1. Prologue, Part I

In a place that wasn't one world and wasn't the other, neither Physical Realm nor Spirit Realm, a wolf stood. But not an ordinary wolf, for his fur color was ever shifting: one moment red as fire, the next blue as ice, then green as the leaves on a tree, and so on. The Elemental Lord—Genso—inhaled deeply, looking up toward the stars briefly. _The time has come_.

He looked down at the Pool of Visions, and saw from above the two that were the Bridges. Fate had led them both to the planet Arus to be the Voltron Force's cadets. But now Genso needed to take them from their world of technology to the world of bending, in order to fulfill their destinies.

Now, which element for which Bridge? He narrowed his kaleidoscope-like eyes. _Perhaps…yes, fire for the violet-eyed one. The element of power shall bode him well._ He tilted his head, eyes focused on the other, the girl. _And for her…water. The element of change will mark a turning point in her._ He nodded to himself, smiling faintly. _It has begun._

Within three seconds, he slid smoothly from his animal form to his human one, and raised one hand, reaching spiritually to the pool of energy he had stored in the Spirit Realm. The ancient art of reality-bending belonged to him and Nequea alone, and once to the first Avatar. And now he called upon that ability to warp space around the two, sending them off to that other world._ I apologize, you two…but this is a destiny you _must_ accept…or there shall be both Mystri and Charter to pay._

* * *

**Okay, here's a little FYI: the word "Mystri" will pop up a lot in my stories. It could be called "Yin" in a sense. And "Charter" comes from the _Old Kingdom _series (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen), as the "Yang" part. I thought they fit together nicely, so...yeah. Disclaimer: I own _nothing_ but the individual changes to the plotline. ~Myra  
**


	2. Prologue, Part II

**Larmina's POV**

Larmina had no idea what was going on _at all_. One second she was taking an innocent walk with Daniel in the castle courtyard, and then everything turned a blinding white.

It also felt as if she were being pulled in two different directions at the same time. She thought she heard Daniel say something—or was that her? She couldn't tell.

And then the cadet had that weightless, stomach-dropping sensation that told her that she was falling fast. All at once, darkness closed in around him, and her turquoise eyes shot open as she saw the ground rushing upward to meet her.

"_Whoa!_" she shouted, desperately trying to get into a position in which she wouldn't break every bone in her body. She was aware of Daniel doing the same besides her—he was here too?—before landing with a heavy, painful smack on something hard and icy…but the torture didn't stop there.

Because then she and Daniel were rolling/sliding down a hill, and then landed face-first into something wet and slushy, and _extremely _cold.

Gasping and shivering, Larmina jerked her head free of the snow bank and fell back, slipping on the icy ground beneath her. "Where in the Universe _are_ we?" she heard Daniel shout.

"N-No clue," she responded, well-aware of the bitter wind that was howling around her, biting into exposed skin. The sky was dark, but the surrounding snow gave off an eerie, grayish glow.

The cadet staggered to her feet, as her companion said, "We need to f-find s-some shelter."

"T-Thank you, C-Captain Obvious," she stuttered. And both of them knew that if they didn't find shelter, they'd end up dying of hypothermia—especially since they were all wet from their landing.

They both sank into the snow up to their knees as they started up a medium-sized hill, both hoping and praying to any god they knew that there would be somewhere to shelter from the storm.

And perhaps those gods had answered. For there was a dim orange glow practically waving at them in the storm.

"Th-That must be some k-kind of h-house or settlement," she shouted over the wind at Daniel. He didn't respond, though he started forward at a more furious pace. The light seemed awfully far way, but it was their only chance.

Hugging themselves to stay warm, both Larmina and Daniel skidded down the other side of the hill and tried to run through the blizzard, never taking their eyes off the light. By now Larmina's arms were totally numb, and so were her hands. And she was starting to lose feeling in her face and feet. And when she blinked, her lashes stuck because of frost that had formed. Not to mention that the wind had partially undone her ponytail, and a decent portion of her hair kept flying into her face, making it difficult to see. Larmina could not remember any point in her fifteen-and-a-half years of life being so agonizingly _cold_.

The light grew larger as both cadets came ever-so steadily closer it, and that alone gave them strength to keep trekking through the impossible blizzard. Whoever lived in this settlement was going to think they were both utterly insane to be out in a storm like this. But as they approached it, they both saw that the single light had split into several smaller lights. It was a town…made of _ice_?

That was what it seemed to be. The walls surrounding the town—_village_, she realized— were made of packed snow and ice. The wall reached up about nine or ten feet tall, and it could easily have about two feet thick. A crudely made tower stood over the side of the wall closest to Daniel, and over the wall, Larmina thought she could see the tops of igloo-like huts. The lights were behind the wall, flickering in such a way that made her think the light was from fire.

The thought of _fire_ finally gave her the energy to call out. "He-Hello?" she yelled, teeth chattering so violently that she was stuttering, cupping her frozen hands around her mouth. "Is an-anyone h-home?"

"Hey!"

Both cadets looked up hopefully at the sound of a voice. It was a male tenor voice that demanded a certain respect and authority that not even Larmina was sure she

could take seriously. As Larmina looked, she saw a thick, burly figure climb out from the watch tower and jump down to meet them. The man, she discovered, was only perhaps a few centimeters taller than her, and he was clothed in a furry, hooded parka that looked extremely warm. That was all she could see, however, in the darkness of the storm.

"Are you both crazy?" the man cried as Larmina and Daniel approached. By now Larmina was convinced that the "man" was maybe the same age as her, maybe a little younger. "What are you doing out here in the middle of a _blizzard_? Who are you?"

"S-Sorry," Daniel stammered. "We-We're just k-kind of lost-t. W-We g-got str-stranded out here, a-and…"

"What're your names?" the boy demanded. His right arm seemed to tense, and Larmina looked down and saw that he was holding a wooden spear.

"D-Daniel, a-and this-s is La-Larmina. We r-really need some shelt-ter f-for the ni-night—"

"Sokka?" a female voice suddenly floated over the wall towards them. "What's going on out there? Why are you shouting?"

"Get back inside, Katara!" the boy in the parka ordered. "I'm handling it!"

"Is someone out there?"

"I said _leave it_, Katara! I have it under control—"

But just then, light poured from an opening around the corner of the wall to Larmina's left, and another, smaller figure came out of it. This figure was even smaller than the three of them, even shorter than Pidge, but she too was dressed in a thick blue parka, with the hood covering her face.

The boy, Sokka, sighed irritable. "Katara, why can't you ever just do what I say?"

"I'm your little sister," Katara replied. "I'm not supposed to listen to you."

The girl turned to Daniel and Larmina. "Who're they?"

"M-My n-name's Larmina," Larmina finally got out. "T-This is Da-Daniel."

"Oh my gosh, you're freezing!" Katara gasped, rushing toward them. "Sokka, how could you be so rude as to leave them standing out in a blizzard?"

