StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Author's Notes:
OK, so, you know those panfandom RPGs where canon characters from all over the place come together for little or no reason, then meet, interact, have wacky adventures etc? I play those.
In one of those, my character (Melaka Fray) managed to get knocked up by Prince Zuko. Babies ensued.
Game died, we moved to a different game, and took our characters (and their babies) with us.
Then um, my brain was eaten by what the babies would grow up to be.

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Chapter One: The Machine
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The machine had been Iroh's idea. Or rather, as he liked to put it, 'his sheer utter awesomeness', but Louise called it his idea. As much as she doted on her little brother, she didn't think his ego needed inflated more than absolutely necessary. He got enough of that from Uncle Sokka.


Sokka wasn't really their uncle – their only uncle had been something called a 'lurk', which they sometimes heard called a 'vampire', and he had been evil. He'd tried to kill their Mom, but only managed to put her in a coma for three weeks. He had killed their father, tortured him to death, but he'd been brought back to life by a special healer called Josh - Zuko still bore the scars (and a missing finger) years later.

He'd tried to use Sokka as an incubator for aliens, but Mom had saved him. This was all before they were born, but they heard about it from all of them. He was evil.


So Louise Fray, her twin sister Hana, and their little brother Iroh called Sokka their uncle. Because he was closer to her parents then their own siblings were, and he was the only one there when they were growing up.


The children's parents were from different worlds – literally. Their mother Melaka had been a street brat in a big city with populations numbering in the millions and flying vehicles and electricity powering everything, where she'd used her unique super-strength and speed to thieve for a living. Their father had been the exiled Crown Prince of the imperial Fire Nation, in a feudal world rich in elemental magic, on which Sokka had been a warrior of the opposing water tribe. They had both been torn out of their lives and met each other in a desolate world, in the ruins of a city primitive to Mel but fantastic to Zuko. A place the inhabitants would later call Apocalyptica.


The story of their courtship had never quite been revealed to the children, but Sokka suggested that it started when Mel hit Zuko in the face for what he had been doing on his homeworld. And from what he told the kids about the situation in the Four Nations, they couldn't blame her. From then, the threats from her brother and elsewhere had brought them tighter together, made passions run higher, forged bonds where no one would expect them. They fell in love and had the twins; Zuko and Sokka became blood brothers through a Water Tribe ritual. This wasn't unusual behaviour for people stuck on a desolate world, Louise knew – she'd seen it enough times in her life.


The twins didn't remember Apocalyptica. The five of them had been ripped out of that world in much the same manner the adults (or rather teenagers, because they were, back then) had first arrived there. They had grown up in another world, another deserted town, called Eden. A whole new community, whole new threats. Even people their parents recognised from Apocalyptica hadn't remembered them, or the world itself. It was there that Iroh was born when the girls were four. It was there their parents had been cremated and blown to the winds, having died defending the community from the beasts native to the world (Melaka had gone first, when Iroh was only three. Her husband followed eight years later). It was there they called home.


Until Iroh and Sokka found out a way to go really home.


Every time someone new came to Eden – ripped out of their own worlds by some unknown power and just left there to integrate into the existing community – they usually asked the same question of the inhabitants: "How do I get back?" Ever since they were allowed to wander the street alone, the girls learned to tell them that they couldn't. They'd become used to seeing the reaction when they explained they grew up here; Hana grew hard to their disappointment, and became a little annoyed when they disparaged the only home she'd ever known, what her family had worked for, and what her mother had died to protect.

But Louise, she felt every pang of disappointment the newcomers did. She never managed to quite achieve the level of matter-of-fact acceptance that her sister had. She could only imagine what it was like to have been torn from a world they knew and abandoned to relearn everything about the world from scratch. And Iroh, clever little Iroh, he just worked harder to give them what he wanted.


Since he learnt to toddle, Iroh had spent many a day sitting in what was generally known as "Sokka's engineering corner", watching his uncle and any of the numerous engineers and mechanics Eden called to itself, hard at work on machines and technology to make the street livable, and always the pipedream of one day making it home. Even when his father started him training in the art if Firebending, a talent all the siblings possessed, even when it was discovered he had a natural talent for it, he still spent many an hour under Sokka's mentorship, showing a love for machines that his older sisters, both warriors to the core, had never felt.


Although he insisted it was a group effort, everyone knew it was Iroh who came up with the breakthrough. Who figured out the theories people were bringing from the worlds, who worked space-going technology from one world and time-travel magic from another to work out how to send people back.


"It works on finding your spirit," he explained, "latching on to your homeworld signature. See, we were thinking that spiritual signatures and cellular resonance were two different things, but I reckon it's just two different ways of looking at it..."


And Louise hadn't really followed that any more. Iroh was the smart one. All that mattered was that they had a way back.


And it worked. It seemed to work. The immigrants who were desperate for anything to get back where they called home went first. There wasn't any real way of knowing where they ended up, but all the engineers did calculation after calculation after calculation and double checked everyone's work and they all agreed. It was working.

Soon the only people left were the lifers. The three siblings, the people who'd survived the great wars, and the people who invested most of their life in the community. Newcomers continued to arrive, but they generally went straight home using the device that was, as they worked on it, gradually getting simpler and simpler. Then even the old-timers decided there was nothing for them here and went on. Until eventually there were only a very few, including the twins and their uncle and brother.

"Do you ever want to go home, Sokka?" Louise finally asked one evening as family lounged in the lobby of what had once been the only hotel in Eden. It was a miserable rainy evening outside: grey and oppressive, and they were gathered around the fire, in a place once vibrant with life, now as desolate as only Sokka remembered. They were in theory playing poker for this year's seeds, but it was just an excuse for family time.

The engineer turned laughing blue eyes on the smaller of his nieces and playfully ruffled her hair with a strong, scarred hand. "And leave you brats to ruin the place? You think I'm nuts? This is my home."

That sufficed for Louise, at least, but Hana sat in silence for a little while, barely paying attention to the game, before she spoke up, "but didn't you have a family before? Don't you miss your sister?"

