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Chapter Text

Book I: A Boy, a Girl and the World

Darkness is settling over the destroyed land,

as the power of the elements fades.

Order and Chaos both have to co-exist,

for the land to flourish.

But that rule broken long ago,

has now brought about the doom.

Yet one hope remains...

Through it will not be found not in the ruins,

but in what came before...

A small flame went up in a palm. The young woman who had conjured said flame looked at it intensely, like it came easy to her to conjure it. "By the elements... The elements whose Avatar I am."

Then however her features darkened and she sighed in defeat, snuffing out the flame in her palm. "Or better, whose Avatar I was."

She looked around, the sparkling crystal walls reflecting in the circular pool in the middle of the room. The whole room was bathed in an unreal blue light, giving the illusion that it was under water. Apart from the pool which had water that not only stilled her thirst but also fulfilled all her nutrient needs, the only two things of note were a really worn out cot and a hole in the floor used for body functions better left unmentioned. Otherwise, it was bare, clearly not meant for someone to live in it.

Merely existing would be a better description, the young woman named Korra sighed.

The months she had spent in this place would have driven her insane, if not for Raava keeping her company. The loneliness in this place was the biggest problem, but by far not the only one. She had no idea when there was the last time she had eaten something solid. The water kept her well-fed, but it could not replace the satisfaction of real food. She often smelled like shit, since only irregularly she was allowed to get some pool water with waterbending and wash herself and her clothes - water she did have to dump through the hole afterward. Her hair was longer than ever and the only way to tame it was putting it into a long braid. When she did manage to find sleep, nightmares plagued her.

Korra didn't know how much longer she could keep up.

Really funny that my mind is only now clear after everything has passed the point of no return, she thought darkly.

Slowly walking through the only exit, she looked through the transparent crystal wall down to what used to be Republic City. A yellowish, thick mist was filling the ground, the buildings that did peek out of it showing signs of considerable decay, as if they were slowly melting or being digested. The ocean, where it was visible through the mist, was as black as tar and seemed to have the same consistency. The sky was a dark purple, the sun having faded a lot and its light no longer giving any warmth. The moon also was visible, but it was crumbling away, half of it already gone. Nothing was anymore alive in this hell, as well as on the other side of the gates in the spirit world.

Then there were the other effects of the malady which had caused what she had dubbed as the end of the world. Colored lightning came down at random places - lightning colored yellow, red or green - and where it struck, strange effects would take place. Though, of course the mist was obscuring that particular effect.

"Everything is slowly fading and disappearing, as if it had never existed in the first place," Korra whispered, while watching what once had been her home vanishing a bit more.

They had not noticed the first signs of the nearing end. And how should they? The Imbalance had already twisted all their minds and so they had ignored the early signs. Though, Korra at least had the excuse that people's mind getting clouded had started long before her birth.

It had started with small things, like the temperature all over the world getting lower bit by bit. Slow enough that no one noticed. The wood of the trees started to become brittle while the leaves started to fall out in the middle of summer. The animals followed next. Birds started to die in increasing numbers while those animals that were peaceful like sky bisons or meek fell into a sleep from which they would not awaken again; a sleep of death.

And then, the end announced itself properly. The ground was splitting open and the lightning storms started. Lightning, which had the strangest properties of teleporting whatever it struck, of exchanging two objects, or of transmuting an object into something entirely different. And then...

No, Korra didn't want to remember what happened after that while looking at the ring on his finger.

"No, it is not your fault. If anything, this whole disaster is my fault. Instead of trying to reason with Vaatu all those years ago that our duty is to balance and stop anything from happening, I stoked the fire in my own arrogance. I had the opportunity to stop all of this, and I failed right from the start by falling to the very same idea," Raava, the spirit of light and order, told her from within, feeling her depression.

"Not that you seeing reason now can change anything. The end of the world is already here and your counterpart no more," Korra said while looking at the decaying outside world. "There is no escape. It is way too late to do anything. Way... too late..."

"I can feel what you are thinking. You really want to risk throwing a stick into the wheel of fate?" Raava asked Korra, worrying they could do even more damage.

"Can it be worse than this? The Imbalance is spreading further and further beyond this world. I was a crappy Avatar - granted, I was born into a world already way too much out of balance and had had little choice in the matter - but I won't sit back and wait for the end," Korra said while walking back to the pool.

Raava knew that Korra was right. There was nothing left to lose, since the world already was destroyed and soon others would follow, unless they would do something she not so long ago would have seen as utter madness. However, they were out of options and Raava also knew that she was shouldering the lion's share of the responsibility for the current state of affairs.

"Let me help you then. This will be very delicate work after all..."

...Crescent Island, 84 AG...

Night had settled over Crescent Island, location of the temple of the Fire Sages which had been built by Avatar Roku. The location of the massive temple in front of an active volcano was a breathtaking sight, especially in the light of the moon and the glow coming from the volcano.

However, history aside, the island held little actual importance in the running of the present-day Fire Nation.

For many generations, the Fire Sages - after having been removed from the affairs of state at a point in history - had faithfully served the Avatar, but those times were long past by now. Fire Lord Sozin had seen them as unreliable due to their devotion to the Avatar, so after he'd wiped out the Air Nomads, he'd started to change to order to his liking. His successor Azulon had perfected it. Now the sages were only loyal to the Fire Lord.

Not that the current Fire Lord Azulon had much interest in them. After all... it was not that they were needed for much anymore. The Fire Lord was not a particularly religious man and had little use for the sages nowadays apart from ceremonial purposes.

Indeed, spirituality in society was at an all-time low, heavy nationalism having taken its place. While in the past many of the duties of the sages had been connected to being a presence in the Fire Nation in order to give its people spiritual guidance, that was no longer the case. The government had declared that the people of the Fire Nation no longer had need for spiritual things and that they'd outgrown it.

Not that the loss of spirituality was a phenomenon restricted to the Fire Nation, as reports from the Earth Kingdom gave a picture that due to the long war, many people there had also turned away from the Earth Sages, the cruelties of reality having eroded their ability to trust and believe.

Almost a century of war could change a lot, after all.

The most recent excitement the sages had experienced had been the birth of the first son of Prince Ozai and Lady Ursa. Even though he would only be the fourth in the line of ascension - his uncle Prince Iroh, his cousin Lu Ten and his father Ozai being set before him - and thus would probably never be remotely close to the throne, the people of the Fire Nation still had celebrated the birth of their new Prince Zuko.

Though, the reactions of Prince Ozai had been a bit disturbing, according to what was spread among the sages. Rumor was that the man honestly had expected signs of firebending very early on and was willing to set aside the newborn child should none appear. Many whispered that the Prince's impatience almost caused a tragedy, since the man couldn't accept that such signs can take time.

One member of the sages thought about those recent developments but also the state of the sages.

How the mighty have fallen... Shyu thought about the state of the Fire Sages while kneeling in front of the big golden statue of Avatar Roku, surrounded by clouds of incense in the air.

Shyu was a very young man, having not even reached the age of twenty, and yet he was already rising in the ranks of the sages. While most of his age were still mere novices, he was already appointed to take the place of a sage who would soon retire. It had helped that his family had strong a connection to the order and thus it came easy to them.

Honestly, his family history was a bit bizarre, since his grandfather had had his father only very late in life, and father had had him also very late in life. Shyu honestly hoped to marry and have children before being a very old man. The painted picture of the wedding of his parents looked bizarre due to the massive age difference between his parents.

Tonight, he'd been unable to sleep.

Recently, his dreams was plagued by horrible visions of something horrible - complete destruction in a way that frightened him. It was an end not in fire and screams, but complete silence and he'd been unable to decipher what it meant. He only knew one thing: it was disturbing him greatly. However, tonight something new had been added to the nightmare.

Horrible darkness had engulfed the world, erasing all kind of life in its lethal embrace.

He knew he was one of the few sages that still remained loyal to the Avatar, but it still didn't explain his restlessness and the terrible visions. Taking some deep breaths, he looked into the eyes of Roku's statue, and gasped when he saw a faint shimmer in the eyes.

"Could it be? After all those years?" Looking closer, he was mesmerized by the glowing eyes and he found himself in a place that clearly wasn't not the temple's inner sanctum. Instead, it looked like he was surrounded by thick mist, blocking his view. "What is this?"

"Be at peace."

Shyu now saw her stepping out of the mist. A young woman who clearly was from the Water Tribes, her skin darkened and her eyes a crystal blue, her hair put into a long braid. Yet she was translucent, like a spirit that was not entirely present. She also looked very sad, as if the weight of the world lasted on her shoulders. He then remembered that the next Avatar was to be born to the Water Tribes. Could she be the Avatar?

"Are you...?"

The woman seemed to have anticipated his question and held up her hands. "Your world's Avatar will come to you in due time, though it will be years before that happens. I'm the Avatar that will be... Or better, the Avatar that now will never be."

Shyu wondered what she meant with that. "You are speaking in riddles."

"Sorry, I'll be more frank with you. I am from a future time and me appearing before you means that my meddling was successful." The woman sighed. "I don't have much time so I'll have to keep myself short."

Shyu was taken aback, now understanding. "Meddling with the wheel of fate is very dangerous and can have unpredictable results. Why are you taking this risk?"

She now looked even more sad than before. "My world has been torn asunder by the Imbalance. It looked good... and ended in disaster. Everything is fading away as if it had never existed. My friends are all gone and I have no idea if I will even exist in the first place now that I already have altered the course of history."

Shyu saw how she seemed resigned to her fate. "What have you done exactly?"

"I gave a world, which in the future will drift into madness, some hope. I have no idea how it will manifest. I pray hope grows enough that I can escape before I vanish as well..." She tried to compose herself, yet a single tear of despair escaped her.

"Please help the Avatar once he comes to you," she pleaded.

"Why me specifically?" Shyu wondered.

The woman gave him an intense look. "Because I was told how much you helped him in my world and know you are a man of great honor whom I can trust..."

Everything vanished, leaving Shyu in the inner sanctum. Roku's eyes had stopped glowing.

Dazed, he walked out of the sanctum and to an outside area, where he looked to the sky to see the crescent moon in the sky. He tried to make sense of what he'd been told. That the next Avatar, who clearly was of the Water Tribes had pretty much told him the Avatar from the Air Nomads was still alive had been a surprise. Yet, the other things she'd told him were disturbing.

She'd told him her world was dissolving, fading away- the end of the world.

He had no idea what kind of power could cause the world to simply... vanish, as if it had never existed in the first place. She had called it the Imbalance, but he had no idea what that meant. In a way he understood her desperation and willingness to meddle with fate itself, even if she'd vanish as a result. She'd already lost everyone close to her heart and had nothing to lose anymore. He could only hope her meddling wouldn't lead to things actually turning for the worse.

He again looked to the moon, which seemed brighter than it had been some moments ago. Avatar, wherever you are right now, the world needs you.

...in the spring of the year 98 AG...

It was chaotic.

Sounds and pictures blended into each other, making little sense on their own. He thought he saw a strange mist killing everything. He saw his mother saying goodbye to him before invisible forces ripped her away from him. He saw fire falling from the sky. He saw a man being buried by a volcano, then someone being buried in ice. And above it all, an angry voice was shouting.

"...ava, you had no right to lock me in here! All my strength... useless!"

Darkness filled everything and the voice after raging some more, turned from angry to startled.

"...am I...? Am I starting to lose my mind? Someone, let... LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

...

"Ahhh! W-what?!..." Breathing heavily, Zuko needed some time before he realized that he was back in his bed, safe in his room in the palace. It had all been a dream; a very confusing dream that made little sense to him at all.

He tried to remember the details but it was already slipping from his mind like many dreams tended to do. The few things he managed to remember was a voice screaming that 'she', whoever that was, had had no right to do something. Apart from that there was little he did remember. It all made so little sense to him and if he was to be honest, he didn't want to waste more time on it.

Looking out of the window, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation saw that it was early morning anyway, so he just as well could get up now.

Zuko went mechanically through his morning routine while his thoughts wandered to today's highlight. His father was holding a war council in the early afternoon. Many important military leaders would be present during said council. Hopefully showing his father his interest in the affairs of the state would finally get him some well-deserved recognition.

Recognition... The common man might think his life as the now thirteen-year old Crown Prince was easy.

However, it was the exact opposite. His father had always favored Azula, mostly ignoring him when not commenting on how he felt that his son was no competition to his daughter. And everyone else who held any kind of of authority gave him the minimum of respect owed to his station, but no more than that. After all, they all saw how dismissive his father was of him and emulated him, knowing there would be no punishment forthcoming.

But it not only was the lack of respect he was getting.

Ever since this fateful day when his mother one night had left forever, everyone else avoided even talking about her, like some kind of taboo. That had created considerable awkwardness, especially since his grandfather Azulon had died the same night. That night Zuko also had lost his biggest supporter in her. Zuko still wondered what had happened to her, finding no answers.

To be frank, the tenth year of his life had also been the worst, and it not only was his mother vanishing.

There also was the death of his cousin, the Prince Lu Ten, at the siege of Ba-Sing-Se. He and Lu Ten had always been close, Lu Ten had treated him like the younger brother he'd never had. It had been his cousin's encouragement that had made him ask his mother if he could learn the way of the sword.

For Zuko, being good at swordfighting compensated for his mediocre firebending skills, where he was always shown up by his sister Azula. It also allowed him to leave the capital for two months each year so that Master Piandao could give him his full attention, which also meant two months away from reminders of his own mediocrity.

Lu Ten's death had hurt him a lot. Though of course Lu Ten's father Iroh had been hurt the most by the loss and it had taken the man almost a year to return to the capital.

Iroh strangely enough, despite being away often before the disaster at Ba-Sing-Se, had been more of a father to him than his real father had ever been. Granted, it was no replacement for gaining his fathers approval, which he was trying his hardest to accomplish, but at least someone gave him positive feedback.

Whenever Lu Ten visited him, Iroh wasn't far and his smile was telling that he enjoyed seeing them bonding. When Lu Ten had died, Iroh had been devastated and stayed away for almost an entire year. When he returned, Iroh was a changed man. Much like his old self, but more laid-back and seemingly enjoying his retirement. Zuko had lost a bit of respect for his uncle losing all ambition, but it didn't mean he disliked him. His uncle also seemed immune to his occasional fits of anger and fiery temper.

And then there was... A small smile crept up his features.

Ever since they'd met, Mai had shown a genuine interest in him. Not because he was the crown prince -that was the way her parents thought and the reason she was connected to him on an official level - but because she actually liked him. Of course it was difficult to get used to her outer shell. Mai was a very nice girl, but her parents' constant lessons on how she had to act had made Mai to guard her inner being carefully.

To others she looked disinterested and even cold, but Zuko knew better. He was one of the few she'd allowed to see her real self. It was a sign of trust and Zuko hoped that with some guidance he could help Mai to become more open and outgoing (but not too much, he liked how she could be a real deadpan snarker).

Too bad that Mai sadly came at a cost.

He didn't mind that girl Ty Lee being around her, she was annoying as if always being on a sugar high, but at least never did anything to make him dislike her. She had no malevolent bone in herself and was only annoying. Mai was acting annoyed as well, but there had to be a reason she didn't try to shoo her away.

No, the real problem was his sister Azula. Ever since their mother had disappeared, Azula, sure of being protected by her father, had become unbearable. His mother's protection gone, Azula had made his life highly unpleasant. She liked to make him - and therefore by proxy Mai - miserable, showing him up whenever possible. Perfect Azula, daddy's girl. She was better at everything; a fact that she enjoyed rubbing under his nose in insulting ways.

The only incident he could remember where she'd screwed up had been a year ago.

Back then Azula had finally managed to create a blue fire, something that required lots of skill as blue flames were much hotter... and more dangerous as Azula had learned mere seconds later the hard way when it burned her hand. She'd been forced to wear a bandage on her hand for three weeks and had been forbidden from doing any kind of firebending by the doctor, something that had caused her to sulk and make herself scarce. But ever since then, she more and more used blue flames, despite the grave dangers of that technique.

Finally being done, he opened the door and only after a few meters met a servant.

"Good morning, Your Highness," the servant greeted Zuko properly.

"A good morning to you as well. Will my father be at the breakfast table as well today?" Zuko asked, though he by now knew the answer already.

"I regret to inform you that His Majesty opted to have his breakfast in private," the servant told Zuko.

"Unlucky." Zuko should have known. Ever since ascending to the throne, his father had opted to have his meals in his office, doing in there whatever he was doing. It was a bit surprising that it meant Azula being deprived of his presence as well.

Entering the room, Zuko saw that his sister Azula was already sitting at the table, wearing her uniform for the Royal Fire Academy for Girls.

In a way Zuko was relieved that as the crown prince he had gotten private tutoring right from day one and thus he had been spared from attending the boys' academy. Also, having turned fourteen recently, Zuko had only weeks ago finished his official education minimum requirements while Azula still had almost two years of it ahead of herself in that regard.

Of course, being the crown prince, he was logically getting further education - like many nobles did as well. He knew even at public schools the minimum schooling requirement was something only for those going into the more basic jobs. Everyone who had the opportunity was adding three more years for further education. He had little doubt Azula would get the best tutors once being done with the academy.

She looks really smug of herself, Zuko thought while sitting down.

"Oh, Zu-Zu, finally being here as well?" Azula said that in a way that Zuko didn't like.

"Yes, and?" Zuko asked while the servants were setting the table for him as well.

Azula gave him a smug smirk. Despite her about to turn twelve years old in a few months, she was not acting her age; a fact that on some level was disturbing Zuko. "Ohhh, someone must woken up on the wrong side. I hope you won't talk to Mai that way."

Zuko hated it when Azula made fun of his relationship with Mai. "It's not like you care. You probably would find it funny, should something go wrong. Just wait until I've finally shown father at the council that I am a reliable heir, interested in the matters of our nation."

"You? Attend the war council?" It was clear she thought it was a joke. "Well, I won't stop you. After all, I can't wait for you to embarrass yourself in front of father and all the generals."

Zuko did not answer, and instead turned to the servants, who were done with setting the table. "Thanks. This looks very nice."

The servants seemed a bit brighter at the praise. Azula rolled her eyes after the servants had left. "Really, Zu-Zu? It's reward enough for the servants that they are allowed to serve us."

"They are doing all the work here, so they deserve recognition for it. How you treat those below you reflects back on someone of our position," Zuko told her.

"That's our fat uncle talking. Or perhaps that non-bender you are learning from how to wave around those toothpicks," Azula said dismissively, not wanting to voice that it probably was their mother's influence as well, before returning her attention to her breakfast.

Zuko knew Azula had a low opinion of Iroh and Piandao and ignored her.

After all, today would be his day. He knew that his uncle would be there as well, so gaining entrance wouldn't be the problem. He could show his father and uncle that he was ready to have a more substantial role in the affairs of state, compensating for his sub-par firebending. He not only wanted to finally gain his father's recognition, he also wanted to show off against Azula.

Nothing could go wrong.

Oh yes, I'm supposed to meet Mai after school is over. If I forget, she'll not let me hear the end of it, Zuko remembered.

Doing the math, he guessed that the war council should be done by the time the academy would release its students for the day. So hopefully Mai would not have to wait for too long. No way he wanted to have her get annoyed with him.

...in the afternoon...

Of course Zuko is late... Mai thought in slight annoyance while waiting in the entrance hall of the palace for her betrothed.

Mai felt an urge to scratch herself, but pushed it down. She never liked the uniforms of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, feeling it made her look dumb. The only reason she had not went home to change into something more comfortable and to her liking was due to waiting for Zuko - a Zuko who still had not appeared yet.

Looking around, Mai really wondered what was going on.

Normally, the palace was as boring as a place could be during that time of the day. But today there were many noblemen walking towards the Agni Kai arena. That could only mean a duel; a big one at that, considering she saw that it was the top crop of the VIP's entering. Yet she had no idea who it could be that were dueling.

Not that she was interested in two overblown firebenders burning off each others faces, and that was for two reasons.

For one, she had never understood why people were putting so much importance on firebending. While she did see its uses and how it was part of their nation's heritage, coming from a family of non-benders had made her question why benders felt they were supposed to so superior to anyone else. Considering how often Zuko was belittled for his lack in bending skill, it made her even more disgusted at how some benders thought of themselves as superior.

The fact that she was keeping multiple knives on her person right now, and even at almost thirteen years - her birthday was in a few months - was already being more dangerous than numerous benders, said a lot. Her parents had been horrified when she'd decided to officially learn about throwing weapons at school - after secretly having done so for several years - when having elected to learning a fighting style, but her uncle had supported her on that decision.

Considering the heaps of praise her fighting instructor was giving her, her parents had been forced to accept their daughter was throwing around blades, something not meshing well with their wish for a girl who 'knew her place'.

The other reason was that she had better things to do with Zuko. Even before the fateful day when things were set in motion for the contract being drawn up for their engagement and marriage once they were adults, she was around the palace due to Azula. After that however, she was at the palace quite often and the guards by now didn't even blink when seeing her walk in.

Good thing that she liked Zuko. Unlike all those boring sons of other nobles who either were annoyingly arrogant or snobs, Zuko - despite his position as crown prince - treated her like a friend and not as a stepping stone on the social ladder. Also, another reason why she liked him was, that in his loneliness he was the only one who understood her reason for hiding her emotions. Sure, Zuko was a hot-head and easily angered, trying to go with the head through the wall more often than not. But once you knew him better, you couldn't help but to like him.

Where is he? Did he forget that last time he forgot me I made him hold up apples while I threw knives into them? Mai wondered. She wondered if he'd had a run-in with Azula. Recently his sister had taken a delight in sabotaging their private life for her own amusement.

"Oh, Mai..."

Oh great, I shouldn't have thought of her. I see enough of her at school already, she groaned silently.

Mai knew that voice all too well, as it was the bane of Zuko's existence and a constant annoyance. Mai would've told her to shove off long ago, if not for the fact that she was of the royal family and could pretty much incinerate her in seconds without breaking a sweat. To Azula she was more of a servant for her amusement than a friend, her more cynical part reminded her.

"Hello, Azula," she greeted her neutrally, erasing every emotion from her voice. Part of her was annoyed that Azula had had the time to change out of her own school uniform.

Due to social obligations put onto her by her parents, she was forced to spend time with Azula. Sometimes it bordered on torture. This was made worse by that other girl from a noble family, Ty Lee. Ty Lee always acted as if high on sugar and her hyper-activeness clashed horribly with Mai's more reserved personality. She didn't dislike Ty Lee on a personal level, the girl was simply too nice for it, but spending time with her was giving her a migraine. Yet she endured all of it stoically.

She didn't remember how their so-called friendship started shortly after they'd entered the academy as young children. She had been young and naive back then. Over the years Mai slowly realized how Azula was the dominant one, while herself and Ty Lee had to follow her lead. By now she had realized it was not a true friendship, though she had no idea if Azula herself knew that.

Azula was leaning against a pillar, looking as smug as ever, as if she owned the entire world. "If you are waiting for little Zu-Zu, you'll be in for a long wait. He's preoccupied."

"Preoccupied?" Mai didn't like the way Azula had smirked when saying that, since it spelled trouble. Mai wondered what scheme Azula now had cooked up to embarrass them.

Azula's smirk deepened, when she saw that she'd hooked Mai. She knew what would happen today and she wanted Mai to witness it first hand. This hopefully would make her finally realize what a failure her brother was. It would have to added bonus of not only seeing Zuko's humiliation, but to also crush anything that was between him and Mai.

"Oh yes... My brother really got himself into deep trouble during the war council. Too bad that I was unable to witness it. Now he's about to fight because of it in an Agni Kai. Want to get in?" she offered.

Zuko... in an Agni Kai? Zuko, you stupid idiot! I want you to stay in one piece! Despite her inner panic, Mai showed no emotion to the outside.

Mai nodded silently and Azula led her towards the arena, her presence allowing Mai to enter without trouble. The Agni Kai arena in the palace looked more like a temple with its high column and ceiling, making Mai think of wrong priorities. It was packed with nobles and she could see Zuko waiting for his opponent on the arena floor. Quickly following Azula, she was guided to the front row, from where she would have the best view of the upcoming battle.

She grimaced slightly when she saw that she'd be forced to sit beside Captain Zhao. He was an incredibly arrogant and ambitious man who creeped her out to no end. Her mood brightened however when she saw General Iroh and that he'd be to her left. She'd always liked him, since he treated her well and was always supportive of Zuko.

Sitting down she got a supportive look from Iroh but didn't miss the look of grave concern, as if he knew something that she didn't. "I didn't expect you to be here, young Mai."

"I was waiting for Zuko and Azula told me he's in trouble. What happened?" she finally asked.

Iroh sighed. "During the war meeting, one general made a suggestion that would have sacrificed many inexperienced troops just to gain a small advantage. Zuko openly said it was disgraceful to throw away the lives of our soldiers that way. Of course he was right, but it wasn't his place to say so."

"That may be your opinion, General Iroh," Captain Zhao said, breaking his silence. "Fact is that someone who is barely a teenager can not be allowed question high-ranking military in such a disrespectful way."

"And that is your opinion, Captain," Iroh said neutrally, then returned to explaining things to Mai. "Naturally, my brother was very angry about it and said the only way to settle this matter would be an Agni Kai. Zuko looked at the old general he had insulted and said he doesn't fear anything. However, I have the feeling my brother is planning something else..."

"And whatever happens, he deserves it. Crown prince or not, Prince Zuko is an embarrassment for the royal family. Better have that blight removed," Captain Zhao commented, smirking nastily.

"You seem to know what is about to happen, Captain Zhao," Iroh observed, not liking this at all.

The smirk became more nasty. "I don't want to ruin the surprise."

There was no time to ask, when the gong was hit and everyone went silent when Zuko's opponent entered the arena. And Mai... was shocked.

Facing Zuko was his father, Fire Lord Ozai.

"Him?" That small gasp slipped out of Mai.

"What did you expect?" Azula said, not taking her eyes off what was happening in the arena. "The insult happened inside the Fire Lord's war room, so the insult was against the Fire Lord. Father now can put him into his place."

Zuko also seemed to realize right at that moment that he'd screwed up big time. No way he could ever hold his own against his father! Not to speak of the implications that fighting could be seen as treason. "Please father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" he begged.

Ozai didn't seem to care, while slowly advancing. "You will fight for your honor," Ozai demanded.

Zuko fell to his hands and knees, and started to beg for forgiveness even more. "I meant you no disrespect! I am your loyal son!"

Ozai still wasn't moved and came even closer. "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" he demanded, seemingly starting to lose his patience.

Zuko fells all the way to the ground and declared in a last-ditch attempt to stop this madness "I won't fight you." He was crying at that point as much in desperation as in fear. Fearfully looking up, he saw his father standing directly in front of him.

Ozai's eyes were hard while looking at his son in sheer disgust. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." Suddenly his hand shot out, the palm connecting with the left side of Zuko's face and it lit up with fire.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Zuko's cries of pain filled the arena while part of his face was burned. Then Ozai carelessly let him fall to the ground, while addressing the spectators. "In his refusal to fight, he has shown shameful weakness. He will suffer the consequences..."

Ozai went on to publicly tear down Zuko, but Mai didn't hear it anymore. Seeing Zuko's face getting destroyed by his own father's hand, his screams of pain, his desperation... It was as if a sword had been thrust through her heart. She just saw Zuko being carried away by the medics, before Iroh gently took her by the shoulders and led her out of the arena. She'd also seen Azula's face... the girl was actually smiling, seemingly finding this to be great entertainment.

"Young Mai, how are you holding up?" Iroh asked as soon as they'd left.

She finally shook herself out of it. "Zuko... he needs you more than anyone else... I..." It was a sign that her emotional control was crumbling when she hiccuped and shed a single tear. "I... need to go home."

After instructing a guard to escort Mai back home, Iroh rushed away to attend to Zuko. Mai managed to walk back home under her own power, and even made it back to her room. She locked the door before she collapsed onto her bed in utter exhaustion. Her bottled up emotions slammed down onto her with brutal force. Everything she'd witnessed and felt in this horrible arena was coming back to her now.

It was a mercy that everything went black a few moments later.

o

Persistent knocking on her door managed to finally rouse Mai out of her troubled sleep.

Looking through the window, she saw that it was already dark outside. Mai felt horrible while she slowly got up and then glanced at her mirror. She had obviously cried in her sleep - the one time when her emotions were not in check - as her face was full of dried tears. Her hair looked like a tangled mess, not to speak of how her school uniform, which she was still wearing, looked like after sleeping in it.

However, she came to a surprising conclusion: she no longer cared.

Unlocking the door, she came face to face with her father Ukano, who gasped when seeing his normally pristine daughter in such a state. "Mai, what...?"

Mai rudely cut him off, her control right now not existing. "Father, what do you want?"

For a moment Ukano was taken aback by her rudeness before finally composing himself "You can no longer see Prince Zuko. Don't even darken our house with his name. His Majesty has declared that he has brought great shame over himself and ordered him to be banished from the Fire Nation. His only way of redemption will be to catch the Avatar." His face betrayed the thought that that was an impossible task.

That felt like a gut punch to Mai, but she instead firmed her expression and looked her father directly into the eyes. "So the contract is off? You wasted little time to change your tune as soon as there was no gain for you anymore."

"Watch your tone, young lady. It is bad enough we now have to find a new match for you," her father warned her. "His ship leaves in two days. I want you to forget him right away."

That said, Ukano left her alone.

Locking the door again, Mai's emotions were in chaos. She'd witnessed an act that couldn't be topped in cruelty, and now Zuko was thrown out of the Fire Nation as well. She had to stop herself from throwing up in disgust. This was all so wrong.

In just a few days he will be gone... forever. Mai only slowly realized what that meant when repeating the finality of those words. She could picture Azula erecting a mock-tombstone just to celebrate her ascension to becoming an only child.

Imagine Azula as Fire Lord. Horrible thought, she thought when bringing this to its logical conclusion.

Mai also realized what this would mean for her future, remembering her father's words.

Her parents would now be hell-bent on promising her to some nobleman's son as fast as possible, and would be way less picky after Zuko's dishonor. It made her feel like a piece of meat offered on a market. She also would now be totally defenseless again Azula's moods, which surely would now turn to her after her main target was no longer there.

Not only Zuko's future looked bleak, but her own as well.

Thinking about it, there was only little that held her in this place. Her parents treated her like an asset for their political ascension, a resource for a political marriage to some powerful family, and made her feel miserable. Azula just wanted her around for her own amusement, which often was not in Mai's interest. Ty Lee, while not being malevolent at all, also was unable to understand her at all. All the adults surrounding her wanted her to be a proper, submissive girl and she hated that.

No...never. It might be a rash decision, but it was time to finally take her destiny into her own hands. Even if her parents would disown her for it.

...the docks, the day of Zuko's banishment...

Mai should have known.

Looking at the ship which would be Zuko's home for perhaps the rest of his days, it was clear that Ozai had worked to humiliate Zuko even further. Instead of one of the bigger, more modern warships, it was an older model just a fourth of the size of the current big warships. After all, Zuko was no Azula and Ozai wanted to clearly show his contempt.

It was incredibly petty and to her it felt like kicking an opponent who already has collapsed.

Judging by the activity at the open front bay, the dock workers were busy with loading the ship with its supplies - at least Ozai had been unable to deny Zuko the right to replenish his stocks from the Fire Navy.

She was stopped in her thoughts when she saw Zuko and Iroh approach the ship and she hid further so they wouldn't see her.

It came as no surprise to her that Iroh had decided to join Zuko in his banishment. The man deeply cared for him and also took this as his chance to escape from the backstabbing of the court. Zuko seemed uneasy on his feet, his uncle having to steady him while he stumbled several times. Clearly painkillers were making it difficult for him to move.

Zuko had also changed alarmingly in just two days.

He had all his hair shaved off apart from his phoenix tail - the mark of someone who believes to be an outcast - and the left side of his face was covered in bandages. But the worst was his face. While Zuko by far wasn't an angel, Mai was deeply disturbed by the deep look of hurt and anger that twisted his features, as if something had died within him, making space for something more nasty to take its place.

It reminded Mai why she felt she was making the right decision.

Seeing some big crates that would be loaded next, she quickly smuggled herself and her bag into one. Moments later she felt the crate being moved by the dock workers to the hold of the ship.

You won't get rid of me this easily, Zuko!

Said Zuko meanwhile had sat down in a seat on the main bridge, wanting to look as long as possible at his home through the windows before they would leave, possibly forever.

He still felt weak on his legs thanks to the painkillers he was forced to take. The previous two days he had been in and out of it while his uncle had been busy arranging everything. It was only today that he had the time, and his mind being clear enough, that he managed let everything sink in after the rush of the previous days.

Needless to say it had thrown his emotions into great chaos.

To never return home...

Even though he was fanatically holding on the idea that finding the Avatar would return everything to how it was before, deep inside he knew he'd be on a lifelong, futile quest. All of the Fire Lords - his father, grandfather and great-grandfather - had devoted years on the search to find the Avatar, but he'd never been found, most likely was dead and the circle broken. Part of him didn't want to accept this, but the hard facts were there.

No, I won't let this get me down! he swore. And yet, there also was desperation.

He was convinced that his predicament was entirely his own fault and that his father had every right to punish him like this. Though a small part of him whispered that what was done to him was utterly disproportionate to the slight, he tried to ignore those quiet doubts. Instead, it was much easier to be angry at his bleak future.

And then there were the people he'd leave behind, which made him depressed and angry at the same time.

He didn't have many people that cared for him. Some of the palace staff would surely quit after he was gone, as it was just his kind treatment of them that had made them stay. And he'd be forced to leave her behind. Perhaps it would be better this way, as Mai would then not be forced to share his dishonor. Still, the thought of never seeing her again only made his chaotic emotions worse.

Leaning on the map table, Zuko took a look at the map of the world. It was up-to-date and showed the parts of the parts Earth Kingdom controlled by the Fire Nation, with a darker red area at the western coast marking the actual colonial territories, which were part of the Fire Nation itself. If he even wanted to have success in his hunt, as dim as the chances were, he would have to make a plan. He'd start at the Western Air Temple, which was closest to the Fire Nation, then start a clockwise sweep around the Earth Kingdom to check the other three temples.

Right now it was the only thing he could do, regardless how worn out this path was.

"How are you feeling, nephew?" Iroh asked, walking up beside him. "All preparations are complete and I see that it only now seems to sink in."

Zuko looked very tired. "I want to scream they can't do this to me, but in the end it is all my fault. I just want to get out of here as quick as possible, before I even have to face a crowd seeing me off."

Iroh knew, right now Zuko was still mostly in shock, but this would soon give in to more anger. "At least I was able to get a decent crew."

Zuko sighed. "Do I even want to know how you managed to get a crew willing to travel with an outcast for many years to come?"

Iroh looked sad. "I have cashed in many old favors. I selected men who have lost their families to the war or never had any. They won't mind probably leaving home forever, as they have nothing to return to. I also made sure that they will be loyal to you."

Zuko was moved how much his uncle did for him. "At least something. Hopefully it won't come to that. I will find the Avatar, regardless the cost."

Now it was Iroh, who sighed. "Prince Zuko, your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all searched for the Avatar and never found him. As much as I hate to say it, the chances for a quick success are very slim."

Zuko grimaced. "I don't care. I'll move over every stone if it does help me to get clues how to find him and restore my honor thus allowing me to return home."

Zuko, if you only knew that nothing would again be as it was, Iroh thought sadly, while walking with Zuko to the outside of the command tower, where the highest-ranked officer was waiting for them. It was just a Lieutenant, since even Iroh hadn't collected enough favors to give them a proper Captain to command the ship. Another brick in the wall of humiliation.

"Lieutenant Jee, are we ready for departure?" Iroh asked.

"Yes, everything is on board, the whole crew has reported in, the machines are under steam and the rhinos are in their stables. We are ready for departure," he reported, while observing Zuko carefully.

Zuko took one last look at his home. He had expected Azula to give him a mocking sendoff, but it seemed she wasn't in the mood. Mai also wasn't present on the docks. It seemed she didn't want to be sullied by his dishonor. This was how he left home: scorned by everyone.

"The let's go. No need to overstay our welcome. Set course for the Western Air Temple. It's outside of national waters and we have to start somewhere."

Zuko remained outside, watching the coastline becoming smaller as they passed the Gates of Azulon. Then, the gates vanished behind the horizon. Now, and only now did he feel the reality of it. He'd lost his home.

...a week later, Western Air Temple...

"What a stunning view..." Iroh commented, while enjoying the view from this wonderful temple that hung upside-down under a cliff side, abandoned for nearly 100 years now.

"The only view I'm only interested to see is the Avatar in chains," Zuko growled, not caring in the slightest.

Iroh was very concerned with Zuko. The whole situation had sunk in after departing from the Fire Nation, and he had changed a lot for the worse. His nephew, once a teenager like many with some faults, had become hard and locked away his inner being. Right now he only radiated anger and determination. Iroh feared that if that was Zuko after only a week of banishment, how would he be after years?

"You know, I told you the Avatar hasn't been seen in 100 years. The chances of finding him here are very slim," Iroh reminded Zuko.

Zuko acted, as if he hadn't heard. "First we check each of the temples. Then we scour the world, even the most remote locations, until we find him."

They had not found much in the temple, apart from the remains of countless female airbenders - after all this temple had only been open to females. Thanks to being close to the Fire Nation, all remains of the soldiers had been returned home for burial, leaving the temple a giant tomb. It was a beautiful and yet so horrifying place. Even Zuko in his emotional hardening had quickly left the bone-filled inner structure, feeling unwell in the presence of so much death.

Iroh tried to put a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Prince Zuko, it's been only a week since your banishment. You should take some time to heal and rest..." He added the last thing when looking at the covered wound. The bandages would be removed in several days and he prayed that the eye was still intact.

That only helped to fuel Zuko's now ever-present rage. "What did I expect from the laziest man in the Fire Army?" Iroh shook his head in resignation, right now there wasn't any chance to appeal to his nephew. There was only one person who could get through to him, and she wasn't present.

Zuko looked over the temple. "The only way to regain my honor is to find the Avatar... and so I will. If I have to, I will spend every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him."

"You know, Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You'll never know how things will work out. But I promise you that if you keep an open mind and an open heart, you will find your own destiny some day..." he carefully told Zuko.

Zuko stayed silent, finally calming down. Maybe, Iroh hoped, there still was a chance to reason with him and stop him from sliding into the vicious circle of rage. He'd seen too many people, even good friends, giving in to the rage. They'd been changed by it until nothing remained but anger, hate and violence.

"Come, let us go back. It is obvious we won't find anything. And to be honest, I don't want to disturb the dead anymore," Iroh said further.

His rage spent for now, Zuko agreed. "Yes, let's go back. There' so much to do."

o

Of course after the temple had been a failure, since it was as empty as their holiday home on Ember Island, it had been declared a waste of time. Zuko however wasn't angry this time. It seemed that right now he was more resigned while they boarded their ship, which was waiting for them a little off the coast. With the setting sun behind it, it almost looked beautiful.

However, Lieutenant Jee waiting for them right at the stairs was a bad sign.

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh! We have found a stowaway in the cargo hold," Jee reported, looking scandalized that something like this would happen on his ship.

"A stowaway? On my ship?" Zuko asked, clearly offended by the mere idea. "Where is that person now?"

"We put her into the brig; a girl of you age, my Prince," Jee reported further, causing confusion to appear on Zuko's face.

"What's a girl doing here?" he wondered.

"Perhaps we should see the young lady in question. Surely she can enlighten us," Iroh suggested as the voice of reason. Truth to be told, he did have an idea who it could be, despite his surprise.

Jee led them into the command tower and then down the corridors under deck, until they reached the brig. "She didn't put up a fight, as if she wanted us to capture her. She only said she wants to speak with you."

"Me?" Zuko wondered. He wondered who this mysterious girl could be. Then the door opened and he stopped in his tracks when seeing who was waiting for him. "Mai?"

It was almost surreal. There stood Mai, wearing black traveling clothes, looking nonplussed at his presence. Suddenly Zuko felt so horribly ashamed that Mai saw him like this; he looked away to spare her this sight.

Obviously she didn't want him to do that, when she said calmly "Zuko, look at me when I speak with you."

Zuko gulped, before turning to face her, enduring her inspection of his face. Finally, he managed to overcome his reluctance to speak. "Mai... W-what are you doing here?" He hadn't expected to ever see her again, so he had had no way to prepare for her presence.

"What does it look like?" Mai knew that Zuko at times could be really dense.

Finally, Iroh felt that he should get things to order. "-Ahem- Prince Zuko, I think we should be more comfortable talking at a more hospitable place than the brig."

Mai couldn't help but to show a small smirk, while Zuko finally got his act together. However, she then turned serious again. "Can I use the ship's bathroom first? I haven't washed myself in a week and I've learned to appreciate a proper bathroom." She said the last thing while trying to not remember a certain bucket she'd been forced to do her business in.

Now that she said it, Mai didn't look the cleanest, her hair looked dull and she did smell... a lot. Iroh told Zuko to show Mai to the bathroom while he'd make some tea for the occasion, so that they could discuss the whole issue like civilized people. He also was glad to see how Zuko's rage had been drained away by Mai's presence.

And so it came that all of them sat at a table of the mess room half an hour later, Iroh serving them some tea, waiting for Mai to tell them how she came to be on their ship. Mai looked presentable again and even the smell was gone now.

Finally, Mai spoke. "I think you want to know how and why I'm here?"

"That would be a good start. We're far away from the Fire Nation." Zuko shook his head. "Mai... why did you do that and risk losing everything you have?"

"It started at the palace. You remember you promised to spend the afternoon with me?" Seeing Zuko's reaction, it was clear that he only now remembered. "I didn't find you, instead Azula told me that you have to face someone in a duel. And she offered me to accompany her. And I saw..."

-WHAM- Zuko slammed his fist on the table, causing the tea cups to shake. "Damn it! She knew! She did that to hurt you!"

"Prince Zuko! Please let young Mai continue and don't break my tea cups!" Iroh scolded the teenager and Zuko went silent. "Good. Mai, please continue..." Iroh said, while filling their cups.

Mai was thankful for Iroh being present to temper Zuko's anger. "I know that now... her smirk should have warned me. Zuko, I've never cried before, but that day I was very tempted to do so. Then I realized that the life I led was pretty boring and empty anyway, so I decided that I should go with you."

"Just like that?" Zuko wondered.

"What, should I've first asked a committee?" Mai wondered sarcastically, making Zuko feel stupid. "Just for your information, my father told me mere hours later that the contract between us is void and in his infinite wisdom was already planning to find some son of an important noble to essentially sell me to."

Zuko's anger again threatened to come through, but Iroh stopped that right away. "Prince Zuko, control yourself," Iroh warned him with a disappointed look.

"You now understand why staying was not exactly appealing to me." She didn't show it, but deep inside she felt revulsion at herself being treated like a bargaining chip. "It might have been a quick decision, but I was sure of it and prepared thoroughly."

"You could have asked," Zuko protested.

"And risk being rejected because you felt too sorry for yourself?! No, better to leave you with facts. I hid away on your ship and waited until we are far away from the Fire Nation before revealing myself. You can't simply send me back, so you are stuck with me, if you want or not," she finished her explanation, now waiting for Zuko's reaction while she took a sip from Iroh's delicious tea.

Zuko shook his head. "You know that your parents will find out very soon where you went to. While I really doubt that they can send the navy after us, you can bet the first port we enter to re-stock our supplies, there will be soldiers to take you back to them."

A small smirk entered Mai's features. " Oh, they already know thanks to a letter I left behind. Let this be my problem. Should I manage that they do not find me, then I think I've proven that I can manage very well to stay on board permanently ." She then crossed her arms. "Of course that depends on you allowing me to stay."

Zuko looked to his uncle for guidance, but the old man only shook his head. "This is a decision that only you can make."

Zuko felt torn. On one hand he really wanted to have Mai around, he longed for someone (besides his uncle) sharing his exile, so that he wouldn't be lonely and Mai was something he'd secretly wished for. One the other hand he really didn't want to have Mai being disowned by her parents and having her to endure an exile that wasn't hers in the first place. Then it hit him that he hadn't paid attention. Mai had pretty much stated that she was willing to accept all this, just to be with him.

Now he felt guilty. How could he deny her, after she'd already made these sacrifices? "All right... You can stay... Mai, you can be damn convincing... I only hope you won't regret your decision."