"Wha—I'm not the one who put them out here!" Sokka argued indignantly. "They did that by themselves!"

"I b-beg to d-differ," Larmina stuttered. "W-We di-didn't ch-choose t-this, t-trust us."

"And besides, we don't even know who they are!" Sokka continued at his sister as though he hadn't heard Larmina. "As far as we know, they could both be spies for the Fire Nation Army!"

_A what for the who now? _Larmina thought murkily. Her vision was starting to go fuzzy around the edges, and her abilities to form coherent thoughts and speak coherent words were rapidly deteriorating.

"Yes, I'm _sure_ they're spies!" Larmina was vaguely aware of Katara snapping at her brother. "That's why they're out in a blizzard in the middle of the day!"

Larmina felt a wool-covered hand grasp one of her hands, and she heard Katara say, "Come inside, both of you. We'll get you some new clothes and some stew to warm you right up."

Larmina could only nod and respond to the other girl's touch as she pulled both cadets forward, toward the light spilling out over the snow. Her feet felt like bricks moving through water, and her head was starting to swim. She was dimly aware of Sokka's protests and Katara's kind words. Then everything seemed to turn into slush, and tilted to the side as she finally felt the warmth of fire and she heard voices raised in alarm as it all went dark.

* * *

**Katara's POV**

"Do you think they'll be alright, Gran-Gran?"

Katara's grandmother looked up from the sleeping forms at her knees and smiled at her granddaughter. "Do not worry, dear. They will be just fine when they wake up."

The two women were inside their hut, kneeling between Daniel and Larmina, who were still unconscious in Sokka's and Katara's sleeping sacks. Their skin was still rather pale, and their cheeks had a hard, pink, dry tinge, and their lips were cracked, but other than that they were fine, especially now that they were getting warmed up. Gran-Gran had said there was no frostbite, thank the Spirits.

Katara gazed curiously at the boy; she never got the chance to meet very many men, seeing as her brother was the only male above the age of nine in the whole village.

His hair was a very dark brown, spiked up a little as well, similar to a boarcupine. Katara was even more baffled by how the man had been dressed; a gray-and-black suit made out of a material that was unknown to her.

The girl had been dressed similarly, albeit for the fact of having no sleeves. Her hair was the color of fire, probably one ridiculous reason why Sokka had been more sure of her being a Fire Nation spy. There was also the headpiece that she had, made of silver with a blue crystal embedded into it—lapis, perhaps?

And then there were the puzzling devices both of them had on their arms. Completely black with some grey highlights, they were made of a hard substance. Katara didn't know what they were, and neither did Gran-Gran.

After Daniel and Larmina had passed out, Katara and Sokka had carried them both to their hut, and Gran-Gran had attended to them. After removing the gray suits, shoes, and socks, and fitting them into warmer clothing, Gran-Gran got them wrapped in Sokka's and Katara's sleeping sacks in front of the fire-place. The storm was still blowing furiously outside, but Sokka insisted he return to his watch tower; he was not at all happy about the strange boy and girl being there, and Katara was still ticked at him for letting Daniel and Larmina freeze.

"We're lucky we got them when we did," Gran-Gran continued as she pushed a hot-water skin under the sleeping sack beneath Larmina's head, before doing the same to Daniel. "Had they been out there any longer, they would have ended up much worse."

"Daniel can't be from the Water Tribe," Katara thought out loud. "All the men are out fighting in the war. And no smart Water Tribesman would be out in a snow storm, let alone dressed like this."

"I highly doubt he is from the Fire Nation, as Sokka suspected," Gran-Gran added her thoughts. "The Earth Kingdom is a possibility; his name sounds like it may have some Earth Kingdom origin. Though how he got way out here is beyond me. As for Larmina, I have no idea whatsoever. Her name is quite unusual for any of the nations."

Katara sighed. "Maybe they can tell us their nationalities once they wake up."

"Indeed. They are going to have a lot of explaining to do when they wake up."

They didn't have to wait long. About an hour after the storm had died down, while Gran-Gran was out helping the villagers and Katara was tidying up around the hut, the boy—Daniel—gave a soft moan and started to stir.

Katara gasped at the sound, dropping the pair of Sokka's trousers she had just picked up and running to the curtain-covered doorway. "Gran-Gran!" she cried, poking her head through the curtain to call outside. "Daniel's waking up!"

Without waiting for a reply, Katara hurried back inside to kneel by Daniel. The boy groaned again, moving around stiffly in the sleeping sack. Some color had returned to his face, and as his eyes fluttered, Katara saw they were a deep violet, dashing the idea of him being from the Earth Kingdom.

* * *

**Daniel's POV**

Daniel opened his eyes slowly. His vision was still blurry, so all he could see of the figure kneeling over him was dark, chocolate brown hair and crystal-blue eyes. "Wha'?" he mumbled, his vision beginning to clear up. He saw that it was a girl, with her hair pulled back and twisted in a long braid down her back, with two strands looping around the sides of her face and head. She wore a thick, light blue, shin-length parka lined with white fur on the hood and sleeves, dark blue mittens, and thick, furry boots.

"Hi there," she greeted. "I'm Katara."

_Katara?_ Daniel recalled Suddenly, everything came rushing back to him: the white light, falling from the sky with Larmina, the snow storm…

_Larmina!_ Daniel sat bolt upright, his violet eyes wide.

"It's okay," Katara said quickly, startled by his reaction. "You're safe here. You both nearly froze to death out there. If we hadn't found you when we did…"

Daniel looked around wildly. He took in that the small hut they were in was small, but cozy, with animal pelts covering most of the floor and hanging on the walls. A fire blazed happily in a small fire place, with a small black cooking pot sitting over it. Daniel could smell something delicious boiling inside. His eyes then fell on who he was looking for. To his right, still huddled up in a sleeping sack was Larmina—still out of it totally.

After sighing in relief, he turned to Katara, and asked, "How long was I out?"

"About three hours. You needed the rest, after what you went through."

Daniel reeled. _Three hours?_

"So your name is Daniel, right?"

Daniel finally turned his full attention to Katara, who was watching him with curiosity touched with concern. He could only nod in reply.

"That sounds like it might be an Earth Kingdom name," Katara commented. "Are you from there?"

"Uh…" Daniel had absolutely no idea what the "Earth Kingdom" was. He didn't even know _where_ he was. He suspected that he might be on some border planet…but _how_ he and Larmina got there was a mystery. "Um…no," he finally got out.

Katara's eyes clouded in confusion. "Then…where?" she asked.

Daniel opened his mouth, but was cut off by Larmina.

"For the love of Arus," she groaned, opening her eyes. "Where am I?"

"Larmina!" Daniel exclaimed, making her startle and look at him.

"Daniel, what…" Her eyes widened as she probably remembered. "Gods, where—"

"You're both at the South Pole," Katara answered.