It was, Louise felt, a particularly awkward pause. They'd heard about Sokka's sister, of course, about their mission to help the Avatar, master of all four elements, halting the imperialist onslaught of the evil Fire Nation (to the throne of which their own father was heir) and saving the rest of the world from annihilation and oppression. But that had been eighteen years ago, when he was younger than the girls were now. His sister and the Avatar had come to Apocalyptica with him but not followed to Eden.

"Sometimes," he admitted, and Louise felt that it was only out of trust for his family that he didn't lie. "But the mission will be long gone by now. Anyway, I left Katara and Aang in Apocalyptica. Iroh's reasserter would take me back to the Earth Kingdom. If it still is the Earth Kingdom by now. We had a matter of months, and it's been so long."

"I wonder if they found their way out of Apocalyptica," Louise said, unable to stop herself catching on to the maudlin tone. "Or if they're stuck there still. I kinda hope they managed to get back long before we found a way."

Iroh looked up from meticulously counting out his seeds. "You know," he said. "I think we could get to Apocalyptica if we wanted. I mean... Loo and Hana were born there, right?"

All three turned to look at him. But only Hana said anything. "And what? What's there for us two in that place?"

The thirteen year old rubbed the back of his neck, awkward under the scrutiny of them all, but still with that familiar look in his eye that Louise recognised as confidence in his own conclusions. "Nothing for you, but you could bring the reasserter - or rather, blueprints to make their own. The materials aren't that hard to find, and it should be easy to make a new one."

"Easy for you," Louise pointed out, prodding Iroh gently in the arm. "And even if we do, then we're stuck in that world on our own. Sweet idea, though, Brainiac."

Iroh just shook his head. "Not if I go with you. I was born here. And we know the reasserter lets people travel together. So I build a new one, and use that one to get us home using my spiritual resonance." He grinned that brattish grin that showed he knew he was right. And when Louise turned to her uncle for confirmation, he was staring at Iroh in awe and delight.

"My nephew's a goddamn genius," was all he said.

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Chapter Two: The Departure
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They asked him if he wanted to come; he was still in the prime of manhood, after all, not like he was old and incapable. But he said four people would mess with the transfer, and he wanted to stay behind to keep an eye on Eden; routine maintenance and helping to send newcomers home. That didn't stop him from giving each of them a long and extremely rambling lecture on staying out of the rain and kill any Magog you see and this is how you kill lurks. This last one had earned him a withering look from Hana, who had helped herself to her mother's old bandoleer of throwing stakes.

"Un-cle," she said, rolling her golden eyes up and pulling a leather biker jacket over the bandoleer. "I know how to kill lurks. I'm born for it, remember?"

Little Hana, who at seventeen had a woman's figure but had failed to actually reach five foot in height, had inherited talents from her mother that her siblings hadn't, but which she'd only acquired : strength and endurance beyond anyone in Eden, along with extras that Melaka had never hinted at: subconscious knowledge of a thousand different fighting styles, and regular dreams of a thousand girls before her chosen to fight the forces of darkness. It was a calling that had picked Melaka out first, and when she died, had passed to one of her daughters. Louise was never sure if she envied her twin or not; sometimes it was a wrench to see how easily Hana picked up the bending moves Louise had to practise for weeks to master, and to be constantly outmatched by someone who put in no effort at all. But on the other hand... Hana couldn't bend as well as her or their brother, and she acted sometimes like she wasn't going to live to see thirty. She bore it as a duty, not a gift, like they all treated their bending. Louise had many fond memories of their mother, but she couldn't remember the same sense of inevitability Hana carried sometimes.

Sokka smirked fondly and batted the head of his super-strong niece. "You're born to keep your uncle company in his old age, and don't you forget it. Take care of your brother, OK?"

"Bending prodigy?" Louise cut in. They had been told to prepare for dull and cold weather in Apocalyptica, so had all chosen coats and layers as appropriate. Louise's was a leather trench coat, which should have been mid calf length, but actually came closer to her ankles; she was taller than Hana, but not by much. The coat was cut to the waist, though, and allowed her father's dao swords to be hung at her hip without restricting movement. "He should be protecting us. Hell, I'm not even sure why you've got us all kitted out. He'll defend our honour and everything."

For a moment she thought her uncle was going to give her a tired lecture about how she should be watching him, but instead he just shook his head. "Remind me why I want you back again?"

"Because you love us." Louise had to stand on tiptoes to persuade Sokka to bend down and let him kiss her on the cheek, which became a hug before she had time to react. "We'll be fine, Uncle Sokka. It'll only be a few days, then we'll be back annoying you again."

She could have sworn her uncle's eyes were wet when he pulled back just enough to grab a mildly protesting Hana into the same embrace, holding them both tightly until they were interrupted by Iroh clearing his throat loudly.

"I think I got it tuned to your frequency," he said, stepping away from the complex apparatus, and handing the handle to Louise. "Ready?"

Think?

Pulling away from her uncle, Louise glanced quickly at him, before turning to her brother. Neither Sokka nor Hana appeared to have noticed. Iroh never doubted himself. But to mention it would just worry them. Well, Louise trusted her genius brother even if he didn't.

"Yeah," she said, smiling reassuringly and squeezing his hand. "You ready, Brainiac?"

Sokka let go of the girls just enough to free a hand enough to pull on Iroh's wolftail. "Hey, warrior buddy," he said. "Defend your sisters' honour, OK?" He said it with a smirk, and Iroh's answering sarcastic laugh was enough to make Hana bark out a wordless objection and Louise push her brother's arm.

"We're outa here," Hana said, detaching herself rudely from her uncle and resting a hand on Iroh's elbow. Louise caught a wink between them, though, and Sokka passed Hana a folded envelope which she tucked in her jeans pocket.

"Just in case she's still around, OK?"

Eden - the entire world the children had known their whole life - consisted basically of one single street. Not one of them had ever been more than half a mile away from their home before. By the time he was their age, Sokka had been from one end of his world to the other. Louise wondered, as he gave them all a final kiss, if he was thinking how the first time they ever left home, they were going on a quick excursion to another world.

It was, as their mother would have said, spun.

Louise couldn't help a shiver of excitement run through her as she watched Sokka flip the switch. Then the shiver was a full bodied vibration that made her teeth hurt, and Iroh's hand tightened against hers, shaking in the same way. Her vision began to blur as if her eyes were shaking in their sockets, and she shut them tightly. Then something burned hot and bright against her lids.