Mai looked pleased (for her standards). "Don't worry... I know I won't."

Iroh then shook his head after watching the whole exchange between the teenagers. "I must warn you. All these days at sea are very dull. I hope you have a high boredom tolerance or buy lots of books to bridge all the empty time."

Mai grimaced. She hadn't thought of that.

...some days later...

Zuko grimaced when the ship's doctor slowly removed the bandages from the left side of his face. It wasn't so much the pain but the fact that Mai and Iroh were watching. They'd see his disfigured face, the result of his stupidity. He could only imagine the horror on their faces, although Iroh had already seen the wound when it was fresh. He thankfully didn't remember that, having been too out of it due to pain and medication.

He tried very hard to think of other things while the bandages were slowly being peeled off.

The last few days had been very unusual for the crew. They had to get used to a girl now living together with them on the ship. It would take time, especially if said girl wasn't the usual stuck-up nobility. Mai had gained their respect right away by demonstrating her fighting and knife-throwing skills, which even with her only being twelve years old were already considerable.

That, and they were grateful for her managing the unthinkable: calming down the otherwise always foul-mooded Prince Zuko. It honestly not only was that Zuko really didn't want to act like an ass when she was around, but that he presence also reassured him that he hadn't lost everything. After all, Mai had chosen him over the Fire Nation.

But things weren't easy for Mai, either.

The room she'd moved in - by 'coincidence' the one next to Zuko's room thanks to Iroh - was quite empty and still needed a personal touch. She needed lots of stuff in the next port as well, including some feminine hygiene articles that Zuko really wanted to want to forget about as fast as possible about. Iroh had commented she was a little young for these and she'd countered that she was at 'that age' and better now than forgetting them until it would be long until the next port.

She also had to get used to life at sea. Hiding herself in the cargo hold was different from being on deck. The first time she had been there, she'd become sick from watching the motion of the sea and thrown up her breakfast on one unfortunate crewman. Even though she was trying to hide it, she'd been very embarrassed about this incident.

She also did have some trouble to adjust to life on the ship, which was very different from the life she'd lived up until now. At first she'd tried to hide it, but finally she'd told Iroh that she was bored and was in desperate need of something to do, regardless what. Iroh had suggested that honing her skill together with others would be a good idea. Mai didn't seem to know if she should do that and hadn't made a decision yet.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the final bandage came off.

It felt so strange to have the scar tissue being exposed to the air. Carefully, he tried to open his left eye and it worked... partially. He was unable to fully open it, but at least he was still able to see with it without problems and have functioning depth vision. He then looked to the others to see how they were reacting to this.

Iroh's and Mai's reactions were difficult to interpret. Iroh was obviously trying to hold his emotions in check, yet he looked sad. Mai was trying to hide behind her mask, but her concern was undeniable. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore. "Mirror! I want to see how bad it is!"

The ship's doctor handed him a mirror and Zuko looked at what was left of the left side of his face... It looked horrible. The burn scar which was roughly shaped like his father's hand totally ruined his once good looks. His left outer ear was almost entirely gone - a wonder he didn't suffer a hearing loss there - as was his left eyebrow. He looked like a freakshow. Setting down the mirror, he closed his eyes and a tear escaped him.

"I look like a freak..."

Zuko felt like sinking into the ground, when suddenly he felt someone holding his hands. Opening his eyes, he saw Mai looking sternly at him. "Mai...?"

"Zuko..." Mai told him in her no-nonsense voice. "You are no freak. You might think different, but for me you are still the good-looking young Fire Prince who managed to lighten up my life. So don't you dare to sell yourself short!... Or I'll beat some sense into you!"

Zuko blinked. Mai still thought that he look good? "Uh... really?"

"Yes, stupid. Others might not see beyond the scar, but they are idiots to do so. It doesn't matter to me. So let me spell it out for you: You. Are. Not. Ugly."

Suddenly the whole thing didn't look as bad as Zuko had feared at first.

Iroh couldn't help himself and smiled a little. After all the deep injuries Zuko had went through recently in body as well as in mind, this was the first step to heal them. He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened to Zuko, had Mai not run away from home. He surely would have brooded over his perceived failures and become reclusive, short-tempered and easy to anger. Young Mai was very good at dousing these flames with her direct no-nonsense way.

Both of them still were a bit to young to think of each other in romantic terms, but he was sure, he would have to be more watchful in due time, once the teenage hormones would run amok within them. After all, it wouldn't do to have a teenage pregnancy on this ship.

My dear nephew, you are just starting to explore the secrets of life, he mused.

...a week later, fire-colony port...

Exactly as I've suspected... Zuko thought, when he saw the soldiers at the dock waiting for his ship to lower the ramp.

He'd warned Mai that her parents would not tolerate her little rebellion and use their influence to get her back home as soon as possible. It wasn't something they could avoid. Now he hoped that Mai could hold word and not get caught, although he wondered how she could do this on a ship with limited hiding space.

Waiting on deck, he was approached by a fat officer and ten soldiers. It was obvious these guys never saw any combat and were just part of the police force of the colony. His crew obviously held no respect for them and Lt. Jee looked at them as if they were something on the underside of his boots. He might not know much about his most senior officer, but Zuko had to admit his uncle had selected an interesting character for the job.

The officer showed him an open scroll with the orders. "Prince Zuko, we have orders from the capital. You are housing the runaway daughter of a noble house on your ship. We are under orders to get her back to her parents in the Fire Nation right away."

Zuko tried to play it cool. After his father and his generals, it was difficult to intimidate him. "Search through the entire ship if you want. I have nothing to hide."

"You can bet that we will..." He turned to his soldiers. "All right, men. Take this tin can apart! I want every rat hole searched until she's found."

Zuko leaned against the boardside railing, hoping that Mai's hiding skills would prove to be adequate. "Tell your soldiers that if they break something, I'll make them pay for it, one way or another!" he yelled to the officer as an afterthought.

Although he'd little to say due to his banishment and his authority was quite limited now, seeing the man gulp proved once again that even banished royality held a certain respect. It also convinced him that this worm wouldn't make any trouble and right now was no longer worth his time. He had other issues to attend to.

Zuko then saw his uncle approach. "Now it's up to her... I hate just standing around and this could take hours!"

Iroh wasn't surprised, Zuko had always been a little impatient. "Well, if you hate doing nothing, maybe you can make yourself useful for her. She gave me a list of the things she needs and right now we have the time. It will take them, as you said, hours to search through the entire ship."

Zuko had never liked shopping. That was one of the few things on which he agreed on with Azula. Already as a child he'd hated it when his mother had taken him along on a stroll through the high-class shops in the palace city. However, for Mai he'd make an exception. Thankfully, even if she were coming along, Mai wasn't the kind of girl that liked window-shopping - the polar opposite of Ty Lee whose shopping antics, which Zuko had seen exactly one time, still made him shudder.

"Let me see that list..." Zuko went through the items, noting that all of it made sense and blushed when reading what some of the items were. Even being royalty didn't make him immune to the embarrassments of a teenager. "Let's get two of our men and get over with it. It's not that we have anything better to do..."

Zuko only hoped that it wouldn't be too bad.

As if he'd dared karma to prove him wrong, Iroh suddenly had an idea. "Some of the crew are really good with instruments and we can have a regular music night! Maybe I should buy a tsungi horn! "

Zuko's eyes had widened in horror when remembering his music lessons in the conservatory of the palace city when hearing the word 'music night'. However, when hearing the name of the instrument, he turned sad. "Uncle Iroh! Please... no tsungi horn."

Iroh knew exactly what this reaction had brought on and he looked a little sad himself. "I know you still miss him. I remember you and Lu Ten playing the horn in a duet. Maybe by playing the horn, you can honor his memory. Perhaps Mai is interested learning from you how to use it."

"I doubt it, she once told me that the music lessons at the academy had bored her to death and all those girls playing their instruments wrong had hurt her ears," Zuko commented, remembering the foul mood Mai'd been in after an especially bad lesson.

Those lessons however had also proven one undeniable fact: Azula had zero talent for playing an instrument, as Mai had told him in several rants of sheer suffering. Azula of course had protested, but even their father, after a demonstration, had concluded that Azula's talents were not on the musical side. That was one of the few talents Zuko had over his sister.

After that day, Azula never again had touched a single music instrument and gotten permission to no longer having to attend those lessons.

"Oh, then she'll be surprised and forget these experiences, especially once she hears Lt. Jee's skill on the pipa."

Zuko by now knew that music night was a set event and he'd have to live with it.

Walking down the streets of the city, Zuko then noticed something "Workers are ripping open the pavement?" He knew Fire Nation cities, and thus the colonies as well, were proud of well-paved streets, so the sight was unusual.

Iroh knew what this was about. "Ah yes, I've heard of that. After the great success the bigger cities in the Fire Nation had with ostrich horse-drawn trams, the colonies are taking over the system."

Zuko now understood.

He had watched during his early childhood how rail tracks had been installed in the streets of the capital and asked his mother what this was about. Ursa had reminded him how she had told him that the Fire nation had developed a fast way of transporting people and goods which was called a railroad. Zuko did remember, having seen a train in person once.

Thus Ursa had told him that this essentially was the same, with ostrich horse-drawn wagons on the rails transporting people quickly throughout the city. On his question why they weren't using steam engines here as well, Ursa had been evasive. Zuko later had found out that the danger of exploding boilers had been deemed too great inside cities.

Zuko shook his head. They had purchases to do now.

o

Some hours later - the sun was already low on the horizon - they finally returned to their ship.

Zuko was close to cursing. While he wasn't a big shopper, his uncle was the exact opposite and needed to be kept away from all kind of bazaars. He'd remembered that little fact too late and it had kept them for almost two hours, resulting in his uncle, after lots of window-shopping, buying a statue that looked like a cross between a fish and komodo rhino. Zuko really wondered why his uncle would buy such trash and what he expected it to be good for.

Everything on Mai's list got purchased, although Zuko had made Iroh buy a few things that were a little too... 'female' for his tastes. He himself had needed some things as well. Of course, the tsungi horn was unavoidable and Zuko knew, he'd soon hear it on the ship. As reluctant as he was to admit it, he did like its sound.

Of course, walking through the streets of a Fire Nation colony city had also been like running the gauntlet.

Many people were shocked when seeing the horrible scar on his face. Even many soldiers returning from the war with wounds had less prominent injuries. And of course news of his dishonor and banishment had reached the colonies. While their money was welcome, the constant whispering was proof enough that he was not exactly the most well-liked person even in the colonies.

He actually was glad to be back on his ship. At least his crew never batted an eye at his injury, even though they all knew how he'd gotten it (not the exact details however).

Walking back on board, they saw the soldiers reporting back to their officer, handing him a scroll. The soldiers looked exhausted and one held his left leg strangely. After reading the scroll, the officer's face became red, seemingly in equal parts from anger and embarrassment. Ordering his men to get the bought stuff under deck, Zuko approached the officer, feeling that this would be good.

"Is something wrong?" he asked innocently, knowing that something indeed was wrong for the man.

The man obviously had to control himself to not scream at Zuko, proving that he felt humiliated. Wordlessly, he threw the scroll to Zuko's feet, before leaving with his men, leaving Zuko and Iroh alone. Seeing the man who'd held his leg limp away, Zuko's observation was proven true.

Picking the scroll up, Zuko read it and barely managed to hold in his laughter. He read it aloud to his uncle: "Nice try, but after taking apart the ship and not finding me, it should be clear that most of the matter in your body moved from your head to your belly. I hope it doesn't move even lower. Tell my parents that they won't get me to return to them this way."

Iroh smiled. "I hope you can see what you have with that girl. She's not some damsel in distress. She's your equal, so treat her accordingly," he reminded his nephew, before also retreating under deck, most likely to admire his strange statue and take off the huge horn.

Only after the ship had already departed did Mai re-appear, walking on deck as if nothing was amiss at all. It seemed that fooling and humiliating the soldiers had been great for her mood, as evidenced by her rather lax way of walking. They watched the coast vanish behind the horizon and then the sea, until finally Zuko couldn't hold back any longer.

"All right, how did you do it? They took apart the whole ship and still didn't find you," he asked her.

Mai gave him a sly and very rare smile "That remains my secret. After all, you also don't tell all of your secrets... Oh, and did you notice one of the soldiers limping? He learned the hard way that it isn't wise to anger a komodo rhino."

Zuko had no idea how she'd managed to hide and yet observe this mishap. It seemed that he'd grossly underestimated Mai.

...almost two weeks later, Northern Air Temple...

"There is definitely something going on in that temple," Zuko exclaimed, while he, Iroh and Mai were walking up the path to the Northern Air Temple.

The ship had arrived at the coast close to the temple during the night and they were right now using the early morning hours to walk up to the temple, which thankfully was easily accessible by foot. That was when Zuko had spotted three or four things flying over the temple that definitely were not birds. Could it be airbenders that had escaped the destruction brought over them by his great-grandfather Sozin?

The air temple itself was a breathtaking sight, located on a steep mountain top. Even after its original masters were gone for almost a century, the huge and tall structure, looking a bit like a massive castle, commanded respect. Zuko had already seen the Western Air Temple, and while this one was of a vastly different design, even he had to admit it must have taken massive skill to create it in the first place.

"Yes, and there is smoke rising as well. There must be someone living up there," Mai observed, but she was more occupied with Zuko. "But I doubt it's airbenders. They would be really dumb to fly out in the open while there is an order to kill on sight."

The fact that someone was living in the temple had risen his hopes of finding something. A hope that she feared would be crushed. After all, she held no illusions. The Avatar had vanished 100 years ago. Finding him would be impossible and by now he would've been reborn into the Water Tribes anyway. The whole thing was just set up by Ozai to slowly bring Zuko to despair the longer the search would take.

"I also doubt it's airbenders. My brother had also searched the temple during his time on the quest, and he reported no sign of airbenders," Iroh reminded them. "Still, I wonder who has taken residence in this remote location?"

"Regardless who it is, I think we will find out soon enough. Seems we we got a welcoming committee," Mai pointed out

Indeed, while they were closing in on the main gate, there was someone waiting for them. Interestingly enough, it was only one man and he didn't look like a guard at all and more like a civilian. He looked harmless enough though, being a balding, bearded man wearing a monocle who wasn't radiating any danger. In fact, he looked a little nervous when seeing them.

"I didn't expect you until later today," he quickly said, looking nervous for a reason.

"Expect us?" Iroh wondered, acting as the spokesman for the group. "We didn't even expect anyone to live here. Perhaps you expected someone from the Fire Nation?" he then pointed out, indicating at the color of their clothes.

The man did relax a little, before ushering them in through a secret passage. "No one can see you, I'll explain inside."

Some time later found them in the man's workshop, where he offered them some tea - which Iroh, being a lover of tea, gagged on, as it tasted horrible to him - while he explained the secrecy. "I had not expected someone else from the Fire Nation coming here. Please excuse the secrecy, but I really don't want the other people here to know about this."

Now, that sounded interesting, so they listened closely.

"I know you'll ask anyway, so I'll tell you everything right away. Everyone here calls me the Mechanist, so perhaps you can do so as well." He then started his story. "Our village got destroyed by a flood several years ago. In our search for a new home, we found this deserted temple and are changing it to our own needs. Everything went well until a year after our arrival, when a Fire Nation army discovered our new home."

"I can already guess they were not pleased with you settling in here," Iroh observed, knowing that the air temples were forbidden areas by decree of the Fire Lord.

The Mechanist looked sad. "I pleaded with them to not attack and a man that was with them, I think he's fairly high up, offered me a deal: make plans for useful machines they can use in the war and they leave us alone. I expect him today for the monthly delivery."

None of them looked happy when hearing this. It basically was cold-hearted extortion, yet there was little they could do about it. Zuko for his part ground his teeth together. "Is that what our nation is doing? It's disgraceful..."

"I'll be blunt, Zuko, but thinking so is rather naive of you. Not that you are wrong..." Mai reminded him.

Iroh also didn't like it. "You have not yet seen how it is considered that in war all tactics are allowed." Iroh saw Zuko flinch, clearly being reminded of why he got that scar. "Honor and chivalry take a backseat to results."

As if on cue, a bell ringed, signaling that someone was about to arrive, making the Mechanist look nervous. "Please don't anger him."

Seconds later a trap door opened and an older man in the field armor of Fire Nation nobility arrived from a floor elevator. He looked around and then his eyes fell on Zuko, Iroh and Mai. After some moments, he snorted. "Well, well, well, what unexpected company. The disfigured and banished prince, the failure of a general an a bratty runaway. What interesting company you keep."

Zuko was grounding his teeth together again, while Mai did her best to hold him back. Iroh knew the man. "War Minister Qin. I am surprised that you take such chores upon yourself."

"It is not a chore since it grants me great reward. Thought it is a surprise, as unwanted as it is, to see you here." He then turned to the Mechanist. "Well, what do you have to offer?"

"I worked especially hard on this one! Please, can this grant me a longer grace period?" the Mechanist asked, offering Qin rolled-up plans.

The War Minister studied the plans. "Very good, the Fire Lord will be most interested in this weapon, once we have refined it. You have earned yourself three months of peace with this one."

One look at the Mechanist was enough to see that he felt not proud of himself.

"So our nation has already sunk so low to use extortion," Mai said, after observing the exchange in distaste. "Your inventors must be pitiful if you have to resort to such."

"You have no idea how hard our inventors are working. This here is only a bonus, but a good one, as it will bring even greater victories to our nation. It also will distract from the shame your companions have brought over us. The Fire Lord knows when to get rid of hopeless cases," Qin said calmly.

"My father will welcome me and restore my right to the throne once I bring him the Avatar!" Zuko finally exploded, Qin having pushed all his buttons.

"You don't really believe this yourself. The Avatar is gone for nearly 100 years and you will never return home. The people of the Fire Nation are already starting to forget you and in a few years, only few will remember your name. You will just be a footnote in the history books; an error that got corrected."

"What will the history books truly say? The Fire Lord banishing Zuko does not show much wisdom," Mai told Qin.

Qin gave Mai a displeased look. "In the Fire Nation, you would have gotten a public shaming for your impertinence. It's obvious why the disgraced prince seeks your company."

That said, Qin vanished in the floor and the trapdoor closed.

Zuko's anger, which had been burning bright just seconds ago, exhausted itself right then. Collapsing back into his chair, he looked downright depressed, since he knew deep inside those words were true. He went into outright denial, since it threatened to damage how he viewed the world.

The Mechanist watched silently from the sidelines.

He knew when someone was full of despair, as several of their people had been driven over the despair horizon and he himself had been very close to it himself when his wife had died and their son got crippled for life. He'd tried to deny the truth, to find a way - any way to undo what had happened, but in the end he had to accept it and move on with life, as hard as it would be to do so.

He knew little of the internal politics of the Fire Nation, yet he did know that the young prince was slowly approaching a crossroads in his life.

Leaving the room for a moment, since it was too uncomfortable, he saw Iroh waiting for him. "I see you have started to make modifications to the temple," Iroh said, pointing at the first signs of changes within the temple.

"Oh yes... Progress, you know? It is one of my goals to improve our lives up here," the Mechanist explained, looking proud.

Iroh looked at the metal pipes and raised an eyebrow. "Some good advice. While the airbenders might be gone, you living here also means you have to respect their legacy. You have every right to make the lives of your people better, but what use is it if you destroy the beauty of this place in the process?"

"Please think about it." Iroh then left the Mechanist, hoping it would get the man thinking.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Search Around the World "

Chapter Text

"-Uuuuaargghh- -Yuck!-" Mai groaned, while sacrificing plenty to the sea.

Iroh appeared to feel rather guilty, while Zuko looked at him in annoyance. Finally, Iroh felt that maybe an apology was required. "I'm sorry that that happened. I bought these oysters as a really good deal in the last port. How should I have known that they were about to turn bad?"

"Uncle, that the store was selling them so cheap should have been a hint," Zuko snorted, not amused that Iroh's negligence had made Mai sick.

Finally, Mai was done and looked at him as if ready to do something drastic, the taste of acid and vomit in her mouth not helping her mood. "I hear you always carry a Pai-Sho stone with you?" she suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Yes, my White Lotus tile..." He pulled it out of his pocket to show her. "I had no idea that you..." -tshak!- Iroh went silent when a small throwing knife embedded itself directly into the middle of his Pai-Sho stone.

"For the future... no more oysters," Mai told him with steel in her voice, before leaving.

Iroh looked a little hurt at his damaged stone, while Zuko couldn't help but to smirk. "Well, you heard the lady. And frankly, I don't think she'll aim for the stone next time..."

Iroh felt that it was no empty threat.

o

"What in all names did you learn in combat training?" Mai asked in annoyance, while another of her strikes tapped Zuko, adding to his growing humiliation. "Take your swords away and you are helpless."

Iroh watched the rather one-sided match with interest. It had started rather harmless with Zuko declaring during breakfast that thanks to his sword training with Piandao he could also defeat an opponent without his bending.

Mai however had given him a flat look and told him to prove it in a little unarmed match. She had added that she hoped that Zuko would not chicken out of fighting a girl - especially a girl that was her. She had added that while she was flattered that Zuko didn't want to hurt her, there were times where chivalry has to be set aside. Feeling challenged, Zuko then agreed.

Before the match Mai had even prominently put all her knives aside. However, to Zuko's horror he learned really fast that when not firebending or fighting with his swords, he was at a severe disadvantage. He even had a feeling that Mai was gentle with him and mainly aimed to hurt his pride instead of giving him bruises.

"When did you get this good?" he gasped, surprised.

"I'm not that good. I'm more of a thrower. It's that you are just this bad," Mai countered, while tapping him again.

Less than ten minutes later Zuko was close to admit defeat. She was simply too fast and nimble for Zuko, whose tactics were either a direct frontal assault or geared towards fighting with swords. While that worked well against a common soldier or when using firebending or swords, Mai was something different. Her evasion of his clumsy attacks was really eating at his confidence and showed him that there were things he was really bad at.

Finally, Iroh felt that Mai had made her point. "Stop! That's enough, I think you showed him the error in his thinking."

Mai backed off and Zuko looked like someone had crushed his pride. Mai looked at him in annoyance. "Really, Zuko, your unarmed combat skills are mediocre at best... I won't stand for that and you'll learn how to move gracefully." A groan from Zuko told her that he feared more hurt pride. "Oh, you big baby. Don't act like this is the end of the world."

"I'm just glad that Master Piandao is not here to see me right now. He would tell me I neglected that part of my training." Zuko knew he probably would die from shame.

"Did he teach you to be fast on you feet?" Mai asked with a raised eyebrow.

Now Zuko felt like an idiot. "I only applied it to swordfighting..."

Iroh watched them slowly walking inside. Seeing them reminded him of his own late wife. While it had been an arranged marriage, she had been far from being one of these sissies often found in the court. But after each time they'd butted heads, they'd made up in the most beautiful ways. Ah, how much he missed her.

o

Zuko hated mornings. And now he hated them even more than usual, since every time he'd slept more than a few hours, his scar would itch. It was even worse when the room was still filled with smoke form the candles. The doctor had told him the skin was still healing and that it would take some time before the itching would stop.

Urgh, couldn't happen soon enough... he complained, before getting a towel and making a beeline to the washroom to get ready for the day. Still half-asleep, he didn't pay any mind to his surroundings, walking in and trying to find the water bowl.

"Zuko, do you mind?"

OK, that voice made him wake up at once. Mai's voice in the washroom could only mean trouble. Looking around, he spotted her sitting in one of the wooden tubs, trying to look indifferent. However, that was made look absurd by the hot blush that covered her whole face and her hands covering her chest.

Now Zuko blushed as well and made a fast retreat out of the washroom.

Leaning against the wall he breathed heavy. He'd seen a lot more of Mai than he ever had before. Even though she was not yet thirteen years old, she'd developed nicely. Having a girl on board really was something all of them had to get used to. And maybe he would have to get used to it the most.

He waited until Mai walked out, dressed, and looked him into the eyes. "Just to make this clear: this never happened. All right?"

"Yes, Uncle Iroh would never let me hear the end of it otherwise," Zuko agreed.

Mai then left without another word. Zuko knew that not only was she displeased, but she was angry with herself for openly showing her embarrassment. Mai didn't like open displays of emotion and he'd gotten used to it, although he wondered how much worse it would've gotten had she stayed under her parents' eyes for more years to come.

Perhaps he didn't even want to know.

o

Their ship was driving along the eastern coasts of the Earth Kingdom at half speed, as this would be the fastest way to reach the Eastern Air Temple, which was their next destination. On the way, Zuko spotted a heavily destroyed, huge wall very close to the coast. The wall really looked enormous, but from the looks of it, it had been destroyed long ago by heavy bombardment.

"What's this?" he asked. "Can't be the walls of Ba-Sing-Se. I know those are not as close to the sea and fully intact." Zuko after all remembered how Iroh breaking through the walls was seen as a massive accomplishment.

"This is the former sea wall of Ba-Sing-Se." Zuko hadn't noticed Lt. Jee approaching. "This once was an extra section of the outer wall, created to secure the eastern coast and the harbor facilities close to Ba-Sing-Se. They quickly gave it up shortly after the beginning of the war, when it was bombed to pieces by warships. The problem with the actual wall is, that we can't bring enough heavy weapons to destroy it as fast as those earthbenders rebuild it."

"You seem to know a lot about this?" Zuko asked.

"I studied the history of the city during the siege and thus know of these things," Jee replied, looking at the crumbled wall.

"You were in my uncle's army during the siege?" Zuko didn't know much about it, as Iroh clearly wasn't comfortable talking about it.

"Yes, he was."

Iroh had walked out to them and looked at the crumbled wall. "I went down in history as the man who breached the outer wall and stormed the agricultural zone. However, our losses became too high and I learned first hand that war is not what young people think it to be... so many lives simply thrown away."

Zuko and Jee were silent and Iroh took one last look, before leaving.

"I was there when his son got killed. It came out of nowhere. An arrow. When you hear it, it already is too late. Prince Lu Ten died in his father's arms, saying he felt sorry that he'd leave him behind." Jee shook his head. "Prince Iroh had never been the same after that day."

Zuko then was left alone.

He remembered his own grief when hearing of Lu Ten's death. Up until that point, he'd simply repeated what he'd been taught by his tutors and the official line. The official line, that the war was a good thing and would bring greatness to the Fire Nation. It took the pain of loss, before he'd learned that war was not as great as he'd imagined. It was one of the reasons why he'd spoken out at the war council.

While he would never backstab his own nation, this war had long lost its glory to him. He had always imagined stopping the war after ascending to the throne, feeling that the Fire Nation by now was powerful enough that no one could threaten it. Yes, that was rather naive of him, but he couldn't help how his imagination worked.

However, seeing the destroyed wall was the first time he saw the direct consequences of war. Part of him was afraid to see more of said consequences.

...meanwhile, Fire Nation capital, Royal Fire Academy for Girls...

"...thus after the unwanted meddling of the bloodthirsty Avatar Kyoshi, Fire Lord Zoryu enacted reforms and worked for his entire life to shatter the power of the clans which had almost driven our great nation to doom in their greed. Furthermore it made..." the teacher droned on while pointing at important facts on the big hung-up paper with her pointer.

While kneeling at her floor desk and trying to follow the teacher's lecture on Fire Lord Zoryu's actions which had shattered the power of the clans and led to the modern government of the Fire Nation, Ty Lee wasn't having a good day.

In the contrary, recently she was having a bad time.

The girl normally was radiating optimism and it seemed nothing could damage her positive outlook on life. That is, until recently. It was bad enough to have six identical sisters and having parents who treated them interchangeable, but she'd always found a way to escape from the pressure in other ways. The more recent problems however made things more and more complicated.

First of course there was Zuko's banishment. She hadn't been that close to him, but her interactions with Azula and Mai had brought her into contact with him regularly. She would've been tempted to get a bit closer, but Mai had declared him hers and she quickly decided to keep things casual. Zuko had been good looking, but she had no idea if that still was the case after what she had heard.

Even though he was always trying to be so serious, it had been fun having him around and even Mai's aura had gained some color in his presence. Girls in the school honestly had gushed after learning about the engagement contract, while others were jealous of Mai and wondered why the dark and broody girl of all people had accomplished what no other girl had managed to gain.

Of course, all of that had changed with Zuko being banished.

That in turn had led to the bigger shock that Mai had actually ran away from home to go into exile together with Zuko. While it certainly was kind of romantic, it had left her completely alone to suffer the fallout from Azula. Not that Azula had been throwing around fire in anger, she was far too composed to do anything like this. Azula instead had radiated a cold anger - which considering she was a firebender, was a bit of an irony.

Not that I blame Mai for leaving. I've seen how close she was growing to Zuko. Still a bummer that I'm left with the aftermath, she thought.

Azula felt that Mai had backstabbed her by deciding to leave with Zuko and decided to make Mai an unperson in her presence. Ty Lee had mentioned Mai exactly once and as a result she was now missing the last ten centimeters from her long braid. Azula hadn't said anything, just took hold of her hair and burned it away. No words wee needed, it was clear that Mai's name was no longer to be said in her presence.

Her parents had almost had a heart attack when seeing her burnt hair and after being told what exactly had happened, had been tempted to no longer have her in Azula's presence. Alas, that of course was impossible, since she was the princess and denying her would have severe consequences. Not to speak of sharing the same classroom at school.

She glanced over to the one empty desk in the classroom for a short moment. No one is even daring to use it. It's sitting there as a silent monument to Mai being gone.

It was made worse by Azula having started searching for a replacement for Mai, stating that this time she'd pick a girl that had no conflicted loyalties.

Ty Lee knew Azula would 'convince' her to make friends with that girl. After all, you couldn't say no to Azula and she had her ways to convince you. Ty Lee knew it didn't work like this; you can't order someone to be friends. With Mai it had been a gradual process and despite their differences, they actually respected each other.

She honestly hoped that Azula would get better soon.

"Miss Ty Lee, is my lecture boring you?"

Startled, Ty Lee looked up, only to see that the teacher was standing before her desk, looking not amused. "Ehm... Sensei, you see... I've been a tiny bit distracted recently..." Ty Lee tried to come up with an excuse.

The teacher arched an eyebrow, glancing at Ty Lee's shorter braid for a moment. "Oh, really? Since you clearly did not listen, you can look forward to detention with me after school. Hopefully, me giving you my full attention will wield better results then."

That said, she returned to the front of the class while the other girls giggled at Ty Lee's misfortune. Ty Lee normally would just shrug this off, but due to how bummed she was, she could not shake it off and blushed in humiliation. No one liked being the subject of public humiliation, that also went for Ty Lee. At least her parents wouldn't scold her, knowing what she was going through.

Following this, Ty Lee tried to pay attention, not wanting her detention to be made worse.

At the desk next to hers Azula only shook her head.

She honestly felt Ty Lee being unable to move on from Mai leaving her was very annoying. She after all had had no problem with that, right? She herself had managed to get used to Zuko never returning to the Fire Nation very easily, so Ty Lee should do the same in regard to Mai and get over it.

Azuala ignored how hypocritical that was, considering her continued reaction to Mai leaving.

Azula then wasted no more thought on the matter. She instead was busy with trying to find a girl who could fill the gap which Mai had left. She recently had discovered someone in the parallel class who looked promising. She would have to take a closer look, but if she was a good fit, then an invitation to the palace garden would follow.

Azula was trying very hard to emulate her father, since after all it's what she has been doing for years by this point. However, unbeknownst to her, trying to emulate an utter sociopath was not healthy at all.

...a bit over two weeks later...

"Zuko... I have to go"

"No, don't leave me!"

He tried to reach out, but a fall of flames separated him from his mother. He could only watch while she vanished behind it and a sense of deep loss crushed him.

...

Waking up, Zuko shook his head to shake off the remains of sleep.

He'd had many of these nightmares after his mother had left. They'd become fewer as the years went on, but recently the loss of his home had brought them back. It was most often the same, he was trying to hold onto her, but some force was taking her away from him, like this night.

Recently, things sometimes got mixed up as well. He'd seen Mai getting cast into a sea of flames and Iroh being swallowed by lava, all while a voice mocked him that he'd never find happiness and that there was nothing that couldn't be taken away from him. No one else knew of his nightmares, since it had been impressed onto him that a man couldn't show weakness.

Zuko tried to forget those nightmares while stumbling to the washroom to get ready for the day, as the Eastern Air Temple was close now.

Some hours later they had reached their destination.

"There it is, the Eastern Air Temple. What a beautiful place," Iroh said while pointing at the structure ahead, while the ship was maneuvering through the vast channels in the tall rock island, the spires reaching far into the sky.

It indeed was in amazing piece of architecture. Instead of one huge temple on a big spire, it consisted of three smaller temples on three neighboring spires, connected with bridges. Even though the temple clearly was in a state of serious disrepair and grown over by plants, it still radiated a certain beauty. To the relief of everyone, since the temple was located right next to one of the channels, they could easily dock near the stairs that led to the top, although it would take them quite some time to reach the top.

"I couldn't care less for its beauty, as long as it gives me hints about the Avatar. Have you ever been here, Uncle?" Zuko asked, seeing that Iroh seemed strangely familiar with this temple.

"Once, a long time ago. Like your father, I did spend a year in trying to find the Avatar in my youth. It by then had become sort of a family tradition. I felt the Air Temples were a dead end, so I spent the year searching elsewhere. I visited it at the end of my journey since I was in the area and it has lost nothing of its beauty," Iroh explained.

"I never knew you searched for him as well," Zuko remarked, surprised at this revelation.

"It was only a minor event in my long life. Shortly after returning, I met the woman who'd take my heart and give me my beloved son." Iroh looked a bit sad. "I spent many good years with them, until I entered the age where things are only taken from you and no longer given."

Now Zuko felt bad for reminding Iroh of his losses. "I'm sorry."

Iroh held Zuko by the shoulder. "No, no need to be sorry. I've come to terms with my losses, although I will always miss them."

Zuko watched Iroh leave, then looked to Mai, who'd been silent the entire time. "Sometimes I think the whole thing is harder on him than on me, and I feel miserable for losing my home. Do you think he misses home more than I do?"

"How should I know? I left my house willingly, since it had become unbearable, so I have no idea what missing a home feels like. This ship after just a few weeks feels more like a home than my parent's house had ever been," Mai bluntly told him.

"You really mean that? I thought you would have a hard time getting used to it. I certainly do..." Zuko asked, surprised.

Mai rolled her eyes. "Is this supposed to be a joke? The capital felt to me like a slow death-trap of utter boredom enriched with a corset of rules that suffocated me. Combine that with being forced to spend time with Azula, and you can imagine why I'm glad to be gone from there. You were one of the few things I did not hate at that place, and with you gone, I saw no need to remain, either."

Zuko understood her all too well, she'd always looked unhappy apart from the time they had to themselves. "I forgot that you hate a lot of things... especially the color orange. I remember Ty Lee wearing a bright orange outfit once."

"Please don't remind me. I felt ready to stab my eyes out after that day, considering it looked like the sunset had vomited all over it,." It seemed Mai remembered the reason why she hated that color all too well.

Mai surely is something else... Zuko thought, while returning to looking at the temple. She's sarcastic, sometimes blunt and rude, snarks a lot, is not overly concerned with her appearance and has an allergy against girly things. Agni, that is why I like this girl so much.

He did remember how he got officially introduced to her.

Zuko had never felt any connection to other girls that had been presented to him at at the celebration of his eleventh birthday, a bit less than half a year before his mother had left his life. Everyone had said after his father had waited so long before finding himself a wife, only to then take one from a very minor noble family in the deepest backwater, that he should start looking early for a potential girls to court.

Sadly, Fire Lord Azulon had agreed on that point, so his birthday had devolved into a huge courting session, where many noble girls introduced themselves to him. That proved to be a serious test of Zuko's patience, much to Azula's amusement.

However, half of the girls tended to dress in colors that hurt his eyes, giggled a lot and often acted as if they were just half their actual age. The other half was as stiff as a board and completely useless. His mother had even been concerned that he could not have been interested in girls at all.

It wasn't that; it just was that he couldn't find any interest in the usual upper-class girls of the Fire Nation.

His mother had already become desperate, when the very last girl appeared in front of him and he did recognize her as one of Azula's friends. He remembered the girl was named Mai and that she was more on the reserved side. While she was hanging around with Azula, he knew it was most likely ordered by her parents and when Azula had pushed both of them into the fountain a mere two weeks ago, the girl seemed genuinely angry at Azula, but had managed to conceal her anger.

She was very different from the other girls. Her dress was so dark it almost was black. Instead of giggling, she held an expression as if the whole party was the inner circle of hell. And while she was polite, her undertone was bordering on insulting. She wasn't either girly, nor stiff.

Zuko of course had asked her for a dance right away.

Mai actually was a good dancer, which came with her upbringing. He did apologize again for the fountain incident, but she did not give him any grief over it. Later talking on the balcony, it seemed like Mai was incredibly blunt and other men would have been scared off, but he liked it. He'd never been a friend of all that double-talk in the court and once Mai was done, he'd asked if courting her would be all right.

Mai had obviously not expected that question and blushed, stammering that it was her parent's idea, but he hadn't been fooled at all and the rest was history with a formal engagement contract being set up by the adults only shortly later, with Ursa sighing in relief that Zuko had found interest in a girl who was genuinely interested in him.

Yes, that had been a very good day; one he still fondly remembered.

o

"Well, this looks like it is a waste of time. This temple got torched very thoroughly," Mai commented, while they looked through the ruins. Everything looked like a flamethrower had went through and plants had gown over the ashes afterwards.

Zuko however was bothered by something else. "I see no human remains. At least bones should be left, lots of them, like in the Western Air Temple. Uncle, was it like this when you were here all those years ago?"

Iroh looked around, wondering about it himself, since it looked nothing like the grim picture of a massive graveyard he'd seen during his last visit. "No. There were countless skeletons of airbenders and soldiers and massive sky bison remains when I was here the last time. It looks like someone cleaned up the temple in the meantime."

"It could be that the Avatar has returned here after so long. Even if he's an old man, I won't be careless... Lu Ten drilled into me that looks can be deceiving." Zuko touched his scar when saying the last thing, knowing it to be all too true.

They slowly made their way through the ruins, but apart from wildlife, they did not encounter much.

Finally, they entered a roofless hall where a huge statue of a female airbender sitting in lotus position stood, although the left side of the huge statue had already stated crumbling after being exposed to the elements for almost a century. The walls of the hall were covered in niches with life-sized statues in them. Approaching the huge statue, Iroh read the inscription on the base.

"This is Avatar Yangchen, the Air Nomad Avatar of the previous elemental cycle phase. So this must be the inner sanctum of the temple, displaying the Avatars of days past, although it surely has seen better days," Iroh explained, pointing out how the back wall was crumbling, having already destroyed some of the statues. "I don't remember this from my visit, the entrance must have been blocked by rubble at the time."

Even Mai was impressed by the statues of Avatars past, noticing how they had been set up chronologically. She then noticed Zuko looking at one statue in particular. It seemed to be the most recent one, as the niches to its right were empty and she spotted a life-sized statue of Yangchen three niches to the left. It was the statue of a bearded man in the robes of the Fire Nation. At least this time Mai's school education paid off. Although it was only brief and mostly propaganda, a picture had been included. She knew this was Avatar Roku, the last known Avatar in history, since the Avatar after him was still unknown.

"Zuko? What's so fascinating about a statue of Avatar Roku?" Mai asked him.

Zuko shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "I have no idea... It was as if I'm attracted to it. I have no idea, why, my tutors always talked about how Roku was shortsighted and naive because he didn't share Sozin's dream."

"Whatever you say," Mai waved it off, not in any mood for mystical stuff.

Iroh on the other hand had watched the exchange with great interest. He knew the reason why Zuko felt attracted to the statue of Roku. Roku's bloodline, which he had inherited from his mother, was calling out to him. Zuko might not be the Avatar, but he did have a connection to Roku and Iroh hoped that Zuko would one day be ready to hear the reason why Ursa, a commoner of all people, had been selected for Ozai to be his bride and mother to his children.

Zuko's behavior can't be a coincidence, he thought, while watching Zuko and Mai inspecting the statues.

"The young people today. They know nothing of the past."

"What the...?!" Zuko whirled around at hearing this voice, a fireball ready, while Mai armed herself with some blades, expecting trouble.

They however did not expect to see an old man sitting in lotus position, wondering how they could have missed him. He did look like a strange fellow, his very simple robes giving him the appearance of a beggar monk and his long, white beard gave him an aura of wisdom of authority while contrasting starkly with his dark skin and bald head. The man also didn't seem to be afraid of them at all; even seemed happy to have visitors.

"A long time has passed since the last time pilgrims came to this place. I would not have expected a firebender to be my first visitor," the man said in a friendly manner.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Zuko demanded harshly, wondering if this man could be the Avatar.

The man didn't seem to take offense. "Oh, how impolite of me. I am Pathik, a spiritual seeker searching for enlightenment. The Air Nomads and I were spiritual brothers, we have always shared close ties... Oh yes, I can already feel your question. Neither am I an Air Nomad, nor the Avatar. I have no bending powers at all."

Zuko was taken aback by how insightful the man was. He studied that man for some moments and then felt stupid since the man obviously looked nothing like the Air Nomads shown in books, especially lacking the arrow tattoos that the Avatar should have had as well. He still was suspicious however what the man was doing in this lonely place.

Iroh was less concerned with him, feeling him to be harmless. "If the question is allowed, how long have you lived in here? When I visited during my youth, the temple was a giant tomb. Now it's mostly cleaned up."

"I have taken up residence twenty years ago and have laid the dead to rest. Regardless if Air Nomad or Fire Nation, in death everyone is equal. They are all now resting in the ground of this very temple, finally at peace. Since then I have taken it upon myself to restore this place, although it is hard work." Pathik then seemed to remember something. "But where are my manners? Come, sit with me. I seldom have visitors and I have some drinks to offer."

Zuko and Mai found the whole situation so weird that they didn't offer any protest, while Iroh found the man quite fascinating. They did hesitate for a moment when Pathik offered them something to drink, but their social training kicked in and they accepted, feeling it couldn't be that bad... big mistake. Once the three of them had tasted the strange juice, their eyes suddenly went wide in shock, before they spat it out in sheer disgust.

"That tasted like right out of a latrine! What is this stuff?" Mai demanded in disgust, the horrible taste still burning in her mouth.

Pathik for the first time seemed sheepish. "Oh, it's my special onion-banana juice. It's a very special flavor, but I guess it's not to everyone's tastes?"

"I'd rather drink sewer water," Mai said, making her opinion clear.

"It reminded me of when my sister put castor oil into my chalice," Zuko complained, hoping to forget the taste of the juice.

"I think I'll stay faithful to tea," Iroh said diplomatically, although his face spoke volumes.

"Oh, such a pity..." Pathik then took a closer look at Zuko and Mai, making them uncomfortable with the attention he was giving them. He then finally spoke. "I see you two are strongly attached to each other. Yet, both of you hide your pain either through aggression or through outwardly indifference. However, I also feel that both of you are meant for great things."

"Should I be impressed by that cryptic nonsense?" Mai wondered, feeling more unnerved than she wanted to admit.

Pathik only smiled. "Oh, I understand why you are skeptical, there after all are enough charlatans who have thrown my profession into disrepute, but you'll see in time."

He then turned his attention to Zuko. "I've helped many people over the years. I feel that you and the young maiden are on a voyage not only to become adults but to also find your place in the world. I feel that you will be confronted with many temptations and be challenged to overcome the lies you have told yourselves. When the time is right and you understand, I feel, you will return to me."

Mai and Zuko found this strangely mysterious. Could Pathik really see into the future, or was he just a very observant man who could draw incredible conclusions from just watching people? One thing was sure, this trip at least had not been for nothing, although they had not found anything about the Avatar in the temple.

"People like you are seldom found in these days. It is hard to strive for spiritual enlightenment when the world is in flames around you," Iroh remarked.

Pathik obviously felt flattered. "Well, thank you. Although living alone certainly does have its disadvantages." That said he pulled out a portable Pai Sho board. "I long lost my contact to the people I played Pai Sho with. I think most have actually forgotten about me by now and I would love to play one or two games before you are on your way."