_So _that's _where we are! But—which planet?_

Larmina then started to stand, but Katara objected, "You can't go out now! You both almost froze to death three hours ago! What you need to do now is rest; you're in no condition to go back out there.

"I'm fine," Larmina retorted. "I just slept for two hours, didn't I?" But as she climbed out of the sack, a chilly breeze crept through the curtain over the door and smacked both cadets in the faces. Shuddering, Larmina immediately jumped back in the sack, pulling the covers up to her chin.  
Katara giggled. "Told you."

Larmina glared at her, and Daniel blew some hair off his forehead. Just then, the curtain pulled back and an old woman with hair loops like Katara's stepped into the hut. She wore similar clothes to Katara, though they looked much more care worn. Her dark gray hair was pulled back in a tight bun at the back of her head, and the wrinkles etched in her face gave her a permanent stern, stoic look.

"Sorry it took me so long," the old woman said apologetically to Katara. "I was helping poor Akalah with her new baby." The woman's face softened as her gaze landed on Daniel and Larmina and said, "How are our guests faring?"

"We're fine," Daniel said.

"Larmina's fine too, but she has a few chills. It'll do them both good when we get them some warm food." Turning to the two cadets, she gestured to the woman and made the introductions. "Daniel, Larmina, this is my grandmother. Gran-Gran, meet Daniel and Larmina."

"It's nice to see you both perking up," said Gran-Gran with a satisfied nod as she moved to the fire place, grabbing two wooden bowls and spoons. "You gave us quite a scare."

"We're sorry," Daniel said. "We didn't mean to inconvenience anyone." Gran-Gran turned to give him a small smile, surprised by his politeness.

"It was no trouble, dear," she assured him as she ladled thick, streaming stew from the cooking pot into the bowl. "But how you survived as long as you did in that weather in those thin clothes is beyond me. You shall have to borrow a parka from Sokka as long as you're staying here, until we can get something made for you. And Larmina, you can borrow some from Katara for now."

"Who's borrowing what from Sokka?" came a voice from the doorway. Daniel turned just as the speaker came through the curtain, and he realized it was the boy that had called out to them in the storm. The boy couldn't have been any older than Larmina. He was no longer holding his spear, though he was carrying a strange sort of club, and Daniel noticed that he also had something strapped to his back, outside his parka; the cadet guessed a boomerang, by the shape of it. The sides of the boy's head were shaved in a buzz cut, but the top part was pulled back into a short ponytail. He had a squarish face with a pointed chin and skin as tan as Katara's, and his eyes were the same shade of crystal blue. Recalling the conversation from earlier, Daniel figured that this must be Sokka.

Sokka's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Daniel and Larmina still curled up in their sleeping sacks. "Oh. I see purple-eyes and fire-hair are awake."

"Purple-eyes?" Daniel said indignantly at the same time as Larmina's "_Fire-hair?_ Watch it, ponytail-boy!"

"Hark who's talking!" Katara snapped in their defense.

"This is _not_ a ponytail!" Sokka snapped at Larmina. "This is a warrior's _wolftail_!"

"Alright, you two," Gran-Gran cut in, carrying the two steaming bowls of soup to Daniel and Larmina in turn. "Daniel, Larmina, this is my grandson Sokka."

"Hey," Daniel greeted. "Sorry if we spooked you earlier."

Sokka merely glared at him for a moment before turning to his grandmother. "So Gran-Gran, what was that I heard about someone getting into my stuff?"

"Daniel is going to have to borrow some of your clothes until we can get some made for him," Gran-Gran answered as she thrust one bowl into Daniel's hands. "Similarly, Larmina is going to borrow some of Katara's until we have some made for her."

"_What?_" Sokka exclaimed angrily. "Gran-Gran!" he complained angrily.

"Sokka," Gran-Gran said sternly, waving her ladle at her grandson after giving Larmina the other bowl, ""I think it's time you relearned your manners. We have guests, and as a good host, you will help them with anything they need. Understood?"

"And besides," Katara added sourly, "you owe them for letting them both stand out and almost freeze to death."

Daniel had to bite back a grin, not because Sokka was being reprimanded by his grandmother, but because Gran-Gran reminded him of Nanny—the castle's caregiver. Sokka noticed his expression and misinterpreted it.

"Quit the smirking, will ya?" he snapped, glaring daggers at Daniel and jabbing a gloved finger at him. "What makes you think you can waltz in here and get special treatment? I know you're up to something, and I'm going to find out what it is!" And with that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the hut.

"Don't mind him, you two," Katara said. "He just has to get used to you both."

Daniel nodded, taking one of the wooden spoons from her and looking down at it. The broth was thick, almost creamy, and he thought he could see some kind of produce and meat.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Stewed sea prunes," Gran-Gran answered. "Mixed in with my special broth and some cooked penguin meat to add flavor and texture."

Daniel goggled at her, and Larmina froze. "_Penguin_ meat?" they both exclaimed.

Katara laughed heartily. "I bet you're not used to it. Don't worry, it's delicious!"

Still feeling a little hesitant, Daniel carefully spooned some on, and gave it a sniff. _Well, if people here eat it, then…and it smells really good…_

Blowing it, he slowly tried it. There was a fruity tint to the flavor, definitely some salt, and the meat was a bit chewy, but over all, it was…

"Delicious," Larmina said in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, same here," Daniel agreed, feeling the same.

Gran-Gran beamed at him. "I thought you would like it."

"No one can resist Gran-Gran's special recipe!" Katara added. "Although, I'm surprised you like it. Not many people outside of the Southern Water Tribe have a taste for it."

As he continued eating the stew, Daniel exchanged a quick sideways look with Larmina. It seemed that things here were named after elements.

"Feel free to eat as much as you like," Gran-Gran told him. "I'll get you a warmer change of clothes."

"Thank you…um…"

"Oh, please," Gran-Gran chuckled. "You can call me Gran-Gran."

Both Daniel and Larmina nodded, and the girl said, "Thanks Gran-Gran."

As the old woman walked away through the hut, Katara said, "As soon as you've both changed, I can show you around a bit."

"Thanks," Daniel said. "You've been really nice to us, even though we dropped out of nowhere."

"It's nothing," the girl said with a smile. "Just hurry up and eat; I can show you some of the fun things here. You have no idea how hard it is not having people close to my age around besides my brother!"


	3. Prologue, Part III

**Surprise in this chapter! ~Myra  
**

* * *

**Sokka's POV**

Sokka was in a bad mood. Of that there was no doubt.

Katara had dragged him along for giving purple-eyes and fire-hair a tour of the area—even though it looked all the same mostly. Sokka still had an overwhelming suspicion that the strange teens—Daniel and Larmina—weren't all what they seemed.

"Sokka, you're staring at them again."

Katara's voice broke the young Water Tribe warrior out of his dark thoughts and he realized, for once, his sister was right. He had been glaring across the ice at Daniel and Larmina, who were standing a little ways off from the siblings on a hill of ice, backs turned to them.

