"Hey! There it is!" Toph's shout sends me rushing to her side, peering over the edge of the saddle. All I see is more ocean, what- oh.

Right. Beside me, Sokka groans.

"Why do you find it necessary to do that?" Toph just laughs, and I shake my head as I make my way carefully back to the other side of Appa's saddle. Lia is huddled in a ball under a blanket- she hates flying. I pat her shoulder absently as I settle back beside her. Poor thing.

As I stare out over the endless sea, I try to figure out why my heart is racing. Is it because I thought for a moment that we really were there? I'm not sure how I feel about seeing the North Pole again- after all, the last time I was there, things didn't turn out too well for me.

And this time, there's a problem with the city itself, and there's no guarantee that any of us will come back. I'm sure we will- Aang is the Avatar, after all, and Toph is the most powerful earthbender in the world. Not to mention that I'm the most powerful waterbender, and Lia is almost as strong as me already.

I'm not worried about us.

But my heart is still pounding, and my palms are sweaty, and it doesn't feel like a good thing.

This was a bad idea.

**__**

Aang watched Katara from his place at the front of Appa's saddle, trying to to stare too obviously. He felt the familiar wrenching pain in his gut as Katara stroked back her daughter's hair.

Her daughter. Aang wasn't stupid, and he wasn't a child, not anymore. He knew what that meant.

And it killed him.

Ate away at his insides until he was seething with- what? Anger? Pain? Hate? Jealousy? He didn't know- he'd never felt this way before.

When he'd thought she was dead, he'd blamed himself, hated himself. But Zuko had given him hope, had helped him heal. Had helped him move on.

And now Katara was back, but she was different. Changed. She was no longer the happy, caring girl he'd had such a huge crush on all those years ago. She was a woman, with a perpetually sad look in her dark blue eyes and the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Aang wanted to take the weight away- after all, he was the Avatar. It was his job to help people. But he didn't know how to help Katara, and worst of all, he knew that it wasn't his job to help her.

Katara's fingers moved to her wrist, rubbing the tattoo that Aang knew was there. She kept it hidden, but Aang had seen it when she was climbing on Appa. It had been like a spear to his heart.

He had spent countless hours in the spirit world, learning their ways. He knew a spirit bond when he saw one, and this one was so much worse that simple bond- it was a marriage bond.

Katara was bound to her husband for eternity, through any lives they may lead, through anything that happened to them. For better or worse. Past death and beyond.

And her husband... wasn't Aang.

Aang turned away, hating himself for thinking about it. But he couldn't keep his mind away from it. He couldn't do anything for Katara. She wasn't his. She belonged to someone else, someone so stupid that he didn't know what he had. Because Katara was here, alone with a little girl, and had been for a long time.

And he, whoever he was, wasn't.

It made Aang's blood boil, and he took a deep breath. He had to get control! But if he ever got his hands on Katara's husband...

Aang's fists clenched around Appa's reigns, and the sky bison growled in protest. Aang loosened his hold and patted the huge animal's head.

"Sorry, buddy."

He needed to stop thinking about this.

Or he was going to drive himself insane. Aang slowly slipped into a stupor as he stared out over the ice floes and calm sea. This was the worst part of traveling. The waiting to get somewhere, anywhere.

He yawned, stretching his head back and closing his eyes.

When he opened them, the Northern Water Tribe loomed before him.

He grinned.

**__**

Zuko paced his room in the Southern Water Tribe Palace, trying to calm himself down. For some reason, he'd been furious to learn that his friends had headed off to the North Pole without him. Which was crazy, because he didn't own them and they could do whatever they wanted.

But Zuko was angry, nonetheless.

And it made him even angrier that he didn't understand why.

It was just a feeling he had. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He needed to calm down.

The message they left for him said they didn't know when they'd be back and they were postponing the wedding for at least a couple of months. Zuko couldn't wait that long in the South Pole- he needed to get back to Sozin.

He frowned.

He'd been meaning to talk to his friends about changing the name of the city- it was really starting to bug him.

Of course, he needed a new name for it. 'Fire Nation Capital' wouldn't work. Neither would 'Fire City'. They were too cliché and generic. But he couldn't leave the city named after a horrible, evil man.

Maybe he could name it after a different person? Who was the last Fire Nation Avatar?

Roku? No, that didn't work, either.

The problem was that 'Sozin' was such a good city name. It was strong, had a Z, two syllables, which was always good. It rolled off the tongue.

Sozin.

But it was not a good name for his city, not anymore! He didn't want to name it 'Fire City', as Kamil had sugested, or 'Flaming City', as Ty Lee had wanted.

Jeong Jeong, his Chief Advisor, had sugested 'Zuko', but Zuko absolutely refused to name it after himself. Maybe he'd call it 'Jeong Jeong'. That would give the old man a stick in the side.

Zuko smiled to himself.

A part of him wanted to name it 'Kara', but that, he knew, he could never do. Maybe he'd call it 'Avatar City'- no, that wouldn't work.

'Balance City'? No, that was too much like Omashu's nickname. 'Dragon City'? That one worked. He'd present it to his advisors as an idea. But he needed more than one idea, or they would eat him alive.

'Sozin' was an awfully good city name, after all.

'Capital City'. 'Burning City'. 'Aang City'. Zuko sighed, frustrated. He didn't have a clue what a good city name would be.

His sister would name it 'Azula'.

'Phoenix City'. Zuko smiled grimly- his father would have loved that.

'Hawk City'. Zuko rolled his eyes. Now he was just grasping at straws. This was impossible! A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts, and he called for them to come in.

The door opened, revealing Kanna, Hakoda's mother. Zuko smiled.

"You need to eat, young man." The old woman placed a tray of food on the low table, and Zuko thanked her with a bow. She smiled at him.

"What were you muttering to yourself about?"

"I want to rename my city. Sozin wasn't a good role model, and I don't like his name being on everyone's mind. But I don't know what else to call it!"

The old woman cocked her head.

"Why not chose a new role model? Who do you want your people to look up to? Who do you look up to?" She chuckled as she turned away.

"Think about it, young man."

The door clickd shut behind her, and Zuko stood, stunned.

Then, slowly, a smile formed on his face, erasing the tiredness and frustration.

He knew exactly what to call his city.

______

Hmmm. Poor Aang... ;) Whatever will he do?

And WHAT is going on in the North Pole?! Whyyy?

Comment and Vote, guys, and remember five if you want an update... )