Iroh's eyebrows rose in surprise for a moment, when he saw Pathik placing a white lotus tile on the board prominently. "Ah, I see... Well, it can't hurt. I have no real opponents on our ship and my nephew, despite his many strengths, has never gotten the game."

Zuko and Mai felt like facepalming. Leave it to Iroh to make a strange situation downright absurd. Here they were now, in the ruins of a temple, in the inner sanctum with a man who could easily be over 100 years old, and his uncle had nothing better to do than to play Pai Sho with him. It sometimes made him question if Iroh and his father were actually related, considering their vast differences in personality.

Pathik then gave them a hopeful smile. "While we are playing, can I convince you three to give my onion-banana juice a second chance?"

Zuko, Mai and Iroh shared a look of horror. "No way!" they then said in union.

...Fire Nation capital, a few weeks later...

"Your Majesty! It is a great honor to have you personally inspect the advances we have made." That was how Ozai was greeted as soon as he, Qin and some high-ranking generals entered the huge building.

"Your reports are very interesting. Minister Qin convinced me that you have made very promising progresses you plan to show me," Ozai said, being unusually interested in something.

"Indeed, your majesty. Unlike your late father, who had shown little interest in science and progress and who cut our funding so far that progress had been virtually halted for many years, your more than generous funding has allowed us to make many breakthroughs and develop new technologies. Most of these can be very beneficial for the war effort. Please this way," the leading scientist told him.

Ozai knew exactly why he'd improved funding so much. "The key to superiority, and therefore victory, lies in technological progress. It allowed our nation to be superior to all the others. My late father never understood that."

"The Fire Nation is already in deep debt to you and your foresight, your majesty," Qin praised him. "Ever since you have ascended to the throne, the war is going faster than ever towards final victory."

"Yes, I know..." He then saw that they'd arrived at their first destination. "This looks like a remarkable machine."

The first thing the scientist showed Ozai was an armored war machine on wheels with tank treads. "This is our most recent weapon. After the honored minister Qin here brought use the sketches, we refined the design and created this steam-powered battle tank. Its armor can withstand projectiles and heavy earthbender attacks and allows firebenders to safely shoot flames at infantry, if the enemy is not crushed outright under its treads. It can be modified to carry heavy weapons as well. We are especially proud of the fact that if an earthbender flips it over, the cabin will just rotate and the tank can go on. It houses a grappling hook launcher and with the treads replaced by spiked wheels it can even drive up mountains."

Ozai inspected the tank carefully. It was a weapon right to his liking; big and bringing terror to the hearts of their enemies. "Very impressive. How soon can mass production start?"

"We still have some small issues to iron out, then we just need your orders to the steel mills and factories," the scientist replied. "We also have future plans for it. Currently, our planned addition is a weapon all in itself."

He led Ozai to the next weapon. It looked a bit like a big metal tube on wheels. "Our research in blasting jelly allowed us to discover a powder which is well-suited to propel projectiles at high velocities. We have named it gunpowder and this prototype artillery gun you see here is already capable of firing iron projectiles that can shatter walls and demolish whole buildings."

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Are they capable of bringing down the walls of Ba-Sing-Se?" he asked, seeing an option to victory.

The scientist shook his head. "Sadly, no. Those walls are in a league of their own and their thickness would just cause the projectile to get stuck. However, we are already researching ways to create gunpowder weapons that can be carried by a single soldier, although this is still in the concept phase. The prototype gun however can be brought into service very soon and can also be installed on ships."

"These two weapons alone are very impressive and will clearly bring our nation to victory much faster. You have done very well." Ozai was not lying, he was impressed by the results of the research.

"If you allow, your majesty," Qin said, "there is one discovery that may look small but perhaps could be most important not only for the war effort, but also to boost our economy even further."

"Color me interested. What could this discovery be?" Ozai asked, so he was led to a room where several beakers stood on a table. One of them contained a tar-like liquid. "I'm not impressed. Tar is already well-known to our nation, after all it is strictly controlled for usage in our flaming projectiles."

"You misunderstand, Your Majesty. This is no tar," the scientist said, holding up the beaker. "This liquid was discovered a few years ago when drilling for water on one of the outer islands and has amazing properties. We tested it on an earthbender prisoner and one of our remaining waterbender prisoners. Both were unable to bend it, meaning it is neither earth nor water. Instead, it is organic in origin and its properties could give us a major advantage, militarily and economically."

"As you know, our main fuel source at the moment is coal, which not only has to be heavily mined in the Earth Kingdom to satisfy our war demand, but also can be manipulated by earthbenders. Our lamps are powered by whale oil, which had brought us into conflict with the Water Tribes in the past and is an economic burden on our nation due to the unsteady supply. This liquid, which we have named crude oil, is combustible and changes all of this..."

Ozai had been not interested at first, seeing no use for something that seemingly wouldn't have a military application, but the more he heard the more he became interested. He took a closer look at the black liquid. "Explain further..."

The scientist obviously was thrilled to have captured the Fire Lord's interest. "As you can see from the other beakers here, we were capable of breaking apart the crude oil into various products through a process of refining. Each of these products is also non-bendable and highly combustible. This one here was already tested to be a vastly superior replacement for whale oil in lamps. Another one is well suited for ship engines, although we are still working on adapting the concept of our current steam engines to it. The last two would be well suited for smaller engines, but development has only started on these. Not only would this reduce our dependency on coal but also vastly increase the efficiency and speed."

Qin added "Think of it, Your Majesty. Ships that can travel much fast and over far longer range before needing to refuel. Army vehicles that are fast. And not to speak of direct military applications. Crude oil floats on water and still burns. Waterbenders can't clean it away easily. It can be used to salt the earth easily as well."

Ozai was pleased. "I will increase funding significantly. Where are the main sources?"

"We have already established drilling rigs in the shallow waters of our nation and will build more as soon as the funds are available. We estimate that this can supply us for a very long time. Additionally we have found vast supplies in the Si Wong Desert. The Earth Kingdom has no power there and we are already in negotiations with the local tribes. We give them a small share of the profits, and they ensure the security of our installations."

"Good, good..." Ozai looked to the head scientist. "You have managed to impress me greatly. Continue your work and you will be rewarded with great wealth."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

They left the facility and Ozai ordered his generals to take the other carriage, while he and Qin entered the first for some privacy. It was only during the way back to the palace that Ozai finally spoke. "You have done very well, Minister Qin. Our nation will soon crush all opposition beneath its heel with these advances."

"You honor me, your majesty. Speaking of which, during my visit to our... 'co-worker' at the Northern Air Temple, I had the questionable honor of meeting the banished Prince Zuko. I can see why you wanted him to be removed from your presence," Qin reported, having had no time to relay the incident yet.

Ozai made a small sound of disgust. "My son is weak and his refusal to honor the terms of the duel proved it. My daughter is a far more worthy heir."

"That girl who keeps him company was very impertinent as well. She even questioned the wisdom of your decisions," Qin continued.

"Ah, did she?" Ozai questioned Qin.

Qin knew that meant to go on. "Yes, she also insinuated that history would judge you harshly."

Ozai showed a small sign of displeasure. "Princess Azula brought her to my notice as well. She told me that the girl's parents are deeply disappointed with her and want her to be punished for turning away from the greatness of our nation. Such insubordination can not stay unpunished," Ozai said, looking affronted at the idea of being doubted.

"If I am allowed to ask, how do you plan on punishing the girl, Your Majesty?" Qin asked, curious what the Fire Lord could plan.

Ozai gave him a very knowing look that made Qin shiver a little. "If she wants to stay with my useless son, so be it. She will suffer the final consequence of her decision. After all, suffering is the best teacher."

...some days later, a fire-colony port...

Things had not exactly worked out according to plan for Zuko. He'd planned that they'd take course to the Southern Air Temple next, but news from a nearby freighter had shot that down when telling them that some huge storms were brewing together in the seas south of Whaletail Island, making passage through the rough waters very dangerous.

And while Zuko was a hothead, he knew his old ship was not exactly made to resist a major storm, so after some discussion with Iroh they'd moved north and spent time at the western coasts of the Earth Kingdom, visiting some of the colonies for minor supply runs and giving themselves something else to do.

Right now they were approaching the docks of one of the smaller colonies to stock up on some things they were running low on. Mai had hidden as usual, since she was expecting trouble. By now she seemed to treat it like some sort of game, getting some kind of satisfaction from humiliating the soldiers.

However, Zuko was in for a surprise when looking at the docks.

"Have they actually given up trying to get her back?" Zuko wondered when seeing just a single soldier waiting at the docks where he'd expect at least a dozen.

His surprise was no wonder, after all, the previous two colonies they'd docked at, they'd been boarded by guards in order to find Mai and return her to her parents in the Fire Nation. Of course the soldiers had been met with failure, as Mai was really good at hiding, greatly frustrating the soldiers in the process. Zuko had even felt a sort of perverse pleasure at seeing them turn up with empty hands after hours of fine-combing the entire ship and getting a snarky scroll from Mai in return.

"I would not be so sure about that, a single soldier is a bad sign for Mai," Iroh said, having a suspicion what this could be about.

"Why would it be bad if Mai's parents finally give up forcing her to return?" Zuko asked his uncle, wondering what Iroh was thinking.

Iroh shook his head, sometime Zuko could be horribly naive. "We'll see soon enough. Just heed my warning that you might not like this development."

I should have expected this to happen. I hope Zuko does not react too bad, Iroh silently added.

The soldier came on board as soon as the ship had docked. "Prince Zuko, I was ordered to give you this." He gave Zuko a two scrolls that had the seal of Mai's family on it, although they looked a bit different from each other, then left right away.

"Strange..." Zuko knew better than to open Mai's mail, so he decided to wait if something would happen, but no one came. "Uncle, what could this mean?"

Iroh looked troubled. "I fear it means bad news for Mai. Come, let's wait for her inside. She will soon enough realize that no one is looking for her."

Indeed, sitting by the map table in the command tower, it took less than ten minutes before Mai appeared.

"Have they finally given up trying to get me back?" she asked.

"They didn't tell us anything, just gave me two scrolls for you." Zuko gave her the scrolls.

Mai took one look at the seals and frowned a little. "I do recognize the seals. This one is from my uncle, the warden of the Boiling Rock prison, and this one is from my parents. I can already imagine the one from my parents is far worse, so I'm going to read it first."

Breaking the seal on the first scoll she read it and although to anyone else it seemed that she took whatever it was without emotion and the only movement were her eyes scanning the document, Zuko could see the small change that hinted at disappointment and she also went a tiny bit paler, hinting that it indeed had been a nasty surprise to her.

Finally, Mai was done and looked up. "Well, I have expected this. My mother found out that she's expecting another child. They told me basically that I'm no longer needed and disowned me." Seeing Zuko being about to jump up, she gave him a look that made him back down. "I don't blame the child, even feel sorry for it. Spirits only know what my parents will now pull off after their first try at parenting ended in failure. However, I did not expect what followed."

Now Zuko was really concerned. "What did they do?" he growled, already feeling incredibly angry that Mai's parents had discarded her as if she was broken goods.

"They did use their influence and somehow managed to convince your father to boot me out of the Fire Nation." Zuko looked shocked and Mai knew that this was hurting him. His following look of anger made his thought processes clear. "Yes, I know. They are important, but not that important. You better believe that they approached Azula first and she gave your father the idea."

Zuko looked ready to explode. This time he did jump up and ran outside. His hands gripping the railing... "RRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHGGGGGGHH!" Even Mai was impressed at the huge fireball he was breathing out into the sky, while screaming his frustration out to the world. He then walked back in, still shaking in anger.

"Did you get it all out?" Mai asked, having just raised an eyebrow at this reaction.

"Most of it..." Zuko was still incredibly pissed, but the target of his anger was half a world away. "That little..." Zuko didn't continue, but it was clear who he meant.

She's not worth losing any temper over, Mai thought darkly.

"This is indeed a very sad development. I would have never thought they would do so..." Iroh shook his head in disbelief. "It should have been expected, since they are very vocal supporters of my brother. It was only logical to them to adopt his approach to unwilling offspring." He knew it was hard on Zuko, but it needed to be said.

"They can banish me all they want. Both of you care more for me than they ever did." Mai then looked to the second scroll. "My uncle... He actually does care for who I am. He often got into shouting matches with my parents when he visited, telling them that they were wasting my talents and that I should be allowed to do things that I want to do. It was also thanks to him that I was allowed to learn throwing knives."

Zuko was still unable to answer in his anger, but Iroh did. "I did meet him one time. A very interesting man, who despite his belief that discipline is very important was not parroting every word my brother said. You do seem to dread what he could write."

Mai finally opened the second scroll and read it quickly. "My uncle is really disappointed that I ran away from home, even though he adds that he is not surprised, citing the suffocating atmosphere in that house. His opinion on Zuko is also not the best and he questions if I really want to stay with someone who was disgraced like this. He however thinks that outright banishing me is way over the top. He can't condone my actions but hopes I'll stay safe. He adds that he really tore into my parents for that decision and my aunt Mura joined in. I told you, she never liked the decisions my parents made concerning me."

"You can count yourself lucky that some members of your family truly care for you. Your happiness should always come first," Iroh mused.

Mai then read a bit further. "Zuko, there are also some words directed to you. He basically tells you to treat me well, because if he ever hears different, he'll hunt you down and rip you into pieces after removing a certain body part first."

"Your uncle sounds like a very scary man..." Zuko gulped. He'd never met the man, but that he would openly threaten a prince was proof enough that he was not to be joked with.

"Oh, he might act all tough and is a hard-ass when on duty, but you wouldn't believe that he becomes a huge softie as soon as he's in my presence outside of duty," Mai commented.

Zuko looked skeptical, but decided to drop it. "Even if I do find the Avatar, you'd not be allowed to return... This isn't fair."

"My dear Nephew, life is not fair by nature, we have to make it fair," Iroh told Zuko. "I learned this lesson. It sometimes is the way, that only if we work to change the world we are allowed the happiness we desire."

Zuko knew what this meant. "So I have to fight for her...? So be it!"

"She is worth even the worst struggle. I can see how good you are for each other. You especially, since you have lost your temper only a few times... Hm, I think..." Iroh seemed to be deep in thoughts.

Zuko knew when his uncle was like this, it was futile to try and talk to him, as he'd drifted off into his thoughts. Walking outside with Mai, he looked over the port they're in, until Mai interrupted him. "It seems our families are more alike than I thought at first. They both are horrible," Mai stated as a fact.

"Don't say that. Your uncle and aunt seems to have their priorities set straight and not all of my family are bad. Uncle Iroh is a good man and my mother..." Zuko paused for a moment. "She'd always been so good to me, not even once did she treat me badly. I wonder where she is now..."

Mai did remember Ursa. One thing she had seen very early was, that Zuko's mother was the exact opposite of hers. While her mother was very ambitious, strict, stuck-up and as boring as possible, Ursa was the exact opposite. She'd been very compassionate, relaxed, humble and not interested in political games. Perhaps it was because of coming from humble roots, after all people still wonder why Ozai had married a woman of very minor, almost totally impoverished rural nobility, which was basically indistinguishable from commoners.

Ursa had given her more warmth in days than her own mother had given her in her whole life.

Seeing the look of longing on Zuko, Mai wondered what it would have been, growing up with a mother who actually cared. Putting an arm over Zuko's shoulders, she joined him in just watching their surroundings in silence.

...at the Southern Air Temple...

"Careful, Zuko! If you drop gravel on me, you won't hear the end of it," Mai warned Zuko while they both climbed up the rope to the plateau of the Southern Air Temple.

It was times like these where Zuko actually wished he had an earthbender on his ship, who could have just created them a staircase to the top from the rock. However, since this was not the case and the Fire Nation no longer had any dragons available for flying, it left them with the hard way: climbing up the rope after they'd shot a grappling hook over the edge. Iroh had right away declined to accompany them, stating he was too old for this.

"It could be worse. At least it's no longer raining!" Zuko shot back.

"Don't remind me." Mai was just glad they'd arrived just when the rain had finally stopped.

There wasn't much more conversation until they'd finally cleared the edge and were finally on the plateau from which a way led to the Southern Air Temple. Compared to the previous temple, it seemed to be in far better condition and didn't look like a huge fire had swept through it. The temple itself again was a different architecture compared to the other temples.

The Southern Air Temple looked as if it was fused with the rock of the mountain and its buildings growing out of it at many places, giving the illusion that this was not one big building complex. The whole complex was dominated by the central tower rising above all the other buildings and smaller towers. The greenery surrounding the temple added to the sight.

However, this peaceful image was disturbed by the many human remains that littered the landscape, which even almost a century of rain and storms hadn't managed to remove.

Zuko didn't like this place at all, as it reminded him that the attack on the Air Nomads had been a very bloody affair. Mai didn't show it, but she was quite disturbed by the fields of bones they made their way through. Both teenagers, who'd been raised with stories of the greatness and glory of their nation which were framing the attack as defense against an impending attack from the airbenders, couldn't help but to question if it was really worth it.

Finally arriving at the temple, they were surprised that there were no bones inside. "They must have run outside in panic, where they were cut down like cattle," Mai finally concluded regarding the strange contrast.

The first thing they found was a huge door to the inner sanctuary, which, unsurprisingly, was closed and locked. Zuko took a closer look at the locking mechanism. "Reminds me of those locks the Fire Sages use at their temples."

Mai looked annoyed. "You mean only an airbender can open it?"

Zuko looked annoyed as well. "Yes, the only other way would be to blow it open. But even if we could get explosives up here, I have no wish to bring the entire temple down onto us."

"It's a miracle no fire-happy soldier tried that already," Mai snorted, admitting that the door being untouched was a surprise.

The further search gave them surprising results. Unlike the other temples, the western one burned out, the northern one being re-settled and the eastern one being a total ruin, this one looked as if time had stopped inside. The rooms inside the temple were still in their original condition, all items still where the inhabitants had left them, even though time seemed to have started to eat at the substance. It was downright eerie and unreal.

"Agni... This is disturbing. Like one day everyone vanished, leaving everything as it was," Zuko said, unnerved by all of this.

"I thought the army would have plundered the temple after their attack," Mai thought.

"Uncle Iroh told me they did so with the western temple. Well... The only way up here was either by dragon or the hard way that we took. I guess they didn't want to bother due to how complicated it would have been," Zuko tried to reason.

It did make sense to Mai. "Funny how bothersome logistics preserved it all for us," she snorted.

The big library of the temple had not been touched, either, but they wouldn't have known where to even start to look anyway, the full shelves being completely overwhelming to them. Finally, looking for the room of the head monk, in order to get some system into their search, brought results when they uncovered an entry in his journal.

Zuko looked at the book. "Mai, listen to this: 'Monk Gyatso is acting foolish in regards to the Avatar. He still insists that Aang is to grow up with personal freedoms and not under a strict training regime, as it was decided. Doesn't he understand that the growing tension with the Fire Nation means we need the Avatar sooner? He even scolded us for telling his charge before his 16th birthday...'." Zuko looked up. "This is actually a really good lead, I wonder why my ancestors ignored it."

Mai waved it off. "Just remember what kind of men they were. They probably took one look at the location of the temple and decided not to bother - especially after they had butchered the dragons that could have taken them up here."

Zuko knew this was as much of an answer as he could expect. "Let's see if we can find that Gyatso's room..."

It took some searching, but thankfully all the rooms had name plaques beside the doors, making things far easier. Logically, this Gyatso must have been rather prominent and therefore most likely had lived in the inner circles, near where the head monk had lived. The room looked relatively spartan, but his desk attracted their attention. One book laid open on the desk, while two scrolls laid beside it.

Mai took a closer look at the book after blowing the dust off it. "It is from monk Gyatso. Let's see..." Mai picked it up and started from the beginning. "It actually starts when he was told about his charge being the Avatar at an early age. It's the first entry..." She then skipped through the pages. "It seems to be mainly about his student alone, as there's only little about himself in it... The last entries however are interesting."

"Why, what is written in there?" Zuko asked.

"It seems the council decided to tell the Avatar early about his heritage. Gyatso writes this did have bad effects on Avatar Aang's psyche and that the other boys avoided him as well. When the council decided to send the Avatar to the Eastern Air Temple for strict training and away from his mentor, he ran away with his flying bison. In his last entry, Gyatso expresses his hope that they can recover Aang unharmed." Mai closed the book. "I guess this means we won't find him here after all."

Zuko picked up the first scroll and read it. "Ah yes, the Avatar pretty much says why he left here. He felt crushed by the pressure, very alone and the prospect of being separated from his mentor made it too much."

Zuko was feeling strangely reminded of himself when reading this. He himself had also felt very alone in the world due to his position, the very high expectations had weighted heavy on him and he'd felt very alone after his mother had left his life. In a way he did understand the Avatar, even though he'd never met him.

He then took the other letter and removed the item that sealed it, putting it into his pocket, before he read it. "This one is addressed to the Avatar. Gyatso has written it at the start of the attack. Listen."

Aang, I hope you will be able to read this. If you find this scroll it means I am no more. I write this in great haste, as the Fire Nation is attacking the temple on their dragons. The world is facing dark times. I never wanted them to separate us and I planned to fight for you... Aang, I put my faith into you that you make the right decisions. The world needs the Avatar, but the Avatar needs to be human, not a single-minded tool...

I hear them coming, I need to go. They however won't get me without a fight. Aang, live long and bring peace to the world.

Your loving mentor, Gyatso

"Well, he obviously didn't return. So it's another dead end," Mai commented. "Makes you wonder why no one else didn't find these before we did. We can't just chalk it up to laziness."

Zuko wondered about that himself. "Maybe Uncle does know."

"So we got little out of this trip, other than knowing the Avatar with a child who ran away... Zuko, why are you putting those things into your bag?"

"I want to read through them more thoroughly. It's my only source to learn more about the Avatar. Also, maybe Uncle Iroh has a use for them. He's good at those things," Zuko said, while closing up his bag.

Walking outside, they were surprised when suddenly numerous small, white animals noticed them and ran away. Mai looked after them in disgust. "What in all names was that? White rats?"

"To be honest, I don't even want to know, I just want to get out of here," Zuko replied, while they made their way back to the rope.

o

"The temple was empty. And to be honest, I don't want to ever go there again. I don't like that place," Zuko told his uncle as soon as they had returned to the ship.

"So you found nothing at all?" Iroh asked, while playing some Pai Sho with a few members of the crew, although he seemed to take notice that Zuko didn't like being around so much death.

He's so unlike his father, who would have found the sight amusing, Iroh thought.

"Not exactly nothing." Zuko showed him the things he'd found in Gyatso's room. "I now know what actually happened, but without knowing where the Avatar ran off to, it leads everywhere, meaning to nowhere at all..."

Mai and Iroh could already see a depression forming. While Zuko had become better, he was still prone to become depressed or angry. The prospect of having searched through the temples without getting anything more concrete was pulling him down. Iroh knew he'd have to give Zuko a small ray of hope in order to make him go on.

"Prince Zuko, I would not exactly said you accomplished nothing. Unlike your predecessors who treated the Avatar as a mere target instead of a real human being, you managed to find more clues than they did in almost a century," Iroh said, getting up from his game of Pai Sho. "Having these documents at our disposal, we have the first real clues about his whereabouts since the days of Sozin."

"You mean I'm the first who actually got this far?" Zuko all of a sudden felt a lot better.

Iroh gave him a small smile. "You are still at the start of your search, but you already have better chances to at least find out what happened to the Avatar, than anyone else before you did."

"Speaking of that... Everything looked untouched. Considering how much they tried to find the Avatar, really sloppy of them to not search the temple after the attack," Mai snorted, making no secret that the previous Fire Lords had not done a good job.

"You have just discovered that even the smartest people can have their blind spots," Iroh agreed with slight amusement. "My brother, father and grandfather really did not consider what should be obvious."

Zuko then had a thought. "What if after he fled, he lived out his life never learning the other elements and died of old age? Or died earlier due to circumstances? Wouldn't that mean he would've been reborn into the Water Tribes? As far as I understand the whole thing."

Iroh knew where this would lead to. "Your grandfather Azulon had had the same thought. Why do you think he ordered all waterbenders to be captured? The Southern Water Tribe is crippled now, but we would be hard pressed, if the Avatar was reborn to the Northern Water Tribe. You know the war against them is still ongoing and they have retreated into their territories."

"I doubt the Avatar is there," Mai said, while putting her attention to the Pai Sho table. "They would've used him as a weapon long ago otherwise and we would know."

Lt. Jee approached them right then. "Regardless what your plans are, we right now have a more pressing problem at our hands. Our coal supply is seriously depleted and we only have coal for ten days left."

"Damn it," Zuko cursed. It times like these where he got reminded of his status. "Where can we re-supply?"

Jee walked to the map table and showed a marking at the south-western coast of the Earth Kingdom. "Since we would be unwelcome on Whaletail Island, as the Southern Raiders dislike anyone meddling into their affairs, our best bet is this supply depot a little north of Kyoshi Island. We should manage to go there in a few days."

Iroh also gave Zuko a knowing look. "Also remember that the Avatar had been a child when he left. He could have never survived the cold of the South Pole. Our best bet would be to look for further clues in the Earth Kingdom."

Zuko then had made his decision. "Lt. Jee, set course for the depot."

"Right away, Prince Zuko."

"Your men respect you," Iroh observed. "At the start of the journey they had been very unhappy with how you treated them in your anger, but you have become a lot better since then and it gave your the respect of the crew."

Zuko didn't know what to say, and then felt something in his pocket. "What...? Oh." Taking it out he saw it was the item hat had sealed the letter and he recognized what it was. "Uncle Iroh, here. I think you have more of a use for it."

"Where did you find a White Lotus tile?" Iroh wondered, looking at the weathered Pai Sho tile.

"The letter to the Avatar was sealed with it. Don't ask me, why." That said, Zuko returned his attention to other things at hand.

Iroh took a closer look at the tile and then smiled. This perhaps is the most important discovery of them all...

...Fire Nation supply depot, several days later...

The supply depot was nothing to write home about. Essentially just the docks, a few buildings, huge coal storage towers and the loading cranes. The rest of the surrounding landscape outside of the walls was just wilderness. That however was not what had captured Zuko's eye. It was the huge cruiser, which easily dwarfed his ship, that was docked there. He put little attention to the crew preparing to open the coal chutes and instead groaned when seeing the name of the ship.

"Oh, wonderful..." Zuko groaned.

Mai raised an eyebrow at his stranger behavior and Iroh explained. "This is Captain Zhao's personal ship."

"Ah." That was explanation enough for her.

Zhao was one of the most unpleasant men she'd ever met, as the last time she'd seen him during the Agni Kai had proven. It seemed that few actually liked him. Zuko was very open with his dislike while Iroh usually hid it behind politeness. To think of it, everyone seemed to dislike Zhao except for the Fire Lord, who for some reason favored him.

Zuko ground his teeth together. "Let's get this over with as quick as possible and then leave. I have no wish to meet him in person."

"If that isn't Prince Zuko."

Zuko cursed silently about his bad luck when Zhao right then came aboard, spotting them at once on the deck. The man looked as smug as ever and seemed to enjoy being in a position of strength against the disgraced prince.

"Captain Zhao," Iroh said as polite as possible, although it was clear he disliked the man.

"And General Iroh, great hero of our nation." The way he said this, it was clear he saw him as actually weak for abandoning the siege. "And who do we have here? If this isn't the girl who is swooning over the young prince. I did hear the news."

Mai didn't change her dull expression, but deep inside the insult had stung. It was one thing that she got banished, but it was something different if she was made fun of because of it. "You are certainly not here just to insult me."

"Oh, I wouldn't even think about it." Zhao's innocent act also needed work, as it was painfully clear he didn't mean it in the slightest. "I actually wanted to use the opportunity before I have to leave for my new base to invite the three of you to dine with me and my crew."

"Do you really think we...!" Zuko started, his temper getting the better of him, but Iroh held him back.

"Oh, we would be delighted to accept," Iroh said diplomatically.

"Good, I'll see you in two hours." That said, Zhao left.

Zuko waited until Zhao was gone, before he looked angry at his uncle. "Uncle, why did you do this?" he growled, right now not happy with Iroh.

"To deny Captain Zhao's invitation would have caused you problems. He is very smart and lays out his traps carefully. Better be careful during the lunch. I'm sure he has more planned against you," Iroh cautioned Zuko.

Zuko looked especially unhappy, then felt Mai's hand on his shoulder. She didn't look thrilled, either, but seemed to take it better. "Just get over with it. He can't do anything worse than your father did."

Zuko knew she was right, while he touched his scar. Zhao couldn't be worse than his own father.

The lunch on Zhao's ship took place an hour later.

It was pretty clear that the lunch invitation was mostly to show Zuko how much he'd lost. The mess hall of Zhao's ship was huge compared to the one on Zuko's ship and the crew was easily numbering over 500 men. At least his cooks were much worse compared to the cook on Zuko's ship, a small consolation while he, Iroh and Mai sat at the head table of the officers that overlooked the mess hall.

So far, everything had been civil and lunch was done without any problems and drinks (non-alcoholic due to discipline) were given out. The three of them however had a bad feeling. If Zhao had held back until now, it meant he was waiting for the right moment to do whatever he intended to do.

As if on cue, Zhao decided to strike and called for attention. The hall went silent, all eyes directed to him.

"I wanted to thank the great General Iroh and young Prince Zuko for dining with us together with their adorable female companion. As you all know, the Fire Lord has banished his son, the prince, renounced his ties to him and will not let him return to the Fire Nation unless he finds the Avatar. The Fire Lord believes his son is too soft, and believes by doing this, he will become strong."

That... Zuko, despite expecting it, was hit hard by the humiliation.

Zhao meanwhile continued. "I commend the Fire Lord's discipline. For example, it seems I need to remind Prince Zuko that, despite wearing the uniform of the army of the Fire Nation, he does not have the strength nor the heart of a soldier. It is like a child wearing a costume."

So, this is what he'd been planning, Mai thought darkly, while watching Zuko getting more wound up by the second.

Zuko himself had been prepared for much, but not that Zhao but humiliated him in such manner publicly. He already saw the mocking looks of the soldiers. They didn't see a prince, they saw a disgrace they barely tolerated in their midst. Others openly mocked him with not so many words. If Zhao intended to exclude him even further than already, he'd reached his goal.

Zuko was about to jump up and attack Zhao, when he felt Mai's hand on his own. She shook her head then looked to the guards standing beside the table. Only then did Zuko understand. Zhao wanted him to lose his temper and attempt to attack him outside of a duel. Thus he would have a reason to arrest him.

Zuko stood up slowly and looked at Zhao, still very pissed at him. "One day, my father will take me back and you will bow before me." He then left in a huff.

Zhao looked after him, a little disappointed, then laughed before giving Mai an interesting look. "Well, it shows he's not ready to lead our nation ever. His taste in female companions also is lacking."

Mai at first didn't say anything, just took her chalice and then threw her drink into Zhao's face. "You think you are powerful. I'll say only this: Zuko is a hundred times more of a man than you are."

Mai then left and the guards looked helplessly between her and Zhao, as this wasn't exactly an attack, just a woman showing her displeasure. The crew had watched the whole scene in stunned silence, not believing that a prepubescent girl had just thrown her drink into their captain's face and called him less of a man, before leaving just like that.

Iroh felt this was the best time to take his leave. "The lunch was tasty, if not exactly up to the standards of our cook," he excused himself, unable to hold back this little arrow.

Zhao finally shook himself out of his surprise and his crew knew right away to keep away from him when seeing the pulsing veins on his forehead.

Iroh meanwhile had returned to their ship and found Zuko and Mai standing at the bow of the ship, Mai being busy with calming Zuko down in her own way. It seemed to work as well, as Zuko started to hold her close. It was then when Iroh noticed Lt. Jee approaching him and looking with interest at the display in front of them.

"It is really beautiful to see such young love blossom slowly, doesn't it?" Iroh asked, feeling young when seeing this.

"Perhaps, but I'm also grateful for the young lady joining us. After the first week we all feared that we would have to suffer under Prince Zuko's moods and anger for years to come. Her presence actually managed to make him reasonable," Jee observed.

Iroh stroked his goatee in thought. "Indeed. Her mere presence helps calming down my dear nephew. Without her to help him, Zuko would have gone to a dark place."

Jee didn't even want to imagine a constantly angry Zuko who lashed out at those surrounding him. "We can all be glad that didn't happen."

"Considering everything, I think he'll soon be ready to re-learn firebending, this time without the constant comparisons to his sister, which have crippled so much of his potential and without anger, now that there is something else for him," Iroh thought aloud.

"I wondered about that. I've seen him using his firebending on occasion, but no actual training. I thought he simply didn't feel the need anymore," Jee said, remembering Zuko training with weapons, but not his bending.

"Oh no... he gave up on it, feeling that it was hopeless after the fateful Agni Kai. I know he would have started again on his own in due time, but approaching him looks to be the better option. Though, the right moment for it has to come first," Iroh concluded.

They then left to leave the couple in peace.

...some weeks later, western coast of the Earth Kingdom...

"Good thing we've landed in this bay, since that has been a very strong storm and our ship wouldn't have survived it out on the open sea," Lt. Jee said, while watching some of the crew making repairs to the small damage done to the ship in the rough weather while make some marks on a scroll. "Thanks again for spotting it this early, General Iroh."

"Oh, it was all a matter of experience, which my nephew right now is still lacking due to his youth," Iroh waved it off. "I trust that the crew is in good health?"

"Oh yes... with exception of Lady Mai. It seems she is a bit sensitive to too much ship movement and is still suffering from it." Jee looked to his left, where Mai was being busy with sacrificing to the sea, pointing to her with a rolled-up scroll. "She is a very tough girl, but her stomach is almost comically weak."

-whiiiiz- -tack- A throwing knife shot the scroll out of his hand and pinned it against the command tower (as impossible as it seemed, considering it was made of metal). Jee looked to Mai, who was busy with wiping her mouth and giving him a dark look.

"It is enough that I get sick. No need to make fun of me as well." Mai then looked around. "Where's Zuko?"

"Oh, he said he needed to get his mind to other things and is taking a walk through the woods. He should be back soon," Iroh said, pointing to the forest that began a little distance off the coast.

Indeed, Zuko was trying to think while walking through the forest.

I've studied the journal of monk Gyatso from start to end... The way he describes the Avatar, he was just a regular child, not an almighty warrior ready to strike down the Fire Nation, he thought, trying to get his information into order.

Indeed, over the weeks he had carefully studied the journal, showing an unusual patience which had actually impressed Mai. He had actually written down a lot of facts about Avatar Aang and now could honestly say that he perhaps was the one person alive who knew him best. Of course, those studies had come at a cost.

Gyatso had no idea where his student has run off to. The South Pole is out, no kid, not even the Avatar, can survive out there on his own for long. That leaves the Earth Kingdom... the huge Earth Kingdom. Zuko knew it would be like searching a needle in a haystack, if the Avatar was even alive by now.

The sages could be wrong that they would know if the Avatar was reborn. They claim they'd know right when it happens, but what if they are wrong? Zuko felt as if he only now understood the whole magnitude of the problem.

Even though he still was determined to find the Avatar win back his honor and make up for his mistake that had caused his father to punish him, doubts were starting to creep in - the cost of learning so much about the Avatar.

While it was thanks to the monk's journal that Zuko knew so much about Avatar Aang, he felt weird about it. Before reading it, finding the Avatar had been an abstract task he just expected to do. However, the Avatar now having a name and learning about his life had made Zuko realize he was hunting an actual person. That in turn made him realize that once he had found Aang, if he was still alive, he then would hand him over to his father.

Zuko honestly wondered why the idea made him a bit uneasy now.

Mai made no secret that she thought that even if he managed to capture the Avatar, his father very well could just say 'thanks for the delivery' and then find another reason to not let him return home. Everyone else would have gotten a sharp reply, but Mai, who was blunt and never censored the truth, was someone had could hardly write off as being biased.

As ridiculous as the idea of my father going back on his word is, I can't help but to worry... he thought, doubt having crept in.

There also was his uncle. Iroh tried not to voice an opinion on the matter. However, he instead told him that someone should be judged by their actions, not by their words. That was hint enough that he should look at his father's actions instead of clinging at his words. That was strange advice, and yet his mind had betrayed him once more.

It had caused him to start to think about things and he found it very unsettling to say the least. Thinking after all conjured faint doubts eating at things he had seen as unmovable truths. Zuko hated those traitorous doubts, but he couldn't banish them. The conflict he was feeling was quite unsettling and he wondered why he felt that way and why those stupid thoughts wouldn't go away.

Shaking his head, he decided to return to the ship. All this brooding wasn't getting him anywhere.

Zuko however didn't watch out while thinking and suddenly. "Ahhh!" He'd missed a steep slope and suddenly was tumbling down, only to come at a sudden stop when his left leg slammed into a tree and a sharp pain shot through him.

He didn't dare to move, the pain in his leg being answer enough. "Oh great... a broken leg is the last thing I needed."

"Are you all right? You took a nasty fall."

Zuko froze when hearing this voice. He felt that this was impossible, that his mind was just playing a trick on him. After all, too much longing could have strange effects he'd once heard. He slowly moved his head to face the source of the voice.

"Zuko?"

Zuko was frozen in disbelief. It felt like a strange dream. There was a woman standing there in the Earth Kingdom clothes of the common folk, holding a basket with herbs in it. She looked a bit older than he remembered her, some lines having appeared in her face, yet she'd lost nothing of her beauty. Right now she looked at him in shock, as if seeing a ghost.

"Mother?"

Then the stress became too much for him and part of him was glad that Azula was far away. She would have never let him live down the fact that he fainted right then.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Ursa's Tale "

Chapter Text

"Nephew, where are you?" Iroh called, while he and Mai searched for the missing Zuko.

Zuko had promised to only be away for a short time, but after two hours with no sign of him, they'd felt that something was amiss and they'd set out to find him. They didn't expect trouble, so they had left the crew on the ship. However, Zuko was nowhere to be found, forcing them to search deeper in the forest to find any trace of him.

"Either something happened, or he actually managed to get lost in the woods," Mai thought aloud. "And honestly, he's too old to get lost. Should he have manged to do that, I won't let him hear the end of it..."

Iroh couldn't help but to think that as annoyed as Mai acted, it was her way to express how worried she actually was. Mai didn't like great displays of emotion, so she expressed herself different from others. Due to his long life, Iroh knew that the girl did care a lot for his nephew. His thoughts were interrupted when he found something.

"Here, take a look at this," Iroh said, holding up a scrap of cloth. "This looks like it got ripped off by a branch."

Mai took a closer look at it. "Yes, that's from Zuko's pants." She took a look around and spotted something. "There. It looks like someone got dragged away, and I bet these trails were made by the heels of Zuko's boots."

They carefully followed the trails, which led them a little deeper into the woods before it opened up to a bigger clearing. A small wooden house, looking like the home of someone living in poverty, stood there, with smoke coming out of the chimney. The only remarkable thing about the house was the small herb garden beside it.

All of it looked harmless enough and both of them were confident that whoever lived there wouldn't be too big of a problem if things turned nasty. Still, no need to become careless.

Not wanting to tempt fate however, as this usually led to unfortunate consequences, Iroh knocked on the door while Mai stayed a bit away in case of trouble. As much as Mai wanted to be taken serious, she knew she still was a young teenage girl and the wrong company could be devastating for her. Iroh was an experienced soldier and could burn off a possible hostile's face.

However, things went very different than expected.

The door opened and Iroh saw the person in it, freezing in surprise as much as in shock. "How...?"

Seeing that he had not gotten run through by a sword, Mai decided it was safe to see what had stunned the man, who otherwise was surprised by very little.

At first it looked unremarkable. It was just a middle-aged woman wearing the clothes of an Earth Kingdom peasant - nothing extraordinary. However, taking a closer look, Mai realized that she actually recognized the woman from her past, as impossible as that was. After all, she had simply vanished one day and no one had ever heard of her again.

It was Lady Ursa, Zuko's and Azula's mother.

"I know seeing me again in this unlikely place must be shocking," the woman told them, while studying how Mai had changed since she'd last seen her. "You have grown a lot since the last time I've seen you."

Not wanting to follow Iroh's example of becoming a stuttering idiot, she controlled herself. "I'm sure there's a good explanation for this. Really can't wait to hear it."

The woman chuckled gently. "I know you always were a very direct child and you have not changed in that regard. Please come in."

Hearing her say that finally shook Iroh out of it, barely stopping himself from hugging her in relief. "Ursa? Why are you here? How are you here? You'd been gone by the time I'd returned and no one knew what happened or even wanted to talk about it."

"Trust me, it is a very long and complicated story which I only want to tell once. Zuko has to hear it as well." Ursa saw their reaction. "He's taken a bad fall and broke his leg. And then seeing me obviously was too much for him. I've given him something against the pain, but he should wake up pretty soon."

Being led inside, Iroh and Mai saw that the inside of the hut was almost as poor as the outside, making it painfully clear that Ursa was living in very primitive conditions. However, this was offset by the hanging herbs, the bottles full of liquids and the cauldron on the fire, which was spreading a sweet smell. It gave the entire hut a somewhat mystical and calming atmosphere. It looked like the house of a herbs woman.

Mai's eyes however were drawn to a bed on which Zuko was resting, one of his legs put into a splint.

"Thank all goodness it was a clean break, otherwise setting it would have been a nightmare. I broke my arm as a child and it had to be set," Ursa explained, before looking at his scar. "As much as I don't want to believe it, I have a good guess who did this to him. How did it happen?"

Iroh knew it was his call. "Much has changed since you left. My brother has pretty much cast Zuko aside to solely concentrate on grooming Azula as his heir. Since you do remember her change in personality even during the years you were present... Ursa, as much as it pains me to say it, Azula is under the control of my brother and would do anything to please him."

Ursa looked saddened. "She'd already been pulled into a dark place by Ozai before I left. With me gone I don't even want to imagine what he did with my girl..."

"Thankfully, Zuko did take the morals you taught him to heart. He refused to break or give up, despite everything pitted against him. Some months ago, Zuko spoke out against a senseless sacrifice of recruits in the war room. Zuko thought he'd have to fight the general whom he'd insulted as a result, but it was my own brother instead." Iroh stopped when seeing Ursa look down in sorrow. "He refused to fight; knew it was senseless. Ozai however..."

Ursa knew what this meant. "He punished him."

Iroh knew this was a difficult topic for her. "Afterwards, he declared that Zuko has shown shameful weakness and banished him, until he could capture the Avatar, which means Zuko will never return home."

Ursa looked very depressed and she had to sit down on the chair beside the bed. "I knew what he told me, but I never thought he'd take it this far... I'll tell you what this is about soon enough, promised." Ursa then looked up. "Seeing you here, Iroh, is not that big a surprise. You've always been close to Zuko and given him the love his own father has denied him. Mai however... I know your parents, they would have never let you go with my son."

"They didn't," Mai declared, even seeming a little proud of it.

Ursa sighed. "Oh, child. I can imagine what you did and that it surely had dire consequences. We can save the whole story until we have the time for you to tell me everything that I've missed. Can you watch Zuko for a moment, please?"

Mai didn't ask any questions and sat down beside Zuko while Ursa and Iroh walked out of the door. She was sure, it was something both adults didn't want he to hear.

Once outside and at a small distance from the house, Iroh sighed.

"Ursa, as happy as I am see see you alive and well, and I have many questions about that, I have a good idea that you want to reveal things to Zuko that will shake his belief in his father, don't you?" he asked her, knowing the answer already.

"I will not lie to my son. I've lived with many lies for years. No... no more lies," Ursa said, making her decision final.

"I never asked you to lie. I worry what effects those truths will have on Zuko," Iroh said thoughtfully. "He has made progress, but there are certain facts which he is not ready to hear. He is not yet in a place where he can judge such things objectively."

Ursa knew what Iroh was playing at. "You mean my ancestry?"

"I know you want to tell him your story, but revealing who your ancestor is would only cause damage. Zuko is not ready to hear it. He would not understand it and will already be upset once he hears your personal story," Iroh explained to Ursa.

For a moment Ursa said nothing, then she sighed. "All right. Still, Zuko will hear a lot of things that will shake him badly. I know how much he craved his father's attention and approval. Learning how he did it all for nothing... My revelations will be hurtful for you too, Iroh."

"For me? How?" That had surprised Iroh.

"You will see soon enough..." Clearly, Ursa didn't look forward to it, knowing how many hurtful things would be revealed today.