"I can't help it, Katara!" Sokka growled. "I don't like the vibe these guys are throwing off. There's something _alien_ about them."

"Maybe that's because they're the first people who aren't from the Water Tribe we've gotten to know?" Katara suggested. "I think you're being really unfair to them."

"I'm telling you, Katara, they're not telling us everything!" Sokka insisted. "I, for one, think those two black things they had on their arms were made by the Fire Nation! I mean, have we ever seen or heard of anything like those? What if they lead the Fire Nation Army right to us?"

"Daniel and Larmina _are not_ our enemies!" Katara insisted shrilly. "Don't tell me you can't see how worried and frightened they are? They have no idea how they even got here to the South Pole, and they almost _froze to death_!"

"Is something wrong?"

Katara and Sokka both nearly jumped out of their overcoats. Neither of the Water Tribe siblings had heard Daniel approach. Seeing the teen wearing his clothes made Sokka all the more angry, and he had to clench his teeth to hold back the truculent remark that had jumped out of his throat. Daniel's face was paler than usual, and his nose was pink from cold, but compared to how Sokka and Katara had found him earlier that day, it could be said that he was holding up quite nicely. Sokka also resented the fact that Daniel had borrowed one of his hunting spears, and it annoyed him that the boy kept fidgeting with the thing awkwardly, as if he'd never handled anything like it.

"No Daniel, nothing's wrong," Katara said quickly, though the look on the boy's face said he knew otherwise. "In the meantime, how about we show you some boating tricks?"

Daniel smiled a little, and so did Larmina as she came over. "Thanks, Katara. And you too, Sokka. I knew you don't trust us yet, but you're both good friends."

"Humph," Sokka grumbled, folding his arms and looking pointedly away. As he did, he noticed something strange in the snow. "Hey, what's that?"

Katara and Yusei turned to see what he was looking at as the young warrior trotted across the ice and knelt down in the snow. There on the ground was some kind of a paw print, but it was none that Sokka was familiar with. It was twice as big as his own hand, with five short, stubby toes tipped with long, sharp talons. The creature it belongs to had fur; Sokka could tell by the slight blur around the outline of the print, which could only be caused by fur brushing the ground. Now that he was looking, Sokka could see other prints, though the one he was looking at was the deepest. The creature must have stepped in a softer spot on the ice.

"What kind of a creature is that?" Katara wondered as she and Larmina moved to kneel down next to Sokka.

"I don't know," Sokka replied nervously. "But it's fresh. And it has to belong to a predator."

"How do you know?" Daniel asked.

Sokka turned and narrowed his eyes at him. "The snow around the print is still crisp, which means it was recently made. And do you know any herbivores with claws like that?"

"Maybe we should get out of here," Katara suggested, instinctively drawing closer to her big brother for comfort. "That thing looks huge…"

"I remember Dad talking to me about tracking," Sokka murmured, mostly thinking out loud, "and he showed me a bunch of prints like this… ugh, I can't remember what animal it belongs to though…"

Suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder. "Uh, Sokka… I think I just found out…"

Sokka turned to see Larmina staring up ahead of them, her turquoise eyes wide. Turning to follow her gaze, Sokka, Katara, and Daniel all found out why.

Up on the nearest hill, standing on its back legs, was a giant Polar Leopard-Bear. The thing was taller than a grown man, with shaggy white fur covered in dark grey leopard spots. It's ears were pointed like a cat's, but the face was all-bear, its lips pulled back in a snarl to show all of its sharp teeth, its shiny black nose twitching as it caught the teens' scents, its beady eyes gleaming red.

"Sokka," Katara whispered, her voice going up several pitches. "What do we do?"

"Don't… move… a muscle," Sokka replied slowly. "If we keep still, maybe it won't attack…"

Suddenly, the leopard-bear lifted its muzzle and let out an ice-shattering roar. Katara screamed, and the creature got down on all fours and charged down the hill toward the terrified trio, surprisingly swift for a giant bear.

"Too late! RUN!" Sokka yelled, grabbing Katara's hand and pulling her to her feet, running as fast as he could away from the charging bear with his sister in tow. It was several moments before he realized Larmina was not following.

"Larmina, what are you doing?" Katara shrieked. "Run!"

* * *

**Larmina's POV**

Larmina had shakily gotten to her feet, and was facing the charging beast. Eyes narrowing, she tapped a button on her VoltCom, causing her staff to materialize. She heard Sokka and Katara gasp in shock. The bear was almost on top of the orange-haired girl. Right at the last minute, Larmina dove out of the way, grunting as she summersaulted over the ice and climbed back to his feet, still holding her staff. But the bear turned on one paw, surprisingly quickly for its size, and knocked her staff out of her hands, sending it skidding away over the ice.

The cadet gulped as the bear stalked toward her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she raised her hands in a futile attempt to protect herself—

And heard ice cracking. She opened one eye, to see that two shards of ice had shot up out of the snow, blocking the bear's path. _Wha'…did _I_ do that?_

"Go, Katara, get help!" Sokka yelled, pushing his sister out of harm's way as he drew his boomerang. "Hey, ugly!" he shouted at the bear, throwing the boomerang as hard as he could. The bent wooden weapon whistled through the air in a wide arc, crashing into the side of the bear's head just as it was about to charge Larmina again. The bear gave a loud yowl, more out of fury than pain, and whirled around to snarl at the Water Tribe warrior. Before Sokka could even think, the bear charged right at him.

"Sokka, LOOK OUT!" Daniel yelled.

The warrior tried to backpedal away from the beast, but he slipped on the ice and fell. A shadow blocked the sun and Sokka and looked up to see the bear rearing up over him, its clashing slashing at the air.

* * *

**Daniel's POV**

Daniel acted without thinking. He got up and, activating his VoltCom, sprinted toward the bear, his spear raised over his head, and yelled out a mighty war cry as he jumped onto the animal's back. He managed to bring his spear around the front of the bear and grab the other end so that it caught under the creature's neck. The bear roared again as Daniel yanked backwards, using the spear to pull the animal's head away from Sokka. The bear jumped and slashed with its claws, roaring furiously as it tried to shake the cadet off, but Daniel held on firmly, using the spear to anchor him to the creature's back. Sokka could only watch in astonishment, still shaking from the terror of his close brush with death.

But the leopard-bear was smarter than it appeared. It bucked and reared, jangling Daniel around like a sack of potatoes. At one point, he was nearly thrown over the bear's head. Suddenly, the bear managed to work the spear around its neck into its mouth and snapped it in half with his talons. The bear jumped again, and this time there was nothing for Daniel to hold on to. He felt himself fly through the air and tumble head-first into the snow next to Sokka.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, helping Daniel up.

"Yeah, but not for long," the cadet moaned, rubbing his head. The two boys looked up to see the bear stalking toward them, the bloodlust flashing in its eyes. There was nothing that could stop it now.