This was it.

The light faded, and Louise lost all sensation, except her brother's hand hot even against her own. Even the handle disappeared. Even the ground under her feet stopped being hard, but with no sensation of falling.

And then her back hit something hard and painful, and she lost Iroh's hand. There was the muted sound of something crashing around her ears and all she could feel was an overwhelming pressure from all sides. Opening her eyes, Louise saw nothing but a misty darkness, and she realised rather belatedly that she was underwater, and she'd lost her brother and sister.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you were using S1 Zuko, complete with Avatar Hunting Action and Topknot to start? Hence, the lack of references to Toph and her awesomeness in recolections when Aang and Katara were mentioned?

And I'm not quite sure what happened there just at the end. But it sounds like that people might not have smooth landings from this thing.

Vehrec wrote:I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you were using S1 Zuko, complete with Avatar Hunting Action and Topknot to start? Hence, the lack of references to Toph and her awesomeness in recolections when Aang and Katara were mentioned?

And I'm not quite sure what happened there just at the end. But it sounds like that people might not have smooth landings from this thing.

Yep. Zuko came into game at the very very end of season 1. And Mel, for what it's worth, came in pre-canon as well. Which is why there'll be no recollections about giant caterpillars or Urkonn or what happened to Louise' namesake.

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Chapter Three: The North Pole
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Acid.

That was Louise's first thought. How many times had they been told about the acid rain in Apocalyptica? The deadly stuff that burned to the touch and made the environment almost uninhabitable? And the first thing Louise and her siblings did when they got there was plunge into it. By the time she realised she wasn't being burned by acid, she was trying to deal with the crushing pain in her lungs. Acid, or not, she was underwater. And never having been underwater before, she also had no idea how to swim.

Kicking her legs instinctively, Louise flailed her arms and turned her head up, to where she was sure she could see light, above what looked like an impenetrable glass ceiling, fighting rising panic at how difficult it would be to break. The pain in her chest tightened, and her head began to throb. Louise had seen battle, had fought alongside her Dad and her sister, and been wounded pretty badly on a number of occasions. Right now she couldn't think of a time she had been more certain she would die.

Only when the surface broke with her head and air rushed into her mouth and throat, did she notice how unbearably cold she was. She gulped in the air anyway, and used her first breath to scream as loud as the tearing pain in her lungs would allow.

"Iroh!"

Smoke billowed from her mouth, mixing with steam as she breathed heat into the wet air, kicking desperately to stay at the surface as she bobbed under again. A blue and white sky stretched above her, and broken lumps of ice broke up the endless water in which she found herself fighting to stay afloat. Just as she screamed, the same word was echoed behind her; louder and stronger. Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of black before she found herself breathing water again.

Louise was panicking again when she felt an arm snake round her and she was hauled up above the surface again, far enough to get a decent breath this time. Coughing water out of her mouth, she leaned back and allowed her sister to support her.

"When'd you learn to swim?" she managed.

"In a dream," Hana said, and if she wasn't in so much pain, Louise would have laughed at the ease in which it was said. She fought for another breath, before her ears were rent with another: "IROH!!"

"Loo! Hana!"

The reply was faint, but relieved, and Louise found herself being pulled backwards as Hana turned and swam with powerful strokes through the water. The entire area was beginning to billow steam now, as the three of them burned into the water. A few strokes and she felt her brother bundled against her, and she clung to him as tightly as she dared. It was then she realised she was crying hot tears.

"Keep your feet together," Hana told them both. "Knees out then push down, like frogs. Don't kick."

Iroh, Louise realised, was desperately trying not to cry. "I don't get it," he managed, before Hana shushed him.

"It's gonna be OK."

How? Louise thought. How is it going to be OK? Something went horribly wrong and we're lost in an ocean. Does this happen to everyone? How many people have we killed like this?

At least she had Hana and Iroh. She clung to that thought as she clung to them both, eyes on Hana. For all the reassurance in her voice, there was worry in her eyes, and that scared Louise more.

It seemed like an eternity, but it couldn't ave been more than two minutes before they heard a rhythmical splashing and the steam parted to show a boat. More of a raft, really, sculled slowly by a single old man, with a round face; worried when Louise first saw it, but soon breaking into a welcoming grin.

"Well well well," he rasped, and Louise found herself warming to him on that friendly tone alone. "What do we have here? Three brave souls going for a swim in the North Pole? Perhaps you'd care to keep an old man company on his raft?"

Hana had already kicked towards him, leaving Louise to tread water as she watched the old man's eyes widen in something she took for shock as he saw her sister's face. Nevertheless, he pulled Iroh aboard and brought the boy into his arms as Hana returned for her sister, swimming back like she'd been swimming all her life.

The man's face was just as gentle and trustworthy close up, his hands were welcomingly warm, and his round figure concealed a remarkable amount of strength, from the ease that he pulled up Louise, then Hana. Louise immediately gathered herself under her brother's arm - four years younger and he already towered over them both - and Hana leaned against her other side. Between them, they let small flames lick around them for warmth and drying, and Louise glanced at their rescuer again. He was studying them thoughtfully, rubbing his triangular beard with his hand as each one of them were subject to scrutiny, under golden eyes not unlike Hana's.

"Thank you," Louise offered.

"Oh do not mention it," he answered. "What sort of gentleman would I be, if I left you floating in the ice? You do look awfully familiar, though," this was primarily addressed to Hana. "What were three young Firebenders doing drifting out here alone? And in such interesting clothing?"

"It's a long story," Hana volunteered, almost sheepishly. "I don't suppose you could tell us where we are?"

"Of course I can. We're at the North Pole." This was said so confidently that when he followed up with. "But whereabouts, I have no idea," Louise couldn't help but smile. "About two hours sail from the Northern Water City."

Northern Water City. All three stiffened. And Louise heard Iroh mutter, "of course," to himself. They were in their father's world. And apart from that, completely lost.

"Lucky for us you were around, then," Louise said as soon as she found her voice, and she quickly bowed in an approximation of the manner her father had taught her to do before a duel. "My name is Louise, this is my sister Hana and my brother Iroh."