They then walked back inside to wait for Zuko to wake up. Inside, they saw that on the bed, Zuko was indeed working hard on waking up.

He felt it must have been a bad dream - how else could he explain his mother turning up out of nowhere? A dull feeling in his left leg however reminded him of what had had happened for real. While he cursed himself for being so careless that he'd broken his leg, Zuko had other priorities. He clearly was lying on a bed and not the forest floor, meaning that his crew had found him and brought him back to the ship. His mother probably had been the result of him hitting his head.

He opened his eyes, and stopped.

He'd expected Mai waiting for him to wake up so that she could scold him for injuring himself, but he had not expected that maybe it had not been a hallucination after all. He sincerely doubted that he would hallucinate his mother looking down on him with a caring look, before wiping the sweat from his forehead. She didn't say anything, but he noticed her taking a look at his scar and becoming sad. He had never liked his mother looking sad, which however had happened far too often in the past.

"How?" Zuko finally wondered aloud. He was confused enough that he hadn't processed it yet.

"I will explain it all. Promised." She then noticed him poking her with a finger. "I assure you, I'm quite real."

"I... you..." It was difficult for Zuko to find the right words. He had not expected to ever see her again, thus he was at a loss how to react.

"Please... you don't have to hold back," she encouraged him.

Struggling with sitting up, Zuko hesitated for a moment, but then hugged Ursa, holding her close. Right now he didn't care that it didn't look very masculine or that people would have made fun of a teenager hugging his mother. Right now he just wanted to be sure that she was there and wouldn't vanish. He wouldn't cry, but how he was shivering while holding his mother as close as possible was answer enough over how he was feeling.

While watching the re-union from a respectful distance, Iroh noticed Mai rolling her eyes. However, he could see that her heart wasn't into it and deep down she obviously found the whole thing heartwarming as well. He understood she had difficulties expressing her emotions and simply acting indifferent was her way to hide it. Perhaps having a much better parental figure in her life could ease her up a little. After her parents, things could only become better.

It took quite some time, before everyone was ready to hear Ursa's story.

Zuko still looked at her in wonder, although he now was sure she would not just vanish all of a sudden. Nonetheless, he was sitting beside her as close as he felt she was comfortable with, much to Mai's annoyance. The girl had a feeling that she would have to get used to the idea that Zuko from now on would have another person he could confide in. Mai was trying very hard not to get jealous of Zuko's mother - after all Ursa was a very kind woman and didn't deserve such petty feelings held against her.

"All of you wonder how I ended up here. It's a rather long story," Ursa said, wondering where to start.

"It's not like we have an urgent appointment," Mai remarked.

"As I said... it's a long story. I think I better start at the very beginning for you to understand," Ursa finally began.

"It actually reaches back far into my life, long before Zuko came along. For the first 20 years of my life I lived a simple life in the small town of Hira'a, a completely irrelevant town like so many in the Fire Nation. My father was the local magistrate, although that didn't exactly mean much and we were pretty much the same as commoners - more well off than others, but still commoners. My life was pretty uneventful. I helped my mother in the greenhouse, thought about marrying my boyfriend Ikem and then prepared for playing the female lead in Love amongst the Dragons in the local theater."

She noticed Zuko's reaction at the mention of the play. "I think it should tell you why I hold a fondness for that play."

Zuko grimaced. "Yes, except those horrible Ember Island Players ruined it each year. I normally never agree with Azula, but her comment that it was like listening to nails scratching over a washboard was very accurate."

Ursa sighed. "I really wish I had found someone better to show it to you, as it is a really beautiful play... normally. Well, Ikem did propose to me and I felt ready to marry him

"Wait... If you were set to marry that man, how come you ended up with Ozai of all people?" Mai had noticed that something fishy was going on.

"You noticed it. It was day when my life was changed forever. When I went home, I learned that my father was entertaining guests and my mother was in tears. I didn't understand back then why she was so sad. I learned very soon however, why. It were Fire Lord Azulon and Prince Ozai. They told me that the Fire Sages told them a marriage between the son of the Fire Lord and someone of my lineage would bring great things."

"What's so special about your lineage? My parents always complained why Ozai had married so below the usual standards," Mai wondered, remembering it all too clear.

Ursa held Zuko's hand to prepare him for a small shock. "My mother's father, my grandfather, was a very powerful firebender and they hoped to secure that power for themselves."

There, she had left the name of her grandfather out of it. She had not lied, since her grandfather indeed had been one of the greatest firebenders who ever lived.

Zuko had a very bad feeling about all of this, but also wondered about something. "But... if you are descended from someone so powerful, why didn't you ever show any signs of firebending? For all I remember, you are a non-bender."

Ursa gave off a humorless laugh. "You can thank my overprotective parents. I've loved them dearly, but when I accidentally set my bed on fire at age four, they freaked and got me teachers who only taught me how to force down my bending. I understand why they were afraid I would hurt myself, but after all those years of doing it, the best I can now manage is lighting a candle and starting the fire for cooking."

To prove her point, a small flame appeared in her palm, which every firebender would consider a pitiful show of bending. "That's the extent of what I can do. Azulon and Ozai told me right away to not even do that, as it would be too embarrassing to have me revealed as a crippled bender."

Suddenly the fire under the cauldron flared up. "Oh, that is...!" Zuko growled.

"Zuko, control yourself," Mai scolded Zuko, with the effect that the fire returned to normal.

Ursa tsked. "It seems your temper still is a problem." It had the intended effect of Zuko looking a bit ashamed that he'd lost his temper in his mother's presence.

"Let's move on... I could hardly say no, so I had to say goodbye to Ikem and lost all connections to my parents. My life became controlled by others and lonely. I was barred from many things that would have brought some lightness or fun into my life. They probably didn't trust me because I wasn't part of the nobility. I tried to have it work with Ozai, but he... He made it clear right from the start he only saw me as a means to get strong offspring and felt nothing for me."

The way Ursa framed it made the whole thing highly depressing. Zuko for his part had long suspected something had been wrong between his parents, but to learn that underneath the outer coating things had been that bad? Suddenly many things he had seen during childhood appeared in a new context and it made him very uneasy.

"The years went by and I never again got into contact with my parents or Ikem, regardless how many letters I wrote. When you were six years old, Zuko, I decided to finally get proof of the letter theft. I wrote a fake letter to Ikem in which I claimed that you are his son. Of course it was a ridiculous claim, since the timeline did not fit at all. Sadly, I got my answer soon enough..."

"I dont like where this is going..." Zuko did remember his father growing much colder towards him at that age and knew it had to be related to the incident his mother was talking about.

Ursa sighed, knowing what came next would hurt Zuko. "Ozai stormed in, letter in hand. I then knew he had someone intercept them. Things turned ugly fast, and we argued loudly. He then gave me a nasty look and declared that since I pretended Zuko to be the child from another man, he'd treat you exactly that way."

Zuko was shocked at that revelation. "You mean... all those years...?"

"I'm sorry, but he never even gave you a chance. He used you to hurt me by proxy." Ursa knew that had to be a very painful revelation to Zuko.

Iroh clearly hadn't expected it, either. "I know a lot about my brother and what he is capable of, but I never expected him to sink that low."

Ursa looked furious with herself. "I still curse myself for being that careless, yet I shudder to think what would have happened if Ozai had actually taken an interest in Zuko. Just look at Azula to see what could have happened."

Everyone felt sick at the idea of Zuko acting like Azula.

"And yet, Ozai got what he wanted. I had to constantly watch over Zuko from that point on." She gave her son a sad look. "You don't know it, but I had to work hard to ensure nothing happens to you. There were a number of 'incidents' where without me, you would have come to harm."

My life was in danger and I was oblivious of it, Zuko realized, feeling cold at the idea.

"Me being so busy to protect Zuko, I had to neglect Azula. She felt abandoned by me and that drove her into Ozai's arms, exactly as he had wanted. I was disturbed by how she was changing but could do little, the bond between us weakened. I even heard that Azula felt that I was thinking of her as a monster." Ursa looked pained, the hurt over how the bond between mother and daughter had been cut still feeling fresh.

"I had no idea about that..." To Mai, Azula had always been that way ever since first meeting her. Learning the reason for her behavior was a reminder that no one was born evil and Azula had been made to be that way.

It was the realization that Azula got hurt as well, only in a different way.

"I spare you the following years, as you all know what happened. Things however came to a head on the fateful day, which at its end would see Azulon's death." Ursa looked to Iroh, and he was startled to see that she looked haunted. "You never knew what really happened that day, Iroh. What I'm about to tell you about your father and brother will be harsh to you."

"I already know they are..." He stopped when seeing the look Ursa gave him. "That bad?"

"Oh yes. Zuko, you never knew, but on that night I was about to check on you when I heard Azula in your bedroom." She saw Zuko's look of understanding. "I questioned Azula right after she left your room to demand an explanation about what she'd listened in on and told you. I knew Ozai had little scruples, but what Azula told me made me lose the last bit of faith in him. He had wanted to use the moment after hearing of Lu Ten's death at Ba-Sing-Se to convince Azulon to remove Iroh from the line of succession, since he reasoned Iroh's line was now a dead end."

Iroh looked downright pained. If there was one thing that got to him, it was spitting onto his son's memory. "I knew of his darkness, but I would have never imagined him using my beloved son's death for his own goals."

Ursa knew that it hurt Iroh, but he had a right to know. "Azulon was livid and declared Ozai had to learn a lesson. He decided Ozai had to learn the same pain of losing the oldest child and wanted him to kill Zuko."

Everyone went silent when the monstrosity of that order sank in, until Mai spoke up.

"What a family..." As much as she wanted to avoid it, Mai now looked as disgusted as she felt about the royal family. "It seems Zuko, Iroh and Lu Ten are the only good things that came out of the whole royal lineage. Marrying into it seems to be horrible."

"Be glad that you will never wear the same chains I did. Even though Zuko is far away from home, he's now free to live his life out here as he wishes, thus preserving your freedom as well." Ursa then finally composed herself. "I questioned Ozai next. Ozai of course was very willing to do it. He had no emotional connection to Zuko and saw it as a good chance to kill him without fearing consequences. I begged him to spare Zuko, and finally he offered me a deal: use my herbal skills to make a deadly poison and he would in turn spare Zuko. However, I would have to leave the Fire Nation forever to never return. The next morning, Azulon was dead at Ozai's hand through my poison."

"I always wondered what you meant with 'you have done to protect me' when you said your goodbyes. You have given up all of it... to protect me." Zuko wondered if he would have found the same courage to leave everything behind.

"I could never let them hurt you. I knew without doubt that day that Azulon and Ozai are both beyond redemption." Ursa shook her head. "I know I did the right thing, and yet I also feel horrible about it; being an accomplice in murder."

"No, don't!" Iroh said firmly, surprising Ursa. "While I understand you feel guilty for what you did, and honestly it would be worse if you didn't show any remorse at all, you are not an accomplice in murder. My brother is the one who actually killed my father. You did what you did out of love and selflessness under great emotional pressure. And as much as I dislike to say it, my father brought that onto himself."

After having feared Iroh's response, Ursa started to cry in relief. "You mean I'm not a horrible person for having done this?"

Iroh held her hands to help her coping. "No. What you did was never born out of hate or greed, just caring about Zuko. You are no murderer but another victim of my brother's schemes."

"Oh Iroh, thank you." Ursa then hiccuped and got another hug from Zuko to help her along.

"Eh, I hope I don't have to hug you as well," Mai said in discomfort. All those hugs reminded her that such blatant displays of affection made her uncomfortable.

Zuko let go of his mother. Ursa still had tears in her face but looked like a weight ha been lifted off her shoulders, giving Mai a gentle smile. "Hugs can make you feel better if there's genuine love put into them. Why don't you give it a try?"

Mai swallowed hard. The things I do for Zuko... she thought, although she was a little curios if it could help. Taking her courage together, she allowed Ursa to hug her as well. To her surprise, being held by someone who meant it felt surprisingly warm and when they separated again, Mai had no snarky comment to offer.

Sitting down, Ursa finally returned to her story.

"Where was I? Ah yes... Alas, my newfound freedom gained me little. When I passed through my home village on the way out of the Fire Nation, I found the house empty, like no one had lived in it for several years. I learned from the neighbors that my parents had passed away some years ago - from a broken heart they said - and that Ikem had vanished shortly after I did under mysterious circumstances, to be never seen again."

"You think... father made him disappear?" Zuko asked carefully, surprising himself with saying that.

"He was just gone and when soldiers later came to get him, they couldn't find him. I just hope he found the happiness that was denied to me. With nothing left, I traveled to the Earth Kingdom and settled down in this then empty hut. I managed to use my herbal skills to get by, but even in the nearby village they barely know me. To them I'm just a strange herbs woman. And now you have found me."

"And now what?" Mai asked after some seconds, seeing as the tale was over.

Ursa noticed Zuko looking at her in expectation. He wouldn't have needed to, since she'd already made her decision the very moment she'd discovered him in the woods. "Simple, I go with you. There's nothing to hold me here and I have three missed years to make up for."

Zuko blinked. "Just like that?" He hadn't actually expected his mother to make such a fast decision.

"Zuko, just look around. Do you honestly think that there is anything here which could convince me to stay here rather than being with you?" Seeing that she'd made her point, she added "I think you came here by ship, since you can hardly swim the distance from the Fire Nation."

Was this my mother trying to be sarcastic? Zuko wondered, having never seen this side of her.

Mai rolled her eyes. "I really doubt I can haul Zuko all the way back to the ship. We need some of the crew to help us, as well as for packing whatever you take with you."

"I think I'll go and tell the men we need some help," Iroh said a little too fast.

"While Iroh is going, I should start harvesting all the herbs I want to take with me," Ursa also suddenly said, leaving Zuko and Mai alone. Both of them sometimes found adults a little weird.

Outside, she saw Iroh waiting in some distance. She knew exactly what this was about and approached him. "Iroh, you have gotten my package back when you first returned to the palace?"

"Yes, as surprising as it was, especially considering what it contained. I have it with me on the ship," Iroh told her, knowing how valuable the item in question was.

Ursa was relieved about this. "Good. If Zuko is to ever reclaim the throne, he will need it once the time is right."

Both of them then parted ways. Iroh went back into the forest to go to the ship and get as many men as possible to help carry Zuko back to the ship so that the ship's doctor could take a look at his broken leg, while Ursa busied herself with picking the herbs she could take with herself on this journey.

o

Ursa was incredibly nervous, and that with good reason.

Zuko and Mai had quickly convinced her that it would be for the best to only reveal herself to the crew once they were all gathered on deck, in order to save everyone time and nerves. So she'd put on a hood to hide her features and none of the others had said a word about her identity while the crew carried Zuko and her meager belongings to the ship. The only curses came from the soldiers carrying her big cauldron, as this was something she didn't want to part with, as it was important for her brewing.

Of course now was the moment of truth as all of the crew was gathered on deck.

"All of the crew are being present," Lt. Jee reported. "They are quite curious now who our guest is."

Iroh - thank all goodness for him as she probably wouldn't have been able to utter a word - introduced her. "You should remember her well. After all, her picture had been all over the Fire Nation."

Ursa took off her hood to reveal herself. She knew that to be able to travel with Zuko, she would have to gain the approval of his crew, otherwise it would be next to impossible or end up in a mutiny. The crew was clearly shocked to see her, as most obviously had thought her dead after she'd vanished, reasoning that the royal family would want to cover up something like that.

She did reveal the reason why she got banished from the Fire Nation, but left out her remaining history, since that was a family matter only. She didn't know how she got the courage to go through it without problem and was concerned when the men started to whisper under themselves after she was done. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Zuko, Mai and Iroh waiting how the crew would decide. Zuko had even insisted on staying on deck until the decision was made, ignoring the pain in his leg for the moment.

Finally Lt. Jee stepped forward to speak for the crew.

"Lady Ursa," he began and Ursa had a feeling this could be promising. "After some short consideration, we welcome you on board."

She blinked. "Just like that, even after...?"

"We were shocked you would go this far to protect the prince, but after hearing what had happened in that night, we do not hold you responsible." He held up a hand to show there was more. "You decided to do the right thing instead of accepting 'higher power', which is something we can understand."

"How come?" Ursa still was trying to understand why it had been so easy.

"We, the entire crew, are essentially the Loser's Club. Why do you think General Iroh got us of all people for this ship? He wanted people he could trust and he knew that this here is still better for us than the dead-end in life we would face in the Fire Nation due to our decisions. The war has made all of us disillusioned with our nation when we decided to do the right thing instead of blindly following orders," Jee explained.

"Take me, for example," the ship's doctor said. "I treated prisoners of war against orders and got delegated to a run-down hospital in a slum of the capital as a consequence of doing the right thing."

The navigator also stepped forward. "I found my last captain holding mere children as pleasure slaves and freed them, resulting in me being unable to get onto another ship after I was branded as unreliable."

Jee nodded. "Many of us have had similar experiences with being punished for doing what's right and saw too much bloodshed. Why do you think I'm still a Lieutenant? They didn't want to promote someone like me, and before General Iroh could do so, the disaster at the siege of Ba-Sing-Se happened. No, we do understand you all too well."

"I told you, Nephew, that this crew is special. I think you now understand," Iroh told Zuko, while Ursa talked to some of the men about their decision.

"-sigh- Yes, a ship full of losers. Every single one of us got cheated by life one way or another," Mai added. Since she obviously included herself, it wasn't meant as mean in any way.

Zuko had not known, due to how little interaction he'd had with the crew. "First my mother, then the crew and ourselves. Uncle, what happened to our nation that it produces people like us? Broken... discarded."

"I understand your doubts, Prince Zuko. A century of war can do horrible things to the people of a nation, even if said nation is on the winning side. You were sheltered all of your life, but now you have the opportunity to make up your mind and to see how things really are. However, in the end the decision will be yours alone," Iroh told Zuko.

Zuko looked deep in thought, leaning on his uncle while being led to the sickbay.

...in a fire-colony, a few days later...

"And you really are sure about this?" Zuko asked again, worry still written in his face.

Ursa didn't fault Zuko for being this overprotective after what had happened. "I am sure. I'm done with hiding and the more public this is, the better. Once the word is out, they can't deny I'm alive and anything they do against me will only raise more questions."

"I don't get it," Zuko said honestly, wondering how that would insure his mother's safety.

Ursa knew that Zuko still was a young teenager, still learning about life and all the fine things. "When word spreads about me being very alive, it will also raise the question of why I vanished three years ago. Either the people will think the Fire Lord is hiding something if no answer is given, or they will think that nothing fits if a lie is being told. I also know Ozai is coldly calculating. Trying anything against me is not worth the trouble it'll cause."

Zuko took some moments to process this. "Now that you told me, it makes sense."

Truth to be told, it would take some time to get used to having her around.

She seemed to have some difficulties to get used to the fact he no longer was a preteen and sometimes forgot he now was three years older. At least she did apologize right after making a blunder, some of which had amused the crew greatly. However, she was trying to improve. Mai seemed to have no problem with her, which was little wonder. After enduring her parents, anyone - with exception of his father - would be an improvement. Despite how disinterested Mai always acted, it seemed she was longing for an adult woman she could ask questions she couldn't ask a man.

He himself of course also had some problems. He'd gotten used to being very independent. Now having his mother wanting to help him out, even though she had the best of intentions, felt a bit embarrassing. He had also found himself almost unable to lose his temper. Not because he actually felt calm, but because he actually didn't want to appear to his mother as a raging idiot. Fear about disappointing her was a surprisingly good motivation.

However, right now these things were not important.

They were finally docking at the nearest colony in order to do some final storm repairs and restock some things that broke in the bad weather. Ursa had mentioned that she probably needed some things, causing Iroh to jump in and say she'd need a bit more than that. After some reluctance, she'd accepted Iroh's offer that he'd never know what to do with his fortune and that she could wear something more comfortable than the clothes of a peasant, which right now already were in a bad state.

That in turn had led to the current discussion.

"Just don't worry about me. I'm an adult woman and can take care of myself. That, and the two men for carrying my purchases can scare away troublemakers." Ursa resisted giving Zuko a hug in public, before leaving.

"She's right, you know? She can take care of herself," Mai told Zuko, after having witnessed everything from a safe distance.

Zuko sighed. "If I just could go with her."

"Well, you can hardly be of use right now with one leg in a cast and walking on a crutch," Mai observed dryly. "Also, I can hardly imagine how you feel. After all, my own parents never invited me to care for their well-being."

"You do care for me, don't you?" Zuko asked.

Mai thought about it for a moment. While she'd never cared about her parents, she of course did care for Zuko. Perhaps also Iroh and... She stopped when she realized where her thoughts were leading her. "I do. You, and some others."

"Do you also care enough to help me back inside?" Zuko asked.

Mai shook her head. "Sometimes you really make me wonder..." Of course she did help him.

o

All right, first I need something better to wear, Ursa thought, while strolling through the streets.

She did notice the looks of disapproval she was getting and knew right away that she needed something to fit in better. Right now she looked like a beggar. Thank all goodness she had her hood up right now. She didn't want to be recognized until she was wearing something better - after all she did have her female pride.

Finally, she found a shop that sold upper-class women's clothes. "You two can wait outside. It probably will take a while," she told her soldiers, before entering.

"How long do you think she will need?" one soldier asked the other, knowing he once had had a girlfriend.

"Long. Better find something to do until she is done," the other soldier warned his companion.

It indeed took over an hour before Ursa emerged again, and the difference was startling.

Ursa had always hated how heavy the noble robes were, so she'd opted to wear much lighter and simple robes, which nonetheless looked a lot like what she'd used to wear. The pants hidden under her skirt also fit comfortably and she felt much better now with correct fitting underwear. The soldiers then gladly took over her other shopping bags.

Next was finding a hairdresser.

Despite having taken care of her long hair as best as possible, her limited resources over the years had left her hair dull and in need of trimming at some places. She would need a professional for fixing that. On the way she already noticed many people trying to hide that they were looking her way and whispering the entire time. It was to be expected, since her portrait had been circulated widely through the Fire Nation and colonies before her disappearance.

That was not to speak of her having made a name for herself. She honestly had craved having something to do after moving into the palace, regardless in which capacity. Ozai had been against it, but Azulon had overruled him, saying that if she wanted to be productive instead of sitting around, to not stop her.

She had made herself a name for being concerned with the lot of the small people - after all, she herself had been one of them -. and her actions, despite how limited they were at times, had made her a beloved figure for many. She could only imagine how it must have looked like when Lady Ursa, whose reputation was based on charity works rather than strength, had vanished.

It must have looked rather suspicious.

She did not expected the hairdresser to almost have a seizure when seeing her, before trying to treat her like royalty. Ursa needed almost five minutes before she could convince the woman that she just needed to have her hair taken care of and no special treatment. Nevertheless it seemed extra work went into her hair and she had no way to protest when a top knot with a nice headpiece was thrown in without any extra cost.

"Seeing you now, it's as if you had never left," one of the soldiers commented as soon as she walked outside.

Ursa knew it was true. While she wasn't wearing royal robes, had a much more simple headpiece and her face showed how hard those years had been on her, one could still think she'd just walked out of the palace gates. The citizens obviously thought so as well, since the whispering was no longer hidden and she seemed to be the center of attention. No doubt, the news would spread though the colonies like a wildfire.

She couldn't care less as she was done with hiding and went on to get some other important things.

She didn't see a guard watching her from some distance. He then quickly left to get an officer in order to confirm what he'd just seen.

...three days later, Fire Nation capital...

Blue flames streaked through the air like a deadly dance, before hitting their unfortunate target. The woman had already suffered horrible burns over her hands and arms and the latest attack set her clothes ablaze while at the same time slamming her against the wall, knocking her out before she could scream. Attendants quickly snuffed out the fire with their own bending powers, looking at the downed woman in grave concern.

"You have done well and eclipsed everyone else, as I have expected," Ozai told Azula, while her latest sparring partner was carried away in a hurry. The woman was in need of serious medical attention and it was clear no one would anymore want to spar with Azula unless being ordered to do so.

"I thank you, father, though I have to admit that defeating these weaklings gives me little problem anymore. I do need a greater challenge," Azula told her father, not even being winded from all the firebending.

Azula wouldn't lap up his praise so much, had she known that there was no love behind those words. To Ozai she first and foremost was useful due to her powers and following each and every order without question. Those were traits he liked and thus had cultivated within her, seeing her need for recognition from him as a lever to get the most out of Azula.

"I have heard you are cultivating someone loyal to you," Ozai said while Azula fetched some water from a servant to clean her hands.

"Yes, father. After the previous disappointment I have been very careful in my selection. It does look very promising however, and I do plan to officially introduce her to Ty Lee soon. She is of noble birth and follows any order without question." Azula actually sounded a bit excited.

Azula had convinced herself that Mai leaving like that didn't bother her. But deep inside she was upset, yet had no idea why, nor how to express it.

A good trait that she inherited from me, wanting complete obedience, Ozai thought.

"However, I want neither of them being present when improving my flames. Firebending was given to us for a reason; no need to have those who lack the flame be present for this," Azula said dismissively.

"A good observation. Those with Agni's gift have every right to keep out those who lack it. Oh yes, in due time you will test yourself against master firebenders." He stopped when he saw a servant entering the training court in haste. "Yes, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, a priority message from the colonies," the servant said, giving Ozai a scroll.

Ozai knew that it could only be bad news, otherwise it wouldn't be a priority message. "All of you, leave us alone."

Fearing what could happen once the Fire Lord would read bad news, it took less than a minute for everyone to leave Ozai and Azula alone. Ozai then opened the scroll and read through it. Although there seemed little change in his expression, his eyes hardened significantly the further he read and when he was done the scroll suddenly went up in flames in his hands. He dropped the burnt remains onto the floor.

"What kind of bad news was it, father?" Azula asked, having seen this kind of reaction very seldom.

Ozai quickly composed himself. "Your useless brother has found a way of being annoying even while being in exile by gathering undesirables around himself. After your traitorous former friend, he now has somehow found your weak mother in the Earth Kingdom."

On the outside Azula didn't react at all at the news.

Deep inside however she was angry. She'd done everything to forget her mother, having never forgiven her for what she felt was favoritism towards Zuko. In her mind, Zuko always got special attention from Ursa, while she herself got little from her mother apart from what she felt was disdain. In her imagination her mother had treated her like a monster, so Azula felt she didn't owe her anything.

"So, what is to be done about that?" Azula asked.

"Nothing," Ozai told her.

Azula arched an eyebrow, as this wasn't an answer she had expected. "Nothing? I would have thought you would take the chance to either discredit her or make her disappear permanently."

"As tempting as that is, you still have a lot to learn about politics," Ozai lectured her. "Any kind of action we take against her will draw even more attention to her than there already is. Attention which we don't need, as it will cause too many questions. We can block most of it from reaching the mainland, but there is no chance of stopping the spread of news about her return in the colonies."

"So in essence, doing nothing will bring about faster for people to lose interest after a while?" Azula now understood.

"Exactly. Once the novelty has worn off, people will turn to other things. The attention span of an average person is very low. While she won't fade away again, it will be far easier to deal with than making her a martyr by getting rid of her permanently," Ozai explained to his daughter.

Azula had to admit that it was an annoying situation. "Of course that all changes once she does something that warrants a more active stance?"

"Yes. Once that happens, we can bring down all our might on her. Until then we have to be patient."

Truthfully, Ozai didn't like having to do it this way, since he was not a patient man. He wanted results as fast as possible and waiting normally was not in his nature. However, he was smart enough to know when waiting would be to his advantage.

...weeks later, Zuko's ship...

"What is it with these masks? I don't remember them being on the wall some days earlier," Mai observed while waiting for Ursa to mix something for her... regular problem.

Sometimes she really hated being a girl and was thankful Ursa knew some things that would lessen the discomfort experienced at her age. Ever since the first time she had experienced the 'joy' of bleeding from a place better left unmentioned, she had hated it and everything that came with it. She knew that it came with womanhood, but that didn't make it any less annoying. After all, right now she felt like her insides were cramping together while she felt like a bloated mess.

Thus she had tried to distract herself while waiting.

Being in Ursa's cabin generally was an adventure in itself. While half of it looked like a regular cabin where Ursa would sleep, change or generally did her everyday stuff, the other half, separated by a curtain, looked like a herbalist shop with only the big cauldron missing, as Ursa had had no wish to any longer live next to it. The cook had been gracious enough to give her a place in the galley for it.

It was no secret that Ursa's love for herbs was her way of re-connecting with what she had lost after being forced to leave her home village. It also gave all of them some remedies which had been sorely missing on this ship - just like the one Ursa was just finishing for her.

"Oh, I bought these in the last colony we visited. They are the masks of two of the main characters in Love amongst the Dragons. Since my original ones are probably collecting dust in a chest somewhere in the palace, I bought them for the sake of nostalgia," Ursa explained, while carefully filling a potion into a crystal bottle.

"That looks... tasty," Mai grimaced when seeing the greenish syrup in the bottle.

"Oh, it tastes way better than it looks. I just need to heat-treat it for a moment." Suddenly a flame - not spectacular but still a flame - erupted in the hand holding the bottle, bathing it in heat for some seconds. "There, all done. Drink some of it each day during it, and your monthly visitor will be much more bearable."

"It's a visitor I could live without... I had no idea you could do that with the flame," Mai asked, while accepting the bottle.

"Oh, Iroh really wants to try and coax a little more firebending out of me, but all those years are hard to shake off. Still, it does have its uses. In the last port a drunk didn't stop offending me until I threatened to burn off his balls," Ursa chuckled, remembering the incident very well.

Mai knew why she had gown so fond of Ursa.

"But... Mai, I'm concerned about Zuko. His leg is healing, but something is constantly on his mind." Ursa made no secret of her worry.

"Well, until he found you, the Avatar was always on his mind," Mai said, rolling her eyes. "I now wish he would get that focus back, because him constantly being distracted actually is worse."

"You don't have to hide how much you care for him," Ursa reminded Mai.

She can see right through me. It was a reminder to Mai that Ursa had no problem to read her moods and feelings, regardless how much she tried to hide them.

"All right, I am concerned, especially since the way he's acting became worse over time. I'm used to Zuko being impulsive or snappish, but not the silent, broody version. What's wrong with him?" Mai finally said.

"I fear him learning my true story shook his view of the world badly. You have to remember, up until that point he was convinced that he could gain the attention and favor of his father. Being told what kind of man Ozai really is conflicts with what he had believed his entire life," Ursa told Mai, knowing it had to be a huge burden for Zuko.

"I honestly wondered why Zuko was still holding so much onto that man and wants to return to him... especially after what Ozai did to him in that arena..." Mai would never forget that memory; Zuko's scream when Ozai marked him for life and Ozai's cruelty after the fact.

"Because it was a desperate hope. The hope, that should he please his father, he would regain all he had lost. Right now he is in denial about it having been a lie he had told himself, and will be for a long time." Ursa then sighed. "Please be patient with him. He will try to ignore it, but it will be a weight he will constantly carry around and it is not that the conflict will become smaller for him over time."

Meanwhile, in his cabin, Zuko tried to meditate in front of the candles.

He had never been particularly good at meditating, considering that he had found it boring from very early on. Master Piandao had helped with suggesting that instead of trying to think nothing, it could be good to concentrate on thinking on one issue that he was concerned about especially. However, it was not helping right now.

The problem was, that he was unable to solve what was bothering him due to it being on such a fundamental level. Ever since his mother had revealed her story, his worldview had been thrown into chaos. He had tried very hard to reconcile what he had learned with his goals and motivations, but the conflict was simply too great, both sides not fitting together in the slightest.

Feeling that meditation was pointless, Zuko gave up on it. His mind came to the conclusion that for the time being the best was to try and ignore the problem and go on as usual. It was no solution, but solutions were in short supply for such a inner conflict.

Getting up, Zuko grimaced a bit. The cast had come off two days ago and his leg stll felt weird. The doctor had been clear that he could not do any taxing training, but now that the cast was off, he at least could do some firebending - since that had been forbidden while the cast was on.

Zuko waved his hand to douse the candles, but they flickered first, before after some moments being extinguished. Strange, they should have gone out right away, Zuko wondered, questioning if his bending had been affected.

Slowly making his way on deck, Zuko was greeted by the breeze of the ocean. He saw his uncle standing further down the deck, holding a conversation. Zuko didn't mind, he just was on deck to let out some fire to get a feeling for it after not using it for so long. Preparing to send a fireball over the ocean, Zuko threw out his fist and...

"Huh, what?" he said in surprise when the fire that came out was pitiful - even for him - the small flame dying in less than a meter. He tried again, with the same result. "What is going on?!"

"Prince Zuko, is something wrong?" Iroh asked, having noticed that his nephew seemed to have some kind of problem.

"Uncle, I'm trying a full fire blast, but what I'm getting is this," Zuko said, demonstrating the pitiful fire he was producing. "What is wrong with me?!"

Seeing how panicked Zuko looked, Iroh understood. "Oh dear, I had suspected something like this was bound to happen."

"Uncle, what's wrong with me?" Zuko was incredibly worried now.

"I have a good idea what is going on. Let me get your mother and young Mai first. They do need to hear this as well," Iroh said, not looking forward to revealing to Zuko hat was going on.

A short time later all four of them sat at a table.

Iroh, after explaining what had happened, finally came to the point. "I suspected this would happen, Prince Zuko, because your life went through a serious change, and it has marked you. I first have to ask you, how were you taught to stoke your inner fire, allow it to flourish and flare up?"

Zuko didn't know how that was connected, but still answered. "The same as every bender I know: anger and aggression, to focus it so that my flame lashes out at my target."

Iroh sighed. "What you have been taught, and which I had been taught as well, is a corruption of firebending. Yes, anger and aggression do work, but they are only one way of gaining the same result. Also, constantly feeling anger and aggression has very negative effects on the mind. Yet, this corrupted form, introduced under Fire Lord Sozin, has spread considerably."

"You mean to say that they are teaching even children you have to act like a massive asshole in order to be a good firebender?" Mai, who had never witnessed firebending lessons in depth, found that dumb and also tragic.

"Even worse than that. The war has produced several generations of benders with a warped perception and understanding of their own element." Iroh clearly disliked that state of affairs. "Zuko's problem is, that he no longer wants to be angry in the way he used to be for his bending."

"You mean I'm too happy?" Zuko found the idea frightening.

"Not only that, but you are going through great changes in your life, Nephew. The conflict inside of you is also weakening your flame," Iroh explained further.

Zuko knew they were talking about the revelations that came with Ursa's story. He knew it was the truth and it put his life into a new and scary context. However, deep inside he was in denial and didn't want to accept this, since it otherwise would mean that a lot of his life he had chased an illusion. That his quest was pointless... that his face getting burned held no justification, it only being an act of cruelty.

"Can we please leave that aside for now and concentrate on the anger issue?" Zuko honestly didn't want to talk about that. "Both of you are not angry people."

"Oh, I was a different person in my youth, but with the years I changed and then, one day, I replaced the thing that drives my inner flame. These days it is the joy of life," Iroh told Zuko. "However, I fear that would not work for you, Nephew."

Zuko sighed, since this was so much like his uncle. "What about you, Mom?"

"Oh, in order to maintain my inner flame, regardless how humble it is, I do use the warmth of love. Though, perhaps it's not a ideal fit for you," Ursa admitted.

Zuko knew that to be true. He then looked to Mai. "I know you are a non-bender, but you have some good insights."

Mai snorted. "Zuko, you the most bull-headed person I've ever met, but I doubt that stubbornness would be a good emotion for firebending. From all what I know, that would be more like an earthbender."

"Looks like I'm stuck for now..." Zuko had a feeling this would suck big time for him.

...almost two months later...

Zuko's prediction that it would suck big time for him that his firebending was neutered for the time being was not far off.

Though, Mai had told him to the face that him moping and angsting about it would not help him at all, telling him that he should fill his time with something useful when he wasn't chasing possible leads about the Avatar in the Earth Kingdom. That had in the end resulted in him being drafted into training with her and non-bending members of the crew.

Though, it was not a one-way street, either. After hearing one comment too many from Mai regarding his fighting skills without a weapon, Zuko had turned it around and challenged her to have a little sword fight with him. After getting creamed by him repeatedly, Mai had swallowed her pride and apologized for taking it too far.

However, something good had come out of it. Just like Mai was helping him with unarmed combat, Zuko was now helping her to learn how to use a sword properly, putting all the lessons he had learned to good use. It did help that in Mai's words, a sword was an oversized knife, and she did have a fondness for sharp things.

I wonder what Master Piandao would think seeing me put his lessons to good use, Zuko thought, though it was mixed with sadness that he probably would never see the man again.

Zuko felt over his head and felt the hair which had grown ever since he had stopped shaving his head.

Mai had actually caught him being busy with shaving his head and honestly asked him why he was insisting on keeping that ridiculous hair style with only the phoenix tail on his head, especially since it was a self-inflicted punishment no one was forcing him to do. She had added that it looked like shit and that she would prefer him letting his hair grow back out, before more softly adding it also would make his scar look less harsh.

That had made him think and if anything, just for Mai he had decided to stop shaving his head. The result was already visible and he honestly did feel better with more hair on his head. Neither his mother nor his uncle had said anything, but he had a feeling they approved of this change.

But his thoughts then returned to the matter at hand. Despite all that however, it still left him with the bending problem.

At first he had been depressed about it, feeling it was a continuation of his bending powers being ridiculed, like had happened so often in humiliating comparisons to prodigy Azula. It was only in past weeks that he had started to think about the whole matter to try and make it work. Easier said than done, however, and it had resulted in him having several fits of anger born in frustration. Those had stopped after Mai had given him sarcastic applause for the performance.

No way I give up now. I would utterly humiliate myself if I do so now. I will see this through! Zuko thought while standing at the very front of the ship, looking over the ocean.

"Zuko, what are you doing there?" He had not noticed Mai approach him. "You've been staring at the empty ocean for almost an hour. I don't think it's such a captivating view."

"I'm thinking about how to overcome my firebending problem." He knew she would know anyway.

"Ah yes, still being unable to find what can fuel your fire." Mai knew better than to make fun of it. "Don't forget your uncle needed months after the death of Lu Ten to recover his fire."

"I know. Uncle admitted he had been in a very bad place." Zuko remembered Iroh's short explanation of that time all too well.

It was not often that Iroh was unwilling to talk much about something, but the year after the death of his son was one of those things. It already was a small wonder that he revealed that he had been in an emotionally bad place and it took him sorting out his emotions and finding and new source for his flame, to make the fire return. It had been a lot like the problem Zuko was facing now.

"And, did you get anything? That magic feeling which you need?" Mai asked, honestly being a bit out of her depth due to not having an inner flame of her own.

"That's my problem. All my life I was told I won't amount to much. Granted, not to my face, but the intention was clear..." Zuko started to explain where the problem was.

Mai sighed. "And you have proven them wrong. I repeat what I've said before, you are the most stubborn person I've ever met. Though we've already established that being subborn won't work well to help you make fire."

"Stubborn, you call me..." Zuko thought aloud.

"That's only starting to describe it. Your surroundings told you that you are shit at firebending and you still worked hard to prove them wrong. You worked hard to get your old man's favor, even though he didn't appreciate your efforts. You are not giving up looking for the Avatar, even though chances are slim. You never give up, do you?"

Zuko pulled his dagger out of its sheath. He always had it on his person. "Uncle sent this to me. The words 'Never give up without a fight' are engraved on one side of the blade."

"And what's on the other side?" Mai had never seen Zuko drew the dagger, thus it was the first time she saw the blade.

"It states 'Made in Earth Kingdom'. He got the dagger from the surrendering general after breaking through the outer wall of Ba-Sing-Se." Zuko put the dagger away again while Mai snorted, finding the other engraving funny. "You know, I think..."

"Zuko, don't make it too exciting..." Mai started, but suddenly Zuko hugged her. "Wah!? Zuko!" she squeaked in surprise, forgetting herself and in surprise acting very much like the girl stereotype she hated so much.

Zuko however didn't notice, being excited all of a sudden. "Mai, you are a genius! That's it!"

"Wonderful, whatever it is! But this here is too close!" Mai protested.

"Oh... Oh yes..." Zuko did let go of Mai. Being held so close to Zuko, her emotional control had broken and right now she was blushing in a striking shade of red. "Sorry, I..."

"No!" Mai grimaced at still squeaking like an awkward girl. "I only enjoyed it too much..."

Realizing what Mai meant, Zuko blushed as well. Now that he was actually thinking about it, he had really enjoyed holding Mai so close against himself but also now understood why Mai would feel awkward. Both teenagers tried their best to calm down and control themselves before anything else. No need to become stuttering messes, after all.

Finally, Zuko felt he could risk it. "Mai, you got me onto the right track, but it's not about being stubborn."

Mai also dared to open her mouth, and thankfully, her voice was back to normal. "And... what have you found out?"

"I have to test it first..." Zuko went so that he was facing the empty ocean, then did an arm movement to throw some fire out onto sea. -wush- While the result was still small compared to what he was used to be able to do, it was more than the pitiful results of the past two months. The sight of it alone was capable of almost making Zuko cry in relief.

"I was right."

"Very impressive." That was Iroh. They had not noticed him approach. "Compared to you efforts over the past months, this was a visible improvement. What have you discovered, Nephew?"

"Uncle, when Mai repeated that I'm the most stubborn person she's ever met, it got me thinking." Zuko paused, but the silence from his Uncle told him to go on. "I realized being stubborn is not what drives me. It's being determined."

Iroh seemed to find Zuko's discovery interesting. "And what things are you determined about?" he then asked.

"Well... all kind of things..." However, he wasn't fooling anyone when he glanced to Mai.

Mai was rolling her eyes, but didn't tell Zuko that she wasn't some damsel who needed protection. She told herself that telling him that would destroy whatever progress he had just made. But in truth, deep inside she felt very moved that her safety meant so much to him. That in turn made her blink when feeling something else grow in herself.

What is that now? she wondered.

All of a sudden it felt like she should better talk with Ursa about that. She had a feeling that it was her changing body which was causing this reaction and she wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with her.

...at the beginning of winter, the Southern Water Tribe...

Hakoda, the chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe, looked over the village while night was settling over what was left of the once great capital of Wolf Cove.

Sad thing was, he had never seen it in its glory days. By the time his memory started, Wolf Cove already had been reduced to a shell of its former self due to attacks by the Fire Nation. He only knew what it used to look like due to his mother Kanna having made extensive drawings before the most devastating attacks had shattered the settlement.

In recent years Kanna had busied herself with writing down everything she could about Southern culture, stories, lore and so on, and like her drawings stored the scrolls in containers safe from fire and water. Hakoda had once asked her why she was doing that and she had told him that considering the state of things, writing down their heritage for future generations would be smart.

So very true. Just by looking around I can see how much we have lost. Considering many things are relayed orally, it's no wonder Mother is writing it all down, Hakoda thought while looking around.

These days Wolf Cove was a shabby little village. The people of the Water Tribe had scattered into similar small villages and their once great nation was at the brink of destruction. By kidnapping or murdering all waterbenders, the Fire Nation had crippled them. In his more bitter moments it felt like the cruelty of the Fire Nation knew no bounds by denying them their right to live.

Even his title was not as grand as one would presume. While by some miracle the other villages had elected him to speak from them, when it came to direct control he was rather limited. It already was a miracle that he got a certain number of men from other villages for their involvement in the war. An involvement that would start very soon.

Why does it feel like I won't ever see my home again? he wondered, though he dreaded the answer.

Hakoda had witnessed first-hand how the Fire Nation refused to leave them alone, being hell-bent on murdering or kidnapping all of their waterbenders and crushing his people to erase their light of life. It was genocidal and sadly very effective. Whenever the black snow fell, death and sorrow would follow. He had learned that the hard way when Kya was taken from him.

Kya, the love of his life, the mother of his children... murdered by the Southern Raiders of the Fire Nation in their fanatical search for even one remaining waterbender. Kya had sacrificed herself in an act of parental love so that their daughter Katara, the true last waterbender they knew of, would live. But it also had left them with the pain.

Finally, several months ago, a decision had been reached that either they do something, or would wither away quietly. And thus the decision had fallen for the men to leave to fight in the Earth Kingdom.

Looking around, he could see that the consequences of that decision had already arrived.