Except for a certain waterbender who was standing a few yards away.

Katara, acting instinctively out of fear for her brother and Daniel's safety, concentrated as hard as she could on the snow around the bear's feet, thrust out her arms, and lifted them into the air, yelling out wildly. She could almost feel the weight of the half-frozen water she was trying to move, like she was lifting a pile of wet clothes. Suddenly, the snow and ice around the bear erupted, throwing the bear off balance and almost lifting the creature itself into the air. It gave a startled yowl as it was engulfed in snow and thrown back to the ground with a loud, ground shaking thud. The falling snow and ice settled, and the bear was still.

* * *

**Sokka's POV**

Sokka and Daniel stared at the bear lying in the snow for a long moment before exchanging shocked glances. Then they both turned to see Katara running toward them. Meanwhile, Larmina had finally managed to pick herself up and was also racing toward them.

"Are you both okay?" Katara asked, falling down to her knees to hug her brother.

"Yeah, we're alright," Sokka replied shakily. "Did you do that?"

"Yeah, I did," Katara answered, staring at the pile of ice in wonder. "I don't know how it happened, I just… I saw you guys and danger and it just… came out."

"What happened?" Daniel asked, staring wide-eyed at the snow and ice. "With the snow…and bear-leopard thing…"

"It's Waterbending," Katara explained. "I'm the only one in the South Pole who can do it…or at least I _was_." At the last part, she turned to look at Larmina in amazement. "Those ice shards—how did you do it?"

"I—I don't know," Larmina admitted. "It just…happened."

Katara's face suddenly brightened. "You know what? I think you're a Waterbender too, Larmina!"

Suddenly, a low growl rumbled from beneath the ice and the snow began to shift. "Can we leave now?" Daniel asked quickly.

"Let's scram!" Sokka agreed, getting up and following the other boy, making sure both his sister and Larmina followed. Part of his brain was still scrambled from what had just happened, but he couldn't figure out what was bothering him. But as he looked up at Daniel running in front of him, he realized what it was.

_Purple-eyes just saved my life._


	4. Chapter I

**The official first chapter. ~Myra**

* * *

**Daniel's POV  
**

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air._

_It's been a week now since Larmina and I wound up in this strange world, where people can bend the elements, and have been at war for a century. We don't know how we got here. We don't know _why_ we are here. __All we know of this world is what we have learned here in the South Pole and what our new friends from the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka and Katara, have told us._

_Katara has told us all of the stories her grandmother used to tell me her about the old days. A time of peace, when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads._

_But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked._

_Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished._

_Now, in this "present," the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, Katara and Sokka's father and the men of their tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving my friends to look after their tribe._

_Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken. But Katara hasn't lost hope. And neither have we._

_We still believe that somehow we will return home to Arus and the Voltron Force, just as Katara believes that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world._

* * *

"It's not getting away from me this time, you guys!" Sokka declared confidently. "Watch and learn, you three—_this_ is how you catch a fish!"

"How many times has he said that now?" Daniel quietly asked the two girls.

"Five, six counting this," Larmina responded.

The violet-eyed cadet sighed, aimlessly pressing a button on his VoltCom over and over; both his and Larmina's had run out of power three days after the leopard-bear incident. As Daniel gazed around at the icebergs bobbing in the freezing ocean around him, it stuck him again that he and Larmina had been in this strange world for a week now. It was incredible to think that so much time had passed since the unexplainable incident in which they suddenly went from being in the castle courtyard to the middle of a blizzard. They had survived in extreme climate so far, but that was only because Katara and Sokka had been generous enough to offer their home to the two cadets.

Daniel's gaze again turned to Katara, who's eyes were fixed on the water. She had been the most help to them over the past week, doing everything she could to help them both feel comfortable and supported. Katara's maturity and compassion were rare traits for a girl her age, but now that they both knew what had happened to her parents—her mother killed in a Fire Nation raid, their father out fighting—both he and Larmina understood why she had to be so grown up. In fact, Daniel felt he could relate to her more because of it—both his parents had been killed in a Drule raid.

There was also the fact that Katara was helping Larmina understand her new-found power—as it turned out, she'd somehow gained the ability of waterbending when they had come to this world.

Then he noticed his friend's turquoise eyes widen slightly, and he saw a second fish swimming around the girls' end of the four-man canoe. Sokka, who was still focused on his own fish, hadn't noticed.

Katara noticed the other fish too. "Want me to do it?" she whispered. Larmina shook her head, taking one of her gloves off. The Water Tribe girl nodded, and said, "Remember what I showed you before we set out."

"I got it," Larmina hissed, extending her hand over the water. Daniel almost leaped right up as she flexed her fingers and lifted her hand, a blob of water—containing the fish—followed it.

_Never gonna get used to her doing that,_ he thought.

"Sokka, look!" Katara exclaimed, Larmina now using both her hands to keep the water blob levitated above the boat.

**"**Shhh, Katara," Sokka whispered distractedly, "you're gonna scare it away. Mmmm, I can already smell it cookin'!"

**"**Sokka, I caught one!" Larmina said excitedly, trying to control the little fish-blob of water as it swished through the air around her.

"Larmina, here!" Daniel exclaimed, holding the net out. "Try dropping it in!"

Larmina concentrated on keeping the fish in the water as she slowly began to guide it toward the center of the canoe. Katara had also taken one of her gloves off, and was attempting to help. Daniel also tried helping by moving the net beneath the fish, but the fish was moving around too much. Both girls wound up moving the fish back toward Sokka's end of the boat just as Katara's brother raised his spear to strike his own fish. The blunt end of the spear hit the globe of water, drenching him and allowing the fish to escape.

"Hey!" Larmina exclaimed simultaneously with Katara while Daniel groaned, flopping back down on his bench in the front-middle of the canoe.

"Ugh!" Sokka growled in exasperation as he turned to glare at the two girls. "It was bad enough when only Katara played with magic water!"

"She was just trying to help, Sokka," Daniel said, coming to Larmina's defense. "She caught a fish with that 'magic water' and you let it escape!"

"It's not magic," Katara shot at her brother. "It's waterbending! And it's-

"Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah, blah, blah. Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

"Yeah, right," Daniel muttered to himself with a smirk. He respected Sokka enough, of course—especially after how well they worked together in fighting of that Polar Leopard last week – but there were time he thought the Water Tribe warrior ran his mouth without really thinking about what he was saying.

"You're calling _me_ weird?" Katara remarked with a smirk, folding her arms over her chest. "_I'm _not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water."

Sokka, who was doing just that, turned to glare at his sister just as something bumped into the boat. Catching the side of the canoe to keep from losing his balance, Daniel looked around and discovered that the boat had floated right into an ice field. Icebergs were converging on them like a pack of armadillo-wolves. Katara and Larmina hung onto their sides of the boat for dear life, while Sokka and Daniel worked on paddling as the ice and water tossed their canoe over the waves like a little toy.