The man - and Louise found herself reflecting just how lucky they were that someone obviously Fire Nation had picked them up - bowed in return, but looked up sharply at Iroh's name. "Iroh?" he repeated. "That is a good name."

"Thanks," Iroh said, bright overconfidence returning. "It was my uncle's."

"Your uncle?"

"Well, my father's uncle."

"I see, and who is your father?"

Struck by a sudden paranoia, Louise opened her mouth, but Hana, apparently with the same thought, cut in: "Hey, hang on, you haven't given us your name, yet."

"Oh, I am sorry, how rude of me," the reply came, silky smooth. "I was only interested, you see, because my name is also Iroh."

Louise glanced sharply at her sister, to see the same wide eyed question in her eyes. Hana turned back first, blurting out, "What a coincidence..." before Iroh cut in sharply with:

"General Iroh? Dragon of the West?"

"Oh you have heard of me?" Louise had never before imagined someone's eyes could 'dance in merriment', but this man's certainly did. The whole figure in question exuded 'merry'. "It is always an honour to meet fans."

"Prove it," Hana said, suddenly defensive. "I mean, no offence, but you could be anyone."

"Would you like me to regale you with tales of my daring victories?" asked the man Louise was beginning to think of as 'Old Iroh'. "I would love to, but you see, I am looking for my nephew. I lost him around here."

"Oh, F... fridge," Little Iroh muttered under his breath. "I don't think you're going to find him."

"Oh?" If this man wasn't who we claimed to be, he was one hell of a liar. His eyes grew big and scared and ready to be devastated in a way that almost broke Louise's heart.

"General Iroh," she said quickly, "have you ever been to a place called Apocalyptica?"

He shook his head, and his sad face hardened, became almost angry. "What has that got to do with my nephew?" He asked.

"D.. Zuko died, two years ago," the boy said, before Louise could react, and she cringed when the General's face flashed with rage.

"What?" he roared, and flame darted across the boat.

"Oh, well done, Brainiac," Hana snapped, but Louise leaned forward on one hand.

"Please, General," she said. "I know it's hard to take in, but Zuko was our father. He spent the last eighteen years on a different world, and... oh, shit. This is hard enough when there's proof." She glanced back to her siblings, looking for help.

"The knife," Hana filled in, her head remarkably level. "General, you gave your nephew a knife, from Ba Sing Se. What did the inscription read?"

Louise sagged in relief as she saw Iroh reaching for the back of his belt, and looked back to her great-uncle's surprise ridden face as he started "'Never give up...'" and when shown the dagger in question, everything except a great bittersweet sadness drained from his face. "'...without a fight.' Oh, my goodness, I have grandnieces?"

And then not even Hana could prevent the three of them being gathered up in the biggest bear-hug they'd ever had, as a man they hadn't seen since they were babies started unashamedly weeping for their lost father.

Well, its quite good, and you also are in a Multi-Fandom RP!

WARNING: Your Friendly Uncle Iroh (tm) may contain Tea. He may give unwanted hugs, purchase hideous items with your money, and introduce you to your psycho bitch aunt. And he'll demonstrate that old guys can still kick ass and take names.

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Chapter Four: Genetics
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"I'm such an idiot," Iroh - little Iroh - was saying, despite all evidence to the contrary. "I thought birth world was enough - it's not. Cellular resonance is genetically controlled, so we picked it up from Mom and Dad. Our homeworld isn't Apocalyptica or Eden, it's here. So the other frequency I was picking up musta been Earth."

"The other frequency?" Hana snapped. The four of them had been picked up by an insignificant Fire Nation ship, and roomed in one large guest room. The General hadn't asked many questions once he'd accepted who they were, captaining the raft competently, but with a continual air of sadness. They had all slept since, and he'd woken latest, now sitting on his bunk, hands on his ample knees and listening to his new family taking a small pow-wow on the floor. Louise wondered how unlike Fire royalty they must have looked; even having replaced their blue jeans with red robes donated from the crew, they all lounged indifferently as they would have done at home. Iroh sat hunched over, chin resting on his knees as he thought, Hana lay all the way back, head propped on her elbows, while Louise herself lay on her front, chin on her hands, legs kicking up.

Iroh at least had the decency to look embarrassed at his sister's accusation, . "Uh, yeah, didn't I mention that? Musta slipped my mind. You guys were throwing up two frequencies, which I've never seen before. This one seemed the strongest, but I bet that's cause Uncle Sokka was right there."

"That's what you meant when you said you 'think'," Louise said, shifting her weight to her left arm and letting the other relax, stretching towards him reassuringly.

He nodded in answer. "But that's why we ended up there. We musta switched in where Dad left, in time and space."

"So we're in the past?" Hana asked dryly, addressing the ceiling. "Rocketship."

"Means that everyone who was worried about things happening at home in their absence will be OK," Louise said, thinking out loud. "That's good to know."

"Means Sokka's family is still running around somewhere," Iroh remarked.

"Means we can get you a decent Firebending master," Louise said, and glanced towards where their great-uncle was listening. "You're already better than either of us..." It seemed a lot to ask a man they'd only just met to teach her brother, but it was what Iroh needed.

The General's face broke into a smile. "You mean me?"

"Dad said you were the best Firebender in the world," Louise explained shyly. "And Iroh - our brother - he'd already matched Dad's ability when he... when he died."

It wrenched, to see that naturally jolly face fall again, with the fresh wound of his nephew's death. A few times overnight Louise had wondered how much he believed them, or even whether they could trust him to be who he said he was. But that pain reassured her, just enough for now. "I should be honoured to teach my grand-nephew Firebending," he said, smiling through it. "And my grand-nieces, too, if they can do just one thing for me."

This sounded suspicious to Louise, who shared a glance with Hana before nodding.

"What is it?"

The General heaved a sigh and stood, walking to a table beside the door. Pausing briefly, he picked up a something on it with two hands, and turned round, showing it to be a tea set. His melancholy had completely dissipated, replaced by a beaming grin

"Would you join me for some tea?"