With the decision, all able-bodied men of their village, and those that volunteered from other villages, would leave for the Earth Kingdom. Able-bodied meant being in good health and being at least fourteen years old. It meant all the women and girls would stay in the village, just as did the men that were too old or infirm to fight and the boys that were too young to come along.

And some of the effects that happened in the months since the decision was made are interesting, Hakoda thought while looking around.

All the married pairs, or those who had planned on it, had understood what that meant, which was the reason why all of those women were now showing signs of pregnancy. Well, Hakoda understood why they felt that way, and seeing this, it at least gave hope the tribe would continue even if they should never return.

However, it was also hitting closer to home when Hakoda saw his children. Sokka and Katara had changed ever since the day their mother had been taken from them.

Sokka had lost his childish innocence and was now always trying to take more responsibility, even though there were tasks he simply was not ready or suited for. He always tried to be so serious. Emphasis of 'tried'. Sokka looked up to him and thus was taking him leaving very hard. Sokka had begged to come along, but he simply was too young to make the cut. Hakoda knew that without any men of the right age being around, the potential he was seeing in his son would not find any fertile ground to flourish on.

Katara meanwhile had taken the loss of their mother even harder. Whereas Sokka was trying to take more responsibilities, Katara was trying to fill the void Kya had left, despite her obviously being too young, imature and inexperienced to do so seriously. Katara also after that day became a bit too determined to grow her waterbending powers, training what little she knew from Kanna's stories what she had observed waterbenders doing. Katara was hurt that he was leaving, feeling like she now was losing both parents.

He then saw Bato, one of his closest friends and friend of the family, approach.

"Hakoda, everything is ready. The men have started to say their goodbyes to their families," Bato told Hakoda.

"You said goodbye to your wife already?" Hakoda asked.

"Yes. I did... to her and the little one." Bato made no secret of that his wife was expecting like so many other women in the tribe. Something to remember him by, should he not return. "Hakoda, don't try to hold it off. It will only hurt more."

"I know..." Hakoda sighed, knowing that the goodbyes were the hardest part.

Hakoda approached Kanna first. "Mother, I..."

Kanna however held up a hand. "There honestly is nothing you can tell me you haven't told me countless times over the past weeks. I only pray that you return to us alive and well."

He knew that was his mother's way of dealing with the inevitable. Once someone reached her age - an age where things were only taken from you and no longer given - it was inevitable that some resignation would set in. Kanna had never gotten over the loss of her husband, Hakoda's father, and the losses inflicted by the Fire Nation over the years had also made her somewhat bitter and cynical.

"I can only promise to try my best to do so," Hakoda told her.

Now came his children, and that he knew would be the hard part.

"Dad... it's not fair!" That was Sokka, who still was unhappy that he was too young to come along and instead had been told by his father what his job would be. "I could do so much coming along with you."

"Oh, I know that, but your place is here, in order to protect the tribe while we are away." To stop any further protest, Hakoda hugged his teenage son. Sokka fell silent, but Hakoda knew his son still thought he was being left behind.

Hakoda then turned to Katara and he knew his daughter was fighting to hold back her tears.

"Why?!" it came out of Katara. "First they took Mom, and now they are taking you from us as well! Why are they so horrible to us?!"

Hakoda knew she was talking about the Fire Nation. Ever since that day both of his children had started to hate the Fire Nation, but Katara especially so. It was especially remarkable since she otherwise was so open and friendly to others. It also concerned him, since hatred was not something healthy. He had over the years seen several warriors getting eaten by their hatred of the Fire Nation and they had taken a horrible end.

"I wish I could tell you something else... but I can't. We are going so that what happened to us won't happen again. I want to stop the Fire Nation for you. I don't want both of you to live you whole lives in fear," Hakoda gently explained to her.

Finally, the dam burst an Katara cried while hugging him. Sokka was a bit hesitant, but in the end to hold his father one more time won out.

A bit later the moment had come.

The ships of the Southern Water Tribe were departing from Wolf Cove, setting sail for the Earth Kingdom and whatever battles would await them there. At the coast all of the tribe who would stay behind were looking after the departing ships, holding lanterns to battle to darkness surrounding them. Strangely fitting that it felt like the tribe's darkest hour as well.

"First Mom, now Dad... We are falling apart," Katara said with a slight sob, holding onto her brother while watching the ships leave. "What have we ever done to those ashers that they hurt us so much?!"

"I don't know..." Sokka's mood was at its lowest as well, his usually energetic self sucked dry. "I wish I had the strength to pay them back for all they did to us; to make them feel all the pain they caused out people."

And yet, they felt so terribly helpless while watching the men of the tribe leave to fight in a war they had no idea if they would return from alive.

...several days later, Kyoshi Island...

Snow was falling on Kyoshi Island, the final resting place of Avatar Kyoshi, the last known Avatar from the Earth Kingdom. The island was named after her, especially since it was her who had created it in the first place by separating it from the mainland in the confrontation with Chin the Conquerer. Her big statue in the center of one of the villages of the island - though every village had one - looked interesting with the snow covering it - outright serene.

However, Kyoshi was now dead for almost two centuries and history had long forgotten the island off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. Even before the war the authorities from the capital had only seldom bothered with Kyoshi Island, and then only to get the annual taxes. Since the outbreak of the war however, contact with the capital had ceased.

Funny enough, the Fire Nation, despite the fears of the island's inhabitants, also held little interest in the island. Kyoshi Island was not known to hold any interesting natural resources, nor was it an important harbor for shipping routes. As far as the Fire Nation was concerned, they would fold it into their empire once the battle for the Earth Kingdom was decided.

However, all of those things right now held little importance.

Despite the winter setting in, village life was going on. Now that the season for agriculture was over, it mainly was fishing and work inside of the village which were filling the time of the villagers. The most unusual sight were teenage girls, wearing uniforms and face paint just like Kyoshi did, patrolling the streets of the village, though everyone treated them friendly.

At the same time however, in the house of the village leader Oyaji, a rather heated meeting was taking place.

"That was the last time, you better believe it!" a woman in her mid-thirties, who was wearing the colors and uniform of Kyoshi, told Oyaji, making no secret of how disappointed she was.

The village leader meanwhile was trying hard not to shrink under the furious eyes of the woman. "But Aoma..."

Said Aoma however didn't want to hear any of it. "Oh no, I understand some villages don't like too much outside contact, but what you have done was utterly irresponsible! Treating anyone coming close to the village as an enemy and threatening them with death?! No, we warriors will no longer act as tools for the paranoia of some old people. Remember what happened two years ago to that one village due to them being so utterly fanatical."

Oyaji remembered all too well.

While there were several villages on Kyoshi Island that had some kind of isolationist policy - including theirs, which however still allowed for trade - one village had driven it to an extreme, so when a famine hit them, they chose to starve to death rather than take any outside help. The accounts of the few survivors had shaken the people of the island and made them re-think some of the more extreme policies.

And that was the source of the current conflict. Earlier this day, three people had approached the village and the warriors had stopped and then escorted them - so far so peaceful - but then Oyaji had accused those three as possible outside spies and openly threatened to throw them to the Unagi, the giant eel that had made its home in the nearby waters.

"I'll make it clear now. From now on, unless it is an obvious enemy, we will treat strangers like civilized people, lest they think we are some kind of wild tribe," Aoma put down the law.

Oyaji knew he had to give in. While he was the village leader, pissing off the leader of the local Kyoshi Warriors in general was a sign of bad leadership. "I will relay it to the other elders."

"Good." That was all she had to say, so she left.

Right outside the door, her apprentice waited for her. Young Suki had only entered her teenage years some months ago but yet was showing such tremendous potential that Aoma had selected her to take her place once she would retire. Sadly, that would be much sooner than anyone had anticipated and she felt it was somewhat unfair to the girl. She also was wearing the colors and uniform of Kyoshi, thus the only individual trait of hers being visible right now was her striking auburn hair.

"That was loud, but you did make your point," Suki commented while they made their way back to the compound where all warriors lived.

"Those old fools have too much of an influence on Oyaji. Well, we won't play along with that anymore," Aoma told Suki. "I'm sorry that in a year you'll have to do such things on your own.

"I know, Sifu, but it can't be helped. You and the remaining older warriors did the right thing, even though it now has such long-term effects," Suki told her leader, remembering all too well what had led to this state of affairs.

The famine two years ago had hit the entire island of course. The warriors from many villages had helped to lessen the effects, pulling overtime on fishing boats to make up for the destroyed harvest. Then there was one time the Unagi had attacked all of a sudden. Several warriors from their village had lost their lives, others had suffered injuries from which they had never fully recovered.

And that was it. Before the famine, several women had left the warriors to have families of their own. Several warriors had been eaten by the Unagi and the remaining ones would soon be forced into early retirement due to injuries that had never healed properly. Suki would then be the commander of the village's warriors. Only, with the adult warriors then all gone, they all would be from her age group, the source of her current woes.

"I can see you are more concerned about leading a bunch of teenage girls," Aoma said, having a good idea why Suki recently was rather cross with her fellow teenage warriors.

"It's horrible!" it finally burst out of her. "Recently they seem to have stopped thinking with their heads and let their lower regions do the job! They were so disciplined and concentrated before, but recently their main conversation topic seems to be boys! And not only that, but I'm concerned about discipline due to them seemingly all of a sudden discovering that they are girls and that boys exist."

Aoma couldn't help but laugh. "Oh dear, and you didn't have any such thoughts ever? Never experimented a bit around with yourself now that you feel your body is changing?" Suki's face paint hid her blush, but Aoma could read her body language. "I knew it."

Suki would never admit that she had been... exploring when she was sure she was alone. It simply was too embarrassing. "At least I don't seem to go insane like they are."

"Suki, dear, be honest with me. Does the other girls discovering that they are sexual beings actually impact their duties?" Aoma asked her apprentice, deciding it was time to get to the point.

Suki took a deep breath. "No, they are still doing their duty perfectly well."

"See? I think it more is that you are disturbed by how your friends are changing and discovering a new part of themselves. You should not be frightened by it, it is a natural part of life." Aoma then gave her a knowing look. "My policy always was as long as it didn't impact the duties of a warrior, what happens beneath the bed sheets is none of my concern."

Now Suki really was glad the face paint was hiding her blush.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Travels of the Banished"

Chapter Text

It looked beautiful; the sun slowly rising above the horizon, bathing the sea in its light. However, Zuko had little mind for its beauty while standing at the bow of the ship and looking over the endless sea. He'd risen early since he knew what this day meant. As of today he'd been banished from home for exactly one year.

One year. It had felt so much shorter, he thought.

Of course he felt the loss.

Losing his home and everything he knew still hurt a lot and he still was determined to find a way to be able to return home. However, his search for additional clues on what could have happened to the Avatar had not given him too many good leads. The Earth Kingdom was vast and what he had found were only records of confusion where the Avatar could have gone. He would never give up, but by now doubts were starting to take root in him.

For one thing, would he really simply hand the Avatar over to his father?

During his search he'd seen what the war had done to everyone. Areas of the Earth Kingdom devoid off life with burnt-down villages and fields of human bones. The air of hopelessness in Earth Kingdom settlements and the suffering the population close to the front lines had to go through. The sheer endless army of Fire Nation soldiers who got seriously injured in the war - missing limbs or having suffered disfiguring injuries - and now were kept out of the public's eye since their sight after all would undermine public morale.

Zuko had no idea what to think, part of him actually hoping that he would never manage to find the Avatar so that he also would never have to make a hard decision. However, that small, traitorous part was quickly silenced. While his faith in the Fire Nation was damaged, he still loved his country and a part of him feared that not handing the Avatar over could mean the Avatar making the decision to simply destroy the Fire Nation to end the war.

More personally, part of him he tried his hardest to ignore did wonder if he even wanted to return home.

While he did miss home, there was no one he wanted to return to. After what he had learned about his father, while his loyalty was still without question, he had a feeling he'd deluded himself about his relationship with him. Add to it that returning home would mean having to deal with Azula and being away from home suddenly seemed not so bad after all. To make it worse, neither Mai nor his mother could return with him.

To think of it, everyone who cared for him and he did care for in return was with him on this ship. His mother, Uncle Iroh and Mai. There wasn't anyone at home he would terribly miss. Recently he felt more appreciated than he'd ever been. Perhaps it was because he'd earned the respect of his crew? Maybe it was because with Azula not present and others backing him, his training in firebending was finally showing progress, although his uncle had been forced to start from the beginning, backed by his mother?

Zuko tried to crush those thoughts.

Thinking like that would not help him in his situation. Yet, those whispers remained - his 'conflict' being how Iroh had dubbed it. According to his uncle, regardless how determined he was about many things, the conflict would always hold back his bending powers, and as long as the conflict was not resolved, he would be unable to tap into his true potential.

Zuko honestly had no idea what to think of that since he was trying to not think about it.

"What has driven you to get up this early?"

Turning around, he saw Mai approaching, currently sporting a bad case of morning hair. She was no morning person. "How did you know I'm here?" Zuko wondered.

"Please, Zuko, give me some credit. I'm a light sleeper and woke up when you closed your door." Looking to the early dawn she added "Although I can't fathom why you would want to get up at such an ungodly hour."

"It's been one year since I got banished. I feel sad, yet I also feel happy. This is all so confusing," Zuko honestly told her.

Mai rolled her eyes at this. "Maybe you are happy because you're not constantly used as the whipping boy and have people who actually care about you? Oh spirits, sometimes I really wish you'd be less emo at times."

By now Zuko didn't blink an eye when she was this blunt. "Despite that you still like me."

"Of course I do. Without your faults you'd be like all these other noble brats who are either arrogant jerks or polished into formless wimps." That said, Mai stood beside him. "I really hate early dawn. Too much orange."

Zuko was distracted for a moment when he again saw how Mai had changed in the year since they'd left home.

Mai's body had matured quite a bit and was slowly filling all the female curves that would define a woman. The effect this had on him was interesting, although Mai was trying hard to act as if nothing had changed. While he technically knew everything about it and what he himself was going through, actually experiencing it was very different. Both of them were still a bit too young for those things, but both of them knew their relationship would change dramatically in the near future, although not in a bad way.

He had no idea that Mai's thoughts were on the same topic.

For her, the year had been far easier, as it without doubt had been her happiest year, being far away from all the things which had soured her childhood. Even though being on the ship was at times boring, the places they visited made up for it and she had people who cared for her as a person. She could finally do the things she wanted to do, not what others expected from her. It was very liberating.

However, the changes she was going though were quite stressful.

It had been supremely embarrassing when Ursa had sat her down and asked point blank how much she knew about how she would change in the years to come and about the facts of life. Mai had been forced to admit she just knew the bare basics, not the finer details, so Ursa he proceeded to explain to her in all the gory details not only on how and in which places her body would change, but also how there would be changes in her psyche so that she would notice things she had ignored up to now.

Mai had felt like sinking into the ground in mortification.

Nonetheless, over the following months she'd noticed the changes beginning that would turn her to an adult woman. There was still way to go, but at least she had a woman she could confide in about her embarrassing fears and questions. Equally confusing were the mental changes. While she had always liked Zuko, she was now starting to see him in a different light and had caught herself more than once watching him a little too closely when he was bare-chested for firebending training. As loathe as she was to admit it, she wanted to see more of it.

Oh, and don't me me started on the regular mess, Mai shuddered inwards, remembering that while it had become easier, she could have lived without that piece of female biology. As if I need my mood once a month to be worse than normal.

"I know you don't like it. But... can we just watch it? For me?" Zuko asked her.

Mai knew when to give in. "Since it is you..."

She didn't like early dawn, but she had nothing against Zuko's arm holding her by the hip while they watched the sun rising and returned the favor. Despite it being as boring as something could be, she actually liked it.

"You know, I like that you let your hair grow out again. You looked stupid with a shaven head," Mai finally said, looking at the currently unruly hair on Zuko's head.

Zuko moved his fingers through his hair. "You were very blunt when telling me how it looked. My hair now indeed makes the scar less prominent."

"Zuko, you know..." Mai turned and stopped.

Both of them had turned at the same moment. Looking each other in the eyes and noticing how close they actually were. Both felt something stir in them. Zuko also noticed how inviting Mai's lips looked. "Mai, eh... can I...?"

Mai meanwhile was cursing herself, since right now she was losing control and blushed like a schoolgirl, which was so unlike herself it wasn't even funny. Yet, when she tried to answer Zuko, she sounded... actually quite shy. "S-sure... Please be very careful."

Very carefully, Zuko then captured Mai's lips.

They didn't know they were being watched. From the upper levels of the command tower, Iroh and Ursa watched the two teenagers gently taking the first step on the big journey. Ursa was generally an early riser and Iroh had needed an early bathroom break, thus both of them had noticed Zuko and Mai. While it had been too far away for hearing what the teens were saying, their actions were very clear.

"Both of them are still quite young, but they obviously are on a good way," Iroh commented.

Ursa held a gentle smile while watching this scene, yet couldn't help but to feel a little old. "They are growing up so fast. When I left, Zuko had still been an innocent child, and now he's growing up into a man."

"Yes, time knows no mercy. However, we should celebrate the good things that happen to us, instead of bemoaning what we have missed," Iroh told her.

Ursa had no answer to this. Was she still young enough to get new, good things for herself?

...several weeks later, in the Fire Nation capital...

"I'm home!" Ty Lee called.

"Ah, you came home unharmed!" That was her sister Ty Woo sticking her head out of the kitchen door. "Mom and Dad are still out, so it's only us."

Ty Lee grimaced at the choice of words her sister had used, part of her chosen trait of being blunt to insulting, but knew it came from all of them honestly caring for her. Running upstairs, she made haste to get out of her school uniform and into her regular clothes - the ones that were color-coded to keep her and her sisters apart from each other, since they all looked perfectly identical and also had the same voice.

They had been called a miracle.

That not only was due to them being seven sisters who looked entirely identical to each other - twins were one thing but this was on an entirely different level - but also due to the fact that their mother had given birth to them in one go and not only had she survived that ordeal, but all seven girls, despite being very small and weak at birth, had made it as well.

None of them had any memory of what had followed due to them having been too young, but for some time they had been shown around to people wanting to see something unusual, like some kind of circus attraction or freak show, until their parents had put their foot down and the family had mostly faded from the eye of the public.

For years Ty Lee had felt like the odd one out due to her sisters pairing off, and also had felt like she didn't count as an individual due to her parents at times treating them as interchangeable, despite each sister having a quite distinct personality. Things were never easy, like the decision that she of all the sisters would attend the Royal Fire Academy for Girls was by her having drawn the longest stick.

She now was getting special attention from her parents and sisters, but that was due to everyone in the family now fearing for her health ever since the braid incident with Azula. To Ty Lee that proved the old warning of 'Be careful what you wish for, because you could get it'.

Just a few more months, and then I'm free... she repeated while making sure her top was secured properly. Ever since her body had started to change, her mother told her to be extra sure due to her being an acrobat.

It was her last year in school. Just a little longer, and she was free of any obligations and even Azula then could not complain when she went her own way in life - princess or not. She'd get far away and actually return the color to her life, which had lost most of its colors at the moment.

Walking back downstairs, she saw her other sisters were home from their own schools as well.

"Ah, you are on time. Did the Princess have other things to do today?" Ty Liu called from where she was lounging around, reading a book.

Ty Lee shrugged. "Azula told me that she got no time today due to the Fire Lord wanting to observe her firebending forms." Not that she was minding in the slightest.

"And I had thought she would want an audience for that," Ty Liu wondered.

"No. She said she doesn't want any distractions when she's training." Ty Lee remembered that it had been Azuala's rule from very early on. "Not even Astria is allowed to be present."

"Not even her? Wow." Ty Liu then returned her attention to her book.

Ty Lee understood her sister's reaction. Astria was Mai's 'replacement' and Ty Lee always got the shivers when being near that girl. While Mai had been annoyed with her antics, both girls nonetheless had managed to find some common, friendly ground. Astria on the other hand was someone Ty Lee would have stayed far away from, if not for Azula's word being law.

I really get why Azula thinks so highly of Astria, Ty Lee thought, remembering some past incidents.

Walking out into the small garden behind the house, she was trying to distract herself with some acrobatics while thinking of her day.

She had sighed when walking past Mai's former house on her way home,. Her parents had removed all evidence of her very existence. She even envied Mai, who now was free to do as she wanted. She knew Mai's opinion on her parents, so she also knew the girl very likely felt no loss over this. She had also glimpsed Mai's mother with a baby and knew this was Mai's brother - her 'replacement' on whom their parents were now putting all their hopes into.

As for herself...

Ever since the situation had changed, her parents were giving her special attention. She wished it hadn't taken this for them to finally do so. At least they showed they did care and were encouraging her to find her future outside of the Fire Nation in the colonies. In the colonies - and thus far away from Azula. Ty Lee had written several letters over the past weeks and there already was something she had in mind.

Her parents had blinked at what she, the daughter of a - even if a bit minor - noble house wanted to do, but they would not deny her wish. Not if it put a safe distance between herself and the Fire Nation nobility.

Hopefully, then color would return to her life.

...over two months later, Zuko's ship...

On the deck of the ship Zuko was busy with following Iroh's instructions, going from one stance into the next while bending his while improved still rather reduced flames as precise as possible until he would meet his uncle's approval. Zuko had not known that his uncle, for all laid-back he normally was, could be such a strict teacher when it came to firebending.

"Again!" Iroh said, causing Zuko to repeat the stance. "Good, you are doing well. And I know it's never easy to unlearn ingrained habits and start from the beginning."

"And it's certainly not you having shown much patience until you had little other choice in the matter," Iroh added, giving Zuko a knowing look.

"I was outnumbered!" Zuko reminded her.

This was playing at when Zuko had found his path to fueling his inner flame with something other than anger.

Iroh had told him that his previous teachers had taught him a corrupted version of firebending which not only relied on anger, but also tried to make the flame the slave of the user. In Iroh's words, while fire could be incredibly destructive, one does not treat it like something to be enslaved but something to be respected. Something that was part of the bigger world, which was part of yourself, and once being accepted as living in symbiosis with you, the fire would eagerly follow your directions and never cause wanton destruction.

That of course was followed by Iroh adding that it meant Zuko having to start at the basics again. Zuko of course had protested, feeling like his uncle was treating him like a little kid. However, it was three against one, since Ursa and Mai agreed with Iroh that Zuko had been taught a version of firebending that was unsuited for him. Seeing that there was no way around it Zuko had - after multiple tantrums and Mai telling him he was acting like an angry toddler - given in.

It had felt humiliating to Zuko, but there was little other choice if he wanted to again use his fire properly.

At least he had gotten a small victory when challenging his mother that she should practice what she was preaching, since he after all had not seen her make any effort to improve her diminished bending. Part of him felt that was disrespectful of him towards his mother, but she had actually accepted the challenge. It looked like Zuko had hurt her pride.

Looking to the other side of the deck, he saw Ursa making flames in her palms which would have been ridiculous for a serious bender, but for her it was a vast improvement. At her age she would never become a great bender anymore, but a somewhat decent one already would be a great victory for her. Each small progress actually seemed to make her very happy.

"I'm surprised that the basics are so good," Zuko said honestly.

"Ah yes, that's an error many benders make," Iroh said sagely. "They go for big, flashy displays of firebending, wanting to show off or thinking that bigger is better. Nothing could be more wrong. Someone who has made the simple basics their second nature can defeat a flashy firebender with ease."

"Does that also play at Azula's blue fire?" Zuko asked, having always wondered.

"That is a very good example. She is priding herself on having mastered it because it is so dangerous and difficult to use. However, there is little use for those flames, despite them being much hotter. They can't do anything which normal fire can do just as well. She is making things more difficult for herself without gaining any true benefit."

Zuko looked surprised at that revelation. "I never thought of it that way. In her drive to be the best, she's wasting her strength."

"Clearly my brother's influence. Kind of interesting, since he himself only uses normal fire," Iroh thought aloud, making little secret that he felt Ozai was being a hypocrite about the matter.

Seeing Mai at the far side of the deck training with a wooden sword against a training dummy, Zuko had an idea. "Uncle, is there any firebending technique which can complement my swordfighting?"

"Indeed, there is one. It's called the Swords of Fire. It allows you to coat a sword - or two in your case - in fire, making it an even more effective weapon." Iroh then saw how eager Zuko looked at the idea. "However, I will not teach it to you until you have mastered your basics fully."

Zuko wanted to protest, but stopped himself when realizing the only think it would accomplish was another lecture from Mai that he shouldn't be whining. Fact was that Iroh was the teacher here and whining would not get Zuko anywhere. He had learned that fast enough. "I... understand."

"Good. Now, time for training is over for today. Why don't you sit down and have some tea with me to relax?" Iroh offered.

Zuko rolled his eyes. He would never understand his uncle's fascination with tea. He enjoyed drinking it when prepared corrected, but he was not making it serious business like Iroh did. "Just no Pai Sho please."

"Oh I wouldn't do that. By now I know the game is not for you. It actually would be a bit frightening were everyone to like the same things," Iroh know that Zuko and Pai Sho was a lost cause, unlike his mother, who was good at the game. "No, instead I want to talk with you about your search."

"Not that there is much new to talk about..." Zuko admitted.

"Oh, I know you have not found new leads regarding the whereabouts of the Avatar, but I have noticed you have learned quite a lot about the position of the Avatar. Young Mai told me of our research book," Iroh told Zuko while they both made their way across the deck.

"Of course she did..." Zuko said, not being surprised.

It's not like I'm making a secret of it, Zuko thought. By now basically the entire crew must have seen him write in the book.

His research book contained everything he had learned about the missing Avatar as well as the position of Avatar. To Zuko it was as scenario of knowing your enemy. Even the smallest piece of information he wrote down in order to add it to the bigger picture. Having done so since the start of the journey, he by now had gathered a surprising number of facts.

The past Avatars were especially interesting. Of course everyone in the Fire Nation knew of Szeto, the Avatar from the Fire Nation before Roku. After all, it was thanks to him that the modern Fire Nation existed in the first place. Even the heavy propaganda since the time of Sozin couldn't touch his legacy. Perhaps it helped that Szeto had concentrated so heavily on healing the Fire Nation, that his actual duties as the Avatar had become more of an afterthought.

Avatar Yangchen, according to what he had found, despite being Air Nomad had shown surprisingly little interest in matters of the Spirit World and a rather heavy-handed approach on worldly matters. Those were traits he had not associated with Air Nomads. Avatar Kuruk from the Water Tribe meanwhile seemed to have had a reputation as a slacker during his lifetime and in the first years after his death, but all what Zuko had found spoke of the man having worked himself to death for some reason. It made Zuko wonder why Kuruk had been smeared that way during his lifetime, with the truth only being revealed during the time of Kyoshi.

Kyoshi from the Earth Kingdom in turn was said to have been the longest-lived Avatar in history with over 200 years, though fact also was that in the final 60 years of her life she first had become too infirm to continue her duties and then became a senile wreck, but still stubbornly clung to her life. Kyoshi was a divisive figure. On one hand she was infamous for the sheer brutality she showed at times, on the other hand she had seemed rather apathetic to many developments, like the rise of Chin the Conqueror.

And then Avatar Roku, the last known Avatar... well, at least known to the world, due to only four people on this very ship knowing of Avatar Aang. Roku was a highly censored figure in history due to not having approved of the policies of Fire Lord Sozin. Most of the information about him and his life was strictly controlled and locked away as state secrets.

"Well, you certainly have hints of a scholar within you.. That book by now has quite the comprehensive trove of information regarding the Avatar," Iroh remarked.

"Me, a scholar?" Zuko found that hard to believe. "The real scholars would probably laugh at my attempt."

"Don't say that. Though, your opinion perhaps is influenced by people wanting to see a strong and decisive Fire Lord while ridiculing the idea of a scholar on the throne as not wanting to have a bureaucrat and ink splatterer on said throne," Iroh guessed.

"Which is kind of dumb, if you ask me." That was Mai, who also was done with her training, having heard the exchange. "After all, what we all know about Szeto shows that such people, while very boring, are highly effective."

"True. And once the war finally ends, the Fire Nation will be in need of someone like Szeto, because after a century of war, ending said war will cause severe upheaval in the Fire Nation. After it got used to the war so much and aligned all parts of society and economy to it, ending it in whatever way inevitably will cause a crisis," Iroh said.

It was easy to forget that his whole life Iroh had been prepared to take over as Fire Lord, until his birthright had been taken from him. Of course he would have such insights. To be honest, the idea that actually winning the war would cause severe problems for the Fire Nation at first sounded stupid to Zuko, but after some moments of thinking, it made a fightening amount of sense.

It was an honest question. What happens to a country which for a century had a war as the overarching goal of society and the economy when said war is finally over?

...Northern Water Tribe, early autumn of 99 AG...

Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe let out a sigh of sheer boredom while leaving her rooms after her tutor was being done with lessons for the day. She would never insult that woman, of course, but she was not thrilled to hear from her about lessons she already knew due to her own diligence. She had even told her so, but the woman had ignored that entirely.

Walking down the corridors of the palace, Yue felt like she really needed some fresh air, regardless how cold it was. People might think that being the princess of the tribe was a great thing, but Yue by now had no illusions about her position in the power system of her tribe and it was not one other girls should envy her for.

Fact of the matter was, a woman could not hold the position of chieftain.

It honestly did not matter that she was an only child due to her parents no longer being capable of having more children, by the laws of her tribe she was not qualified for being her father's heir. She found it incredibly unfair, like so many of the policies regarding women in their tribe, but she was powerless to do something about it.

And to think that old healer Yagoda told me that it used to be even worse. I at first didn't believe her until she told me stories from her youth, Yue thought.

Yue knew that in about a year or so, her father Arnook would announce the young warrior she would be betrothed to; the one selected to follow her father as chieftain once he would retire from the position. Yue knew it was her duty to follow without question, but deep inside she was repulsed that she essentially was being treated like a prize to be won with her having no say in the matter.

The elders are in a strange hurry with me. Tradition has girls being eligible for betrothal at age sixteen. I won't be even that old when it happens, Yue thought.

Not that she was alone with thinking that some traditions of their tribe had outlived themselves.

Depite her station, Yue normally had no guards or minders due to the sheer trust in the fact that no one would lay hand on her. Thus simply changing into a parka that did not hold her family designs and have her hood up to hide her hair was enough for her to mingle mostly undetected and hear what the common people were thinking.

That was needed due to the simple fact that her hair was as white as snow, making her very distinctive. That was a result of her personal history. And yes, it meant all of her hair. After puberty had kicked in hard, she got confirmation that all of her new body hair was white as well. She remembered each time girls had commented on it when seeing the hair on her private area in the communal baths.

That aside, listening to the common people, many women - especially those on the younger side - were unhappy with their lot. One woman had wanted to throw away her engagement necklace because she not only had not chosen the man in question but she even likened him to a disgusting walrus. A girl meanwhile had been screaming at her mother that she hated having to learn healing, for which she had no talent for, and was angry she was forbidden from learning how to use waterbending for defending herself.

But it not only was the women. A surprising number of boys and young men were equally unhappy, despite the traditions seemingly being to their advantage. One young man had been in tears, since after finally proposing to his love and her accepting, his parents had told him to forget it, since his match had been decided long ago. That showed that the issue very much could hurt the other side as well. Another man meanwhile had cursed the entire time that had he not been forbidden for learning healing, he now still would have all fingers on his left hand.

Shaking her head at the memories, Yue slipped out onto the streets and no one paid her much attention, meaning her disguise was working.

It all looks normal, but listen and you understand that something explosive is brewing under the surface, Yue thought while walking among the people, the buildings made from ice being the most normal thing to her.

It's all those old people in positions of power wanting to impose what they were taught in their youth, ignoring how many no longer want to accept that. I don't want to think of when it reaches the breaking point, Yue thought.

Looking around, Yue knew the beautiful city made of ice had always been home, and yet when becoming a teenager it had started feel somewhat suffocating, making her wonder about the world outside of the North Pole. That in turn clashed horribly with what she knew was her duty as the daughter of the chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe.

That, and the tribe had a policy of isolation. They even had no idea what had happened in the world over the past decades. Sometimes people vanished, leaving the tribe to never be seen again. One case that had made waves some years ago had been a man and a woman who were in love with each other, but who had different arrangements made by their parents. They had left in the middle of the night and no one had seen them again.

Yue had to step back when a group of girls left what she knew was one if the healing huts, lessons being over for today. Strange that without thinking I walked to this place of all things.

Letting herself in, she saw old master healer Yagoda lock away the scrolls with the lessons. "Well, if this is not the young Princess. Please close the door first."

Yue did so and then pulled back her hood. "How did you know it was me?"

"Lots of experience. Also, as the woman who was there at your birth, saw you grow up and tend to your medical needs, the only ones who know you better than me are your parents," Yagoda said with a chuckle. "After all, I remember the incident when you were five..."

"Oh, please no!" Yue protested.

The incident in question had been her being a dumb enough little kid to try and lick an ice wall. Thankfully, Yagoda had been nearby and managed to use waterbending to release her tongue without any damage being done, but ever since then Yagoda liked to remind Yue about it, especially since her parents had no idea it had ever happened.

"Just a gentle reminder that we old people at times know a lot more than you might imagine," the old woman said with a chuckle. "What does bring you here, Princess? Are you again feeling troubled and feel that you can't confide to your parents?"

"I'm unsettled that my future was already decided for me, but it's actually more than just that..." Yue said with a sigh. "The more I listen to the people, the more I realize it's not only me. Many of the younger people feel unheard, taken advantage of... and they are angry."

"Yes, yes... that's a sentiment more and more common among the young people. Next to half of the girls in my classes have started to question the way things are done. Some are very outspoken how they dislike being reduced to taking the role of healers," Yagoda said, remembering some memorable incidents.

"And yet nothing is done about it," Yue said, stating the obvious problem.

Yagoda sighed. "What you are witnessing, Princess, is a classical power imbalance. The older generations, they hold all the power, while the younger generations, they have none."

"But... that won't stay that way forever, and I sincerely doubt those who are angry about it now will change their mind." Yue saw the future issue.

Yagoda nodded. "And your wisdom shows you would have been a wonderful chieftess. Oh yes, once the young generations get the power, they won't have forgotten and the change will be much more drastic. But there is little we can do about it."

Yue knew that was true as well. Despite both of them being women with nominally high ranks, they had little actual power due to having the wrong sex.

The reminder stung, but it very much was reality.

...Zuko's ship, late winter of 100 AG...

"Well, that was depressing," Mai said while she and Zuko stepped onto the deck of the ship after returning form checking on another lead of an airbender connection. "I had no idea such tactics were employed to catch whatever airbenders they had missed."

"You will soon learn that once a group wants to achieve something badly enough, then everything seems allowed," Iroh told Mai, having expected the outcome but knowing that the teenagers had to see it for themselves.

"I don't know what's more disturbing; the cave full with looted airbender artifacts or the pit close by that was filled with human skeletons," Zuko said, still feeling a bit cold when remembering to horrible sight. "You knew about that, Uncle."

"Yes, I did. The Fire Nation was using those caves to catch the Air Nomads that escaped the first strike. It's a common misconception that the monks and nuns represented all of the Air Nomads. After all, they would have gone extinct many centuries ago, had that been the case," Iroh admitted.

"Alone the idea of a nation consisting entirely of monks and nuns that live celibate and very gender-segregated is dumb. Ask how that's supposed to work, and you'll get silence." However, Mai's snark right now wasn't as biting as it usually was.

The reason for the low mood was today's discovery.

Zuko had followed another lead, having broadened his scope to look for general hints what had happened to the Air Nomands after the attack, since while the population of the four temples had been massacred, Zuko had concluded that that hardly could have represented all of the Air Nomads - who after all were nomads. What about those monks and nuns who had not been at a temple when it happened? What about the actual nomads, who of course had been on the move when it happened?

After all, the Fire Nation logically never could have killed all of them, even though the airbenders had vanished from the world.

The answer however at first had been confusing and today had been confirmation that the Fire Nation had indeed tried its hardest to eradicate the Air Nomads and not shied away from using underhanded and deceitful tactics, like the cave they had seen today. It was filled with Air Nomad artifacts - a honey trap to lure in those who were trying to preserve their culture and then kill them.

Judging by the pit filled with the skeletons of those who had been caught in the trap, these tactics had worked to a frightening degree.

"But... even then, they could never have gotten all of them, right?" Zuko asked Iroh.

"Of course not. I can only harbor a guess, but the remaining Air Nomads after those further losses must have understood that they had a death mark on themselves. Since they had no distinctive features like the tattoos the monks and nuns had on their bodies, it's very likely the only way of survival was for them to give up any expression of their culture and assimilate into the general population," Iroh theorized.

"Airbending would have been noticeable. Weren't all Air Nomads airbenders?" Mai asked, seeing the weak point of the theory.

"Airbending however also was highly connected to the spirituality of those people;" Iroh reminded them. "While they of course would want to hide it, many of them must have become spiritually broken by the horrible fate of their people and their bending ceased. Nowadays due to them dissolving into the population, the trait must have gone dormant."

Zuko thought about the implications of that. "You mean there could be many people with airbending potential out there who have no idea about it?"

"Indeed. I think such individuals may even be found in the Fire Nation, as strange as it sounds considering what the Fire Nation did to the Air Nomads. After a century of intermarrying with the common folk however, there would be little distinctive about those people," Iroh mused.

"Makes you think," Mai said with dry sarcasm. "If the Avatar was reborn several times, the next one for air could be anywhere on the world. Sozin created a needle in a mountain of needles."

You are not making this easier, Mai, Zuko thought, fearing the idea that the Avatar could be reborn at an entirely random place.

Some time later Zuko was writing down his findings into a book.

Besides his book about the Avatar, he had started a second book about the Air Nomads, since gathering clues about them seemed like the next logical step. Today's discoveries were painting a picture that he would not find much on that route, but that wouldn't stop him from trying anyway. Even the smallest clue could be important, after all.

Maybe he should re-visit the Southern Air Temple? After all, that was perhaps the one place outside of whatever information was locked up in the Fire Nation archives where he could learn the most about the Air Nomads. Then again, he probably should wait with that, since last time Mai had been pissed about the difficult ascent and he had no wish to incur the anger of a moody teenage girl.

Having written down everything, Zuko looked at a world map hanging on the wall. He had marked each place where he had found information. Yellow for information about the Air Nomads and white about information concerning the Avatar. There were much more yellow than white markings on the map, showing that information about Avatar Aang were in short supply.

One surprising source had been a Fire Nation colony.

It really had been a complete coincidence when being in port. They had walked by a house, only for him to stop and then point out a carved design which looked suspiciously much like an airbender arrow surrounded by three flames instead of swirls. It honestly looked like someone had tried to mate airbender with firebender symbolism.

Thankfully, Ursa had been with them on that occasion, since diplomacy was not Zuko's strength.

The owner of the house, a woman in her fourties, had explained that the design came from her great-grandfather Kuzon, who used it to honor a friend, and it had been continued in the family since. Kuzon had died about thirty years ago, but he had left the family some scrolls about said friend. It was only thanks to Ursa's diplomatic skills that she had convinced the woman to allow them to read and copy the scrolls.

The scrolls indeed had been interesting.

I must have been incredibly lucky to find the descendants of the one man who knew the Avatar personally, Zuko thought, feeling fortune for once had smiled on him.

Kuzon had of course not known that Aang was the Avatar, since after all the monks had kept him in the temple after revealing that information to him, but the misadventures of two eleven-year old boys nonetheless gave some interesting insights on the Avatar. It also amazed them to read that Aang and Kuzon had actually met a female dragon - considering the dragons were extinct by now, it had made Zuko imagine how it would be to meet a dragon, apart from being incredibly dangerous of course.

The copies of Kuzon's scrolls now sat next to the book and scrolls he had found in the Southern Air Temple.

Zuko stopped when a traitorous thought crept in. What will you do, should you manage to find the Avatar?

Zuko tried to shake it off, but he knew that recently the doubts had grown within himself. His conflict, as his uncle liked to call it, was a constant problem for the young exiled prince. Dealing with it like usual, by ignoring the questions and doubts growing within him, was starting to become more difficult. Zuko was very stubborn and good at lying to himself, but no one could do so forever.

However, part of him also knew that he was avoiding the issue because he feared the painful answers which would change his life forever. No one liked to be hurt, after all.

o

While Zuko was in his cabin, Mai held a conversation with Ursa, who was being busy with brewing something in her big cauldron in the ship's galley. The older woman thankfully did have the ability to hold a conversation while being occupied with other matters.

"I'll be honest. Today was really depressing. How messed up is our nation that it lured the survivors into such traps and then dumped the copses into a nearby pit? And that was just one of those traps," Mai explained why the discovery had depressed her.

"I know, it must be unpleasant for you to learn that our people are capable of such things. All of a sudden our nation doesn't seem as civilized as we like to see it," Usra said wisely while checking the syrup she was preparing. "It couldn't have been a surprise to you, however."

"No. Over almost two years I've witnessed the sheer lows our nation is capable of." While no big surprise to Mai due to her cynicism, it nonetheless had been unpleasant for her. "Urgh, what are you making there? This smells like Zuko's worn socks."

"Interesting that you know what those smell like," Ursa chuckled, then showed off the syrup running off the huge spoon. "This is cough syrup. I plan to fill it into a barrel and sell it to the apothecary in the next colony. This syrup always is high in demand."

"Just keep it away from me." There was no way Mai would ever drink something which smelled like that and also looked rather disgusting. "-sigh- As much as Zuko is bull-headed and with some anger issues, I really care and worry about him. I know, sounds sappy, but I can't help it."

"You worry what happens once Zuko truly accepts the reality of his situation." Ursa stated that as a fact. "Despite his determination, his chances of actually finding the Avatar are next to zero. We all need to be there for him once that realization sets in and he can no longer lie to himself."

Mai knew there were two possible outcomes to that. "Either he breaks down entirely, or it finally starts to set him on the right path. It honestly is a bit pathetic to see him trying so hard to improve his fire while he's holding himself back."

There was truth to that. Zuko was working really hard under Iroh's instructions to rebuild his firebending into something that no longer would be aggressive and rely on anger. But for all the skill he was re-learning and all the determination he was showing, the conflict raging within him was holding him back from achieving his true potential.

Zuko's flames most certainly had become stronger ever since he had found what was driving him, but Iroh had confessed to them, that only solving the conflict within himself would allow Zuko to remove the chains on his bending and return his flames to their real power and size. And sadly, it looked like Zuko would need more time for that revealation to come to him.

"Others would see your being so blunt about it as not caring for Zuko. But I know better. You being so blunt is due to you caring so much," Ursa told the girl.

Mai knew she had little secrets from Ursa, and the woman by now knew her better than her own parents ever had - which, granted ,was a rather low bar to clear. "I hate having to wait and see him struggle through all of this."

"How do you think I feel?" Ursa said with a sigh. "Being his mother, everything in me is screaming to help my son with his struggles, but then I remember that I can't and that Zuko has to reach that point on his own."

It left both of them with the unpleasant knowledge that Zuko was suffering under his inner conflict, but that there was little they could do about it.

...Gaoling, Beifong estate, spring of 100 AG...

Toph Beifong tried very hard not to roll her sightless eyes while being lectured by her mother. The girl would turn twelve years old in early autumn, but her parents tended to treat her like a helpless toddler due to her blindness. She had tried multiple times to tell them that she now could use her earthbending to substitute for her missing sight without problem, but they either didn't believe her, or thought she was being hyperbole.

The only thing they did was to hire that fraud, who is not supposed to teach me anything. Dad should really remember how good my ears are, Toph thought while trying to ignore her mother's words.

Being born blind, she had never known it to be any different, but started to understand why people thought blindness to be such a horrible thing after learning how to use her earthbending to sense her surroundings. The feeling of helplessness when she was unable to sense her surroundings due to circumstances had finally made her understand.

Didn't mean however that it made her appreciate people pitying her. There was a big difference between understanding that her blindness has made things difficult for her and her being treated like a helpless cripple who needed constant observation and coddling.

Boy, my parents would die from shock should they learn I started to participate in underground earthbending, Toph thought with dark amusement.

"Young lady, are you listening?!"

Toph's thought processes were stopped by her mother's question. "Of course I am, mother." The suffering sigh told Toph that her mother was not believing her. "No, really. You are telling me how disrespectful I had been."