"Watch out!" Katara cried as they nearly careened into a large iceberg. Daniel grunted as he pushed the paddle through the water, his muscles straining against the frothing water. Maybe it was too much strain, because when he mistakenly struck an iceberg, the paddle broke in his hands.

"Sokka!" Daniel shouted. "My paddle broke!"

"It's okay!" the warrior shouted back through gritted teeth. "I got this!"

"Go left! Left!" Larmina shouted.

Almost as if the icebergs had heard her, their path was cut off. Three large chunks of ice surrounded them, converged on them, pressed against the sides of their frail little boat…

"Jump!" Katara shouted. Daniel grabbed what he could of their gear, and jumped out of the canoe and onto the nearest iceberg, the other three following just as their boat was reduced to splinters. The four of them clung onto the iceberg as the currents pushed them away from the wreckage and further out to sea.

"You guys okay?" Daniel asked the two siblings as the iceberg finally came to rest.

"Yeah, we're fine," Sokka panted as they all carefully sat up. Patting Daniel on the shoulder, the warrior added, "Thanks, man."

"Yeah, thanks," Katara said, while Larmina rounded on Sokka.

"You call that _left_?"

"You don't like my steering?" Sokka demanded. "Well, maybe you and Katara should've _waterbended_ us out of the ice."

"Guys?" Daniel said, in a vain attempted to break up the fight.

"So you're blaming us," Katara said angrily, standing up and over her brother.

"I knew I should have left you two at home," Sokka berated himself. "Leave it to a girl to screw things up."

Daniel's eyes widened in horror. "Bad move!" he said, glancing nervously at Larmina. He could practically see the steam pouring off of his friend as she marched up right in front of the warrior, pointing at him and wildly gesturing.

"I swear, you are the most _sexist_, _immature_, _idiotic_ guy I've ever met!"

Katara, meanwhile, was having her own fit. "I'm embarrassed to even be related to you!" she shouted at Sokka. Daniel, meanwhile, noticed something crucial.

He noticed the waves behind both girls thrashing around with their movements. Suddenly, Katara threw her arms back and a huge crack appeared in a large iceberg towering over them nearby. Daniel nudged Sokka's shoulder, his violet eyes widening, and the warrior looked up. Upon seeing the danger, Sokka's own eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

"Both Larmina and I have been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!" Katara continued to fume, more cracks appearing in the ice.**  
"**Uh…Katara?" Sokka stammered in a shaky voice, pointing behind her at the iceberg. But the waterbender was beyond reason.

"We even wash all the clothes!" Katara continued to fume, while Larmina continued.

"Sokka, have you even _smelled_ your dirty socks? NOT PLEASANT!"

"Larmina!" Daniel shouted, also trying to point out the danger, but Katara rounded on him.

"Don't you dare take his side, Daniel!" she yelled shrilly. "You've seen how he acts! He thinks he's so special and important just because he's the oldest male in our tribe! He struts around the village likes it's his kingdom and he thinks building towers and coaching six-year-olds makes him a warrior!"

"Katara, settle down!" Sokka shouted, waving his hands frantically. Behind the two waterbenders, the waves continued to thrash and the ice continued to break, straining beneath the waterbenders' fury.

**"**No, that's _it!_" Katara screamed. "I'm _done_ helping you! From now on, YOU ARE _ON YOUR OWN_!"

Katara thrust her arms down one last time, and the iceberg behind her seemed to have had enough. The 20-foot-tall mountain of ice split from bottom to top, cracking open completely. Hearing the noise, the girls finally turned around, gasping at what they had done. They both scrambled backwards as the iceberg fell apart, large chunks of ice splashing into the water and creating large tidal waves that pushed their little ice block back, threatening to tip them over. It was all the four teens could do to not fall off into the water.

"Well, that was something," Daniel said.

"_Something_?" repeated incredulously. "No. You've both gone from weird to_ freakish_."

"Did…_we_ do that?" Larmina asked slowly, her eyes wide.

"Yup. Congratulations."

Daniel sighed, face-palming. He was beginning to get annoyed with the two siblings bickering—and according to Gran-Gran, it only got worse when Larmina got involved in them. And suddenly both cadets' VoltComs flared to life, the markings glowing a brilliant white. "Huh?" Larmina exclaimed, rolling her sleeve up and looking at it in confusion.

Daniel did the same, and Katara asked, "What's wrong, guys?'

But as he was about to respond, he heard Sokka say, "Uh, guys?" in a weird voice.

They all looked to see him leaning over the edge of the iceberg, a scared frown on his face as he looked at the water. "Am I seeing things, or is the ocean glowing?"

Daniel, Larmina, and Katara looked down and discovered Sokka was right; there was a spot in the water just beneath them that seemed to be glowing an incandescent blue. The glow seemed to be getting bigger and brighter as they watched, mystified, and the water began to froth and bubble, as if something from deep in the ocean was beginning to surface…

"_Whoa!_" Daniel yelled as their icy raft began tipping backwards. With a loud, rushing _whoosh_, the surface of the water exploded, the waves pushing them back again to make room for the new iceberg that had emerged. Except this iceberg seemed strange, _unnatural_ even; neither Daniel and Larmina—who were part of the Voltron Force and often saw weird, crazy things, nor the Water Tribe siblings—who had grown up on the ice, had seen anything like it.

The iceberg was almost perfectly round, like a giant model of a globe. The ice had a luminescent glow emanating from deep inside of it, matching the color the four friends had seen. had seen in the water earlier. Daniel gasped, raising his arm in an attempt to block out the bright light, and as he did, his VoltCom's marks glew brighter. Next to him, Katara took a couple of steps forward, her eyes wide with wonder. Sokka reached out as if to pull her back, his face stamped with caution and worry. Larmina continued staring. As he lowered his hand, Daniel saw something even more intriguing about the phenomenon before them: there were two dark shapes in the center of the iceberg. One was a large, oblong shape, like a deformed, half-bent oval about the size of a school bus. The small shape below it was even more alarming, because it could be clearly seen as a human being sitting in a cross-legged position.

He gave a sudden gasp of surprise as five arrow marks appeared on the head and limbs of the human form in the ice. The eyes of the frozen boy, also glowing blue, without irises or pupils, opened…

* * *

**Third-person POV**

While, in another world, the six remaining members of the Voltron Force's VoltComs glew brightly, and with no apparent reason.

The five veterans, who were in the middle of a meeting concerning Daniel's and Larmina's sudden disappearances, all froze as a blinding pain shot through them. It felt as if they were sinking through cold, cold water, darkness all around. They then saw a blindingly blue-white light before them, coming from the silhouette of a bald boy with iridescent-blue arrow markings on his limbs and head. His eyes were glowing as well, the light so bright they couldn't see his irises or pupils. Allura, however, could sense raw, ancient power, memory and experiences of thousands of spirits all gathered into this one person.