It was enough to make Iroh chuckle, and Louise smiled, although Hana just snorted, rolling over and sitting as he joined the circle, setting the tea set in front of them and starting to pour.

"You have beautiful eyes," he told Louise as he handed her a cup. It took her by surprise, and she smirked. She knew her eyes were unusual for Fire Nation: large and expressive, and a washed out pale grey colour instead of yellow or gold like Iroh's and Hana's. In Eden it had been Hana who attracted all the compliments. Here, it looked like it might be different.

Shrugging off the compliment, she just said, "they're from my Mom."

"I see," he said, pouring tea for the others before turning back to Louise. "Your mother was water-tribe?"

Hearing Hana snort, Louise shook her head. "No, Mom wasn't water-tribe, she didn't belong to any element. She came from a different world altogether."

"A world without elements," he remarked. "How fascinating. I always wondered what it would be like if we didn't have these things dividing us."

"People find other things to divide themselves," she remarked. "You've really never been to Apocalyptica?"

"I have been many places," was the response. "Even the Spirit World, but never a place by that name. Are you sure it was me?"

"It might not have been," Iroh offered, placing his cup on the ground. "I mean, it wouldn't be inconsistent with the way the multiverse seems to work. Everyone's got their own personal view of the universe, right? And people have turned up in Eden from different times of the same world. Look at Harry and James."

Hana jerked suddenly, choking on her tea. "You have to bring that up?"

"So, the Uncle Iroh who looked after us when we were babies wasn't this Uncle Iroh?" Louise asked. The uncle in question sipped his tea, watching all three in equal measure.

"Right," was the answer. "He's just one of many possibilities. This is the timeline that Dad was taken from. So he's the only person missing from this continuity. So Sokk..."

"So Sokka, if we find him, isn't our real uncle," Louise filled in, and she pushed herself forward to pat her brother's knee. "Sorry, Brain."

"Sokka," the old man mused. "That name sounds familiar."

"He is water-tribe," said Hana. "I guess you guys are on opposite sides. It's different in Eden. People worked together." Louise saw her glance to Iroh as she continued, "I guess he wouldn't be really happy to see us."

"Guess not." the boy said, slumping back from his tea. and hugging his knees. "I bet our real uncle's gonna wonder where we are."

His namesake leaned forward and topped up his tea unasked. "I find it interesting you call a water-tribe man your uncle, and yet you say your mother was not water-tribe."

"Mom always said that family was where you found it," Louise said, not taking her eyes off her brother. "Blood relations didn't really work out for either of our parents."

"If you are right, I am your blood relation," the General pointed out gently. "But I am relieved my nephew finally came to that conclusion. His wife must have been a very wise woman."

Hana didn't remember Melaka as well as Louise did, and Iroh was too young to remember her at all, so it was to her they looked for this question. "She was," she said quietly. "She died in battle when we were kids, defending our community. She was a fighter, like Dad."

"You speak very highly of your parents," he observed, sipping from his own teacup. "It fills me with joy to know my nephew leaves such a noble legacy."

Louise only wished he was as full of joy as he sounded.

Author's note: Yes, there is more reference to game canon here. But I did get a chance to write another canon character.

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Chapter Five: Family
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He insisted, of course, that they call him 'Uncle Iroh'. And they grew used to the strange looks they received from people who knew General Iroh's family and hadn't heard of tiny twin girls or who knew the boy should be scarred. But the name General Iroh carried weight, and when they docked, he found quarters for them in a bathhouse in an occupied Earth Kingdom city - Louise didn't catch the name. It was all too much.

The world was so big.

The Irohs sat at a game of Pai Sho, laughing and sharing stories and learning from each other. Louise sat with them for a while, then stood and left them. She found Hana on a veranda, looking at a view wider than any world that Louise could ever imagine. Knowing she was heard, Louise stood behind her smaller twin and wrapped an arm around her waist. She stood like that for a second, breathing in air that even smelled big, wide, and empty.

"Big place."

"Yeah."

"Tiny? What're we gonna do?"

It was natural, asking her sister for instructions. Hana always took control of situations. Louise dealt with the people, helped them find their place, did the talking, but Hana was the leader.

"What you do when you find yourself in a new world," Hana said. "Find our place and protect our family. We just don't know what that place is yet."

"How're we going to find it though? It's not like home, when we helped people fit in, it's so big. Three kids don't matter here."

"Toy," Hana scoffed, and looked over her shoulder at their brother and new uncle. "We matter to him. And we've got other family out there. Somewhere out there is Uncle Sokka."

"But he's not our Sokka," Louise protested. "He's not our family. He and Dad... they're not even friends. They hate each other!"

"It's not about him and Dad," Hana snapped angrily, punching the air between them. Flame flashed, but Louise just closed her hand over her sister's. "Loo, remember what Sokka was doing at this time, when they were our age? The Fire Nation were conquering the world, wiping people out. Sokka was trying to save the world!"

Save the world. Of course. Hana had always had this sense of purpose, something great. She had always been wasted in Eden. It was part of her special inheritance from Mom, and was the only thing Louise couldn't relate to.

"You want to go after him, don't you? Hana..." Louise looked over her shoulder, to where her brother was drinking in the influence of another teacher. "...he's not our uncle. Iroh is our uncle. And the Brain needs a master. He deserves a master. This isn't our fight, Tiny."

This time Hana physically pushed Louise away, sending her sprawling on the stone floor. If the guys inside noticed, they didn't look up.

"This is our home now, Blades! It's where the reasserter sent us. We belong here. This is our world and our grandfather is trying to destroy it!"

"You're not the Avatar, Hana!" Louise snapped back, leaping right up. she assumed a ready stance automatically: it was just sturdy when her sister was like this.

"No, I'm not! I'm the rutting Slayer! Which means I'm here for a reason! I have to fight, Loo! I'm not meant to be a rutting princess." Hana really looked like she was about to hit her sister. Louise felt like she could burn her hair off herself.

"Well, you are a princess, Tiny. Dad was the prince and you're his daughter: That's part of who you are, too! You're more than just the Slayer, Hana!" Louise slipped out of stance, glancing back at the Pai Sho game. "You're our sister."

Hana glared at Louise for a beat, fists alternating between fists and fireblades. Then her gaze shifted to something else, prompting Louise to look over her own shoulder.

