust. Xiaodan shot him an amused look as she walked along the saddle edge back towards the front while Katara shot her brother an irritated glare.

'Silly Aang.' Xiaodan thought with no little amount of amusement, her smile widening as Appa continued to make his way through the icy seas, his tail flapping in the water.

Iroh quietly walked towards where his nephew was standing at the helm of his ship, staring into the distance. "I'm going to bed." Iroh said then he yawned and stretched, patting his belly gently, "Yep, a man needs his rest."

His nephew continued to ignore him and Iro heaved a mildly exasperated sigh at his nephew's stubbornness, "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right, and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, your grandfather, and great-grandfather all tried and failed."

"Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture." Prince Zuko retorted sharply, "Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Xiaodan sprawled out in the middle of the saddle, her long legs drapped over the side of the saddle and her arms tucked behind her head as she stared up at the darkening sky musingly. She tilted her head slightly when she heard Katara shift from her spot near her head, watching quietly as the younger girl crawled towards the front of the saddle, where she leaned against the rim to stare down at Aang, who was in a similar position as his sister on Appa's head. Xiaodan turned her gaze back towards the sky, giving the two younger teens a semblance of privacy while trying to ignore Sokka's obnoxious snoring.

Katara glanced over at the white-haired girl then she looked back at Aang, leaning her arms against the saddle rim, "Hey."

Aang smiled slightly at Katara, "Hey, what'cha thinkin' about?"

"I guess I was wondering," She began quietly with a small shrug, "You being an Airbender an all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?"

"Uhh," Aang stuttered slightly as he moved his arms from behind his head and sat up slightly while, unbeknownst to either him or Katara, Xiaodan cringed and closed her eyes tightly, "No. I didn't know him. I mean, Xia and I knew people that knew him, but we didn't." He smiled weakly at her, "Sorry."

"Okay. Just curious." Katara sighed and she glanced down at her arms in disappointment then she smiled at Aang, "Good night."

"Sleep tight." Aang replied uncomfortably as Katara moved back to the middle of the saddle. He turned around and sat with his legs crossed, staring guiltily at his hands in his lap. A moment later, warm arms wrapped around him from behind and he felt the familiar tickle of Xiaodan's hair against his scalp as she rested her chin on the top of his head.

Xiaodan squeezed him gently and pressed a sisterly kiss to the crown of head then rested her chin atop his head, "Don't worry, little brother. Everything will be fine."

Aang leaned back against her, gratitude and affection for his sister's reassuring presence filling him with warmth. "Thanks, Xia."

Xiaodan merely smiled slightly and began to softly hum a slightly out of tune melody until she felt Aang relax completely against her, his breathing deep and even with sleep. Still humming gently, she looked out at the water as Appa continued to swimming.

'Aang and Xiaodan curled up beside each other in Appa's saddle, both fast asleep while a storm began brewing over their unsuspecting heads. Lightning suddenly split the dark gray sky the deep snarling rumble of thunder crashing around them moments later and jolting the Aang awake. He sat up with a gasp and looked around wide-eyed, before his gaze settled on a still peacefully sleeping Xiaodan. He quickly reached out to grasp her shoulder to shake her awake but as soon as his hand touched her, she disappeared in a cloud of golden dust.

Aang gave a wordless cry as lightning suddenly flashed and he was suddenly sitting on Appa's head, holding the reins and screaming at the top of his lungs in fear as rain sheeted down from the ominous sky and Appa fell towards the roiling ocean below. Over his own screams of terror, he could hear familiar, higher pitched shrieks coming from behind him, but no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't turn around to see if Xiaodan was really making those noises as he tried to keep Appa from hitting the water.

Against his will, the sky bison smashed into the froathing waters of the ocean, and Aang's screams, as well as the high pitched ones are abruptly cut off. Appa quickly resurfaced and growled lowly as he tried to get out of the water, but another wave forces him back down. Aang briefly saw Xiaodan get ripped from Appa's saddle and he reached out to her with his free hand, but the roiling ocean was pulling her farther and farther away from him.

Closing his eyes tightly, Aang bit his lip as he drifted away from Appa's head, the reins falling away from his hands as unconciousness begins to drag him under. Just as Aang completely releases the reins, his arrow tattoos begin to glow with bluish-white light and his eyes snap open, glowing like his tattoos. He slammed his fists together and created a bluish-white sphere that encased himself, Appa, and Xiaodan. Ice slowly began to cover the sphere as two familiars voice echoed around him...

"Aang?"