_The Avatar._ The title just appeared in all their heads, out of nowhere. And as soon as it started, it was over.

With startled gasps, the five emerged from the vision and all stumbled backward, Pidge falling down. "Wha'…what was _that_?" Lance asked, gasping for breath.

"I…don't know," Keith said, looking shaken. "But nothing like that's ever happened to me before…"

"Me either," Hunk agreed. "And what was with that light?"

"No clue," Pidge said. "But…something's telling me it involves us…"


	5. Chapter II

**Sorry for the wait. and if anyone's reading this, please please PLEASE look at my story "Playing with Fire"! I WILL NOT be updating anything until that story gets at least ONE review! ~Myra  
**

* * *

**Larmina's POV**

Larmina, who was standing beside Katara, lifted her gaze to the shattered iceberg. The thing had completely cracked opened when Katara hit it, releasing a burst of air and a strange beam of light. The light had diminished to a glow, and it seemed to shift in the wind as it dissipated. On her right, Daniel was staring straight ahead, while on her left, Katara was leaning into Sokka, who held a spear protectively in front of them.

Suddenly, the head, shoulders, and arms of the boy in the iceberg appeared over the top of the crater, his eyes and arrow markings still aglow.

"Stop!" Sokka ordered, raising the spear toward the boy.

The boy, seemingly unfazed, didn't stop. He stood at the edge of the broken iceberg, glaring down at the three teens. Startled, Larmina realized that the boy was definitely younger than her and Daniel, even a bit shorter than Pidge. He was dressed in in a long-sleeved, high-collared yellow shirt with a kind of short orange shawl. Orange ankle-length leggings covered his legs beneath knee-length parachute-like pants. His head was entirely bald, decorated only with the glowing blue arrow. Daniel, Sokka, and Katara tensed on either side of her, also finding the phenomenon strange.

Larmina suddenly realized that her VoltCom's glow was diminishing, and that it suddenly had a full power supply again. At the same time, the boy's eyes closed and the glow faded, revealing the arrows to be blue tattoos lining his body. With a low groan, the boy's body fell forward and slid down the ice toward the stunned trio. With a gasp, Katara lunged forward and caught the boy before he could hit his head on the ice. Daniel and Larmina both approached Katara from behind as she supported the boy, hoping to get a better look at the strange boy. Sokka came up next to Larmina and began poking the boy's head with the blunt end of his spear. In response, Larmina grabbed it away from him. "Hey!" he yelled indignantly.

"Where did he come from?" Daniel asked no one in particular, kneeling beside Katara, who was gently turning the boy over onto his back and resting him against the icy slope.

Suddenly, the boy's eyes twitched. The four friends watched in shock and amazement as he gave a low moan and opened his eyes. Without the glow hiding his irises, they saw his eyes were a warm gray color. The boy's gaze landed on Katara first, and he gasped softly.

"I need to ask you something," the boy croaked, his voice weak.**  
**"What?" Katara asked softly.

"Please…come closer…"

"What is it?" Katara murmured gently, leaning toward him.**  
**The boy blinked sleepily. Suddenly, his eyes widened and brightened, and playful smile lit his face as he eagerly asked, "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Larmina exchanged looks with Daniel and Sokka, and she whispered, "Penguin sledding?"

Sokka only shrugged, looking completely perplexed.

"Uh... sure," Katara replied uncertainly. "I guess."

The boy suddenly seemed to lift off the ground, quite literally floating to his feet as a whisper of wind whooshed around him, his shawl and parachute pants rippling in the unnatural breeze. Sokka jumped back and cried out, grabbing his spear back and pointing it at the strange kid.

_"_What's going on here?" the boy asked, rubbing his head in confusion as he looked around him.

"You tell us!" Sokka demanded. "How'd you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?"

As if to prove that the boy wasn't frozen, Sokka poked him in the stomach with the spear. But the boy merely pushed the spear away absentmindedly and replied, "I'm not sure."

Suddenly, a low rumble seemed to emit from the ice in front of them. For a heartbeat, Larmina was afraid another polar-leopard was stalking them, but this growl was much lower and definitely not feline or bear. The boy jumped and gasped at the sound, seeming to recognize it, and began to scramble up the slope of the iceberg, disappearing back over the edge.

"Appa!" the four teens heard the boy cry. "Are you all right? Wake up, buddy!"

"What's an Appa?" Daniel asked.

"Right now, you're guess is as good as mine, Daniel," Katara muttered. She looked slightly confused, but also curious. Her brother, however, was as cynical and suspicious as ever. As the quartet began walking around the slope of the iceberg, they could hear the boy grunting and struggling with something. When they rounded the corner and got a good view of what this "Appa" thing was, their mouths dropped open in absolute shock. The boy was trying to lift the head of an huge, furry, slumbering beast about ten times bigger than a polar-leopard, with six legs, a platypus-like tail, and a round head with two short little bison horns. The creature's thick fur was white with brown arrow markings like the boy's on its head and limbs. The only sign that assured the two cadets that the beast was tame was the saddle on its back.

Suddenly, the beast lifted its head groggily. A tongue as long as a grown man emerged from the creature's giant mouth, giving the cadets another start, but the kid was laughing happily as the beast licked him.

"Hey, you're alright!" he laughed happily, obviously relieved and very pleased as he turned to hug the creature's muzzle. The boy's scrawny arms couldn't have even reached the corners of the monster's mouth. Larmina, Daniel, and the Water Tribe siblings approached the pair slowly as the creature stood and shook out his fur.

"What is that thing?" Sokka demanded, pointing at the monster the boy was now stroking.

The boy turned to the trio and made the introduction: "This is Appa, my flying bison."

"Right," Sokka replied skeptically. "And this is Katara, my flying sister."

Katara gave her brother a disapproving look. Before anyone could say anything more the bison, Appa, began sniffling. The boy's alarmed expression was enough to give Larmina a warning to duck, and she dragged both Daniel and Katara down with her—

Right as Appa let out a giant sneeze, snot flying out of his noise and hitting an unfortunate Sokka full-blast.

"Don't worry, it'll wash out," the boy informed the warrior cheerfully after Sokka's initial freak-out, which consisted of screeching in disgust and rubbing himself in the snow.

_"Yeeach!"_ Sokka replied in disgust.

"So," the boy continued as if his pet covering strangers in snot was an everyday occurrence, "do you guys live around here?"

"Don't answer that!" Sokka suddenly broke in, having succeeded in ridding himself of the worst of the bison snot. He strode in between the boy and his sister and friends, obviously very put out. "Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm_ sure_ he's a spy for the Fire Navy," Katara snapped sarcastically, stepping between the boy and her brother while glaring at the latter. "You can tell by that _evil_ look in his eye."

The four teens looked over at the boy, who flashed them a silly smile, one eyebrow wagging for effect. Larmina smiled, liking the boy's easy friendliness.