Toph knew her parents very well by now, despite her having guessed about that point. Poppy Beifong gave her a disappointed look, forgetting that Toph wouldn't notice. "And you better believe I'm disappointed. After all, the offer from Mr. Kong was very generous."

"You mean the offer to marry me off to his son, who is ten years my senior, aren't you?" Toph told her mother, working hard to hide her disgust.

"Toph, you know that this is in your best interest." It was like her mother had not noticed half of what Toph had said. "Considering your situation, it is only for the best that we find you someone who can take care of you now already."

And someone who can take over the family fortune once you are gone, because you don't trust me with that, either, Toph though darkly, having listened in on that nugget as well.

"Is father very angry?" Toph finally asked, having not stayed for the aftermath.

Poppy sighed. "Your father has vowed to find you a match. And you know how serious he is about such things, so right now he's already checking who should be next to contact. Promise me to not act out like that again."

"I promise not to do that again," Toph promised.

Would be hard to top anyway; I really went overboard. Better scale it down so I get rid of the next jerks my father invites without causing such a blow-out again, Toph thought however, making clear what she felt about this matter.

Thankfully for Toph, her mother let her off the hook after that.

Walking out into the garden, she knew to better avoid her mother, since she reacted badly to her not wearing shoes. Hell, it had already taken a lot of crying several years ago to convince her parents to move her room to the ground floor. The ground floor had a stone floor, while upper floors had wood floors. Considering that she couldn't observe her surroundings through wood, moving downstairs had been a huge relief to her.

It also meant that she was further away from her parents' bedroom and the strange noises she had heard from it in her younger years. She still wondered what that had been about, since she doubted her prim and proper parents were doing wrestling or something like that.

Walking into the garden, her senses noticed the high walls surrounding the entire estate. In her mind the setup was laughable, since such walls posed little to no obstacle to a good earthbender. It was yet another sign of how little her parents actually knew about her. Their obsessive need to keep her safe from the world only helped to fuel her secret rebellion against them.

Not even twelve years old, and yet Toph Beifong was convinced that her life sucked.

On occasion she was dreaming about leaving her parental house behind and set out to take the world by storm as the greatest earthbender who ever lived. But then she would wake up and realize how little realistic those dreams were. Looking at her, most would see a preteen girl shorter than most with a heavy dose of helplessness due to her damaged and sightless eyes.

Even with her great abilities, actually convincing others of her greatness would be difficult. By now she was all too aware of that fact.

That also was why she had started to secretly attend underground earthbending matches. She had started to build up her reputation while at the same time finally having an outlet for her frustration. Now the decision of her parents to keep her away from the public paid off, since most people had no idea she even existed. It granted her a level of anonymity others would kill for.

But it didn't change the fact that what should have been home now started to feel more and more like a prison, especially with her parents now planning to marry her off to someone as soon as she would turn sixteen for 'her own safety'. She knew it meant to stay in the house, obey all and every command of her husband and become a mother to continue the line (however that last point worked, Toph had no idea about).

In their need to be overprotective her own parents were becoming her worst enemies.

However, despite all her powers, at the end of the day she still was an eleven-year old preteen girl who could do little about things she couldn't crush with earthbending. It frustrated her while at the same time giving her a feeling of helplessness she utterly hated.

Yet, she had no idea what to do about it, her still young mind failing at the task.

...several weeks later, in a colony port...

Zuko's ship was in the port at one of the oldest and biggest colonies. This one actually had been founded even before Roku had temporarily forced Sozin to stop creating more. Its development thus had come very far by this point, the colony basically looking like a typical city in the Fire Nation. The city by this pont had moved all the factories to the edge, so that their pollution wouldn't bother the inhabitants.

It also was a port where the ship would stock up on their food supply, which had been drained considerably, with the cook already having led several crewmen towards the market district to fill up their supplies. Several other needed purchases were also being done and by now the sun was slowly moving towards the horizon.

During shopping, the posters announcing the annual festival of the colony's founding at this evening had created attention and one of those posters had made its way back into the hands of Ursa. One look at it and Ursa realized this would be a wonderful opportunity to give her son and his girlfriend a gentle push in the right direction.

After all, being a mother you cared for such things.

"Are you sure about that?" Mai asked again.

"You should not be so concerned. This simply is two teenagers having a good time at a local festival," Ursa reminded the girl while they were walking to the ship's deck.

"Well, neither of us is a normal teenager," Mai reminded Ursa.

Ursa however saw through her and knew the girl was nervous that the whole thing could turn into a bust. "Just let go and relax. There is no one you have to prove anything to, and Zuko doesn't want you to. Go with the flow."

"Go with the flow? I hope you know what you are talking about," Mai said, sounding skeptical of Ursa's advice, wondering how that was supposed to work.

Oh, you will learn soon enough. You still have so much to learn, Ursa thought with amusement. Knowing that despite them having grown closer, Zuko and Mai still had some way to go.

On deck meanwhile Zuko had a similar conversation with Iroh.

"What if I can't give her a good time? Mai is not exactly your stereotypical girl. She hates cute stuff," Zuko told his uncle, sounding every bit the teenager he was.

"Nephew, relax..." Iroh told Zuko, actually relieved how Zuko was acting like a normal teenager. "I'm sure you know what Young Mai likes after all those years being around her."

It didn't look like that was reassuring Zuko much. "Easy for you to say..."

"I remember how awkward both me and my future wife were when we did such things, and we were adults at that point." A look of loss showed on Iroh for a moment. "Don't try to be someone you are not, and it will be fine."

"None of you want to go to the festival?" Zuko honestly wondered about that.

"Both me and your mother have seen our fair share of those. The crew also is more looking forward to music night. Your mother has a beautiful singing voice." Iroh knew the teenagers would feel observed if he or Ursa were nearby. They needed their space.

That moment Ursa and Mai arrived.

"Mai, you... wow..." Zuko was speechless. Mai normally was not one to use make-up, finding it way too girly, but the careful application of a little bit - most likely at his mother's urging - had an impressive effect.

Mai could see that Zuko was impressed, though she still wondered why Ursa had insisted on her using make-up. "Zuko, I'm still myself."

"Eh, yes, but your self is now stronger pronounced." Zuko winced at that line, but the faint blush on Mai's face showed it had worked. Mai offered her arm and together they left the ship.

"Awkward teenagers. After two years of Zuko searching to no avail and his inner clinflict about it, they deserve something good," Iroh said while looking at them using an ostrich-horse tram to get to the festival grounds.

"Yes, both of them have earned to have more happiness." Ursa looked a bit thoughtful. "Zuko is slowly starting to understand the true implications and reasons for his situation."

"No, not understand. He does understand them perfectly fine. It's accepting it all which my nephew has a problem with. Denial can be a very strong thing, and he will be holding himself back until he accepts that my brother doesn't love him and that he means nothing to his father. Painful, thus understandable why he needs such a long time," Iroh said sagely.

Ursa knew that this would be difficult for any teenager, but for Zuko especially. "I noticed that his flames have gradually gotten stronger. Does it mean in his heart he is slowly coming to that point?"

"Yes... The time will come when he will confront the ugly truth of it all. Once that happens, Zuko will go through a change. He then has take make a decision which determines where he will go next." Iroh the shook his head. "But let those heavy thoughts rest for now. Music night is waiting for us."

Ursa knew the crew liked to hear her signing - a remnant from being an actress - and she thus wanted to give them something good to listen to.

About an hour later in the city, Zuko and Mai had come to an interesting conclusion.

They were having fun.

They had not thought it would be like that at first, having had bad memories of all-too formal 'festivities' they had been forced to attent. However, this festival was nothing like that, being a very relaxed and truly joyful celebration. The central square and the connecting streets were beautifully decorated and illuminated by countless lanterns while the people were all having a good time, laughter and cheering being in the air.

It did show a side of their nation many people on the world would not believe it had. Most people in the Earth Kingdom would think that all inhabitants of the Fire Nation were little more than murdering monsters and would never believe that the people of the Fire Nation had lives of their own that were not so different of their own.

However, right now Zuko and Mai had little mind for such observations due to actually enjoying themselves.

Right at the moment Mai had noticed a stand where you had to throw darts to hit targets; get three good hits in and you win a prize. Mai snorted at most of the prizes being offered, them being your typical carnival game junk she wanted no part of. But one prize did stand out to her; that being a black leather choker with some blunt stubby metal spikes on it.

"Ah, I see you have noticed our first prize, young lady," the stand operator said, having noticed her interest.

"Yes. I had not expected something like that to be the first prize," Mai told him, being honestly surprised.

The operator laughed. "Oh, that was due to some kind of mix-up, but my boss then though it would be funny and the adults would get the joke while the children would think it's some kind of animal collar. You want to try your luck?"

That man acts like no one can win that game. Poor fool, Zuko thought when Mai paid and armed herself with three darts.

And it came as expected when Mai nailed three perfect hits for the maximum score without even having to try very hard. Yes, she even looked a bit bored, since those weren't even moving targets, thus negating any difficulty to her. The operator looked astonished at the feat, but then knew Mai had won fair and square and gave the choker to Mai.

"Zuko, would you?" Mai asked.

"Oh, yes!" Zuko then carefully put the choker around Mai's neck. It was not tight or anything and sat comfortably. "It makes you look like a girl who means business," Zuko said when seeing how it looked on her.

"Good, I already start to like it." After all, it was difficult to find things which truly fit her particular tastes.

They had more fun - actual fun - until they sat down on a bench near a fountain - not next to the fountain, no need to tempt fate again - and set a half-eaten bag with fire flakes aside for the moment. Their hands found each other and Mai looked truly relaxed, not even bothering with keeping up her barriers at the moment.

"Well, this is something else..." Zuko had not expected the evening to go this way.

"You don't say so... I know this sounds unlike me, but I'm enjoying this," Mai admitted. "I didn't think I would do so, but with no expectations and no one telling us what to do... Just the two of us trying to find out what we like."

-bum- -blom- "Look, the fireworks display is starting," Zuko noticed, then saw that Mai was really close to him. "Can we...?"

He always asked and Mai appreciated it. While the fireworks was lighting up the sky, Zuko and Mai shared some tender kisses, all of their worries and reason for roaming the world forgotten for the moment.

...the third summer of Zuko's banishment...

"Honestly, how did you rope us into this?" Mai said with a sigh of suffering while sitting down.

"I think Uncle Iroh is rubbing off on Mom. No other way she went along with it," Zuko added while setting down the popcorn bowl between them.

"Don't be so sour. You are never too old for a circus performance. That, and I have heard many good things about this circus. You won't be bored," Ursa told the annoyed teenagers.

Zuko and Mai weren't thrilled that they'd been roped into watching a circus performance at the colony they were currently docking at, feeling they were a bit too old for the circus. However, Iroh and Ursa were of a different opinion and once the show actually started were not shy to applaud or laugh loudly. If anything, it was embarrassing the teenagers a bit.

Them having fun on their own terms was one thing, but being forced to attend something they were told would be fun didn't sound like much fun to them at all.

"You two could at least try acting your age," Mai snarked before munching on some popcorn, not wanting to admit she actually was enjoying the show.

"Oh, why should we do so? Everyone once in a while needs a little fun, regardless how old they are," Iroh told her with a smile.

"Forget it, Mai. Once Uncle Iroh has has mind set on something, it's useless to get him away from it. And it seems my mother got into it as well," Zuko told Mai, not wanting to be drawn into the argument.

"You two really need to relax a bit more," Ursa scolded the teenagers lightly. "You're on a good way, but it could still be better."

Both teenagers rolled their eyes.

They felt treated like little children by basically being forced to attend. Both of them also were rather embarrassed how enthusiastic both adults were about everything. Knowing it was poitless to continue make themselves miserable, they tried to at least get something out of it and began to watch in earnest.

Of course, the clowns and other comedic acts were annoying to them, since those clearly were aimed at preteen children - and Zuko heard Mai under her breath complaining she was close to turning a clown into a pincushion - but other acts were interesting. The animal tamers looked like they were doing a dangerous job and the firebenders really knew how to put on an impressive show. When the knife throwers had their act, it was actually funny how much Mai was snarking that she could do way better than that. And then came the acrobats with downright impressive acts.

"Still feeling it's a waste of time?" Ursa asked teasingly.

"OK, maybe some of it is impressive..." Zuko agreed reluctantly.

The ringmaster then entered the arena. "And next, one of out most popular performers. Welcome the arcobat who can do anything! Applause for Ty Lee!"

"What?!" For a moment Mai's mask slipped when hearing that name.

"Ty Lee? Isn't she one of your friends? I remember her being around you regularly," Ursa said, remembering the young girl, who even at a young age could already do amazing tricks.

"I haven't seen her since I left..." Right then the acrobat entered the stage. Mai recognized her, despite her being older and wearing a circus outfit. "It's her. What is she doing here? I have sincere doubts her parents would want her to join a circus."

"Perhaps we should ask her. This situation is highly unusual," Iroh thought aloud, also wondering how the daughter of a noble house ended up in a circus.

Ty Lee then started her act and it most certainly was impressive.

"Looks like she learned lots of new tricks while we were away," Mai observed, having regained her balance while chewing on some more popcorn.

"I remember what she did in the gardens... Eh, is the human body supposed to bend that way?" Zuko asked when seeing something that seemed anatomically impossible.

"You would be surprised what the human body is capable of, if properly trained," Ursa reminded her son.

Finally, Ty Lee's number was over and she gained thundering applause for her act. The rest of the numbers went by in a blur to the four people in question and soon enough people were exiting the big tent. Seeing that they had no idea where to look, they knew they needed to ask one of the employees where to actually find Ty Lee.

"Excuse me?" Iroh asked one of the clows who was busy with packing away his tools.

"Sorry, I don't think non-personnel..." The man stopped when realizing who he was talking to. Iroh was after all very well-known, which in turn made him realize who those around him were. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sir! Please forgive me!"

Iroh knew right away the man must have served in the army to have such a reaction to him. "I will be generous and ignore what you've said before." A bit of General Iroh was shining through. "If you could tell us where to find Ty Lee?"

They quickly got the description, which led them to a caravan at the edge of the circus area, parked right next to some trees. The caravan looked unassuming, but Ty Lee's name was written on the sign next to the door. Ursa knocked on the door and then waited what would happen next.

The door opened and there stood Ty Lee, wearing some casual clothes. She looked for a moment, then her eyes went wide. "Oh, yesyesyesyes! I can't believe it! I can't believe it!"

Mai paled when realizing Ty Lee was about to enter one of her sugar highs - something she had always dreaded. "Oooof!" She was stopped from saying anything when the girl suddenly shot forward and hugged her.

"Oh, this is so greatgreatgreat! I'm so happy that I can see you again and you are no longer just gray. There's a number of interesting colors now. Oh, and is this Zuko, he looks like a hunk and the scar doesn't look as bad as I had feared. I can't believe you've found his mother, I heard of it but didn't believe it at first and I..."

Ty Lee finally stopped her word vomit when Ursa put her hand onto her shoulder. "I know you are enthusiastic to see them again, but I think there's a better place for a reunion than here."

Ty Lee blinked, before looking a bit sheepish. "Oh, I know the right place. Come!"

A little later they sat in some chairs at a table behind the caravan with Ty Lee serving them some juice while still babbling in her joy at seeing them again. Mai still wasn't exactly thrilled to again having to endure Ty Lee's word vomit, but the sheer enthusiasm the girl was radiating made it hard to dislike her. Zuko in turn tried hard to concentrate on Ty Lee's face, since he hadn't failed to notice that she'd 'developed' a lot since he had last seen her. Mai hadn't missed that either and sent him some warning looks to keep his eyes under control, while Ursa and Iroh watched the whole thing with amusement, relieved to see these two exhibiting typical teenager behavior.

Finally, Iroh felt that mercy was needed for Zuko and Mai and held up his hand. "Clam, child. I think these two are getting a little overwhelmed with your verbal assault."

"Oh, oops!" Ty Lee blushed a little.

Mai enjoyed the silence for a moment, before finally asking the important question. "How comes you are here? Shouldn't you be at home or did you run away?"

Ty Lee's cheerfulness vanished. "You have no idea how bad things have gotten since you've left. Oh, and that wasn't exactly nice to leave me all alone to deal with Azula."

"To be honest, we have no idea at all what happened after we left. Why don't you tell us?" Zuko admitted, unnerved how serious Ty Lee suddenly looked.

Ty Lee sighed, while sitting down. "I honestly can't blame Mai for leaving; it's quite romantic after all. However, Azula felt that this was a very personal betrayal, so Mai's has become 'she whose name shall not be spoken'. The one time I did, I lost ten centimeters of my braid."

Mai and Zuko shared a look. They had never lost a thought on the idea that others could suffer for Mai's decision to leave. Now that they got the reminder, Mai felt kind of shitty for having left Ty Lee in such an unpleasant situation. While it would have been impossible for her to give the girl at lest some kind of warning, considering that she was incapable of keeping her mouth shut, it still made Mai feel a bit guilty.

"I never intended..." Mai attempted to apologize, which was very uncharacteristic of her.

Ty Lee however shook her head. "I know you never intended to hurt me. It feels like do a good thing and an equally bad thing happens. After the braid thing, my parents became scared for my safety while Azula... She was angry, but in a cold way. Her aura looks really scary now. She also became more of a control freak."

"I honestly don't like where this is going..." Considering how Azula had been the last time he'd interacted with her, Zuko didn't even want to imagine her after those changes.

However, Ty Lee wasn't done. "It actually becomes worse. Azula felt that she needed someone else to replace Mai; a girl she felt would never go against her. Mai's replacement - I hope I never see her again. She's a brute of a girl who looks more like a man with overly many muscles and who is called Astria. She absolutely loves violence and does anything Azula orders her to without question. Right on the first day we officially met, Azula suggested ripping off the head of a turtleduck, and that girl did it right in front of my eyes with a sadistic smile. Thank all goodness she's no firebender."

There was a moment of silence, with everyone shuddering what Azula could form out of someone already that violent. Zuko also was disturbed due to his love for turtleducks, remembering the times he'd fed them together with his mother.

Ty Lee shook her head. "And then there are Mai's parents." She looked to Mai. "They've literally erased every trace you have even existed and act as if their young son is their firstborn. I went by their house one day and heard horrible shouting coming from the inside, before your uncle and aunt stormed out, looking like they were ready to kill. They grumbled how could your parents do this to you and that they felt pity for the then unborn child. I really don't want to think what they'll do to your brother."

"I'm a big sister..." Mai had thought she would feel nothing, but even though she had never met her brother she felt concerned for him when considering how badly their parents had screwed up with her.

Both adults meanwhile shared some looks and they both knew this was a messed-up situation, but there was little they could do about it. Mai's parents were prominent nobility with good connections to the Palace, while they both were in no position to help in any way. It was a sad truth and drove home how far they had been pushed down.

Ty Lee then drank half a glass of juice, before she continued "My parents were jumpy ever since the braid-incident, so when I was done with school, they were all too eager to help me get onto a Fire Nation circus touring the colonies - far away from Azula. I'm really happy here. Everyone appreciates my talents."

"Oh dear..." Ursa had guessed from everything Zuko and Mai had told her, that things back in the Fire Nation were not good on the personal front, but they'd obviously neglected to see if others would suffer from it. "You poor girl..."

"No, really, I'm much happier now!" Ty Lee insisted, while standing up. "Everyone likes me here and says I have great talent. The audience always applauds when I show what I can do. It's the happiest I've ever been!" To underline it, she made cartwheels around the group, finally regaining her happiness.

"You've obviously found your calling in life," Ursa observed, "I knew you were good at gymnastics back then, but never imagined you to become this good."

"Great, isn't it!" Ty Lee then let herself fall back into her chair. "But enough of me! Ohhh, you must have seen so many exciting things while traveling around the world. Oh please, tell me, tell me everything!"

Mai felt another headache coming up. It was nothing personal against Ty Lee, she even was glad that the girl got away from the hellhole that was the capital of the Fire Nation. However, Ty Lee's energetic personality was like sandpaper on her nerves. Add to it that this would take longer and they had to edit their tales to spare Ty Lee the more gruesome details of some places, and it would be a test of endurance for her.

"Eh, that could take a while," Zuko tried to get out of it.

"No worry, there are no more shows today, so I have all the time in the world. Oh pleeease! I bet you saw some really exciting stuff and I really want to spend more time with you!" Ty Lee almost begged.

They had not known at this point that their stay would be over a week, making them realize that Ty Lee had a strange but very effective way of convincing them. And as much as both teenagers would deny it, they actually did enjoy reconnecting with her, culminating in them promising to write to her so that she could read of their further travels.

It almost felt like them being normal teenagers.

...southern arctic ocean, almost 3  years after Zuko's banishment...

It was cold. Well, that was little wonder, considering that the ship was currently cruising in the southern arctic ocean, evading icebergs on its way to the South Pole. Add to it that it was the start of the winter season, and the area would be most uncomfortable to most. Unless someone had a real reason to visit this part of the world, one generally stayed far away from it.

Thing was, they did have a reason to enter this unpleasant place.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Zuko watched the horizon. The cold didn't bother him much, while he was remembering why the ship was currently cruising through these waters. After almost three years of searching, Zuko saw this as one of the final leads he could pursue before he was out of ideas and had to think of something else.

Now I start to understand how Sozin must have felt. And to think I actually learned more than he did... Zuko was not letting this demotivate him, but it gave him some perspective.

All other leads had proven to be useless and it seemed the Avatar had never been in the Earth Kingdom in the first place, which gave Zuko two last hopes: that either the last airbender was still living in the Southern Water Tribe, even though he now had to be an old wreck, or that the Avatar was reborn into it. Zuko didn't want to imagine the Avatar living in the Northern Water Tribe, as that due to their defenses was unreachable for him.

It of course created questions of their own.

Wouldn't the Avatar, if being in the south, long ago have done something when being confronted with the genocidal attacks by the Southern Raiders? It was that glaring question which made the whole idea of the Avatar being in the south more like grasping at a straw. And yet... something had compelled Zuko to actually entertain the idea and take course south.

Zuko himself wondered a bit why he'd ordered course towards the South Pole due to the Fire Nation having made good on destroying the tribe by force and root out waterbending. When Mai had openly asked him why he would go to that spirit-forsaken land, he could only tell her it was a feeling, causing his girlfriend to roll her eyes and sigh.

He knew Mai felt he was wasting his time in this place and she had discovered a place she hated almost as much as the Fire Nation capital, due to her freezing her ass off. That was Mai at her purest. Snarky, sarcastic and taking no shit from anyone; he couldn't have wished for a better girlfriend. He knew she was very nice under her hard shell, but she would only show that to the ones she trusted.

Looking to his left, he saw Iroh and Ursa enjoying some warm tea while playing some sort of board game he did not understand. Iroh was not bothered by the cold, while Ursa preferred to wear a heavy coat, despite having an inner fire of her own. Maybe she simply didn't trust her firebending skills too much, as she had never managed to let any fire leave her hand. Holding a flame in her hand seemed to be the best she could do despite all the progress she had made with her bending.

"Why are you staring at the empty ocean?" Mai asked, having appeared behind him. Unlike Zuko, she'd put a hundred curses on how damn cold it was and was wearing a thick coat, annoyed that it seriously hampered her throwing skills.

"It's a strange feeling I've been having even since getting out of bed. The feeling that something important could happen..." Zuko had no way to explain it, the feeling was just there.

"Of course." Mai had long since given up on trying to understand any spiritual stuff. For her it all was just a huge pile of crap she didn't give a damn on. "Don't complain to me when you get a cold, however."

It was now Zuko who rolled his eyes. "I don't get colds due to..."

"I know, because you have an oven in yourself. Something I'm lacking." Mai was more annoyed by the cold and being forced to wear thick clothes than she wanted to admit. "I honestly hope you see reason fast and get out of this place. I wouldn't have believed there is a place I would come to despise almost as much as my former home."

Coming from her, that meant something.

"-sigh- You know, staring at the horizon won't make anything magically happen," Ursa told Zuko when looking up from her game. "Why don't you join us? Iroh has some warm tea that Mai could really use right now."

Zuko saw that Mai's mood was worsening due to the cold and realized to better accept the offer. "Maybe a cup or two can't hurt if it means..." Zuko stopped in mid-sentence.

This sudden change unnerved Mai. "Zuko?"

"There... is something." Zuko felt strange and then noticed his mother looking disturbed as well while she was walking up to them, having abandoned her game with Iroh.

"You feel it as well?" Ursa asked, "It's so strange, as if something is about to happen."

She didn't look like she was in pain, so Zuko was not concerned, yet if both of them but no one else felt it, then he was not imagining things. Though, it did create the question why he and his mother were feeling it, but neither did Mai nor Iroh. Things like this, where he was not getting a concrete answer, were things Zuko didn't like.

His thoughts were stopped when all of a sudden a bright column of light erupted from a place behind the horizon, rising far into the sky, while at the same time the seals and sea lions on the ice floats woke up and howled in union. Even Iroh had gotten up and the four of them together looked at that column of light in strange fascination.

The light lasted for quite some time before it faded away.

"Zuko?" Mai wondered, now concerned what all this could mean.

Zuko had deep inside not expected that this day would ever come, but this was a sign all too clear. However, if it was true, he also soon would have to make a very difficult decision for the future - a decision he had avoided the entire time. He had avoided even thinking about it due to it meaning his world would change forever, but the decision he hoped he never would have to make was now approaching fast.

"The Avatar."

to be continued...

End of Book I

Next Episode:

"Avatar Aang"

Chapter Text

Book II: The Waves of Change

"Water... Earth... Fire... Air...

My grandmother used to tell me stories 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. A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war.

Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world."

-Katara

...in the cold waters of the South Pole...

Sokka and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe were experiencing one of the strangest days of their entire lives.

However, that actually was no big feat considering that their lives took place at one of the most boring places in the entire world. Both teenagers knew the Southern Water Tribe wasn't a place where anything interesting would ever happen - apart from pain, that was. Even their surroundings were radiating a monotony that could crush positive thoughts. Yet, it also had been home their entire lives and they knew nothing else, so they didn't mind.

What had started as normal fishing trip had first dissolved into a serious sibling squabble after Katara had tried to catch a fish with her waterbending. That had resulted in a soaked Sokka insulting her waterbending and off they went, until their canoe had been caught in a strong current, resulting in one crushed canoe and them being stranded on an ice slab.

Then to top it off, an insensitive comment from Sokka had made Katara's temper explode and her out-of-control waterbending had caused a huge iceberg to shatter, causing a strange ice bubble to emerge from the ocean, with a person locked inside of it. Of course, Katara the good Samaritan had bashed it open - well, it more exploded from the inside after she hit it a few times - and they had met a boy named Aang.

They both knew that despite Aang saying nothing about it, all the light and Aang himself glowing for a moment hinted at something strange going on.

Thanks to the stories their grandmother had told them, they knew from his looks that Aang had to be an airbender, as impossible as it was to believe. Katara had noticed her brother getting more and more annoyed with Aang's antics and himself suffering the fallout of such, his mistrust of outsiders and notorious skepticism coming to the front. There also had been the problem of getting back home.

At least that problem had solved itself.

Right now they were on their way back to the village on the back of something Aang called a 'sky bison' named Appa. Neither Sokka nor Katara believed this huge animal could actually fly - though Sokka had been way more blunt about it - but at least it seemed to be a good swimmer. Aang however had been strangely evasive of their questions and even Katara, who was easy to give her trust to others as long as they weren't Fire Nation, was frustrated about his evasive answers.

They knew he was hiding something from them, but didn't talk until Aang had fallen asleep.

"Katara, this is crazy, right? You know what Gran-Gran told us; the Fire Nation killed all airbenders long ago and he's completely ignorant of even the most basic recent history - stuff that even we know. Add to it that he emerged from an iceberg, something impossible since he should have simply frozen to death, and I think he's keeping something big from us," Sokka finally said when feeling secure Aang wouldn't listen in.

Katara was at times frustrated with her brother's mistrustful attitude - which was rich considering her attitude concerning the Fire Nation - but he did have a point. "I wonder how long he has been in there? He doesn't even seem to be aware how much time has passed."

"And what about that strange light? Don't tell me that's just a coincidence! I tell you, Katara, regardless what he is keeping from us, it must be something serious," Sokka said further, himself not being hampered by Katara's overly big compassion.

This made Katara think. "It's almost like he's more than just an airbender." She didn't continue her thoughts aloud, since she didn't want Sokka to pick her hope apart, but everything considered, it was almost as if Aang... Katara held onto the small hope in case it could be true. "I think we should better go to Gran-Gran as soon as we are home."

"Yeah, I think she'll know best," Sokka admitted. "At least that way your bleeding heart can't get us into more trouble than we already are in."

"Sokka..." Katara growled, again annoyed that her brother saw her compassion as a danger.

Ever since their father, the chieftain, had left with the other men of Wolf Cove to fight in the Earth Kingdom, their grandmother Kanna had become the unofficial village leader until his eventual return. She'd managed to get everyone through the past two years without too much trouble, so everyone had by silent agreement accepted her authority in the absence of Chief Hakoda. After all, it wasn't like they had any rules against a woman taking charge.

The siblings for now tried to ignore each other - also nothing new - Katara being offended at Sokka's jab against her soft heart and Sokka bemoaning Katara being too trusting for her own good.

Truth to be told, the siblings often went on each other's nerves; at times over the most stupid of things. Sokka and Katara couldn't be more different, not counting the fact that she was a waterbender and he wasn't, despite them being siblings.

Sokka was clearly taking after their father Hakoda, always trying to take charge and wanting to be a warrior, while also showing signs of their father's love of creating things, as a crude watchtower in their village was proving. That however also meant Hakoda being away to fight in the war had been quite a blow to Sokka and he was feeling that he was learning nothing important now. Yet, while he could be a nice guy, he also was a huge skeptic, easy to annoy and his acidic sarcasm at times really set off Katara.

Katara was taking more after their mother, being very compassionate and finding it easy to accept strangers, despite the tribe's history. Their mother's loss to the Fire Nation some years ago therefore had hit Katara very hard, far harder than her brother. While Sokka severely disliked the Fire Nation, Katara said she hated it. Katara's easily given trust and experimenting around with her waterbending was bound to set off Sokka, and once pushed too far, Katara would get really bitchy as well.

It was a perfect mixture for a complicated sibling relationship, despite them caring a lot for each other.

A little later Sokka arched an eyebrow when he looked up. "Looks like we don't have to go to Gran-Gran, Katara. She's already waiting for us."

Looking up, Katara saw that they'd finally reached the village. She also saw the people waiting for them. Even from a distance they could see that their grandmother Kanna was in equal parts worried and angry, while the three women beside her had their arms crossed, obviously not being happy with the two teenagers, who somehow had managed to lose their canoe and were returning on the back of some huge animal.

"Is it too late to jump into the sea?" Katara said when seeing what was waiting for them.

"Sadly, yes," Sokka said with a sigh. "Let's face the music..."

"Both of you have a lot of explaining to do..." Kanna greeted them as soon as they had climbed off.

Sokka and Katara gulped, then accepted trying to lie to their grandmother was impossible. They knew the attempt would only get them into more trouble.

Thus they related the whole story. The women looked looked disappointed that they had lost a canoe due to a stupid sibling squabble and Sokka and Katara knew there would be consequences for the loss. However, when their story reached the strange events surrounding Aang, everyone's expression changed. They all seemed interested in the boy who was resting on the head of the sky bison, while Kanna looked very nostalgic when hearing how Katara's waterbending had caused this to happen.

"Be glad you two are too old now, or I would have tanned both your backsides good with my big cooking spoon," Kanna finally said, making Sokka and Katara gulp again.

Sokka remembered the big wooden spoon all too well from his childhood days and Katara, despite now being a responsible teenage girl, had been quite a brat in the past and her backside still had phantom pains from the times the spoon had been used on her as well. Gran-Gran was really nice, but she had no tolerance for brats and their tantrums.

Kanna knew the threat had lost none of its effectiveness when seeing the siblings pale a little. "But your punishment isn't important for the moment. Now show me the boy."

Kanna took a closer look at the sleeping Aang, while Katara couldn't hold back any longer. "He looks exactly like the airbenders in your stories. Monk robes, shaved head and this arrow tattoo. I really think he's an airbender."

"Yeah, but Gran-Gran, he doesn't have a clue at all about what's going on. He acts as if the war had never happened," Sokka added, still being a bit skeptical about Aang. "And don''t even start with the whole 'found inside an iceberg' thing."

"That is what concerns me," Kanna finally said, looking up. "Even an airbender could not survive inside an iceberg; it honestly should have killed him. You also told me about how he was glowing. Hmmm... I do remember something, but right now let's wait what he has to say." She turned to the women. "Bring him into Sokka's tent and make him comfortable inside some spare furs."

The three women obeyed and carried Aang away, Appa dutifully following.

Kanna then returned her attention to Sokka and Katara. "I honestly don't know what to do with you two. I send you on a simple fishing trip, and you go on such an adventure. Even your father wasn't that difficult..."

They knew this meant the discussion was over and they followed her back into the village.

"Whew... either Gran-Gran is in a good mood, or Aang is really distracting her. I was sure we would have been forced to do extra chores again," Sokka told his sister in relief.

Katara remembered the last time they'd been forced to do extra work - again due to their squabbling causing something to get damaged. She was till trying to forget the smell... "I wonder who Aang is. Gran-Gran seems to know something."

"You know her. She won't tell until she's sure. So don't even bother," Sokka reminded her.

Katara sighed. Despite his character flaws, Sokka was really good at pointing out the facts. Right now they could do nothing but wait until Aang would wake up. It also was starting to get dark, so the day effectively was over and both of them soon would have to prepare for the night. Nights at the South Pole were very cold after all.

Kanna watched her grandchildren retreat to their respective tents, Sokka trying hard to ignore the sleeping sky bison next to his tent.

I wonder if they even realize what this could mean... Yet, it's so long since the Avatar has last been seen. No need to get up my hopes. Yet, who is Aang? Kanna wondered, before the cold wind made her shiver a little despite her thick coat, reminding her that in her very advanced age, she wasn't as good anymore in ignoring the cold as she used to be.

Sigh, these old bones seem to no longer have much tolerance for the cold, she thought, before retreating into her own tent.

...at the same time at sea...

A very serious discussion was about to take place in Zuko's cabin.

Shortly after the light from behind the horizon had died out, there was the problem of what to do next. It was only now that the four of them were in the privacy of Zuko's cabin that they could talk about it, however. They all knew what the light meant, and Iroh's attempt to dismiss it as a mere celestial light had been shot down by one meaningful look from Ursa - though the teenagers didn't know that one.

Zuko for his part was still pacing while the other three were already seated, causing Mai to roll her eyes. "Zuko, stop trying to wear down the floor and sit your butt down."

Zuko did as told, but that didn't lessen how unsettled he looked.

"I can't help it! This comes out of nowhere and I..." Zuko was trying to express what he was feeling but failed to find the correct words for it.

Ursa however had a good idea what was troubling her son. "You don't know what to do now. Deep inside part of you was relieved that you probably would never find the Avatar, since it meant you would not have to make the difficult decisions. Now however you no longer have a choice in the matter."

"That..." Zuko tried to deny it.

"Zuko, don't try. We know you better than that," Mai silenced him. "You found it comfortable not having to make a decision and avoided thinking about what happens once you do find the Avatar.."

Zuko didn't even try to deny it. The Zuko of right after his banishment before discovering first Mai and then Ursa would not have thought twice about handing the Avatar over to his father, fully believing it would set things right. However, he no longer was that Zuko and the years had changed him in ways he had tried to ignore. Alas, all the denial in the world now was a futile effort in light of what had happened.

"I'm conflicted! I want to return home - I'm longing for it and the possibility is finally here! However..." Zuko now looked like someone had kicked him in the gut. "It also would mean leave those behind who are close to my heart."

That was so very true. Neither Mai nor Ursa would be able to return with Zuko to the Fire Nation, both of them for their own reasons. That of course made the idea of returning much less attractive for Zuko. After all, it was thanks to them that even in exile his life had improved and there was no way he would act like they didn't matter anymore.

"Damn it, Zuko, for making me blush," Mai cursed, but there was no venom behind it.

"However, regardless how major of a part that is, there is more," Iroh observed calmly, knowing Zuko needed it to be spelled out. "You feel that not delivering the Avatar zu the Fire Nation, helping him instead to end this war, will make you look like the worst traitor possible, who thrust the dagger into the back of the victorious soldiers."

Iroh had said it.

The choice was sadistic for Zuko. Either he would deliver the Avatar and condemn the world, or he would help the Avatar and suffer the consequences. Should he actually become Fire Lord, many people would hate him for backstabbing their soldiers, spitting onto all the sacrifices they had made and all the dead of the war. Zuko would have to work hard to make up for that. He was damned either way and had to pick his poison now.

"We know it's unfair to you, that ending the bloodshed would make you look like the villain," Ursa told her son.

"However, there is a way to mitigate the impact." Iroh saw Zuko giving him his full attention. "You have to show that you truly care; that you protect those that will be your subjects in the future, regardless if soldier or civilian. Then, and only then would you be accepted."

"You make it sound so easy..." Zuko knew that doing so would be difficult.

After all, when it came to him, nothing ever was easy - everything was difficult.

About half an hour later, the die had been cast.

Zuko was nervous while standing on the deck of his ship, which was illuminated by several lamps.

Before him stood the entire crew of the ship, which was anchoring at the moment so that even the helmsman could attend. Zuko knew this would be a big turning point in their whole journey. It had been a difficult decision for him to make - a very difficult one.

In the end he had made the decision to support the Avatar. However, that didn't automatically mean he would be hostile to his own nation. It was one thing to give support to the Avatar, but something entirely else to be actively hostile to his home country. It was an understandable reluctance, since active hostility against his own nation would be a huge burden should he become Fire Lord in the future.

He knew, there would be no going back and he had not made this decision easily. He could still be forced to fight against his own nation; against men who only were his enemy because they believed in their nation. It gave him a very uneasy feeling, but he knew it could happen, as painful as it was to admit so.

Three years ago I would have called what I'm doing now treachery. Look at me now... Zuko thought.

The whole thing still felt unreal to him and Zuko felt like crap that he had been forced to make such a decision in the first place.

However that was just his personal decision. The more difficult part would be to get his crew to walk this way as well. While he knew they were loyal to him, he could not be sure if they would do this final step as well.

He finally addressed them. "Men, by now I am sure all of you have heard about the strange column of light we have seen. I have consulted with my family and together we are now sure about it... The Avatar has returned."

The crew started to whisper among themselves, which was a natural reaction to these big news. Their very job on this ship after all revolved around finding the Avatar for Zuko. Now that they knew their goal was so close, they were starting to worry about their future, since they had all fully expected to never again see the Fire Nation. Very understandable worries indeed.

Zuko waited patiently - something he always had trouble with - until he again had their full attention.

"When I first set sail, I was fully prepared to hand the Avatar over to my father. Yet, over the years I have seen the sheer suffering this war had brought to all nations, including our own. I have made my personal decision. I can not hand the Avatar over to the Fire Lord. I want to help him end this war, convince him that ending the war does not mean destroying the Fire Nation. Yet, I can only make this decision for myself, not for you. I would understand if someone can not can not follow me and I would never hold it against them."

This started more discussion among the crew and Zuko knew that he now had to wait what the final result would be. "I hope we don't lose too many men, or we will be unable to use the ship any longer," he remarked to Iroh while watching the discussion nervously.

"I think you don't give our crew enough credit. You have not only earned their respect. You have earned their trust by growing into a responsible leader," Iroh tried to disperse his doubts. "They are fully prepared to follow you to the end of the world and each of them has personal reasons to hate the war."

"Really, Zuko. The one thing that's constant about you is your pessimism," Mai complained, rolling her eyes. "I'm by far no optimist, but even I can see that the crew will be on your side."

"You are such a ray of sunshine..." It was times like this where Zuko felt Mai had rubbed off on him a little with the sarcasm.

"Oh, I do what I can," Mai gave back.

Zuko then looked to his mother, as if to get her to make a comment about the whole issue at hand.

Ursa shrugged with her shoulders. "What? I have nothing to add. Even if they decline, you can count on us, although it will be a lot harder without than with the crew."

Zuko shook his head. "It's just so unreal. The Avatar was always something so far away that I thought this day would never come. I had made myself comfortable in what we have. It has come so sudden and I still fail to really understand how things are changing."

"Just believe in yourself, Zuko. You have grown a lot over the years and I have confidence you are ready for this," Ursa told him, hoping it would calm his nerves.

Finally, the crew finished discussing and Lt. Jee stepped forward, clearly being the spokesman for the crew.

"Prince Zuko, after long discussion, we have come to a decision. I admit it was difficult for some of us, but in the end all of us agreed to stand at your side. When you came on board first, you were a spoiled prince and we felt it almost being a punishment to be on the same ship with you. However, you have grown and changed, earning our respect and trust. All of us have their lives set onto a dead end due to the war. You have proven to be a more capable leader than your father, since you care for those serving under you. We will stand behind you as one man, Prince Zuko."

Zuko couldn't help but blush a little at how his crew was trusting him. "I don't... know what to say."

Lt. Jee held up a hand, not being done yet. "Prince Zuko, we discussed what it meant helping the Avatar and realized that it also meant toppling the Fire Lord. Despite your youth, we feel you have far better leadership skills than your father and would make a far better Fire Lord. Helping the Avatar also means helping you reclaim your birthright. All of us do not want to see Princess Azula ascend to the throne. It would mean the ruin of our nation."

Zuko hadn't even thought about that fact. Azula as Fire Lord... horrible idea. Considering how she was when I left, imagine her in ten years...

"So, what are your orders, Prince Zuko?" Lt. Jee asked.

Zuko composed himself. "We take course in the general direction of the light at slower speeds, since these waters are treacherous due to the icebergs. Keep on the lookout for settlements, since this surely is where we will find the Avatar. Be careful, we do not want to appear hostile to the Southern Water Tribe."

"Fat chance. After all what the Fire Nation did to them, they'll surely strike first and ask questions later," Mai snaked, remembering her history lessons. "They'll hardly welcome us with open arms."

"Although young Mai here could be a bit less sarcastic about it, she is right. Considering how much blood has been spilled, the Water Tribe will be hostile, unless you make your peaceful intentions clear to them right from the start. Even then it will be an uphill battle," Iroh cautioned Zuko.

Zuko didn't even want to imagine a whole village of angry warriors lynching him as soon as they would recognize him as being Fire Nation.

Ursa meanwhile stood back with Iroh.

"I'm so proud of him. But I noticed that the entire time while we were talking that Zuko's relationship with Ozai did not come up," she told Iroh.

"Zuko's inner conflict is not over. The personal part is the most difficult one. In his heart Zuko still has hope that somehow things can be mended with his father, even though he knows perfectly well that it is impossible. He knows how my brother treated you, but he is irrational about his own treatment," Iroh told Ursa what he thought the problem was.

Both of them wondered what would happen once Zuko actually no longer lied to himself about that as well.

...the next day in the village...

Things were not going well.

Katara had hoped that with showing Aang good hospitality, he would open up and tell them the truth. However, nothing of that kind had happened. Aang was still evasive with his answers, although by now it was painfully obvious that he was hiding something from everyone. He was constantly trying to do something new in order to avoid any deeper conversation.

At least he had proven to be an airbender to the tribe, although he mostly just used it to entertain the children of the village with tricks and his glider, much to Sokka's annoyance after Aang had crashed into his watchtower. The crude tower had held, despite Katara thinking it could collapse easily, meaning she had underestimated Sokka.

That's the first time I've seen someone trying that hard to distract himself, Katara thought while looking to Aang.

Aang seemed easily distracted and up to all kind of nonsense. They were just returning from penguin sledging with some of the older children, Katara having been forced to watch over them so no one would get too close to the old wreck of a Fire Nation ship which was forbidden to everyone. Katara honestly wondered how much of Aang's behavior was a front and how much was really just him being twelve years old.

Aang was still goofing around with the children, allowing them to play on Appa, when Sokka pulled Katara aside, finally having had enough of this farce.

"Katara, this can't go on. He is doing everything he can to ignore that things have changed, insisting he can just return to the Air Nomads. He's been ignoring all the hints we are giving him. If we don't do something, I know this will end in tears!" Sokka told her bluntly.