"Wake up, little brother!"

Aang jolted upright with a gasp, tossing the blankets he hadn't realized were covering him to the side as he sucked in deep lungfuls of air. Immediately strong arms wrapped around him and the familiar warmth that was uniquely his sister surrounded him; a warmth that instantly made him feel safe and protected and he relaxed slightly.

"Shh, it was just a nightmare." Xiaodan cooed as she rubbed his bare back gently, "It's okay, little brother, we're in the village now."

Standing nearby, Katara watched somewhat awkwardly as Xiaodan soothed Aang, but she smiled brightly when he glanced over at her. "Come on, get ready." She urged him with excitement and she pointed towards the tent flap, "Everyone's waiting to meet you guys!"

Xiaodan easily extracted herself from her brother and bounced to her feet, handing him his shirt as he sat up from the sleeping mat on the tent floor. Bouncing past him, the white-haired girl slipped out the tent flap to stand just outside, peeking curiously over her shoulder as Katara took a step to follow her, but paused just inside the threshold.

Her lips twitched upwards in amusement at the awed gasp that escaped the younger girl as she stared in wonder at the light blue arrow tattoos that covered Aang's arms, legs, back and head before they're covered by his shirt.

Katara caught Xiaodan's eyes and her cheeks darkened slightly in embarrassment before she looked back at Aang. Seeing that he had finished putting his shirt on, she grabbed his hand and pulled to his feet and out of the tent. She grabbed Xiaodan's hand with her free one when she past the older girl on her way out then she practically dragged the two Airbenders toward the congregation of what appeared to be all the villagers.

"Hi, Sokka!" Xiaodan called out cheerfully to the Water Tribe boy, who was sitting outside the tent shaping a boomerang, as his sister dragged her and Aang passed him to the villagers.

"Aang, Xia, this is the entire village." Katara said proudly as she pointed towards the line of villagers, that seemed to consist of woman, children, and the elderly, "Entire village, this is Aang and Xiaodan."

Xiaodan handed Aang his glider then she turned towards the line of villagers and bowed respectfully, Aang doing the same beside her. She and Aang exchanged glances full of discomfort when the villagers flinched and took a collective step away from them.

"Uh..." Aang muttered to Katara in an uncomfortable tone, "Why are they all looking at us like that? Did Appa sneeze on one of us?"

He began to check his clothes self conciously and Xiaodan leaned around the younger girl to whisper to her brother in a conspiratorial manner, "Maybe you put your shirt on wrong."

Aang blanched and looked down at his shirt again then made a face at Xiaodan when he noticed she was just messing with him. She grinned cheekily and winked, before an elderly woman stepping forward out of the line of villagers caught her attention.

"Well, no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years." The wizened old woman intoned matter-of-factly, much to the two Airbenders' confusion, "We thought they were extinct, until my granddaughter and grandson found you two."

Aang's jaw dropped in disbelief while Xiaodan squawked in an undignified manner, "Extinct?!"

"Aang, Xia, this is my grandmother." Katara said, gesturing to the elderly woman by way of introduction.

Katara and Sokka's grandmother stared at the two Airbenders impassively, "Call me Gran-Gran."

Xiaodan felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth at the woman's flat tones, unexplicably reminded of one of the nuns at the Eastern Air Temple who had been one of her teachers. Her idle musings were interrupted by Sokka when he walked up beside her and abruptly snatched her staff out of her hands.

"What is this, a weapon?" He demanded in an annoyed tone as he examined the staff, "You can't stabanything with this!"

Xiaodan rolled her eyes good naturedly and used a small current of air to pull her staff back into her waiting hand, "It's not for stabbing, silly!"

"It's for airbending!" Aang finished excitedly and he snapped his own staff open into a glider, revealing the orange wings and causing Sokka to gasp in fright and cover his head with his hands while Xiaodan gave him an amused look.

"Magic trick!" One of the little girls cheered with wide eyes, "Do it again!"

"Not magic." Xiaodan chuckled as she snapped her own glider open with a little bending and revealed the dark blue wings, "Airbending." Aang began moving his glider around him to visually demonstrate while Xiaodan spoke, "It lets us control the air currents around our gliders and fly."

Sokka scoffed in disbelief and crossed his arms over his chest, "Ya know, last time I check, humans can't fly!"

Aang smiled smugly, "Check again!" He grasped the leading spars of the lift wings then he pushed himself off the ground and hooked his feet over the leading spars of the stabilizer wings at the base of the glider, leaving Sokka, Katara, and Xiaodan behind on the ground to cover their faces against the sudden gust of wind.