"Don't worry about this knucklehead," she assured. "He thinks _everyone_ he never met is a spy. My name's Larmina."

"Hey, Larmina," the kid replied, shaking her outstretched hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Katara, as you know already," said Katara. "This here is Daniel, and the paranoid one over there is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name."

"I'm A-aah," the boy tried to say, but his face suddenly scrunched up into what appeared to be the start of a sneeze. "Aah, ahh aaah aaagh, ah-ah-ah, AAAAAACHOOOOOOOOO!"

The boy let out a sneeze even louder and more ferocious than his bison's. He was actually blasted off of his feet, rocketing straight up into the air. The Water Tribe quartet flinched as a gust of wind from the sneeze blew around them, and Sokka flailed wildly, wary about getting covered in snot again. The four of them watched in amazement as the boy fell back to earth, sliding down the icy slope and landing on his feet right where he was before. He almost lost balance once, but he smiled at the teens as if nothing unusual had happened.

"I'm Aang," the boy finished, sniffing and skimming his finger beneath his nose.

Sokka, Katara, Daniel, and Larmina all gaped at him. "You just sneezed!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing skyward. "And flew ten feet in the air!"

"Really?" Aang asked, looking up at the sky critically. "It felt higher than that.

Suddenly, Katara gasped, apparently having realized something. "You're an _airbender!_" she exclaimed.

"Sure am," Aang confirmed with a nod.

Larmina frowned at this. "Katara, I thought you said that—"

"Not now!" her fellow waterbender hissed suddenly, cutting Larmina off with a look, her gaze flickering back to the boy. Fortunately, Sokka chose that moment to input his thoughts.

"Giant light beams, flying bison,_ airbenders_... I think I've got Midnight Sun Madness," Sokka declared, gesturing wildly at the weirdness around him before turning and stalking off. "I'm going home to where stuff makes sense…"

Sokka trailed off as he came to the edge of the iceberg, staring out at the endless expanse of arctic ocean. "Oh, by the way, Sokka," Daniel said _helpfully_, "We're stranded on a frozen island in the middle of the ocean. Just thought I'd let you know."

Katara giggled behind her mitten as Sokka turned and narrowed his eyes at the violet-eyed boy. Aang also laughed, please to hear that one of his new friends had some kind of humor.

"Well," Aang offered, "If you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift."

Aang jumped lightly into the air, spinning as a gust of wind lifted him onto Appa's head, and then leapt nimbly onto the bison's saddle.

"We'd love a ride!" replied Katara as Daniel and Larmina gathered everyone's packs, which they had miraculously managed not to lose. "Thanks!"

"Oh, no," Sokka said stubbornly as his sister and friends ran around Appa to climb up on his massive tail. "I am _not _getting on that fluffy snot monster!"

Larmina looked down at Sokka and said, Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know, before you _freeze to death_?" She put heavy emphasis on the last three words.

Sokka raised a finger and started to say something, but paused. Finally, he sighed and slumped in defeat.

"Look on the bright side, Sokka," Daniel said cheerfully as his friend stomped around the beast and began to climb up his tail. "At least we don't have to worry about Appa getting crushed by icebergs."

"Oh, you definitely won't have to worry about that!" Aang assured them as he offered his hand to Sokka. "We're going to be flying, after all!"

Sokka glowered at Aang and brushed past him without taking his hand. "Yeah, whatever, air boy. Just get us back to the Southern Water Tribe village."

"Aye-aye, captain!" Aang agreed, performing an extravagant military solute before winking at Katara and airbending himself over their heads and onto Appa's head. Sokka smoothed his hair from this most recent gust of wind and sat down at Katara's right, looking grumpy and surly. Larmina settled down beside Daniel, behind the Water Tribe siblings, "Okay!" the young airbender yelled back from his position on Appa's head, taking a pair of reins tied around the bison's horns. "First time flyers, hold on tight! Appa, _yip-yip_!"

Aang snapped the reins, and Appa gave a low, rumbling growl. The bison slowly raised his large tail and used it to launch himself into the air. Both cadets' breaths hitched, as, for a moment, they wondered if they were actually going to fly. But then Appa spread out his six legs and belly-flopped into the water.

"Come on, Appa, yip-yip!" Aang commanded again with a shake of the reins as the beast began to swim forward.

"Wow," Sokka said sarcastically as Katara crawled to the front of the saddle. "That was truly amazing."

"Appa's just tired," Aang said in defense of his bison." A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see!"

Katara smiled at the young boy as his eyes rested on her. She leaned over to grab something from her pack, but she looked back up to see Aang still smiling brightly at her.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Katara asked, cocking an eyebrow.**  
**Aang's smile faded and he looked surprised as he replied, "Oh, I was smiling?"

Sokka groaned, sticking his tongue out and rolling his head back. Larmina rolled her eyes and tapped Katara's shoulder. "I thought you said the Fire Nation wiped all the airbenders out," she whispered so that Aang wouldn't hear.

"I thought they had," Katara whispered back. "No one has seen one in a hundred years."

"Aang doesn't look that old," Daniel put in softly. "There must be a few who escaped."

"But we have to consider how long he might have been in that iceberg," replied Katara. "And how on Earth he got in it in the first place."

Larmina blinked slowly. "According to what a friend would've said," she started, thinking of Pidge, "Aang should not be alive. He couldn't have been in that iceberg for very long. Certainly not for a hundred years… right?"

The look Katara gave her clearly said that at this point, _anything_ could be possible. "You think that weird blue light had something to do with him surviving?"

"I have no idea," Katara muttered, looking over toward where Aang was sitting, at the front end of the bison. "But I do wonder…"

"You don't think…he could be the Avatar, do you?" Daniel asked.

Katara sighed and shook her head. "No… I don't know. I think he might at least know what happened to the Avatar, since he was supposed to be reincarnated into the Air Nomads…"

Suddenly, Aang's head poked up over the lid of the saddle. "Looks like we might have a long trip ahead of us," he said cheerfully. "That means we can get to know each other better! What'cha guys talking about?"

The three that had been talking all exchanged nervous looks. They looked over at Sokka, who was grumpily sharpening his boomerang, but the warrior shrugged unhelpfully. Daniel quickly put in, "Food. Want any? We have some left in our packs, I think…"

"I could go for food," Aang answered enthusiastically, airbending himself into the saddle with the quartet. "Being frozen in a block of ice made me hungry! What'cha got?"

"Definitely _not_ fish," Larmina joked, throwing a teasing glance at Sokka, who merely glared back darkly. Aang, however, seemed relieved.

"Oh, that's good. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't eat meat."

Katara, Daniel, and Larmina all burst out laughing at the look of horror on Sokka's face. _Something tells me this is gonna be an interesting friendship,_ Larmina thought. She still hadn't forgotten the way her VoltCom had suddenly re-charged itself, or the way the marks on it were glowing so brightly. But somehow, this boy was connected to it—she just _knew_.


End file.