There was no mistaking it; those men standing in two straight lines outside the main door, all in uniform red angular costumes, they were soldiers. Another first for Louise; the army in Eden had no uniform, consisting of a ragtag group of whichever warriors showed up wearing what made them comfortable. But she only had a second to stare before Hana had raced into the room, and Louise followed tightly on her heels.

A teenage girl - about Iroh's age, by Louise's estimation - was lounging in the doorway of the room, legs crossed casually at the calf, buffing her polished nails against her red silk outfit. Black hair pulled back into a ponytail, fastened in place by an expensive looking comb, she surveyed the four with undisguised contempt. Louise had a second to stare at her before glancing back to Hana. The resemblance was uncanny.

Hana really did look like her aunt.

"Hello, Uncle," she said, in a voice that could sharpen a blade. Louise found her hand on the hilts of her father's swords. Hana's left foot shifted back. Uncle Iroh moved a Pai Sho piece.

"Azula." Louise hadn't needed the confirmation, but her uncle provided it anyway. "To what do we owe this honour?"

Azula glanced to Louise and her siblings in turn. "I didn't know you were taking in orphans. How charitable of you. And such needy orphans, too."

"What - " for all Hana's resemblance to her aunt, she lacked the smooth-talking, and Louise didn't miss it - "do you want?"

"It's such a shame they never had the chance to learn any manners, though, wouldn't you agree?" Finishing with her nails, the princess straightened and stepped into the room, folding her hands behind her back. "But I suppose that's understandable. Perhaps you can explain something for me, though. The last time anyone saw you, you were with my brother. Now you turn up here with three strangers, calling them your nieces and nephew. But I'm sure I would remember having another brother, not to mention two sisters. And whatever happened to Zuzu?"

"Zuko," Hana corrected icily, "isn't your problem any more." And Louise was pretty sure she had to consciously stop herself from saying 'we are.'

"So it's true?" said Azula, smile fading. "My brother's dead? How terrible. What happened to him?"

Louise snapped her head sharply to her sister, and was relieved that she let Uncle Iroh answer.

"He was taken to the Spirit World," he said slowly, as if even saying it was painful, which Louise didn't doubt it was. "Where I hear he lived for eighteen years. Long enough to get married and have three children."

"And these are they?" Azula leaned forward, interested. "But this is wonderful news! Why in the world didn't you send word home?"

"I suppose I thought I'd let his children decide for themselves when they wanted to meet the rest of their family," Iroh said smoothly. "They've just been through a traumatic experience."

"But what about the Fire Lord?" she asked. "You weren't going to tell him that his only son had died? Or that he's acquired three splendid new grandchildren? I'm sure he'd want to know. In fact, I was so sure that I came here myself to bring you all to see him. I've already sent word. He's expecting you."

Louise and Hana were not identical twins: until they were seen firebending together sometimes people wouldn't believe they were sisters. They often had difficulty connecting with each other and under usual circumstances Louise would claim that there was nothing special about being a twin.

But ever so often, she just knew they shared a thought. In this case, this bitch tried to kill us when we were in the womb. It had happened in Apocalyptica, when their mother had been pregnant. Azula - or a version of Azula - had turned up, and recognised the threat in an unborn child to her brother. She had tricked Melaka into drinking tea containing an abortive, and if it hadn't been for instant surgery and her own phenomenal constitution, all three of them would have died.

This girl was not to be trusted.

But surely she wouldn't be so stupid as to take on four of them, would she? And Iroh was already standing, glancing over his shoulder to Hana before turning back. Louise caught a lump in her throat. He was a genius, sure. But sometimes her younger brother said the stupidest shit.

"Thank you, Aunt Azula, for offering to escort us. I'm sure you understand we'll need time to talk about this generous invitation."

Louise was sure she saw Azula's eyes widen slightly in reaction, but she bowed her head in supplication to her nephew's wishes, and when she looked up the expression was once again sweet.

"Of course," she said. "I'll come call on you all tomorrow. Good night... Oh! How silly of me, I didn't even ask the names of my new family."

They introduced themselves in turn, and Azula repeated them back. Louise she pronounced 'Lu-wei-si', and she smiled dryly at Iroh.

"Until tomorrow, then," she said lifting a hand as she turned to leave. "Pleasant dreams."

Does Azula think she can take them on?
Uh, Hell Yes! She's like mini-Kerrigan, Queen Bitch of the Universe! Swords? She'll melt them or at elast heat them until they are untouchable. Slayers? She'll torch them. The Avatar? Lightning through the heart. Although Avatar is a little better than normal about large groups still being a threat. She'd still kick all their asses without General Iroh. With him, it'll be a draw. Time to gather up the Dangerous Ladies!
It's not stupidity if you can back up the impossible.

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Chapter Six: Council
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The Pai Sho set had been left out, but no one was playing it anymore. Louise had found her hands twitching, needing to shuffle a pack of cards. It didn't feel very warrior like, so instead she'd started inspecting her blades for sea-related rust to clean off. It seemed Uncle Iroh's method of occupying hands to facilitate discussions was tea, because once again they'd been invited to join him in a pot. Only his grand-nephew had taken him up on it. Hana was standing at the screen door, half staring out at the setting sun.

"The bitch is evil," was the younger twin's opinion, and Louise didn't see that changing much. "Don't want anything to do with her."

Louise agreed. "She can't be trusted. We're a threat to her. Dad was the older. And the boy. Doesn't that put Iroh next?" Zuko had never really felt the need to explain inheritance laws to his children, so she looked to her uncle for confirmation, which he gave with a nod.

"If Fire Lord Ozai recognises you as legitimate, you are indeed a very real threat to Azula's ambitions," the General explained. "If not, she will probably still not want the risk."

"What are the chances we'll be recognised?" Louise asked.

"Higher than you might think. It is true your father was exiled, and there was no recognised marriage. But even Fire Lord Ozai would be a fool to dismiss an omen as powerful as twins, especially children so closely tied to the spirit world. Interfering with the spirits has already been too costly for his army recently. Tell me, my nieces, what is a Slayer?"