Xiaodan gave a loud whoop and grasped the leading spars of her own glider then, with a running start, she leapt into the air. The young children of the village cheered, ooh'ing and ahh'ing as the two Airbenders began first to make seperate loops in the sky then they made several more twists and loops around each other.

"They're flying!" One little girl called out excitedly while another one squealed as Aang made a few more loops before speeding up to soar past the villagers, "He's amazing!"

Xiaodan laughed loudly as she flew a few feet above her brother and watched him with a grin as he flew over Katara, who was smiling broadly. Her laughter doubled as she watched Aang, clearly wanting to impress the villagers, twisted around and flew sideways with his eyes closed and a broad grin on his face. She shook her head in amused exasperation when he flew straight into what looked like a watchtower made of snow, causing it to crumble around him.

Xiaodan easily banked towards the ground and landed lightly on her feet beside the crumbled watchtower, twirling her glider closed just as Aang mananged to free his head from where it had been stuck in the icy watchtower and he tumbled to the snow below.

"Ah!" Sokka squawked in shock and his jaw dropped as his sister ran towards the two Airbenders, "My watchtower!"

Katara reached the two Airbenders just as Xiaodan was pulling Aang to his feet, her glider resting in the hidden sheath on the back of her golden-yellow shirt, "That was amazing!"

Xiaodan giggled as several of the young village girls hovered behind Katara with identical awed expressions on their young faces. She glanced over at Sokka as he ran up to them and began patting his watchtower in the apparent hope to save it from further collapse. Aang beamed at Katara happily as he twirled his glider around to retract the wings while behind him, a large pile of snow fell onto Sokka and knocked him down, causing Xiaodan to laugh outright.

"Great." Sokka grumbled in annoyance as he struggled to get out of the snow pile, "You two are Airbenders, Katara's a Waterbender. Together you can just waste time all day long." He finally managed to free himself from underneath the snow then he stalked off.

"You're a Waterbender?" Aang asked in surprise and admiration, his gray eyes wide.

"Well," Katara stuttered nervously with a small smile, "Sort of. Not yet."

Xiaodan was about to ask the younger girl what thatmeant exactly, but Gran-Gran suddenly appeared behind Katara, grasping the girl's arm gently.

"Alright, no more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores."

Xiaodan watched curiously as the surrounding villagers parted to let the grandmother and granddaughter duo pass before she was distracted by a gentle tug on her long tunic and she looked down to see one of the younger village girls staring up at her with wide blue eyes. Xiaodan flashed a smile and crouched down so she was eye level with the little girl, while several of the other young children surrounded Aang.

Katara stared at her grandmother with excited eyes, "I told you, they're the real thing Gran-Gran! I finally found, not only one bender to teach me, but two!"

"Katara," Gran-Gran murmured calmly to her granddaught, "Try not to put all your hopes in those two. Especially that boy."

"But Aang's special! I can tell!" Katara replied and she brought her fists up to her chest and closed her eyes with a hopeful expression, "I sense he's filled withmuch wisdom."

She opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder at Aang and Xiaodan, who are both surrounded by a bunch of the village children. She winced slightly when Aang grinned and stuck his tongue to his staff.

"Shee?" She heard him say in a muffled voice, "'Ow mah tonkek es shtuck to mah shtaff!"

Xiaodan threw her head back with a loud laugh when one of the smaller village boys yanked on Aang's staff, pulling the younger Airbender along by his tongue with each movement. The white-haired girl laughed again and applauded along with the children when Aang's tongue remained stuck to his staff. Katara winced again and smiled sheepishly at her grandmother, who merely raised one brow at her in response.

On the Fire Navy ship, Iroh watched his nephew with narrow amber eyes as he stood facing two soldiers in the uniform of a firebending Fire Nation soldier, "Again."

He observed critically as Prince Zuko began the spar by spreading his arms in the direction of the two Firebenders, shooting a jet of flame from each fist at them. The two soldiers easily blocked Zuko's attack and he quickly shifted his weight forward to duck under a retaliatory blast from the Firebender on his left. The Firebender on the right leapt forward and aimed a blast at Zuko's feet, but the prince nimbly propelled himself out of the way.

Zuko twisted lithely in mid-air and directed another fire blast with his hand at the Firebender that retaliated first then using his foot, he fired another blast at the second firebending soldier. Both soliders jumped out of the way just as Zuko landed on his feet a few feet away from his adversaries, his fists outstretched towards them in preparation for another attack.

