A word of warning, This chapter is rated T for a reason. It basically just sets up Azura's character, but it's a bit darker then what I usually write.
Apart form that...Enjoy.

EPILOGUE

JANUARY 14TH, 2046 AD

Artirius Meridiano walked briskly down the corridors of the Stadtschloss, his onyx uniform melding with the near darkness of the old building's dim lights, his masked face displaying his obvious discomfort.

The return trip home had been a quiet one for the most part, save for several young crewmembers, including Ty Lee Ming, jumping ship while resting on the Russian/Latvian boarder.

He hadn't blamed them in all honesty. The battle and Moscow had been the first major conflict any of them had participated in, the petty assaults on the Sovereignty and the occasional riots in New Gibraltar not holding a candle to the total devastation that the Union had wrought on Zhao's fleet.

But you didn't escape from G.U.N., and with a heavy heart, Artirius knew they would most likely be found again and dragged back to the service, kicking and screaming.

When he returned to Berlin however, he found himself far more surprised then a few soldiers disappearing in the night.

To say the Führer was…unhappy…with the outcome of the battle was putting it mildly.

Ninety nine Land Battleships, each staffed with the full crew and heavily armed Ranger and attack helicopter squadrons, had been completely desecrated, a large hole now sitting squarely in the Nation's armed forces. The results of this error also meant that any major pushes into U.S.A.C. territory would have to be put back until the forces could be rebuilt and the thousands of soldiers could be recruited to refill their ranks.

No, Julius Sozin was not pleased at all.

Not that he really showed it.

If anything he appeared externally to be mildly irritated, but Artirius didn't have to see to know this façade hid pure rage over an event that didn't go the way he had planned.

None of this surprised the Major. Having served with the Palace guard for several years before transferring to New Gibraltar, he had been trained to read the signs his Führer put out, and how to stay on his good side throughout such times.

But when Sozin mentioned a promotion…

To be more precise, two promotions…and a transfer out of the Marine Corp. to the Navy…

That's when Artirius truly felt a wave of dread overcome him.

And now, he continued to stride down the darkened corridors, his free hand flexing nervously as it swung by his side, his other limb fiddling with the hem of his hat. For he had been summoned, at this ungodly hour of the night, to the quarters of the very woman that had forced him to transfer out of the Palace guard in the first place. A woman who no one crossed, was never told No, and never disobeyed.

Swallowing thickly, the former Major steeled himself for experiences he never wanted to feel again as his pace slowed, her elegant door looming tauntingly out of the gloom as he came to a halt in front of it.

He had survived the destruction of Atlantic Base, he had fought his way through Moscow and been only one of a handful to live. But as Meridiano slowly raised his fist and rapped quietly on the door, he could do nothing to stop the limb from quivering as it hit the polished wood and fell limply to his side.

"Come in,"

For a moment, he considered not taking the offer, but he knew it was futile, and slowly turned the gilded doorknob and let himself into her bedroom.

Inside the air was warm and chocked with the sickeningly sweet scent of various candles that provided the only light, the flickering flames lighting up the various ceremonial swords that lined the crimson walls, the only thing she and her brother really had in common.

And there, lying atop the purple satin sheets of her large king sized bed with her long smooth legs tucked underneath her, lay the object of his rightful fear, her face hidden by the shadows of the night.

"You wished to see me Lady Azura?" he knew as he bowed to the woman it was a stupid question, but it needed to be asked all the same.

"Always so formal Artie?" he winced slightly at the sickly smooth voice as it spoke her hated nickname for him, "I thought we had gone…so much further then that. I hear you've been promoted. Congratulations…Captain,"

"It feels more like a demotion,"

"I don't doubt that," he didn't have to see to know she was smiling, "You've always been a military man Artie, but then, if Father hadn't had you transferred…well then…you wouldn't have been able to gain proper command of the Sovereignty,"

"The Sovereignty?" The Captain blinked as he looked up, "I'm…I'm being given the Sovereignty?"

"The Sovereignty and more my 'friend'," a shiver ran down his spine at the tone to her voice as she slipped her legs out and over the side of the bed, "Since you've been gone, I've had her upgraded for you. She's now so much more then what she was," she slowly stood up from the bed, her dark satin nightgown barely rustling around her lithe frame, "Now you'll be able to use Eternal to it's fullest potential, and once more, you won't even need those cumbersome transports to ferry your machines inland,"

"I…don't understand,"
"You will, when you see her," the princess slowly walked out of the shadows into the dim light, her liquid amber eyes shining maliciously against her pale skin, her dark hair flowing messily around her shoulders and down her back, "A true marvel of superior technology. She will serve us well,"

"U…Us My Lady?" Meridiano swallowed heavily again as Azura pressed her body against his, her perfectly manicured nails digging painfully into the back of his neck, "I…I'm afraid I don't follow…"

"Didn't Daddy tell you?" her voice held a note of mockery as her free hand spread across his chest at latched onto his side through his tunic, "He has a mission for us," her tone became condescending, "Very important. I'm surprised he didn't tell you,"

"T…t…t…" The Captain couldn't help but wince as her tongue snatched a bead of sweat from his cheek, "Tell me what?"