Katara sighed. While she'd found Aang to be a great guy, it was painfully obvious what was happening. "He's in denial and ignores anything that could tell him things have changed. I doubt anything other then telling him point-blank he will work, as he'll otherwise promptly ignore it in order to keep up the illusion that everything is OK."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's tell Gran-Gran and there we go," Sokka asked, wondering what the problem was.

"I fear how he will react once he learns that his people are all gone. I don't think he'll take it well," Katara cautioned him.

Sokka looked in pity to her. "Oh, and should we rather let him walk around, pretending all is nice and dandy until he returns to his temple just to see heaps of bones?"

Katara didn't even want to image how Aang would react to that, yet her mind conjured an imagine of the young airbender being pushed over the edge at seeing the undeniable truth that the Air Nomads were no more. To her horror her imagination very much thought it possible that Aang would kill himself in his grief. Not a nice scenario at all.

Katara sighed. "Let's talk to Gran-Gran first..."

They both walked over to Kanna, who seemed to already have an idea what this was about.

"Gran-Gran, this can't continue," Sokka told her.

Kanna sighed, looking to Aang entertaining the children with Appa. "I wish it had not come to this, but better tell him now than him finding out in the worst way possible. This is why making the hard decisions is never easy."

"He'll be devastated once he hears the truth." Katara worried how Aang would react once being confronted with the facts.

"He'll be hurt anyway. Better do it here than him naively approaching firebenders." Kanna felt cold when she imagined the naive Aang do that and the consequences of it.

A little later, Aang was surprised that the whole village had gathered.

The 12-year old felt a bit uneasy when seeing that it just consisted of women, children, two crippled men and old people, a part of him he tried to ignore was wondering where all the other men were. The sight of all the adult men of good health missing had been nagging at him ever since he had woken up in the village. However, he had done a good job at ignoring that strange fact as best as he could.

Besides being somewhat distracted by Katara - the first girl his age he had any meaningful interactions with - he'd actually ignored a lot of things that did not mesh well with the world as he learned it should be; had not lost a thought at how long he could have been inside that iceberg in which the teenagers from the Water Tribe had found him.

Though, considering his situation, him trying to pretend that everything was alright made sense. Part of it was understandable due to him being a 12-year old boy on whom life had played a cruel trick.

His life had been great, with him having a loving mentor in Gyatso who was like a father to him, good friends who stood to him, the freedom to live as the child he was and a nice home in the Southern Air Temple. Then one day, everything had been taken from him. His freedom got severely restricted and his friends turned away from him. When he was about to get sent away to never see his mentor Gyatso again, he had left in desperation.

Being the Avatar sucked big time, so much he knew.

Katara had also correctly observed that he was in denial. To him, the very idea that everything he knew was gone was so unbearable that he unconsciously had done everything to tune out any clues that he had been in that iceberg for a long, long time. All the more reason for him to be nervous, since being confronted with the whole village was not a good sign at all and returned the underlying fear of being forced to accept what could have happened.

Kanna as the spokesperson stepped forward. "Well, young Aang, we've decided you evaded the truth long enough."

Aang knew right away he was in trouble. "Eh, what are you talking about?"

Kanna knew she had to be blunt about it. "The truth that you have been locked in that iceberg for 100 years."

Aang answered with laughter. "Oh that one was good!"

"Young airbender, do I look like I'm kidding?" Kanna asked him, looking dead-serious.

Aang gulped, desperately trying to refute that. "You must be wrong! Get me to the capital of the Southern Water Tribe at Wolf Cove and..." A humorless laugh from Sokka stopped him. "What?"

Sokka looked in pity at him. "Aang... you are standing in what remains of the capital of the Southern Water Tribe. What you see here IS Wolf Cove."

Aang looked around, taking in the tents, the small snow wall and the one central igloo which was not even made of ice. "Impossible! I know it is a massive city made of ice buildings and a huge wall surrounding it... not... this!"

Kanna shook her head. "It was that in my youth, but that was so long ago... Just look around, the Southern Water Tribe was scattered into villages like this one. What you see here are the sorry remains of the once powerful Southern Water Tribe."

"But... the waterbenders would have..." Aang stammered, eyes wide.

Sokka sighed. "Aang, meet Katara, my sister, the last known waterbender on the entire South Pole - although her tricks can hardly be called that." He ignored the hard look Katara gave him for insulting her lack of proper training of her bending powers. "All the others either got killed by the Fire Nation, or kidnapped and are pobably dead by now."

Aang turned around to walk away. "No, I don't believe you! I'll just get Appa and get back to the temple!"

"Aang, you can't! The Air Nomads don't exist any longer," Katara finally told him.

Jerking around to face her, his eyes were wide with horror. "No! You must be wrong!"

Kanna knew it was cruel, bur Aang needed to know the truth. "No, young airbender. It is the truth. You were gone for 100 years. You have no memory of it due to being in that iceberg. The world as you know it has went up into flames. 100 years ago the Fire Nation attacked the Air Nomads and massacred them. It was the beginning of a war that is raging up to this day. Our people paid a horrible price and are driven close to extinction as well, while the Fire Nation is conquering the Earth Kingdom."

Aang started to tremble. "They... are all gone?"

Katara gave him a sad look. "Sorry, Aang, but you are the last airbender alive."

The brutal truth was undeniable, despite him wanting to still deny it. Somehow he knew they spoke the truth - since what reason could they have to lie to him? He remembered things he heard by accident in the temple from the elder monks, how they were worried that dark clouds were at the horizon and that the Avatar was revealed early because they didn't have the luxury of waiting until his 16th birthday. He now understood that the monks somehow had known something bad was about to happen.

And he had run away... abandoning them when they needed him most, resulting in them and countless others paying the ultimate price.

Aang felt falling into a deep pit of despair. "What...what have I done? This is all my fault!"

"Aang, none of this is your fault..." Katara tried to calm him down, but Aang shied away from her, becoming more agitated by the second.

"No, you don't understand! They depended on me and I ran away! No one can understand me! No one!" everyone moved away when suddenly Aang's voice sounded like the voice of legion, his eyes and tattoos starting to glow a bright white.

Tribe members gasped when seeing that.

"My people, the world... what have I done?!" Aang cried in his strange voice, the wind starting to rotate around him like a local twister.

"Gran-Gran, what the heck is going on?!" Sokka shouted half-panicked, trying like everyone else to stay out of the strong winds surrounding Aang.

Kanna looked as equally relieved as she was worried. "This boy is the Avatar... But he still is a boy, and right now his grief is hurting him more than anything else."

"Nooooooooo!" Aang howled in emotional pain and in a bright flash a pillar of light shooting to the sky.

o

Yue felt her heart being heavy while paying her respects to Avatar Kuruk.

The final resting place of Avatar Kuruk, the last Avatar from the Water Tribes, had already a long time ago become a temple dedicated to the Avatar. Located at the edge of the city of the Northern Water Tribe, it was a majestic building, its smooth icy spires visible from afar, while the main body of the temple was molded from bright rock - some even said Avatar Kyoshi herself had built it with her earthbending to honor her predecessor after his name had been smeared in years prior.

The main hall of the temple housed a larger-than-life statue of Kuruk, holding watch over his own grave at the feet of the statue. It was one of the most spiritual places in the entire tribe, though some writings left by Kuruk hinted he would have been horrified at being an object of prayer.

Right at the moment, Chief Arnook and his daughter Princess Yue were paying their respects to the late Avatar, bemoaning times long gone by. Arnook, a man in his late forties, looked hardened and he still held onto his beard from his warrior days, though by now gray was starting to creep into it. Also, his fighting days were over and politics were now his battlefield, as much as he bemoaned that fact.

Yue could not concentrate however, and that was for two reasons.

The first reason was resting around her neck in form of a betrothal necklace. That had happened a mere week ago and Yue already knew that fulfilling that duty would be no fun. Hahn, the young man she was set to marry, was arrogant and boorish. He had not been Arnook's first choice, either, but the elders had overruled him 'for the good of the tribe'.

Considering Hahn's character, the explanation sounded bizarre to her. She honestly didn't want to imagine him as chieftain, unless his personality got a major makeover. It also again made her wonder why that was supposed to be urgent enough to happen before her sixteenth birthday.

What game are they playing? First acting like they are in a hurry and then select him of all men? Yue wondered.

The other reason was her visit to the Spirit Oasis this morning. When looking at its waters, she had seen a picture appear on the surface. Said picture looked like her being together with two others, holding close onto each other. Sadly, she had been unable to see any details before it was gone, though her father had been unsettled by whatever it was, thus why they currently were paying their respects to Kuruk.

"...thus we know our tribe is safe. Watch over us, Avatar, as we pray for your return..." Yue finished her prayer to the Avatar, then looked up at the familiar statue, which she'd known for all her life. However, suddenly... "Father!"

Arnook looked up and gasped when he saw the eyes of the statue glowing. "By the spirits!" He looked closer, his eyes wide. "Is this possible? After so many years?"

"Chief! Chief! Come quick!" one of his guards suddenly called from the entrance gate. "You have to see this!"

Despite the sign from the statue, Arnook knew the safety of the tribe came first. Running outside, he saw the people pointing at the highest spire of the temple. Looking up himself, he saw it glowing the same way as the eyes of the statue did. He then saw his daughter approaching, her eyes wide in wonder.

"Father, is this a sign?" Yue asked, her blue eyes seeming to sparkle in reaction to the light.

Arnook knew what it was - what it had to be - especially after seeing the strange sparkles in Yue's eyes, and he felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "Yue, the day which we have longed for so many years has finally come. The Avatar has returned to the world."

Yue had the strange feeling that the world had been set in motion.

o

It was a beautiful day on Kyoshi Island, the final resting place of Avatar Kyoshi, despite it being the very start of winter. The trees had lost the last of their leaves and it was starting to get colder, yet it would be a bit before the first snow. The inhabitants went on with their daily lives, knowing they had prepared thoroughly for the winter and just had to sit it out for some months.

Suki for her part held little attention to the activities surrounding her while talking with Oyaji in the central square of their village in front of the big statue in honor of Kyoshi. The statue had seen better days and was quite dirty after years of being exposed to the elements.

Right now however, neither of them had eyes for the statue.

"...and I wish you would get a bit more of a life, Suki. You are a young woman, life doesn't solely revolve around being a warrior. A few of your girls have already found nice young men who find nothing wrong with having a warrior as a girlfriend," the elder lightly scolded Suki.

Suki rolled her eyes at the recurring topic. "I just haven't found the right man... I mean, remember Kyoshi herself..."

"Kyoshi herself made it clear she was the exception to the norm, being vehemently against other women blindly imitating her on that regard. It was a purely personal choice on her part and she only got away with it due to being the Avatar," Oyaji reminded Suki. "I also hardly think you are attracted to your own sex."

Now Suki was glad her face paint was hiding her blush. Some time ago she had complained that the other girls were constantly having boys on her mind, and now look what the topic of conversation was. She honestly wished that Aoma was still leading the warriors, but the woman had retired due to injuries and was now more occupied with that new boyfriend of hers - a simple fisherman.

At least Suki was reasonably sure she was not attracted to other girls. After all, she and the other warriors were sharing a bathing house and she had seen them naked countless times and even in more recent times the sight had been entirely ordinary to her, not a spark of attraction detected. That aside, she was stuck with a lack of viable options.

"Sadly, the supply of boys who can stomach me are in short supply on this island," Suki finally admitted. "One told me to the face I'm too intimidating, while another said that I'm married to my duty and there is no space for anyone else."

"And you know that is not true. Many warriors before you have proven so," Oyaji reminded her.

"I know, but..." Suki then noticed how the people around them had stopped what they were doing and had their eyes on the statue of Kyoshi. Wondering what this could be about, she looked up the statue, and gasped. "Elder Oyaji, look!"

Oyaji looked up and his eyes widened when he saw it. "Good gracious!"

The eyes of the statue had started to glow and they weren't the only people noticing it. Everyone in the square had stopped what they were doing, looking at the statue and its glowing eyes in awe, before the whispering started, everyone getting excited at what they were seeing. After all, such a sign was something which last had happened in the time of Avatar Roku.

"Elder, what does this mean?" Suki asked, her youth preventing her from knowing the signs.

Oyaji was in high spirits, his excitement making him look far younger than he was. "Something wonderful has happened. The Avatar has returned."

Suki tried to think about it, but while she knew how important this sign was, she was unable to truly grasp what the ramifications would be. Having grown up in a world without the Avatar and not yet having learned anything about the Avatars beyond Kyoshi herself. She felt strange about this turn of events.

"What does that mean?" Suki wondered.

"Everything..." Oyaji told her.

o

The Eastern Air Temple was not being untouched by those events, either.

Guru Pathik was watching the big statue of Avatar Yangchen in anticipation. He had woken up today with a feeling that very important things would soon change the course of the world. His feeling was proven true when the eyes of the statue started glowing, as did the eyes of the other statues in the hall.

Even someone as old a Pathik had not witnessed something like that. No human being alive today had witnessed such a monumental event before. Pathik for his part knew of his role in the events that were sure to unfold soon enough. It was something he had felt was his destiny ever since taking up residence in the temple.

A knowing smile crept up Pathik's features. Now the healing of the world can finally begin.

He also knew that there would be much to prepare for.

o

On Crescent Island however, the sudden event of the eyes of the statue of Avatar Roku in the inner sanctum starting to glow did have a very different reaction from those witnessing it. Unlike the other nations after all, the Avatar was an enemy of the Fire Nation and the news of his return would be seen as bad news.

A number of Fire Sages were in a stage of panic, having never expected something like this to happen. They had long come to the conclusion that the Avatar was a thing of the past and would never return, so this had caught them on the wrong foot. Other sages were shaking their fists in anger, since they had made themselves comfortable in a world with no Avatar and his return was threatening everything they knew.

The head sage however knew exactly what to do. "Send a message to the Fire Lord! Top priority! The Avatar has returned!"

Those orders finally broke the paralysis of the other sages, them understanding that soon enough they would be confronted with the Avatar himself. Still, the glowing eyes of Roku's statue felt like a bad omen to many of them - like a warning that the comfortable days of them being mere servants of the Fire Lord were coming to an end.

Walking away from the other sages, Shyu tried to get his excitement and fear under control.

It has happened. Just like the future Avatar had said it would, had thought.

He was excited, because what the future Avatar had told him so many years ago was now finally coming true. He'd never forgotten her, and now that the Avatar was truly returning, he was filled with hope that the madness that had infected his nation could finally be put to an end. To end the war which had set the world ablaze and thrown their nation into a dark abyss.

Yet, he also was afraid, since the Avatar would also be in grave danger and when he would come to the temple at the equinox - something Shyu was sure he would do - Shyu knew he would have to turn traitor to his own nation to help him.

And then there was the dark fate of the other Avatar's world in the future.

Shyu knew whatever the Imbalance was, it had to be something truly horrible that the future Avatar had found that altering history would be the smaller of evils. It told Shyu that there were powers at work that were bigger than even the Avatar or the spirits. Powers which could very well bring along the end of the world. The thought alone was terrifying.

The wheel of fate has again been put into motion and I can only hope I won't be crushed by it, he thought, while planning his next steps.

He knew the equinox was still some time away, plenty of time for the Avatar to get used to the world in its current state of affairs. Hopefully it would be enough to make him weary of the sages. Shyu knew he would have to prepare for the day of the equinox when he would have to lead the Avatar to the inner sanctum, since he knew the other sages were also aware of the significance of that date.

From this moment on, the Fire Nation would do anything to hinder or stop the Avatar, and preventing him from meeting with Roku would be part of that.

o

The inner sanctum of the Southern Air Temple was as devoid of human life as the rest of the temple area. In the big room, the statues of all Avatars past were standing in silence, watching over the dark, empty room. The only thing living in it was a lemur, which was busy with eating some insects. It had discovered the peace of this place by accident and found it to be a great retreat from the other lemurs.

It looked up, when a sudden light disturbed its peace.

It looked in fascination when the eyes of all the statues lit up. Mesmerized by the light, the lemur felt different from before. It no longer was just existing, but had gained some better thought processes, starting to see its surroundings in a different light. It no longer just existed - it now was more.

It then also noticed someone else waiting for it and strangely enough, it felt no fear, depite the one waiting for it having no scent and not even being solid.

o

"He's going to destroy the village if this goes on!" Sokka shouted, having trouble keeping away from the spiraling winds surrounding Aang.

Katara had thrown herself into a pile of snow to temporarily ward off the winds. "It's his pain! He can't think straight!"

The winds were expanding and they had every right to fear that it could destroy the village, the ground under Aang already being being reduced to bare ice, after the wind removed the snow in a big circle surrounding him. Aang himself was screaming and crying, being oblivious to anything else surrounding him in his emotional pain.

"Whatever you do, stop him!" Kanna shouted, feeling that her old bones should not be exposed to something like that. Exitement should be left to the young generation, after all.

"Stop! Stop! STOP!" Sokka shouted to Aang, of course with no effect.

"It's not enough..." Getting up, Katara again saw the look of sheer devastation on Aang's face and she started to walk into the howling winds, fighting not to get blown away.

"Katara, are you mad?!" Sokka shouted, feeling his sister had just went mad by actually walking into the inferno.

"Aang! Aang! Please stop! I know you are hurt and nothing makes sense, but you are putting us all into danger!" she pleaded to him, fighting to not be blown off her feet. "Please stop, otherwise you destroy the village!"

Aang was not stopping his crying, but the winds did start to slow down, before disappearing entirely. The white glow vanished and Katara barely had time to catch Aang, before he fell into her arms, physically and emotionally spent, where he continued crying his eyes raw. It was heartbreaking to see someone being this emotionally broken, everyone looking sad now that the danger was over.

"My suspicion was right; Young Aang is the Avatar," Kanna then finally said.

Sokka knew after this show that he had no place to doubt her. "I remember the old stories. Isn't that Avatar guy the only one who can use all four elements?"

"Good that you remember. It seems you didn't find my stories boring," Kanna told Sokka, then looked to where Katara still was being busy with calming down Aang. "A very strange turn of fate that he ended up with us..."

"Oh yes..." Sokka looked with thinking hard for a moment, then sighed. "So, what do we do now? This is going a bit beyond my horizon."

"He can hardly help anyone is the state he is now." Kanna didn't mean it mean in any way, just a factual observation that Aang, despite his display of power, was right now not exactly like those powerful Avatars of old.

Watching Aang being helped to his feet by Katara, Sokka knew what his grandmother meant. "Yes, not exactly a powerful warrior. But what does that mean for us? For the tribe?"

"Lets worry about this later... Hm?" Kanna stopped in mid-sentence when she saw something strange.

Sokka looked up, as did the rest of the village... and stopped in fear. The young children wondered why the adults suddenly seemed to be so tense, not knowing the sign of bad news which was slowly snowing down onto the village. It looked like snow, only that it was black, leaving dirty patches in the white snow.

"No, no, NO!" Sokka cried and looked with anger at the open sea. "Why?! Why can't you leave us in peace?!"

Kanna looked equally scared, having seen this way too often in her life. Sorrow hit her when she realized that even now she again would have to witness senseless brutality and their people being murdered for merely existing.

Aang had just gotten over his fit of crying and now was wondering what was going on. "...what...what is this?" he asked weakly, being utterly puzzled at what this was and why everyone reacted with pure terror.

"It is a sign of great pain to our people," Katara told him. She almost felt like crying herself, since she did remember the last time it had happened. She would never forget that day. "Whenever the black snow falls, death and destruction will follow. I know that too well..."

Sokka knew Aang didn't know. "This here is soot - soot from the boilers that power the ships of the Fire Nation," Sokka explained to Aang, looking towards the sea, where it was getting foggy. "They are coming here to hurt us even more."

"I don't understand." To Aang the concept was alien and frightening. "Why do something that horrible?"

"If there is a reason, we don't know it. Perhaps sometimes evil doesn't even need a reason," Kanna said with a heavy heart. "Fact is, the black snow fell each time before the Fire Nations attacked, to decimate our tribe and to kill or kidnap all our waterbenders. I can only imagine they could now be coming to take you away as well."

Now Aang felt very afraid. While he still was trying to understand all of this, the tribe had told him enough to understand that something nasty was about to happen.

...half an hour later...

"Great, now they are going to be itching for a fight after our soot rained down onto their village," Zuko griped while boarding the small steamboat, cursing the change of wind giving them away early. And that so soon after witnessing the pillar of light that proved the Avatar's presence.

"I for my part still think this is downright stupid. The four of us in a village full of water-peasants who are all too eager to kill us? Tell me again why this is supposed to be a brilliant plan?" Mai complained to Iroh, since she was kind of attached to her health.

"We have to be the ones to make the first step. Also I believe you think to little of them. They are not wild beasts which will rip us apart on sight," Iroh reminded her, although he knew a risk actually was present.

Mai didn't seem moved. "If this was meant to reassure me, it didn't do the trick."

"You are not alone, I feel like having a block of ice in my stomach. I really can't fault them to hate the Fire Nation after all that was done to them. Yet Iroh is right, we do have to make the first step," Ursa told Mai.

"And if they decide to attack us?" Mai questioned.

Ursa sighed. "Then we can finally test how fast we can run away..."

Nothing more was said while the boat was lowered into the water and started to move towards the shore. They could have used the ship to land, but Iroh was worried it could send the wrong message if they appeared out of the bow doors of a warship. No need to make them more trigger-happy than they already were. However, there was no going back after having already made their decision to help the Avatar.

Finally reaching the shore, they had no trouble to find the village. It was pitiful. If that was what the once proud Southern Water Tribe was reduced to after countless raids, it seemed doubtful they could ever welcome someone from the Fire Nation. The village basically consisted of one central igloo, four dozen big tents around it and everything surrounded by a snow wall with a crude guard tower. It looked downright depressing to see what the tribe got reduced to.

Surprisingly, they were not greeted by an angry horde of warriors. No, the only thing thy saw was a teenager holding a spear, his face covered with war paint. That honestly created the question what was going on if that was the reception they were getting.

It looked bizarre enough that Mai couldn't help herself. "Don't tell me you've raided a girl's makeup box for that. Are all boys here more girly than I am?"

The boy looked astonished for a moment that he was just made fun of, before composing himself. "Fire Nation scum is not wanted here. Leave, now!"

Mai decided to needle him further. "Oh, really? You and which army?"

That resulted in him attacking them with his spear... or at least, he tried to. Zuko had taken hold of the weapon as soon as possible and with a quick shove threw the boy into the snow, disarming him in the process. The boy however only looked more determined, drawing a war club before attacking again. The end result was the same: disarmed and thrown back into the snow. Zuko found it more sad than anything, if that was all the tribe could put up against them. Still not giving up, the boy pulled out a boomerang of all things.

"Please stop," Ursa pleaded with him. "We really don't want to hurt you, but there will be injury if this goes on. We are not hostile, we just want to talk to the Avatar."

"Yeah, sure..." They saw in his eyes how much he despised them. Being from the Fire Nation was reason enough for him to try and kill them. It was a painful reminder of the state of things.

Sokka was about to throw his weapon, when a hand to his wrist stopped him. Aang had appeared out of one of the tents. "Are you completely out of your mind?!" Sokka asked angrily, feeling that Aang had just signed his own death sentence.

"Maybe we should hear them out first..." Aang said timidly, feeling out of his comfort zone with this confrontation.

"Why is the Avatar still a kid?" Zuko blurted, recognizing the tattoos of an airbender. "He should be much older by now!"

Aang felt more out of his element by the second. "Eh, you know... that's a really funny story."

"This is more and more becoming a farce," Mai commented, recognizing the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"Stop that nonsense right away!" Kanna shouted, having appeared from one of the tents. "No one here has any love of the Fire Nation. Can you even prove that you are not hostile? This could be some kind of trick."

"Please, only the four of us have come to show our goodwill. We have come unarmed..." When Ursa said this, Mai gave her an annoyed look. She hated leaving her blades behind; she felt naked without them. "...and had we been hostile, the boy would not be alive by now."

Sokka scowled while picking up his weapons. "Oh, and your word means so much after what the Fire Nation did to our tribe?"

Kanna finally did have enough. "You have to give us more proof than just that of your intentions."

"I thought you would be mistrustful. I had this with me ever since our journey started. I felt we would one day visit your tribe." That said, Iroh pulled two scrolls out of the bag at his side and offered them to Kanna.

Kanna saw the symbol of their tribe on them, opened one and after some moments looked up. "How did your get your hands on waterbending scrolls from our tribe? They were either destroyed or stolen by the raiders."

"Waterbending scrolls?!" Looking to one tent, they saw Katara storm out of it. Completely ignoring their unwanted visitors, she made a beeline for Kanna. "Let me see! Let me see!"

"Katara, you little traitor!" Sokka gasped, being shocked at his sister forgetting herself at the mention of waterbending scrolls.

"Uncle, where did you get those?" Zuko whispered to his uncle.

"The were part of the archive of looted scriptures. Before we left, I took them, since I had a feeling those could be useful," Iroh admitted to Zuko.

Kanna meanwhile had finally given up on keeping Katara from the scrolls, and knew there had to be structure in this now. "We shall hear them out. If they don't have good reasons for being here we can still make them leave."

"I hope you won't mind if I set up some tea. I'm sure all of us need to warm up a little," Iroh suggested, causing Zuko to facepalm.

So they did explain their reasons for being present.

Of course they left out things that were too personal of a nature - like what exactly happened to Zuko and Ursa's tale. Those things honestly were too personal to reveal to practical strangers and Zuko didn't like to talk about that day, either. It was kept in more general terms so that they context was still understandable.

Nonetheless, they did talk about how Zuko had run afoul of his father just for wanting to do the right thing, and thus got burdened with a task that his father knew was impossible to fulfill. Needless to say, the tribe realizing who was visiting them made them very uneasy and Zuko could feel the looks his scar was getting, but he would not tell what it was about. It was way too personal of a thing.

When they covered how they had searched the air temples and what they had found within them. Aang couldn't keep quiet anymore. The Western Air Temple had horrified him, even though the description of how it had become a giant tomb had been brief. However, the situation at the Northern Air Temple surprised him.

"It kind of makes it more real when you tell what the temples are now... so empty." Aang looked pained, the reality of his situation hitting him again. "What about those people living in the northern temple? What you told us sounds..."

"Oh yes, it is terrible what our nation is doing to them. They are making their home there, and yet unbeknownst to them they are under constant threat. Though perhaps you'll see for yourself in due time," Ursa told Aang, knowing he had to be fragile right now.

Aang felt like he should, dreading to see how much the temple had changed. He also had difficulties to imagine such cold-hearted extortion.

The tale continued then. Aang looked surprised at their encounter with Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple, them wondering what that could have been about. However, when the tale shifted to what happened at the Southern Air Temple - Aang's home - Aang became uneasy at the description what his home now looked like. The confirmation that no one had survived there was depressing to him.

However, when the writings of Gyatso were mentioned, Aang looked up. "He wrote a letter to me?"

"Yes. I hope you don't mind that we read it. However, we will of course hand his writings over to you." When he said that, Iroh gave Zuko a look that told the teenager to not argue about that.

"You left the temple all on your own?" Katara asked, having heard that in the context of things.

"Yes, I did..." Aang remembered it all too well, since to him it had been mere days ago. "I'll talk about it when I feel ready, OK?" He was relieved that the group had respected his privacy and didn't spill all the details they had learned about him.

The tale then moved to the journey in more general terms and how they saw first-hand that the war was ruining the world - even their own nation. It was not exactly uplifting to hear the sheer scale of suffering and destruction the war had caused. It was most important to show how it had been this journey which had made Zuko decide to actually help the Avatar to stop the war from going on.

During that tale and a recounting how Zuko was hunting even the smallest bit of information, Aang again grimaced when the trap caves were mentioned and what in the end happened with the remaining Air Nomads. However, when the tale reached the descendants of Kuzon, he sighed.

"Kuzon died of old age... I know it would happen, but hearing it..." Aang again felt the reality of his situation sink in when hearing his friend had died of old age.

"I can't imagine how that must feel," Mai told him honestly. "However, what made you two think it's a smart idea to walk up to a dragon like imbeciles? You were lucky she didn't turn you into roasted meat."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Dragon? Aren't those really huge and breathe fire?" At getting a nod, Sokka looked to Aang. "You have a severe lack of self-preservation instincts."

Aang knew there was no defense, now that he thought about it.

Soon enough the tale ended with their decision to not capture Aang. Now they were waiting for reactions.

Katara, who had not let go of the scrolls the entire time - and she only barely stopped herself from reading them - broke the silence. "Oh, and now we are supposed to suddenly trust you?" Katara asked rather unkindly.

"Of course not," Iroh waved it off, before heating up his tea with his palm since it got cold so fast. "Trust is earned, thus we need to let our actions speak for themselves."

"Nice words," Sokka said, through the edge was gone from his words. "But that true enough, since I believe in results, not words." Sokka clearly didn't trust them, but compared to Katara it was mild.

Zuko became uncomfortable with the looks Katara was giving him. "Eh...? Did I do something wrong?"

Kanna sighed and one look told Katara to rein in her temper. "It is a very personal matter - even beyond what our tribe has suffered. Sokka and especially Katara won't trust someone from the Fire Nation unless given serious reason to do so and being sure they won't be backstabbed."

"Sounds really sad, but also smart," Mai had to admit.

Iroh saw they needed more to convince them of their good intentions. "Now, I will show another piece of goodwill. As the Avatar, you do need to know some things about your predecessor, Avatar Roku."

"I know only very little of him. Many of the monks didn't like to talk about him out of respect. To them, his death still was a recent thing," Aang admitted, also wondering about the man who had been the Avatar before him.

"It's not like we know much more. Roku has become a highly censored figure of history in the Fire Nation," Zuko said, remembering his lessons about the man. "Even then, some truth was kept, as my uncle told me. He and Sozin were friends, until Sozin's politics broke them apart. When a volcano erupted that ultimately killed Roku, Sozin didn't help him. Believe it or not, history books claim that was a good thing."

"How can letting someone die in cold blood be considered a good thing?" Katara was shocked such a thing made it into history books.

"It may be hard for you to hear, but some people want something so badly that they are willing to destroy all of their humanity to get it, Though, if they also will be happy with their choice is a different matter," Iroh told the girl. Iroh knew the story by heart, having read the final testament of Sozin often.

"Sozin learned of that harsh truth only way too late." Iroh pulled out a small scroll from his coat pocket and gave it to Aang. "The Fire Sages have tried to keep this locked away, but I made a copy in secret. Sozin's final thoughts, shortly before his demise. Please read it to all of us and you'll understand."

Aang opened the scroll, then read aloud.

These will be my final words to the world, since I feel my life nearing its end and my inner fire getting smaller with each day.

Looking back at my life, I only now, at the end, understand. In my last year of life I finally came to realize how much more beautiful the world had been before my actions caused it to darken. You only start to appreciate things when they are already gone. It is an irony that I only now, close to my death, understand.

Each day I am confronted with the results of my actions. I am alone. I have no one left who would honestly grieve for me. My son Azulon has already taken over in all but name and left me powerless, just waiting for me to finally die. His coldness and power-hunger are a reflection of how I failed everyone. The nation I love so much has been infected with anger and hatred; it no longer is the Fire Nation I grew up in and I have no one to blame but myself.

Whoever may read this, learn from my errors. I thought I would spread the greatness of my nation to the others; share our progress with them. Yet, on the way I lost sight of what I wanted to give, my once noble intentions twisted into forcing the other nations to accept what we force onto them. It all started with good intentions...

Once I die, I will wait for Roku to appear and give me my judgment. Regardless what he decides, I will accept his decision... Just look at me: an old fool regretting the decisions he made.

"You understand why this is locked away?" Iroh explained once Aang was done.

"Oh yes. Would hardly fit with his image as the great conqueror should that get public," Sokka said. It was blunt and crude, but hit the issue dead-on

"Let this be a lesson, young Avatar. In this world, nothing is purely good, or purely evil. The Avatar itself is a good example. Always human, it's the decisions you make that determine what kind of Avatar you are, not the idea that the Avatar is good by nature. There indeed have been some Avatars who turned into horrible despots when the power seduced them. Each time left scars that needed generations to heal and the Avatar was seen as a figure of despise instead of hope."

"I never knew there were evil Avatars," Aang said in surprise, the mere idea of an evil Avatar being downright frightening.

Iroh was again surprised how young and innocent this Avatar still was. "Oh, I understand why they are not spoken of. It is a harsh reminder that even the Avatar, champion of balance, can fall prey to the darkness lurking in man's heart. Though, them acting against what the Avatar stood for locked them out of their full potential and they all took a bad end."

"As if what I'm waking up to wasn't enough already..." Aang sighed, remembering the whole war issue. "I guess you want me to end the war?"

Surprisingly, it was Zuko who shook his head. "As we see it, you right now are in no condition to stop anything. You can only airbend. You can hardly be an Avatar without the other three elements. Did you even think about that?"

"Oh, yeah... I kind of left before I was starting to learn those," Aang admitted, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm not really good with making plans..."

"OK, stop!" Sokka finally shouted, making everyone shut up. "So, to sum it up. You and the crew of your ship had a change of heart and want to end this war. You dumped a ton of exposition into our laps to prove you don't plan to knife Aang as soon as you can. Aang here is supposed to end the war, but right now kind of sucks, since he can't do the thing the Avatar is famous for. Does this sum it up nicely?"

"Pretty crude, but it hits on the head. Maybe you are smarter than I first thought," Mai said, again unable to stop herself from inserting a zinger. Sokka was just such an easy target.

"So, what do we do now?" Aang asked the big question.

...the following morning...

"I still have a bad feeling about this. Why did Gran-Gran decide that we stay on their ship until we depart at the Southern Air Temple?" Katara complained with her arms crossed, looking at the Fire Nation ship docked at the shore, while final preparations for the journey were being done at the moment.

Yesterday's discussion had been long and heated at times. Aang's question of what they should do now was more complicated than imagined.

They knew that right now Aang wouldn't be able to help anyone, having not learned anything but airbending and being a bit too young for the job anyway. Learning the elements had priority if Aang was ever to be capable of making a difference, and waterbending was next in the cycle. Of course it did provide the problem that there was only one waterbender left at the South Pole, and Katara only knew little about it as well.

It was kind of funny how Katara had looked when Kanna took the waterbending scrolls off her to copy them, saying that Katara could use the copies while the originals should stay safely with their tribe. She had been in a pissy mood ever since, which was not helped by what was happening right now.

It was decided that Aang needed to go to the Northern Water Tribe in order to learn proper waterbending. That had priority for the moment. It of course created the question how Aang was supposed to reach the other side of the world. Despite them no longer thinking Zuko would try to hurt Aang - he after all had had more than enough chances to do so - they didn't completely trust him to house the Avatar on his ship the entire time.

Letting Aang fly north on Appa on his own was also out, considering what had happened to him when he ran away from home. When Aang had protested, Kanna had reminded him that he ended up in an iceberg for a century. That had shut him up.

After lots of discussion it was decided that Katara and Sokka would stay with Aang while he'd fly on Appa towards the North Pole. They literally were the only ones left in the tribe who could take this journey. Additionally, Katara had almost begged them that she should do it, wanting to learn proper waterbending from a real instructor, instead of just doing so from the newly copied scrolls. Kanna had given her a look of pity she had not understood.

At the same time, Zuko would make his way north as well, checking the route ahead. He'd then wait for Aang to catch up and they'd go some of the way together before parting ways again. It was a compromise, but considering how much the tribe and Aang had suffered from the actions of the Fire Nation, it still was more than expected.

"Come on, Katara! Even though I don't really trust them, I don't think we will be in direct danger. Don't you think you take this a bit too personal?" Sokka complained.

Katara knew exactly what Sokka was playing at. "Don't you dare to bring mother into it! You act like her sacrifice doesn't matter, trusting those, those..."

"Katara, your brother never said that. It is you who can't set her anger aside to concentrate on what is important," Kanna said, having appeared behind Katara a little earlier.

Katara saw the disappointed look Kanna gave her. "Gran-Gran... I..." She swallowed hard.

Kanna shook her head. "I won't tell you what to do and you anger is very understandable. Forgiveness can only come from one's own heart. No, I came to tell you something before you go. Should you indeed reach the North Pole, I fear my personal history will catch up with you. You know, originally I came from there."

Sokka whistled. "You were part of the Northern Water Tribe? That's on the other side of the world."

Katara had not known that. "But, why did you never...?"

"Yes, a long way... I never told you, since talking about it is hard. Katara, have you ever wondered what my necklace is supposed to be?" Kanna asked Katara.

Katara touched the necklace she was wearing. She knew it used to belong to her grandmother and then her mother, before it was given to her after Kya's death."No, I always thought it was some kind of jewelry, but nothing else."

Kanna sighed. "There is a custom in the north. You see, it is a betrothal necklace. These are given to the woman when the man proposes to her." Kanna saw how uneasy Katara looked. "Back when I was a very young woman, I was very independent, yet I suffered under the role of women in the tribe. My mother explained that during her own childhood, there had been a conservative backlash and the role of women in the tribe got marginalized. Women were pushed into purely domestic roles, to be there for household and family and nothing else. More conservative men even expected women to be subservient to them. Waterbending was forbidden for women, except for healing."

"WHAT?!" Katara exploded. This went against her very belief that women and men were equal. "What kind of caveman attitude is that?! Our tribe would laugh away anyone even suggesting that!"

Katara had difficulties to fully imagine it.

In their tribe the role of women was quite different. Kanna had of course told her the stories of female waterbenders defending the tribe - thus proving women were not being reduced if they learned how to fight. In the later years that attitude got expanded out of sheer necessity and the idea to reduce a woman to a purely domestic role by now sounded absurd.

Katara might not show it often, but like her brother she had learned the basics of how to defend herself and did a lot of jobs for the tribe that the North clearly saw as men's work.

"I fear it has become firmly entrenched by now. Avatar Kuruk would turn in his grave at the mere idea... Well, there was one very skilled waterbender named Pakku, who had an eye on me, but while I certainly was smitten with him, his attitude was repulsing me. I felt I couldn't be with him because he was one of those conservatives. Then one day, he proposed to me, gave me this necklace and in flowery words expected me to marry him due to our parents having agreed to it. Expected in that in his eyes my decision was irrelevant and the date already set."

"That is..." Katara was trying to find words. "And he found nothing wrong with doing that?"

Kanna knew how that had to sound to Katara. "It's the values he was raised with. Imagine my surprise when I found my mother in tears, her telling me our fathers already arranged everything and deemed it not necessary to even tell me. I valued my freedom very much, so I packed up my things, left and never looked back."

"That's just plain wrong..." Katara held onto her necklace, now knowing the history behind it.

"And we have to go to those people?" Sokka asked with an arched eyebrow, since Katara was too angry to put coherent words together. Sure, his personal opinion was that women were better suited for some domestic tasks, but never ever would he even think about what his grandmother had just told them.

"Don't get me wrong, they are not evil. However, cultural norms that from the outside look horribly wrong can still be quite durable. Katara, if you truly want to learn waterbending, you have to fight for it. They will most certainly attempt to marginalize you into a healer."

"You better believe I will fight for it!" Katara growled , feeling deeply hurt in her female pride. "I will show them! I will work three times as hard to learn all I can on my own from the scrolls and when I arrive there, I'll force them to teach me!"

"Man, the whole thing is so wrong," Sokka concluded.

While he was far from being progressive, the idea of women being reduced to that was alien to him. He had grown up with men and women sharing the same responsibilities and jobs. They hunted, went fishing, helped keeping the village in good repair and shared a lot of domestic stuff. Only being a warrior was reserved for men, thus why the men were the only ones leaving for the war. Of course that rule was because after conflict, it would be far harder to repopulate if a good number of women died as well, but Sokka didn't know that reason. Sokka simply felt some things were better left to women.

Kanna sighed. "In a way I envy you. Despite its flaws, it had been home and part of me is still missing it. What would I give to see it one more time..."

Kanna looked every bit her age at this moment.

On the ship meanwhile, others were watching Aang and the huge Appa from the command tower.

"He still is very immature. This journey will be a huge change for him and force him to grow up early. I had not expected the Avatar to be this young," Ursa said, while observing Aang grooming Appa, who had made himself comfortable on the spacious deck of the ship. It was uplifting to see him care for the big sky bison after all what he had went through the previous day.

"Yeah... that makes things quite difficult. I expected an old man with lots of experience, not this. I'm still surprised they trust us enough to entrust us with this," Zuko sighed, the previous day having been very draining for him.

"Yet they don't trust us enough to have him on our ship the entire journey. Smart people," Mai admitted. "I in their place would have been far more distrustful."

Zuko didn't say that Mai was mistrustful in general, since he didn't want to be on her bad side. Questioning her character was one of the things that really pissed her off. "We should be glad they did agree that we can help at all."

"It is not exactly close companions, but it will have to do for the moment. Trust after all is earned, not given," Ursa thought aloud, while watching Aang tickling one of Appa's big paws.

"Well, we will have him and these other two on board until the Southern Air Temple, where they will depart. We then take course for the coast of the Earth Kingdom up to the supply depot near the coal rigs. There we'll wait until they catch up. In case there is trouble ahead, we send them a hawk. Sounds simple enough," Zuko explained what they would do next.

"We already know all this, Zuko. You really think we have such a short attention span?" Mai mockingly asked him after hearing this pointless exposition.

"We do have to make a detour first," Iroh said, appearing from inside the tower. "I spoke with the stokers. They say our coal supply is rather low. To prevent trouble, we need to go to the nearest supply depot. Sadly, the nearest depot also is the home base of Captain Zhao."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Mai sighed with a look of pure contempt, while Zuko grounded his teeth together. Both teenagers had a deep dislike for the man. "Do we really have to endure that ego on two legs?"

"Sadly, there is no way around it unless you enjoy being stuck in the middle of the ocean," Iroh apologized, he himself not being keen on meeting the man, either.

Ursa also looked like she had just seen a roadkill. "I've never met the man, yet what you have told me is already enough that I never want to." She looked down on the deck to see the two Water Tribe teenagers boarding the ship, meaning they would soon leave. "Let's hope he's not present when we arrive."

Watching the teenagers leave, Ursa looked to Iroh.

"Iroh, while Zuko is really giving it his all after he made his decision, I know my son better. He's still conflicted about what he's doing," Ursa told the older man.

"Yes. My nephew has the unfortunate tendency to self-doubt. I think it will ease up the longer he helps the Avatar, but the basic conflict in him remains the same," Iroh thought aloud.

o

The Fog of Lost Souls was, what people would consider the worst punishment in afterlife.

The souls of people who had done unspeakable things in life were sent here, if they got captured by vengeful spirits after dying. Of course, only very few were actually caught, but those unlucky ones would wander around in this fog, constantly confronted with their sins, until either they would come to truly regret their crimes and try to seek atonement, or completely lose their mind and become truly lost souls.

Sozin however had come here completely on his free will. No spirit had dragged him here. Instead, it were his own guilt and shame that had caused him to do so on his own. This place was the perfect punishment for him, being confronted with the results of his choices and the suffering he had caused with his unspeakable crimes. The perfect place for him to wait until Roku would come to judge him.

He knew he'd already waited a very long time, but would not leave until Roku would come. No one but the man he had wronged the most would be allowed to do so.

He stopped when someone approached him from the fog, and went to his knees, bowing down when he saw that Roku had finally arrived to decide on his fate. Before looking to the ground, he'd seen Roku like he remembered him: a strong presence, looking determined. Staying silent, he felt a sort of relief that his judgment had finally arrived.

"Please get up. It is disheartening to see you kneeling before me," Roku told him after long silence.

This was not exactly the reaction Sozin had expected. "Why? I sincerely doubt you have simply forgiven me everything I have done."

"Of course I didn't. Your deeds were very dark and will always remain. Yet, it is no longer my place to punish you, since you have punished yourself more than anyone else could have," Roku explained, again waiting for Sozin to get up.

"I don't understand," Sozin wondered honestly while finally getting up to look Roku into the eyes.

"Sozin, 90 years inside the Fog of Lost Souls... Many others would have gone insane long ago. Yet, you accepted your punishment without complaint, even sought it out, and felt true remorse for what you have done. You punished yourself more severely than I could ever have done myself," Roku calmly explained.

"Yet, things between us will never be like they had been..." Sozin said, again feeling the loss, which had been entirely his own fault.

"You are right. However, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, now that you have shown true regret, to see if you can work on regaining my trust." Roku then offered his hand. "Come, let's go. There is so much to do for you on this side - like me bringing you to your wife first."