Iroh heaved a sigh and stood up, "No!" He waited sternly for his nephew to lower his arms and look towards him before he continued speaking, "Power in firebending comes from breath," Iroh moved both his hands up from his lower abdomen to his chest to emphasize the breathing motion, "Not the muscle.

The older Firebender stretched his arm out as if he was firing a blast, "The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes, fire!" He thrust his fist out, directing a weak fire blast at his nephew that evaporated just before it could scorch him, "Get it right this time."

"Enough!" Zuko barked furiously as he stalked towards his uncle with barely suppressed anger, "I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready!"

"No, you are impatient." Iroh barked back as he sat down in his chair again, "You have yet to master your basics." He raised his voice to a stern yell, "Drill it again!"

Zuko clenched his teeth in anger and whirled around, abruptly kicking his foot out and directing a powerful blast at one of the soldiers. Unable to stop the fire blast, the soldier went flying back several feet while the second one watched in surprise.

"The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last Airbender." Zuko snapped as he stalked back over his uncle, who glared up at him with a displeased expression, "He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements! I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him." Zuko's voice raised to a furious shout as he leaned closer to his uncle, "You will teach me the advanced set!"

"Very well." Iroh concededly reluctantly in a dire tone that changed abruptly to one of delight as he picked up a bowl from the ground, "But first, I must finish my roast duck."

A muscle in Zuko's cheek twitched and he stepped away from his uncle as he began shoveling pieces of roast duck into his mouth.

Xiaodan hummed quietly to herself as she walked through the small Southern Water Tribe village, idly twirling her staff around in her hands as she walked. She was wondering through the village in search of her brother, who had disappeared almost somewhere almost an hour ago and she wasn't quite sure where he'd had run off to. And she was bored.

"Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a Firebender."

Xiaodan instantly perked up, a bright grin spreading across her face when she heard Sokka's comically stern voice, and she happily skipped in the direction his voice had come from. Her grin widened when she saw the young Water Tribe warrior pacing back and forth in front of a group of young boys.

"In the Water Tribe, we fight to last man standing!" Sokka continued, completely oblivious to the white haired Airbender sneaking up behind him as he took out his club and held it up proudly, "For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?"

"Hey, Sokka!"

"Eek!" Sokka yelped shrilly, in a decidedly unmanly fashion, and he whirled around, brandishing his club defensively then he scowled when he realized it was only Xiaodan, "Don't do that! Gah, can't you see we'retraining?"

Xiaodan canted her head to the side and quirked a brow with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she looked at the group of bored looking young boys sitting behind him, "Training?"

One of the older boys in the group of little boys shot his hand in the air, wiggling slightly in place, "I gotta pee!"

"Listen!" Sokka snapped as he whirled around to face the boys with a stern expression, "Until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe, and that means no potty breaks!"

"But I really gotta go!" The boy whined, wiggle in place with more emphasis.

Sokka opened his mouth to retort but Xiaodan smoothly stepped up beside him and smiled sweetly at the group of boys, "Alright, who else has to go?"

The rest of the little boys instant shot their hands up and Sokka stared in surprise then smacked his forehead with his palm in exasperation. Xiaodan smiled and shook her head in amusement, shooing the boys away before turning towards Sokka just as his sister ran up to them.

"Have you guys seen Aang?" Katara asked worriedly as she wrung her hands slightly, "Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."

Xiaodan scratched her head, "Yeah, I've been wondering where he'd-" She was distracted by Aang suddenly crawling out of the latrine igloo, adjusting his pants as he straightened.

"Wow!" The younger Airbender said in amusement to the group of young boys that had surrounded him, "Everything freezes in there!"

Xiaodan made a strangled noise of amusement and covered her eyes with a hand, shaking her head at the delighted laughter of the Sokka's young 'soldiers.'

"Ugh!" Sokka growled in annoyance and he pointed angrily at Aang as he addressed his sister, "Katara, get him out of here! This lesson is for warriors only!"

Xiaodan watched in bemusement as he moved to turn around before the sound of playing children grabbed his, Katara's, and Xiaodan's attention. The white-haired girl grinned as she watched several of the village children slide down Appa's tail, the end of which was being held up so that the children were propelled into the air. Katara and Xiaodan giggled as a young boy flew over Sokka's spear, which was serving as a marker that the children needed to cross, before landing head first in a soft pile of snow.