"Perhaps he felt it would better if it came from me," Azura smiled as she swung around to Artirius' front, her hands moving up to the sides of his head, her nails digging into his skin hard enough to draw blood, "Uncle Iroh is a traitor and my brother Zuzu is a failure. They must be brought home to face the consequences of their actions," she smiled cruelly, "And guess who he selected to…collect them?"

Artirius' mouth fell slightly agape, his eyes widening under his sash in horror.

"N…no,"

"I'm afraid so Artie, but enough talk about work," she pulled his head down to her level, "We don't have to leave until the morning…and we have so much catching up to do,"

He didn't have the chance to reply before she crushed her lips against his, her hands moving to his back and digging in deep.

He knew she had him where she wanted him, everything he had tried to escape three years came flooding back as she practically dragged him towards the bed.

But as he ran a hand across the side of her head in an attempt to push her off, he was surprised to see memories flash before his eyes, trying to strengthen his resolve. Images of a young woman close to him, with long dark hair and an encouraging smile.

But what surprised him most was who the mysterious girl was.

She was not Katara as he had expected…but rather…

Ty Lee Ming.

TOO BE CONTINUED...

THE FOLLOW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SERIES II!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

I've often thought that Avatar had originally been made for a higher age range (Like 15, 16 rather then 12), I think it's pretty likely Azula may have been more like this. I mean she's a bitch on a good day, but this might be taking it to the extreme. Maybe this is punishment for Artirius for kissing Katara. (Incidentally, does anyone know a better why to describe Azula's voice? I wasn't sure how to properly describe the way Grey DeLisle does it. Any help would be appreciated)

Speaking of the kiss, I knew as I was writing this some people wouldn't like the Artirius/Katara moment at the end, which was one of the reasons I decided to leave it in, to give it a shock (Or disgust) factor. I also love complicated romance sub-plots, because now you've got Alistair, Katara Artirius and Ty Lee all mixed together into one complicated love square, and I might even throw in Zuko some time during season 2 for good measure!

I'd also like to apologise for the amount of talking done in the last chapter, it's just one of those things though that needs to done, because it'll probably be important later on. I know Zuko does a lot of talking here too, but that's because I'll never write a chapter based on The Storm (Because Alistair didn't run away with the Avatar and so doesn't need to go all angsty in a cave.) Also, when Koh says he's going to meet Alistair again, unlike the original he is coming back.

A small note to Sokka's fan/Lawyer. I have nothing against Manga (Eccept that Hentai and ecchi stuff), this was supposed to be an irony because Avatar was recently moved from the anime to the cartoon section of fan fiction.

So, the first book's done, dusted, fineto, at least until I've finished the rest of the series. With any luck, I'll come back to some of the other chapters once I'm done. In the mean time if anyone else wants to have a crack at the other chapters, of if you think you can write some of the already written chapters up better (And I'm sure many of you can), just let me know and we can talk via E-mail or something. NullChronicler should have a rendition of Jet coming up, but there's no hurry. I've read what he's done so far though, and I have to say I'm looking foreword to seeing the rest.

The I'm probably going to work on the first chapter of the next fic for the remaining days of November, then I'm going to focus on other stories over December before coming back to Avatar in the New Year.

That said, I've got a fair few ideas for the next few chapters at least, and I think it's prudent that I say this now, to give you fair warning ; )

When I first wrote the prologue to this fic around this time last year, my initial idea was similar to that of Star Trek: Infinite Ryvius; that is, I wanted to take one series (in this case Avatar) and implement straight into another (In this case Gundam). But as I wrote the chapters, I realised that this isn't really what I wanted to write. Yes, I'll admit I wanted to use Avatar's stories as a basis but what I really wanted was to write something original at the same time.

So this is the reason that new characters and places are introduced. E.g., with no Spirit World, Aang had to be sent somewhere different to gain information, With no Avatar Spirit, characters like Artirius, the Wanderer and Fina have to fill Roku and co's shoes. The next story of this trilogy will follow in the same vien. There will be new characters replacing old ones (E.g. Jonah Rono Sayren replacing Hahn) and simply new characters (Such as Artirius and The Wanderer), Locations and settings will be different (The first chapter is a classic example, but I'm not going to spoil it for you), and generally, I want the series to lean more towards Gundam then Avatar. It'll still be Avatar, but with less of the spiritual flavors.

That's it for now. I hoped you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I'd like to thank everyone whose reviewed faved and even just read this fic, with special thanks to Sokka's Fan/Lawyer for sticking with it from the word go and contributing The Grand Divide, NullChronicler for sticking with it from the first actual chapter after the prologue and working hard on the Jet chapter even with all the other stuff he's got on his plate, avatarfanatic280 who although hasn't reviewed recently gave me encouragement in the early days, and finally Tellemicus Sundance who, while only discovering this fic recently, has giving me a lot of ideas towards the end, as well as plenty more the upcoming seasons. Thanks a lot all of you!

For the moment, the title of the next story will be A.V.A.T.A.R.: Hunt for the Courier. Even if I decide to change the title between now and then, this will be the title when I begin uploading (So those of you that don't have me on Author Alert will be able to find it). I really hope it will live up to your expectations, and hopefully, the first chapter will be out some time in January.

Until then, thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all in the New Year.

Thanks again,

Dearing