Louise was glad she wasn't drinking, for fear she might choke. She looked to Hana out of embarrassment at being heard, and to let the actual Slayer answer. But it was Iroh who spoke, not looking up from his tea.

"It's a word my sister heard in a dream."

Hana shot a glare at their brother. "She's a warrior," she said, choosing her words carefully. "On our mother's world, one girl is granted power and charged to protect the world from evil. She was our Mom. When she died, I was called."

Louise found herself wishing this hadn't come up. And now, as always, that was quickly overcome by guilt at resenting her twin. Their mother had been a fantastic warrior. She had been special. Everyone knew this. But 'Slayer' was a word only Hana used: Hana and one other person no one knew Louise had spoken to. Not even Melaka had ever spoken it to the girls; their adopted uncle said she hated the word.

But Hana's take on it was different.

"I hafta protect people, Uncle. It's my Destiny." Another word Melaka had hated. Louise was sure Uncle Iroh couldn't have missed the flicker of disapproval on her own face anymore than the earnest determination in Hana's.

"I see," he said amiably. "We have someone like this on this world; the Avatar."

"Right," Hana said, grasping hold of that. "Mom was the Avatar for her world. Sort of."

"Well, well," said Uncle Iroh. "That could make things very interesting for your aunt. What sort of power are we talking about?"

Without saying a word, Louise promptly slipped a throwing star out of her sleeve and into her hand, in the same movement throwing it with trained accuracy at her twin's face. Hana didn't take her eyes of their uncle as one hand snapped up and she caught it within inches of her cheek.

"Very impressive."

But Hana wasn't done yet. Grinning, she raised her hands and used the blade to cut a line in her palm, holding it out so he could see the healing.

"Yeah, and she can bench-press a horse," Iroh added, proudly, his mouth twitching sideways into a smirk. He hadn't looked up, though; keeping his head down in what Louise had always recognised as his Deep Thought withdrawal.

"Well," the older man said, sitting back thoughtfully. "Having an Avatar in the family could change everything. So I suppose what you have to ask yourselves is, what do you want to do?"

Louise looked to her siblings, and sighed. "I think we want different things."

Which wasn't quite true, it turned out.

Iroh wanted to do right by his father. He wanted to do right by the Fire Nation. He wanted to prevent his aunt becoming too powerful. He wanted to do everything he could to end the bloodshed. He used the word honour.

Hana wanted to do right by her mother. She wanted to do right by the world. She wanted to find and help this world's equivalent of her uncle. She wanted to do everything she could to end the war. She used the word duty.

Louise, who had flinched at the use of either word, looked straight at her great uncle when she said, "I want to protect my family."

In which I get distracted writing angst where I should write fight.

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Chapter Seven: Confrontation
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It would go down in history as one of the greatest victories ever known. It would be talked about for years, maybe even generations to come. Iroh was so pleased with himself he literally radiated heat.

Hana had let him have his way.

The argument had been this: the object wasn't victory or surrender for either side, it was peace. And by opposing the aggressor, they could only hope to prolong the war. Iroh claimed that they could save as many lives from the Fire Palace as on the front lines. He'd even said something about the Slayer being a leader. Louise had just watched, fascinated. Sometimes her brother's brain actually scared her.

So this was how it worked. Iroh led the way. He was the son and the heir, not to mention the tall one. He walked straight and confident, and probably could pass for a prince to anyone except the sister who had cleaned his blankets every morning in secret in the days following their father's death.

Then the girls, proving that, for all their differences, they could still look like twins even in their oversized borrowed robes. Louise may have had the most outlandish features, but she bore Prince Zuko's dao like the expert she was and her hair was at least used to the ponytail style that Hana's was trying to escape. The smaller twin had even consented to pack her stakes ("I'm going to get them plated in steel or something. That way the technique is the same.") away in her bag, and carried just a dagger under her robe, the same as her brother.

Behind them, their uncle. As unhappy about the situation as Hana herself, he still hadn't protested. And it warmed Louise to know he was there. The footfalls were too heavy, too slow, and his shadow at her feet was too short and round to really be the uncle she wanted. But if Iroh was right and they were really never going home, it was a comfort to know someone was watching her back.

The attempt at looking royal was probably ruined when Iroh looked over his shoulder at them as they approached the huge warship, and whispered, "You think they'll let me see the boiler room?"

The soldiers worried Louise more than they should. The linear formations, the face concealed helmets, the silence. Discipline like this was non-existent where they had grown up. The only rule was 'stay alive'. She suspected that her life would have a lot of soldiers in it from now on, and the thought didn't comfort her. Neither did the way they closed behind her family as they walked down the pier.

Azula waited for them on the deck of the ship, looking just like Hana had at that age. Although Louise was sure if she ever saw her sister smile quite that coldly she'd burn it off her face. It was a good act, that sweet smile. If it wasn't in her sister's face, she wouldn't notice that there was nothing behind it.

"Nephew!" the princess cried in delight, raising her hands before bowing deeply. "Uncle, nieces, I'm so glad you decided to return."

Louise had to nudge Hana to make her bow with the others, warily. There were a lot of soldiers. But she was watching her aunt.

One of the soldiers - actually, sailors, Louise corrected herself, which makes him the captain, led the four up the gangplank.

"Are we ready to depart, your Highness?"

" Set our course for home, Captain."

Home. Louise's hand tightened around the hilt of her swords. She missed home. Things were simple there.

The Captain turned around and shouted over their heads. "You heard the princess! Raise the anchors! We're taking the prisoners ho..."

He stopped himself as soon as he realised his mistake. But the word bit deeply into Louise's ear, and Iroh in front of them stiffened. They had been prisoners their entire life. They weren't going to be now.

Behind them, there was a splash, and Louise saw a soldier fall into the water, thrown by her uncle. From then everything happened fast. Soldiers closed in on all sides and Iroh slipped into a ready stance. Hana disappeared, leaping vertically up and somersaulting over the guards to land on the ship in front of her aunt.

"Clear the way!" Louise told Iroh, throwing a fireball at the first of the flanking soldiers to recover from the shock of seeing the leap. "I'll get Tiny!"