"Stop! Stop it right now!" Sokka shouted angrily as he ran towards Appa, Aang, and the playing children, who immediately stopped playing. Sokka pointed an accusing finger at Aang and scowled, "What's wrong with you?! We don't have time for fun and games withthe War going on!"

Sokka snatched his spear back as Xiaodan moved to stand beside Appa as Aang slide down the sky bison's head to land beside her, his gray eyes staring at Sokka in confusion, "What war? What are you talking about?"

Sokka stared at the two with one brow raised in disbelief, "You're kidding, right?"

"No." Xiaodan frowned and she placed her hands on her hips, "What are you talking about? What war are you talking about?"

"Yeah-" Aang began but his questioning expression instantly changed to one of unbridled enthusiam when he caught sight of an otter-penguin, "PENGUIN!"

The animal started and made a soft noise of surprise at Aang's outburst before quickly waddling away. Aang instantly gave chase, darting past Katara, Sokka, and Xiaodan using his airbending to enhance his speed while leaving a deep trail in the snow behind him.

Sokka looked away from where Aang had disappeared after the otter-penguin to stare at Xiaodan with a blank expression, "He's kidding, right?"

Katara gave him a look before she rushed after Aang, leaving Xiaodan with Sokka. The teenage Airbender turned slowly towards Sokka with an questioning expression, "What's going on, Sokka? What war are you talking about?"

"You really don't know?" Sokka asked in confusion and Xiaodan shook her head, tilting her head slightly with a dubious expression. Sokka shook his head slightly, "Just how long were you two in that iceberg?"

"I dunno." Xiaodan shrugged and scrunched her nose in thought, "A few days? Maybe a week at most?"

Sokka frowned and gestured for her to follow him, "Come with me."

Confused and a little more than slightly anxious, the white-haired Airbender shuffled after Sokka as he led her to where his grandmother was.

Katara smiled slightly as she walked through the hundreds of otter-penguins in search of the younger Airbender, "Aang?"

Laughing happily, Aang chased the otter-penguins, "Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledding?" He jumped at a penguin, but the critter easily dodged him and he belly flopped into the snow. Giggling to himself, Aang rolled onto his back and airbended himself to his feet just as Katara walked up to him, "Heh, heh. I have a way with animals."

Katara giggled quietly as Aang stretched his arms out wide and began imitating the sound and walk of the surrounding otter-penguins. She stifled her giggles to smile at Aang, "Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending."

Aang let go of the tail of the otter-penguin that was dragging him through to the snow to look at Katara with a grin, "You got a deal! Just one little problem..." He airbended himself into a sitting position and smiled apologetically, "I'm an Airbender, not a Waterbender. Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?"

"No." Katara shifted and looked away sadly, "You're looking at the only Waterbender in the whole South Pole."

"This isn't right. A Waterbender needs to master water." Aang stated and he pursed his lips thoughtfully then he grinned slightly, "What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have Waterbenders who could teach you?"

"Maybe," Katara replied with a small shrug, "But we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time." She smiled wryly at him, "It's not exactly turn right at the second glaicier. It's on the other side of the world!"

"But you forget, I have a flying bison." Aang quipped back, grinned widely as he pointed at his chest with his thumb, "Appa, Xia and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're gonna find you a master!"

Katara shifted unsure and bit her lip, "That's...I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before."

"Well, you think about." Aang said good naturedly then he smiled cheekily, "But in the meantime, can you teach me how to catch one of these penguins?"

Katara grinned and nodded in agreement.

Xiaodan stared at Sokka and Gran-Gran in horror, her reddish-yellow wide with disbelief, "B-but that's not possible!" She shook her head in denial, her hands coming up to cover her mouth, "T-that can't be right...I mean, why would they do that? Why?"

Gran-Gran gave a small, helpless shrug and stared at the young female Airbender, "We don't know child..."

Xiaodan closed her eyes and swallowed several times in an attempt to get rid of the lump in her throat, "I can't believe it..."

Katara shrieked with laughter as she and Aang gleefully ride atop a penguin, "I haven't done this since I was a kid!"

"You still are a kid!" Aang shouted back at her with a cackle as he rode his penguin after Katara's through a tunnel of ice. He laughed harder as she tried to keep him back by constantly shifting from side-to-side to keep him from passing her, but he quickly solved his problem by using airbending to increase his speed, which allowed him to race over the ceiling past the Water Tribe girl.

"Cheater!" Katara laughed as the tunnel leveled out onto an open plain of ice. She grinned as her penguin slowed to a stop beside Aang's before they both hopped off, allowing the two otter-penguins to waddle away.