Iroh elbowed one guard heavily over the side of the plank and Louise put her head down to run under flames being thrown at her. The guards closed in on the men and she charged through to the ship, ignoring the chaos behind her.

Hana and Azula were alone on the deck, Hana poised in what looked more like a boxing stance than a firebending one. Azula had her back to them both, standing by the rails As Louise landed on the steel deck, she turned around, looking at them with undisguised contempt in her smirk.

"You know your father was an exiled disgrace," she said, casually. "Why would my father even want to look on his miserable bastards, except to lock them up where no one could find out about them?"

Louise blinked. "That's the worst insult you've got? Bastard? Our mother..."

"...was a spirit woman," Hana filled in quickly, stepping forward. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

Azula paused, just long enough for the sounds of the fight down below reach them. Louise didn't turn, but it sounded like her brother and great uncle were cutting swathes.

"Spirits can be eliminated," she said. "And so can people."

Hana said nothing, throwing a kick at the princess. Azula smirked and tried to step to the side, but Louise was pleased to see she'd underestimated her niece. Hana's boot (they'd consented to Fire Nation robes, but there was something about a good solid steel-toed Eden boot that all three of them had clung to stubbornly) connected with the princess' hip, sending her flying across the deck. Taken by surprise, she nevertheless managed to roll, leaping to her feet and laughing.

Within a beat, she pushed an intense fireball at Hana, forcing her back under the pressure. Then she stood, finally in a fighting stance, yellow flames dancing in her hands.

"Can't you even bend? You're worse than your father."

Louise didn't even bother to look to her twin before launching herself forward, fireblades flashing at the knuckles at her fist. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hana force out flames herself, but then she stopped thinking in a whirl of sweeping kicks and arches of hot fire.

When the girls were children, everyone had that Hana would be a great bender. The heat just seemed to flow through her; she was graceful and fast and could do things with fire that had filled Louise with... well, bitter jealousy at the time. Louise was competent , and her father said she was talented, but it didn't feel as natural to her, and she had begun to think she'd never be as good as Hana.

Then their mother died.

Hana said she didn't remember anything about it. She didn't remember sneaking out of the tent with Louise when their father was downstairs with a council, and Iroh was asleep. She didn't remember creeping to the edge of the roof to see where their hero of a mother would pass on her patrol. She didn't remember the plan to call out to her and wave and weren't they brave for being out so late and wouldn't she be proud of them? Hana did remember the sirens. Or she said she did. But the sirens went off a lot at around that time, and she could have been remembering anything. She certainly didn't remember watching the first thing land behind Melaka. Louise ran back to the tent instantly, throwing her head under the blankets and telling herself she was just there to comfort Iroh should he wake; she never found out what Hana saw when she stayed behind or even how long she stayed for, because Hana didn't tell her. All she knew was that Hana was in the tent bundled up against her when they heard Plourr calling Zuko's name from street level. Later they said that if that section had been unmanned, or watched by anyone else on their own, the whole complex would have been lost.

After that, Hana's bending stopped. She never told anyone what she saw, and Louise never told anyone she'd been there to see it. But she was there to hold her sister when the nightmares kept coming, and she heard Dad telling Uncle Sokka how worried he was that she didn't seem to be handling it well. And she just hadn't wanted to worry anyone. After all, hadn't each of them on seperate occasions held her when she cried, and brushed her hair out of her eyes and told her that they knew how hard it was to lose a mother, and it never stopped hurting, but they promised, they both promised it would get easier, and it would get better. But Hana never got better at bending. And she never talked about her memories of her mother.

For all that, though, Hana's technique was superlative. She picked up movements instantly, even though the fire was weaker. So she learned to fight without fire. Louise had to work hard both at bladework, for which she had a natural talent, and bending, for which she had less; but Hana could master any style within hours - helped, of course, by her rapidly developing strength and speed.

And now, on the deck of this huge warship, Louise was finding it hard to keep up. Hana and Azula were very evenly matched - worryingly so, given Hana's special situation.

Azula's skill with bending was beyond anything Louise had ever seen, and where she was herself gasping for breath, sweat was pouring down her skin,. the others were barely panting. Louise dodged many flames, but her bending was doing nothing compared to Hana's close combat.

Azula flipped back from a kick that would have been a lot more powerful if the fireball reinforcing it hadn't fizzed out. The effort was beginning to show on Azula and Hana, but Louise was hurting from the exertion. She was slowing down, and she could feel it, and yet they still weren't getting anywhere.

"Hana! Luyi!" That was Uncle Iroh from the gangplank.

"We hafta get moving!" That, higher and even more urgent, was his younger namesake.

Louise checked over her shoulder quickly and nodded. "Tiny..."

Hana was still fighting, though. Azula blocked one of Hana's punches, close enough so their matching faces were almost touching, then she lifted her other hand, in which she held a fireball so intense that the flame was glowing blue.

Louise saw what was going to happen about two seconds before it did, and her heart and stomach churned together, the world seeming to slow. The princess brought her hand back and smirked briefly before the flame rushed forward, hissing like Sokka's blowtorch, right into Hana's face.

The scream that tore through the air, Louise realised, was her own, not her sister's. She threw herself forward as Hana collapsed to the deck, but Azula spun around to face her, blocking all attacks without effort. She looked almost bored threw Louise to the ground, and drew her hands to herself to gather power. Rolling away, Louise just had time to realise she wouldn't mind going the same way as her sister, before she saw that the energy gathering around Azula wasn't fire, but crackling, barely visible electricity. Iroh was with Hana, helping her up, but Louise couldn't see her face. At least, she reflected, struggling to her feet, if she kept Azula distracted, they could probably escape.

But the expected shock never came. The mounted tension in the air froze when Uncle Iroh appeared out in the corner of Louise's vision, closing his hand over Azula's. Face devoid of expression, he appeared to draw the electricity into himself, then pointed his fingers out at a cliff, firing lightning like a blaster pistol. Huge cracks appeared in the rock, and boulders curmbled into the harbour.

Azula was so shocked that she wasn't able to prevent her uncle from kicking her into the ocean. Then the same hand that had wrecked devastation on the cliff was on Louise's shoulder, pressing her to run. She did so, following her brother, who was already sprinting away, Hana in his arms.