"Whoah..." Aang gaped in awe as he stared up at the wrecked metal ship encased in ice, "What is that?"

"A Fire Navy ship." Katara replied, her tone slightly dark as she stared at the wrecked ship, "And a verybad memory for my people." Her eyes widened when Aang approached the wreckage and she stretched her hand out to him, "Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it! The ship could be booby-trapped!"

Aang glanced over his shoulder at her with a calm expression, "If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear."

Katara pursed her lips and stared at him ponderingly for a moment before she tentative walked towards Aang, fearfully glancing between him and the Fire Navy ship. Aang smiled reassuringly at her and the two ventured closer, Aang helping Katara climb over a couple of ice blocks that were lying beside the ship. The two shared a quick glance before they crawled through a hole that was in the hull of the ship.

Aang looked around in amazement as the two young benders walked through the silent rooms of the shipwreck, taking in everything. Katara jumped slightly and walked closer to him when several white, Arctic mice scurried past and disappeared deeper into the otherwise deserted ship.

"Whoah!" Aang muttered as he walked into a room fully stocked with weapons.

Katara looked around the room with a small frown, "This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks."

"Okay, back up." Aang said in confusion as he stopped in front of a weapons rack and picked up a Guan Dao to inspect it curiously, "I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. Xia does too. We've never seen any war."

Katara gave him a dubious look, "Aang, how long were you and Xia in that iceberg?"

"Erm..." Aang shrugged uncertainly and scratched the back of his head, "I don't know. A few days, maybe?"

"I think..." Katara stated quietly as her eyes widened in realization, "I think it was more like a hundred years!"

"What?" Aang squaked in disbelief and he looked at the girl with a slightly accusing expression, "That's impossible! Do I look like a hundred-twelve year old man to you?!"

"Think about it." Katara urged, "The War is a century old. You and Xia don't know about it because, somehow, you and her were in there the whole time!" She softened her tone when she saw the comprehension on Aang's face, "It's the only explanation."

"A hundred years?" Aang whispered as he backed into a wall and slumped to the floor in shock, "I can't believe it."

"I'm sorry, Aang." Katara apologized softly as she crouched beside him and she touched his shoulder, "Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this..."

Aang looked over at her with a cheerful expression, "Well, I did get to meet you."

Katara smiled warmly at him as she stood up and offered her hand, "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Aang smiled back at her and took her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet and lead him out of the room.

Katara wrung her hands nervously as she shuffled behind Aang into another room in the wrecked ship, "Aang, let's head back, this place is creepy."

Aang just smiled over his shoulder at her reassuringly and walked further into the room. Suddenly, his foot caught on thin rope he hadn't noticed and he stumbled, his eyes widening when a barred door trapped them in the room.

"Huh?" Aang mumbled in shock as he and Katara ran towards the bars and peeked through them, "Uh, what's that you said about booby traps?"

The sound of gears and engines beginning to power up and function reached the two and they raced towards the noise, following the movements of the machines in the room until suddenly a flare shot up and exploded high in the sky.

"Uh oh." Aang muttered as he and Katara stared out the window of the room at the descending flare. He quickly turned away from the window and began looking around the room for a way out, quickly spotting a hole in the roof. He surprised Katara by grabbing her arm, "Hold on tight!"

Katara yelped and clung to Aang as he swept her into his arms then leapt several feet into the air through the hole, using airbending to power his jump.

Xiaodan chewed on her thumbnail as she sat atop Appa's head, her thoughts whirling and turning in circles inside her head as she waited for Aang and Katara to return. Dread was a heavy stone in her chest, constricting her lungs and making her heart feel like it was about to jump out of her chest.

'Oh, Aang, if what Sokka and Gran-Gran told is true...'She thought with trepidation, 'What are we gonna do? This is so not good...'

Xiaodan was distracted from her thoughts when a flare suddenly exploded in the sky, appearing to come from several miles away from the village. Foreboding filled her and Xiaodan stared at the flare with wide eyes, "That can't be good..."

Zuko smirked slightly as he peered through his telescope, following the Avatar's every movement as he, still holding the person he was with, jumped down the side of the ship.

"The last Airbender. Quite agile for his old age..." He murmured smugly as the Airbender sat the girl he was holding on her feet and the two raced away. He turned away from the telescope to yell at the soldier waiting behind him, "Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar." He peered through his telescope again, turning it follow the direction the Avatar and his little friend were running in. His gaze landed on the small village and he smirked, "As well as his hiding place..."