Sozin sighed when remembering her. "It must have been lonely for her... Does she even want to see me?"

"Of course she wants to see you. You have to remember that the road to finding true atonement starts with those closest to you," Roku reminded Sozin.

Sozin took Roku's hand, who started to lead him out of the fog.

"I must say I was sorely tempted to punish you right after your death. Me being unable to reach you due to circumstances helped you to punish yourself and made me rethink my first impulses. 90 years is a long time even for me," Roku admitted.

"If the question is allowed, what kept you for that long?" Sozin wondered.

"My successor, whom you never found, was... unavailable for a long time. Things have changed now and I was free to seek you out," Roku explained.

Both men vanished into the fog, on their way to Sozin's final destination.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Fall of Kyoshi Island"

Chapter Text

"...we have made significant progress in fully securing further lands east of our colonies. The crumbling of the Earth Kingdom is speeding up, its old structures simply collapsing in the areas we have conquered, most likely because the population has become disillusioned with their corrupt old rulers," the general explained in front of the war cabinet, pointing at various places on the map.

Ozai didn't show how much these war councils sometimes bored him.

He of course was always kept informed of his army's progress in paper reports and therefore often learned nothing new in these war councils. However, he still needed to attend. Not only to follow protocol, but also because as often as he heard nothing new, equally as many times something that was left out of the official reports reached his ears. Also, giving orders when his generals were gathered was far easier.

"The only truly important cities not yet in our hand are Omashu and the capital of Ba-Sing-Se. We can gain control of the less important cities once that is done. However, it is now only a matter of time. Even the mighty Ba-Sing-Se can not survive when being surrounded by enemy lands," the general concluded.

"Oh, it will indeed only be a matter of time, maybe shorter than many predict," War Minister Qin added, "With the progress we are making, it is only a matter of time before those walls, behind which those earthbenders are cowardly hiding themselves, become irrelevant."

This caused unrest in the cabinet, since many of the generals didn't know what kind of developments Qin's department was making, as he was working directly under the Fire Lord's orders. The things he'd presented to the troops over the years were huge improvements or changed the way how war was fought significantly. Therefore, such an announcement was to be taken seriously.

One of my best and most useful men, Ozai thought, by this point actually enjoying his visits to the department which was creating new and innovative ways to wage war.

Though, if Ozai would put as much energy into domestic policies as he did into the war effort, the Fire Nation would look different.

Ozai instead was rather apathetic regarding domestic policies as long as it didn't endanger his rule, not wanting to be bothered with 'such trivial matters' and 'counting coins' as he put it. He left that entirely to a small group of bootlickers, who in turn had turned it into a contest who could gain his greatest favor by using domestic policies to help the war effort as ruthlessly as they could.

Ozai might not care, but his apathy towards the domestic side of his rule had caused some serious erosion to his true base of power - the people.

The discussion was interrupted when a military courier entered, quickly saluting to the gathered generals, before approaching the wall of flames that separated the Fire Lord from his cabinet. "Your majesty! A top priority message from Crescent Island, for your eyes only!"

Ozai quickly got up. If the Fire Sages were bothering him like this, it had to be something serious. Walking through the flames, he quickly took the message scroll from the courier and read through it, his eyes first widening in surprise and then narrowing in anger, causing the scroll to burst into flames once he was done reading it. Everyone gathered looked concerned, since such a reaction meant trouble.

Ozai pulled a cord to call for more couriers and addressed the room once they had arrived.

"The Fire Sages bring very unfortunate news. They have witnessed irrefutable proof that the Avatar has returned after a century." The room erupted into a discussion.

Some of those present argued that it posed a serious risk to their nation, while other laughed at it, since to them the Avatar was little more than an overblown thing of the past. Ozai for one thing, while also feeling the Avatar was a thing of the past he should not take too serious, was paranoid when it came to things threatening his rule.

"SILENCE! I do not have to spell out how this puts our nation at serious risk. The Avatar is one of our greatest public enemies, regardless how slim his chances of one man against an entire nation are. No risk is to be taken. The army and navy are to be put into a raised state of alarm. All troops are to be notified. Capturing the Avatar has priority, killing is entirely optional."

Ozai noticed some raised eyebrows. "Capturing the Avatar holds him out of our business. Killing him, he will be according to legend no threat for years - time enough to finish our conquest and have him at our mercy."

Ozai retreated behind the flames, while the rest of the room erupted into a storm of activity.

He would have never imagined that the Avatar could ever return, thus this had caught him unprepared. However, he would not be idle and make sure the Avatar would not get the chance to ruin their plans this close to final victory. They would hunt him down like an animal. Despite the might of the army and navy however, even Ozai was not arrogant enough to take success against the Avatar as granted. He would only feel secure of his victory once the Avatar was taken care of.

Almost as an afterthought, he remembered that Zuko now would chase after the Avatar as well in the vain hope that a success would allow him to return. Too bad for him that Ozai had no intention to take him back regardless the outcome.

Let him. That failure of a son won't manage to come even close to capturing the Avatar. He has proven his incompetence often enough, Ozai dismissed the idea, finding it absurd.

o

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katara asked carefully while they climbed down from Appa's saddle. They had departed Zuko's ship mere minutes ago, flying up to the Southern Air Temple. And honestly, Katara was relieve to be off the ship, due to her having become increasingly paranoid while being on it.

Now I know how Sokka feels at times, she thought, vowing to cut her brother some slack.

Aang tried very hard not to show how the surroundings were disturbing him. The human remains littered throughout the plateau were something no child should see. "I need to do this... I won't believe he's really gone until I see it for myself. Gyatso has had a small meditation hovel some way off the temple. If he wanted to make a last stand, it would be there."

Aang carefully led Katara and Sokka towards a small hovel near the cliffs. Gathering his courage, he ripped open the heavy curtain to see what was inside. He nearly screamed. There were the remains of at least two dozen dead firebenders. Completing the picture was the final skeleton. It was the remains of the monk robes and the unmistakable amulet which made it clear to Aang that he had found out what had happened to Monk Gyatso.

"Gyatso..." Aang was close to crying again, but kept it down, not wanting to again cry in front of others... and especially not Katara.

"Well, Gyatso sure has made good on his promise to not go down without a fight. He must have been awesome," Sokka observed when looking at how many firebenders had died at Gyatso's hands.

"Yes... that he was..." Aang was still slightly trembling, but remembered the words Gyatso had written for him. "Can you help me? I want to give Gyatso a proper burial. Maybe then he can rest better."

"What about...?" Katara said while looking at the other skeletons.

"Let's not disturb their rest. Respect the dead, regardless if their were friend or foe in life," Aang said while not taking his eyes of Gyatso's corpse.

Some time later, a fresh grave on the cemetery of the temple was the final resting place of monk Gyatso.

Aang had shown them the statue of Gyatso to show them how he had looked in life, but then excused himself that he needed a moment for himself to think. Sitting at the balcony where Gyatso had baked his pies, indeed the old oven was still there, Aang thought about the hugeness of the task ahead of him. He would have to learn the three remaining elements and then topple the Fire Lord before the world could go up into flames.

Anyone would've been intimidated by this huge task, and a twelve-year old even more so. Sure, he already knew where to find a teacher for waterbending and his prospective firebending teachers were awesome, so much he knew after a little demonstration on the ship. Yet, he had no idea where to find an earthbender who could teach him. He also wondered how he was supposed to learn the other elements so fast. According to history, Avatar training would take almost a decade.

"What am I supposed to do? It's so much..." Aang sighed.

"Don't be disheartened, Aang."

"Gyatso?" Aang knew Gyatso was dead, yet he was standing there... Although something was wrong. Gyatso was partially translucent and glowing blue. It almost looked like... "You came back, for me?"

"Aang, you wouldn't believe how much of a ruckus your return has caused in the Spirit World. I must go soon, but I do have enough time to send you on your long journey. I'm sure you have some questions. And by the way, thank you for this nice grave, I already feel my bones being more comfortable," Gyatso calmly told him.

Aang then remembered when he'd last seen his mentor. "I'm sorry! I should not have run away!"

"Don't worry, Aang. I'm not angry at you. It actually was even fortunate that you have run away. If not, you would have died with us, and the Avatar cycle would have come to its end by now. Do not blame yourself for things that are out of your control," Gyatso reminded him.

That Gyatso was not angry at him lifted quite a burden from Aang's shoulders, though he still felt guilty. Gyatso then gave him a knowing look. "Now, you sure seem eager to ask questions."

"Gyatso, I'm expected to save the world... It's so much, so big," Aang sighed.

"Aang, you will soon learn that even the biggest tasks become doable, if you make one step after the other. While the Avatar should always help the people, you should worry about learning one element at a time. It is a pity you will only be able to learn the basics of each remaining element for the time being, but true mastery has to wait until the world is safe," Gyatso explained to Aang.

"You mean I really for now have to worry about learning waterbending?" Aang asked.

"Yes. While you surely will have to help those in need, your main goal for now is to reach the Northern Water Tribe. I wish I still could be with you on your journey. However, I have found someone who wants to come with you," Gyatso told Aang, pointing at something on Aang's shoulder.

Looking at his shoulder, Aang saw a flying lemur sitting there, giving him a questioning look. "Oh! I didn't know these little guys are still around. He's unusually calm." Aang remembered that lemurs weren't exactly the most patient animals, so this was surprising.

"Oh, he witnessed the signs of your return in the inner sanctum, and it somehow made him attached to you. It took a bit of patience, but it's my hope he will be a loyal companion." Gyatso explained, though Aang had the strange feeling his mentor was keeping something from him. Gyatso then turned serious. "You also need to know that the signs of your return were also witnessed by the Fire Sages, who have surely reported it to the Fire Lord by this point. They know you have returned."

Aang gulped, now knowing that an entire nation would be hunting him. "For me it was just days ago that I was a normal airbender novice..."

Gyatso gave him a fatherly smile. "Don't worry, Aang. I believe in that you can do it... Now, one final piece of advice is to not let all this get the better of you. Stay true to yourself."

"Oh, you mean goofing around and doing stupid stuff is still allowed?" Anng asked, hoping for a positive answer.

Gyatso sighed. "Yes... Keeping our inner child alive is very important. Sadly I have to go now."

Aang saw Gyatso starting to fade. "Wait, can I ever talk to you again?"

"The further you master the way of the Avatar, the better the chances that we can meet again..." Then Gyatso was gone. Aang didn't notice the lemur for a moment having a strange expression after it had happened.

Aang knew he should be sad... yet, being forgiven by his mentor had brightened his mood. Despite that however, despite Gyatso telling him that running away saved his life, Aang deep inside knew he would continue to feel guilty, regardless how irrational that was.

Scratching the lemur on the head, he was thinking about what Gyatso had told him, while slowly walking back to Katara and Sokka, who were waiting by Appa's side for his return. Katara seemed impatient, while Sokka was more concerned with some peaches he had pilfered from Zuko's ship before their departure. Aang really wondered if Sokka was a glutton, or if he wanted to make up for how little food was available at the South Pole.

Katara seemed relieved that he didn't look that depressed any longer, but then spotted the lemur on Aang's shoulder. "Aang, what is that?"

"Oh, a flying lemur. They've lived in the temple ever since I can remember. I really have to tell you what just happened..." Aang stopped when suddenly the lemur jumped off his shoulder, snatching away one of the peaches Sokka was about to eat.

"HEY! Give that back!" Sokka shouted, but it was too late, as the lemur jumped back onto Aang's shoulder, quickly devouring the peach.

"Oh, you sure love them," Aang laughed, feeling he had really needed that laugh. "Hey, I'll call you Momo, since that stands for 'peach'. What do you think?" The lemur didn't seem to object, so Momo the name was.

"Aang, are you sure you are all right?" Katara asked, trying to ignore Momo and his antics for the moment.

"I am! I have to tell you what just happened..."

...the following day, Fire Nation supply depot...

After dropping off the Avatar at the Southern Air Temple, they had barely made it to the supply depot where they had to refuel, before they would take course to the first meeting point near the coal rigs at the southwestern coast. Zuko didn't want to show it, but he felt humiliated when seeing how much the big warships at the docks dwarfed his old ship. It clearly was the intended effect his father had aimed for when giving him a ship of a class that had long become obsolete.

"I want this to be done as quick as possible. I don't want to risk running into Zhao if I can prevent it. I doubt I can endure his presence for long," Zuko said while watching his crew preparing the coal chutes.

"Careful, Zuko. You don't want to jinx it," Mai warned Zuko. "Remember what happened with that rhino."

"That was an accident, nothing more," Zuko argued, blushing a little when Mai reminded him of the incident some months ago.

"Yeah, sure," Mai replied with a knowing look, a small smile creeping into her features.

"It is good to see how much young Mai has relaxed since she has come on board. Oh, she still is her sarcastic self, but that's one of the reasons my nephew loves her so much," Iroh proudly told Ursa, having watched this exchange from some distance.

Ursa knew the girl was warmer than she let on, she just hid it very well. "I don't even want to imagine what would have become of her, had she stayed with her parents. Meeting them once already had been bad enough, I can't imagine living with them. Well, no need to dwell on that."

"Well, I would say..." Iroh stopped when having spotted someone whom they didn't want to meet. "This spells trouble." They quickly walked to Zuko, fearing what could happen.

"Ah, Prince Zuko."

Zuko barely held back a curse. Of course Captain Zhao had used this moment to enter the deck of his ship, giving the small group a look-over. After all, they hadn't seen each other for over two years. Mai and Ursa felt dirty at the looks he was giving them, knowing that he'd undressed them with his eyes. It felt degrading. Zhao only arched an eyebrow when seeing that Zuko had let his hair grow out again

Iroh decided to better defuse the situation. "Captain Zhao, a pleasure to meet you," he told him, although it was clear he couldn't stand the man.

"It's Commander now," he told them with a smirk that made it clear he felt superior thanks to his rank.

Iroh honestly wondered how his brother decided on promotions. "You got promoted. How nice for you."

"Oh, I feel honored that a hero of the Fire Nation is telling me this." It was also clear he was totally insincere. Zhao then gave the ship a look. "What brings you into my base?"

"We just need to refill our coal supply and then we are out of your hair and on our way," Zuko told him, not wanting to make more smalltalk than needed.

"It must have been a long journey. I invite you for some tea in my command tent while your ship is re-supplied," Zhao offered, giving them a look which made it clear that it wasn't optional to not come.

Normally they would have told him to piss off, but they could hardly do so in his own base or risk getting stranded. "Oh, of course we accept. I'm sure you will be delightful company," Ursa told him, straining to keep a neutral face.

Zhao looked like he got what he wanted. "Excellent, if you just follow me..."

While they followed, Mai imitated putting her finger into her throat to Ursa, before she whispered "As soon as this is over, I need a long, hot bath... with lots of soap."

"Just ground your teeth together and keep going, dear. It will be over soon enough," Ursa reassured Mai, despite wanting to be somewhere else as well.

"I wonder what Zhao is planning this time. It's not like him to be a good host to anyone unless he wants something," Zuko meanwhile growled while looking around nervously.

Iroh did remember that incident where Zhao had tried to provoke Zuko all too well. "Let us be careful. Zhao does nothing without a reason..."

Some time later everyone had made themselves comfortable, but were forced to listen to Zhao's monologue.

"...thus the war is going very well. Before the next year is over, Ba-Sing-Se will be in the hands of the Fire Nation and everyone has to bow to the Fire Lord," Commander Zhao concluded his short recap of the recent war events, while looking at a map of the Earth Kingdom.

"If my father thinks the people of the Earth Kingdom will bow to him willingly, he must be very naive," Zuko replied, no longer bothering with niceties after having to endure Zhao's monologue for way too long.

"Over two years at sea and you still are as rebellious as ever. No wonder considering the company you keep. It's no surprise why your father banished you. And the conquering of the Earth Kingdom actually is quite easy when the peasants are disappointed by their old masters and welcome us. It really is only a matter of time now," Zhao lectured Zuko to the latter's annoyance.

"You sound really optimistic. Overconfidence comes before the fall," Iroh reminded Zhao.

Zhao didn't seem to think so. "You speak from experience, don't you? This however will not be like your failed siege. ... I also rest my case about the company Prince Zuko is keeping. The influence is all too clear."

Zuko really didn't like the looks Zhao was giving his mother and Mai. He'd seen those in the palace, too, often with noblemen and the female servants, which sometimes led to the shocking end result of a violated woman. He really wanted to leave. While he had no doubt that Mai knew how to defend herself, his mother was no fighter and her bending was negligible.

Zuko snorted. "Just wait until I have found the Avatar, then you'll change your tune very fast."

"Oh yes... that reminds me, how is your search for the Avatar going?" Zhao then asked.

"I still haven't found him," Zuko said, faking disappointment.

"And you should not expect to do so. After all, the Avatar was last seen over 100 years ago. It's a fool's quest which you will never master," Zhao told Zuko with an expression that was unreadable. "Unless of course, you did have found something that hints otherwise."

"Not one single clue," Zuko lied through his teeth.

"Maybe we have overstayed our welcome, although the tea was quite good," Iroh said, sensing that the atmosphere was getting dangerous with Zhao asking too many questions.

They were about to leave, when suddenly a sergeant entered and the guards crossed their lances to block the exit. "Commander Zhao, we managed to force a crewman to talk. He said Prince Zuko did find the Avatar, but was unable to capture him. When we used the thumbscrews he also said the Avatar is a teenage airbender."

"Ah, so my hunch was right..." Zhao said with a predatory grin.

Zuko was relieved that his crew would actually lie even under the pain torture in order to protect him, but he nonetheless was angry. "You tortured one of my crew?!" he exploded in fury.

Zhao now looked smug. "Oh please, don't be so dramatic. He's just a lowlife, like the rest of your flea-infested sorry excuse of a crew. Nothing you should care about. We learned of the return of the Avatar already and you made yourself suspicious. You obviously lied to me in order to get all the glory for yourself. I won't give you the satisfaction. The Fire Nation is better off without you returning, not that your father would ever let you return, even with the Avatar."

"Don't tell us you plan to arrest us just for that," Mai said, itching to grab one of her knives to wipe that arrogant smirk off Zhao's face.

Zhao actually did look a bit disappointed. "Of course not, even though I would love to do so. No, I'll just hold you here until my ships move out to start the search. Not that I expect Prince Zuko to have any success. I have hundreds of warships under my control and he's just a poor, banished prince. He'll never measure up to me and I wonder what you see in him that you decided to share his disgrace."

"Don't even try to compare yourself to Zuko. He already is far more of a man than you will ever be," Mai hissed, her control slipping a bit. Zhao was was really good at angering her.

"He certainly surrounds himself with good-looking undesirables." Zhao then gave Ursa a closer look. "I have to say you held up remarkably well despite leaving the Fire Nation to live in exile. A pity your status makes claiming you rather difficult, although it would seem to be worth it."

Ursa looked thoroughly disgusted at the implication and actually was a little scared. "If you think I would just accept you forcing me to be your mistress, you are more delusional than I imagined."

"Oh, trust me, Lady Ursa, there are many ways I could use to make you cooperate," he told her, getting a little too close for her comfort.

"Don't you even dare to touch my mother!" Zuko finally shouted, having had enough of Zhao. "For even implying to dishonor her I'll put you in your place!"

Zhao hadn't expected that. "Is that a challenge?"

"Prince Zuko, calm down!" Iroh cautioned, but it was to no avail.

"You better believe it. An Agni Kai at sunset!" Zuko declared for everyone to hear.

"Well, too bad your father isn't here, meaning just your uncle and your mother have to witness me humiliating you. Let's see how your girlfriend likes your face when I'm done with you. Your scar won't stay alone for much longer," Zhao coldly told Zuko before leaving the tent.

"Oh, Zuko..." Mai said while rolling her eyes. On the inside however she was scared, remembering Zuko's last Agni Kai.

Ursa also looked concerned for her son. "Zuko, while I appreciate that you have stood up to defend my honor, I can't help but to fear for your health. You are my only son and already got hurt more than I feel I can stomach."

"Prince Zuko, are you really sure? You do remember the last time you fought in an Agni Kai," Iroh pleaded with Zuko, although he knew it was too late with the challenge already being issued.

Zuko touched his scar, the constant reminder of his father's cruelty. "I remember that day all too well... No, not this time. It not only is for my mother, but for Mai as well. The way Zhao looked at her as if she is a mere piece of meat was horribly disrespectful. I won't let him get away with it."

Mai tried hard to hide it, but a small blush colored her cheeks. I actually like when he defends my honor, even if he acts like a moron to do so...

o

That his base did have its own small Agni Kai arena spoke for Zhao's arrogance, as normally a commander would do everything to discourage and punish fire duels, since they tended to be very disruptive to efficiency and morale inside the army. Zhao actually encouraging fire duels with this arena spoke volumes about how he was leading his men. The spectator benches on one side of the arena were filled with crew from Zhao's flagship, many officers among them.

The benches on the other side were occupied by the entire crew from Zuko's ship. Zuko actually felt moved how his crew was giving him support. He even saw the man whom Zhao's soldiers had tortured. Despite his heavily bruised face and his hands in bandages, he had insisted on coming to support his prince. Zhao's crew looked down on Zuko's crew in contempt, thinking they are something better. Zuko's crew in return ignored them utterly. The unwritten rules of the Agni Kai stopped both groups from getting physical.

"Remember everything I have taught you, Prince Zuko. You show tremendous potential, but you are still young and the way to true mastery is long. Use the skills I have taught you wisely," Iroh gave Zuko some last instructions, having been selected as Zuko's second.

"I learned much from you, Uncle. I won't disappoint you," Zuko told Iroh calmly while finding his center and source of his strength. Being determined to protect his mother and Mai from Zhao was giving his fire extra strength.

"Also remember that you can not win this fight with raw power," Iroh cautioned him.

"I know..." It was a bit of a sigh. Zuko's firebending was not yet back to his level from before his inner conflict started, but it was good enough by this point. He knew he had to fight smart to defeat Zhao.

-Booouuung- The chime of a gong signaled to the duelists to take their positions.

"Oh dear... I hope Zuko won't get another scar," Ursa worried.

She couldn't help it. While knowing Zuko was close to becoming a man, for her he would always be her son first. Right now her mother-senses were on high alarm due to the very real prospect of Zuko getting seriously hurt. He already had one really bad scar, he didn't need another one.

"Oh, don't worry. You did watch him train, don't you? I for one know that Zhao still thinks Zuko is as horrible at firebending as he'd been years ago. His ego won't allow him to come to any other conclusion," Mai calmly told Ursa.

"I can't help it. Once you become a mother, you will understand," Ursa tried to explain, then saw Mai looking very interested when Zuko dropped the ceremonial cloak. "You enjoy seeing him bare-chested, don't you?"

Mai knew she could not lie to Ursa. "Yes... and... I'm actually dreaming to see... much more." Gods, Mai hated it when she became flustered.

Ursa knew both teenagers by now were almost exploding with sexual tension. It wouldn't be long now, before they would do this final step. As much as Mai denied it, Ursa knew the girl was scared of crossing this point of no return, where her relationship to Zuko would come to full blossom. She then returned her attention to the arena.

In the arena both men waited for the other to make the first move.

"Afraid? You should be. I was instructed by the great Jeong Jeong before he went traitor. With all what he taught to me at my disposal, I am your superior. You won't be able to beat me," Zhao boasted.

Zuko knew however to not lose his cool. Mai scolding him numerous times for doing so had taught him to do better. "Really? Then let's see if you are hot flame, or hot air," Zuko taunted him.

Zhao seemed to take that as an insult and attacked. "Yaaaagh!"

On first glace, Zhao quickly seemed to have pushed Zuko into a bad defense with an onslaught of fireballs and flame streams. However, nothing could have been further from the truth. His uncle had told him that those giving in to their anger were prone to very sloppy fighting. Zuko had no big problem defending himself, deflecting or dissolving Zhao's attacks. Zhao was strong - no doubt about that - but his anger made him far less effective than he could have been with his skill level.

He's favoring brute force and his arms. That means he's very vulnerable to floor attacks to the lower body, Zuko observed.

If Zhao had expected a quick victory, he was in for a disappointment. This Agni Kai already went longer than most, due to Zuko just defending himself against Zhao's attacks and standing his ground. His inability to quickly overwhelm Zuko made Zhao incredibly frustrated.

"Why can't you finally go down?" Zhao growled, impatiently and insulted that Zuko was still standing and defending himself rather well.

Zuko gave Zhao a cold look. "Oh, I was just busy analyzing your style. Now let's return the favor!"

What in all names! Zhao gasped, when Zuko started to go onto the attack, using his arms to block Zhao's attacks while he also attacked with flames from his feet that swept over the ground, forcing Zhao to back away further and further.

"YAH!" A sudden arc of fire from Zuko's foot made Zhao trip and he fell, Zuko standing over him, pointing his fists at him.

"Do it!" Zhao taunted him, trying to not show any fear. "Prove that you are not a weakling!"

Zuko hesitated for a moment, than... "HAH!" Zhao had expected his face to get disfigured. Instead, the fireball had just impacted on the ground close to his head, causing no injury. "You don't know me well, Zhao. I have nothing to gain by disfiguring you and I won't sink to my father's level. You lost."

Zhao was angry at this humiliation. Denying the injury actually meant Zuko wasn't taking him serious. Zuko had turned around, starting to walk away. Decision made, Zhao got up and charged Zuko, in order to hurt him with burning hands. He however never made it, since Iroh stopped his attack cold before blasting him some distance away.

"Coward!" Zuko openly declared, while boos and jeers erupted from Zuko's crew at Zhao's dishonorable behavior.

"So, this is how the great Zhao reacts when he's defeated. How shameful. Even in exile, my nephew holds far more honor than you," Iroh told Zhao in great disappointment. "We will take our leave now, but thanks for the tea. That actually was good."

While they walked away, Zuko's crew gave their prince thundering applause for winning the duel, while Zhao's crew was silent, not having expected their commander to lose. Zhao watched with growing anger how Zuko was hugged by his mother, before Mai gave him a victor's kiss (regardless how stupid she felt duels are, she knew Zuko deserved a reward).

Just wait for it... You have made yourself a powerful enemy. I swear I will destroy everything that's dear to you, Zhao thought darkly, feeling nothing but hatred for the teenager who had humiliated him in front of his crew.

...two days later...

It had been two days ago that they had visited the Southern Air Temple.

Sokka honesty had not believed Aang's story of meeting the spirit of his mentor, but at least some other things in the temple had been interesting. Aang had shown them the statue of Gyatso, so they understood what the man had looked like. He also had shown them the inner sanctum and the statues of the Avatars - something that was a surprise even to him. He also got some things from his old room while returning Gyatso's book and scrolls, feeling they were safer in this place until his return.

Now they were close to reaching the Earth Kingdom. At least, Sokka felt so.

"Well, according to the map Zuko gave us, we now should be close to Kyoshi Island..." Sokka looked up from the map. "Where did I hear this name before?"

"Oh, Kyoshi was the Avatar before Roku. I showed you her statue in the inner sanctum, remember?" Aang told Sokka, being thankful that Zuko's research into the Avatar had included pictures, thus he knew his most recent predecessors.

"Ah yes. She looked a bit weird to me," Sokka said, feeling the woman's painted face looked weird when being depicted on a colorless statue.

"I heard of the island; they have giant elephant koi. I really can't wait to show them to you," Aang told him enthusiastically.

"As long as it's not like those birds. What were you thinking?" Sokka reminded Aang, having yesterday in bad memory.

"Oh, I had no idea they would get ticked off like that. But no harm done, we got out of well enough." Aang then looked to Katara, who was busy with sewing together what looked like a shirt. "Hey, Katara, want to see a good trick?"

"Maybe later, Aang. I have to fix my shirt first," she told him without looking up from her work.

Sokka took one look at what she was doing, before returning his attention to the map. "Man, I'm just glad you're good with that stuff. There are some things men simply aren't made for."

Katara looked up, her face showing slight annoyance. "You just say that because when they tried to teach you, you struck yourself with the needle enough times they declared you a lost cause when it comes to sewing."

"Oh, he did that bad?" Aang asked, looking interested.

Katara chuckled. "Everyone else wondered how he was managing to get the needle into his hand. Well, what to expect of someone who tried to remove a fishhook stuck in his finger by using another fishhook, with predictable results?"

"Oh boy!" Aang bent over in laughter.

"Eh... never bring up the fishhooks again!" Sokka tried hard to ignore his sister and Aang laughing, but failed. "I'm better with a spear anyway."

"Not by much, considering your performance a few days ago," Katara said, reminding him of his confrontation with Zuko in the village.

"Are you always sniping at each other? I've never had any siblings, but I thought you would be close," Aang wondered.

Katara sighed. "Oh, we are close, but that doesn't mean we get along all the time. Just because we are related does not mean we automatically have the same opinion."

Sokka let out a short laugh. "Aang... If we would get along perfectly, you would still be in that iceberg. You only got out of there because I pissed off Katara enough that her water-vohoodo went bonkers." This earned him a hard look from Katara, which he promptly ignored.

Aang gave Katara another look and gave off a nervous laugh, before returning his attention to where Appa was flying to. Sokka had noticed it, raising an eyebrow but staying silent otherwise, deciding he'd confront Aang later. Despite what others might assume, he was not nearly as oblivious as he sometimes seemed and did care a lot about Katara's well-being. He wondered what Aang was doing that he gave her those strange looks.

It was several more minutes of silence, before the clouds parted and Aang got an excited look when seeing an island far below them.

"There it is, Kyoshi Island!" Aang told them excitedly.

Sokka and Katara shared a look.

"Why do I have the feeling he's about to do something stupid?" Sokka asked his sister.

Katara shook her head. "How should I know? I'm a girl and can't fathom what boys think, even after living with you for all my life."

On the island meanwhile, Suki was leading a few of her warriors on one of the usual patrols of the island.

It normally would have been very boring everyday work, since beside watching out for possible intruders, the Kyoshi Warriors were also responsible for police work on the island. However, Suki right at the moment was glad to be out of the village. Ever since the eyes of Kyoshi's statue had glowed and announced the return of the Avatar, people had become strangely excited, cleaning up the village, painting and polishing the statue while anticipating something to happen.

As Oyaji had told her, people were fully expecting the Avatar to visit the resting place of one of his predecessors and thus wanted to truly show off. To all of them it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity - a dream come true.

Suki however only found it annoying, as it severely disrupted her routine.

Life on Kyoshi Island normally was utterly predictable. Since the Fire Nation held no interest in it, as it was far away from anything of worth, there was no looming danger. The Fire Nation obviously didn't want to waste resources on them. Suki on one hand appreciated it, but on the other hand it also meant life was rather boring, as nothing ever happened. It was the same old thing: train, maintain the peace - which at worst were some arguments or a drunk who became rowdy - and listen to Oyaji that she should get a life outside of being a Kyoshi Warrior, even though he understood that this mostly was her life.

Having lost her parents early in her life, she'd been a ward of the village and had practically grown up with the warriors. The big trouble was, that she now had difficulties to actually gain anything outside of it. She'd tried hobbies, but that hadn't been very successful, since the island simply didn't give her many opportunities. Not to speak of a boyfriend. Her very image as a tough warrior wasn't helping her at all in that regard. That, or she was too picky.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when one of her girls called to her "Suki, look up there!"

She did and was surprised to see a big... something... land on the beach and three teenagers then climbed off the saddle on its back. They quickly hid themselves in the vegetation - easier said than done in winter - waiting for Suki to make a decision what to do next.

"So, what should we do?" another girl asked her, unsure how to act.

Normally, they would right away escort any unannounced visitors into the village. However, Suki knew that there was something more going on, never before having seen such a big animal that wasn't the Unagi or elephant koi. That it could fly was simply unbelievable and she felt they shouldn't show themselves yet.

"Let's observe them first," she decided.

They did watch and it would almost have been comical to see how the bald boy with the tattoos was trying to impress the girl by riding the elephant koi - which she felt was stupid, as he clearly was suffering from the cold water. However, things got dead serious when the Unagi - the big serpent-eel living around the island - turned up and and started eating some of the koi. The boy almost seemed to run across the water to get to safety. Suki let out a small breath in relief that no one got hurt and yet shook her head at how stupid some people could be.

"Ok, girls. Let's move in and tell them to come with us. Let's be polite and not appear hostile," Suki then decided, seeing how the bald boy was done dressing himself after that stupid stunt.

"Halt!" Suki called, while they emerged from the woods to the beach. "You have entered Kyoshi Island without seeking permission first. Come with us into the village peacefully and there won't be any trouble."

"We have broken a law?" Katara gasped.

Suki knew already it had to be an honest error. "Yes, but I think we can clear this up fast."

"Is this supposed to be a joke? Oh, please, you and what army?" Sokka said, obviously not taking the idea of female warriors very serious. The very concept was utterly alien to him.

"Sokka..." Katara was about to tell him stop acting the macho when Suki beat her to it.

"Why do I always get the smart-asses?" Suki wondered aloud. She wouldn't hurt him, but a small demonstration would be in order. "So, Mr. Big-Shot. You certainly need a little convincing to come along peacefully."

Sokka was about to say something, when suddenly Suki pulled out a battle fan and in a lightning-fast move opened it up and swept away Sokka's feet, causing him to fall hard on the ground. Before he could even react, Suki had flipped him over and took hold of his wrists while one foot was pressed against his spine, effectively rendering him helpless.

"Well?" Suki asked sweetly, one look from her stopping the other girls from giggling, feeling that he did not deserve any further humiliation.

"Eh... Peace?" Sokka asked, feeling incredibly humiliated.

Katara and Aang facepalmed at this. Leave it to Sokka to make a great first impression to these people. They felt even Momo would have probably made less of a blunder. At least these girls seemed to take it with humor.

A short time later, they were brought before the village leader Oyaji.

"Our warriors have told me how you have entered our island without getting permission first. Better explain your reason for doing so," the leader told them.

"We honestly had no idea. This is the first time we are visiting the Earth Kingdom," Katara admitted, looking truly embarrassed at their blunder.

Oyaji looked a bit closer. "Ah yes, you two look like you are from the Water Tribe. And what are two teenagers doing so far from home?"

"Well... Aang here is the Avatar and just wants to visit where one of the previous Avatars had lived?" Katara offered when seeing how Aang seemed intimidated and Sokka was still sulking.

The people started whispering and Oyaji raised an eyebrow. "That's a very bold statement, claiming that this boy is the Avatar. Although he indeed looks a lot like the old pictures of airbenders, your word alone is not enough. And no, your mode of transportation is not a good proof." He said the last thing while waving in Appa's direction, the huge sky bison being the center of attention of the village's children.

"Will airbending be proof enough?" Katara asked.

"Of course, since the airbenders are extinct. Only an Avatar would now know it," Oyaji said, then waited for whatever these teenagers would show him.

"Aang, do some airbending and we'll be fine and not get kicked out," Katara gently told Aang, who seemed a little uncomfortable with being the center of attention.

"Oh... all right." He imagined getting kicked out as being thrown into the sea, and meeting the Unagi once had been bad enough, so he did create an air scooter. Sitting on it, he hovered some meters above the ground.

Everyone looked astounded at this development, before the crowd broke out into very excited cheering, as if they had waited for him a very long time. It was a complete contrast to how they had been looked at when being first escorted into the village, since it seemed unannounced strangers were not very welcome.

What have we gotten into now? Katara thought, then spotted a bizarre sight. Wait, is that guy foaming from the mouth? How excited is he?

Aang however gulped, hoping they wouldn't start praying to him as well.

...the next day...

"Don't even think about it, Momo," Katara warned the lemur, who was watching everything from her shoulder.

The lemur did give her an innocent look, as if to ask: 'Who? Me?'

Katara really wondered what had happened to this lemur that he could obviously understand what she was saying and give her a silent reply. "You'll get something later, these are for the journey, so control yourself."

Momo let his big ears hang, knowing he would not win this argument.

Momo's antics were not helping her mood, as she already was quite grumpy while she was browsing the selection of the grocery to fill up their stocks for the journey. Sokka's bad mood seemed to be going around. However, while Sokka was sulking due to a girl easily overpowering him, her reasons she felt were more substantial. At least the shopkeepers had accepted her insistence that she would still pay for their services, as she would not accept freebies from them just because Aang was the Avatar.

Funny how we are using money which that Iroh has given to us, Katara thought, still not feeling well about the idea of letting someone from the Fire Nation help them. Her mistrust at least was understandable.

Thinking of Aang next, her irritation grew.

The younger girls of Kyoshi Island seemed to have made it their hobby to stalk Aang and compete for his attention. Aang, after first being flustered and accepting their requests, now seemed to grow a bit uneasy, since she'd last seen him running away from a mob of prepubescent girls trying to rope him into getting their portrait done with him at their side. He was even riding on his airscooter, though moments ago she had seen him getting dragged off by the girls.

She wondered why Aang had not made it clear to them that he hated being famous just because he was the Avatar.

Aang clearly had neglected doing so with his fangirls. Those girls were hero-worshipping him and for some reason, them competing for his attention disturbed her. Part of her her really disliked him getting so much attention from these young girls. She also felt they were given the entire female gender a bad reputation. Though, there was something more irritating her...

"Hey, Katara, where's our big hero?"

Looking up, she saw her brother approaching her. He looked every bit as grumpy as she did, but at least his reason was far more obvious. He still was pissed at how easily that girl had defeated him the previous day. After growing up with the idea that being a warrior should be left to the men - while their grandmother did tell them female waterbenders did pull their weight they never went into direct armed battle - it had been a deep shock to him to see a girl fight this well and easily defeat him. While he had seen that Mai girl train with her knives, it was a different thing to experience defeat.

"Oh, he's around here somewhere, getting along with his fan girls," Katara almost growled. Despite only knowing Aang for a little time, she felt unusually protective of him.

Sokka might not be that good at understanding girls, but he did know his sister and even in his current mood he sensed that her annoyance level was high. "Yeah... You sure don't sound happy about it."

"I'm not! You know how much he dislikes fame just because he's the Avatar! You've heard how that got him nothing but problems in the past. Those girls are so disrespectful of him and the way they try to monopolize him is just disgraceful. I didn't get even one moment to talk with him today ever since he left the house," Katara finally complained.

Sokka really wasn't that good with the emotional stuff, but this seemed to be a clear case. "You're jealous."

Katara almost dropped a pot filled with vegetables, her eyes wide open in shock at her brother's sudden declaration. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah, I'm really shitty with all this stuff, but even I can see it. You can't stand that those girls are taking away all the time you could spend with Aang," Sokka explained his reasoning.

"That's... that's..." Katara sputtered and tried to refute it, starting to blush heavily from the emotions raging within her. She had not even noticed how protective she'd become of Aang in such a short time.

Well, I better leave you be," Sokka then said, seeing his sister would not be in the mood for any further conversation.

This left Sokka bored and sulky.

He of course still was disturbed about yesterday's events. He felt utterly humiliated how easily that girl had overpowered him and his pride was bruised badly. His sister would dismiss it as plain sexism due to him being defeated by a girl, but the issues were deeper than that and had been brought back to the surface by that.

Aimlessly wandering around the island, Sokka finally spied a big building on a small hill. Walking up to it and looking in through the open doors, he blinked. It were the girls who had 'greeted' them the previous day - and in his case humiliated him - only this time they seemed to do... something with their fans. They didn't seem to notice or ignored him while they went through the movements with grace, opening and closing their fans, striking out with them on occasion.

Whatever they are doing, looks like they did it many times before, Sokka thought.

Sokka tried hard to hide how nervous he was. These were the first girls of his age group he'd ever met - Katara didn't count since she was his sister. At the South Pole it was either little girls or adult women - nothing in between. That alone made it difficult for him to know how he was supposed to act around them. He was even more unsure due to them obviously being warriors - a concept totally unfamiliar to him, since women were not supposed to fight, right?

Sokka finally couldn't hold back any longer, hiding his insecurity behind a front of the tough guy. "What is this supposed to be? Some kind of ceremonial dance?"

Training ended and Suki rolled her eyes. It seemed this boy was out to annoy her whenever possible. While some could be chalked up to simple ignorance of their customs, another part reeked of a strange image he had about girls. With a simple hand sign she told her girls to leave Sokka alone, despite him having insulted Kyoshi's legacy.

"Well, if this isn't Mr. Tough-Guy. And yes, it is a dance. With this dance we can seriously maim someone if we desire to do so." To underline it, a hard strike with her closed fan broke off the arm of a training dummy. "Don't be fooled by these fans, they are deadly weapons."

"Yeah, I get that, but what is it with this make-up and dresses? Looks seriously impractical to me," Sokka then said, observing the alien uniforms.

"It's not a dress! It's a warriors uniform in the same style Avatar Kyoshi wore! Wearing it is a great honor!" one of the girls finally exploded, feeling insulted.

"And what you call make-up is our greatest honor: to wear the colors of Kyoshi!" another girl added, looking harshly to Sokka.

Sokka didn't seem intimidated. "Don't you think you take this a little too far? Maybe she was a cool gal, but it's honestly a little scary that you try to imitate her so much."

Suki held up a hand to tell her girls to back off. "Honestly, do you have such a problem with the idea that a girl can be a warrior?"

"Yes," Sokka said with his face straight. "In the Water Tribe the women by rule are not front line warriors."

At least she now knew where that was coming from. "So, Mr. Warrior, how about a little match to see how well you do against me? See for yourself if we're frail flowers."

Sokka was tempted, especially because of his wounded pride, but a lesson his father had given him days before leaving to fight in the war came back to him. He also remembered how he had humiliated himself against Zuko and honestly was not eager for a repeat performance which would only serve to make him feel even more crappy.

He then sighed, his facade crumbling. "I can't... My father and the other men left to fight in the war before they could teach me much. Almost anyone could defeat me without breaking a sweat."

Right now Suki felt like she'd kicked a puppy, as Sokka now looked depressed. She also felt kind of guilty now. "Girls, leave the two of us alone." The other warriors didn't question her order and left. Suki then locked the door. "Now be honest. You hate being weak, don't you?"

Soka looked like he was ready to deny it, but then sighed. "It was all so clear for me. Father and the men would train me to become a good warrior. Then they left for the war and never fulfilled their promise. It's unfair."

"And is it so horrible that you suddenly are confronted with a bunch of girls who can easily best you?" Suki probed further to see what more there was.

Sokka was tempted to make a sarcastic remark, but the look Suki was giving him made him realize that would be dumb. "My grandmother told me of the past. She said many female waterbenders defended the tribe... but that was long ago. In our tribe girls can't become warriors."

"Do you know why?" Suki probed further.

Sokka shook his head. "I asked my father once, but he only said something about low numbers and children."

Suki knew right away what that really was about. By this point the numbers of the tribe must have fallen low enough that every single woman counted, since otherwise their numbers would never be able to recover. It was an understandable rule, though Sokka clearly had no idea about the reason for why something that might have been consensus in the past become a hard rule.

Seeing that Sokka had been honest with her, she now would do something for him and see if he was open to new ideas.

"Hm..." Suki walked around Sokka, inspecting him. "Quite athletic. Not much strength, but that can be changed..." She was struggling with herself for a moment, but then, Kyoshi had never said her art could not be taught to men as well. "What would you give to become better?"

Sokka threw up his hands. "Well almost everything! My sister has this mystical water-crap and while she isn't good in it yet, it makes me feel like she's about to become more useful than I am! I would even cut off my ear for a chance to finally get some real skill..."

"Oh dear, let's hope it doesn't come to that!" Suki gasped when seeing how serious Sokka was about it. "Would you even accept a girl teaching you?"

Sokka needed a moment to see where this was leading to. "You mean... you?"

"You see anyone else in here?" Suki asked sarcastically.

Sokka was conflicted. He really wanted to learn some warrior stuff, but a part of him still couldn't believe that a girl could be an actual warrior. In the end however, his desire won out. "I would do it... I would even wear one of those things... as long as you allow me to keep my pants on under it. Just don't expect me to paint my face. I've sworn to only wear to warpaint of the Water Tribe."

"I honor an oath like that. Then let's see how serious you are about this," Suki warned him, then gave him a look. "And let me help you get into one of my spare uniforms. No arguments!"

After all, no need to have him wonder how he was supposed to wear it.

...on Zhao's flagship...

Little did they know that news could travel fast.

Some girls blabbed the news of Aang's arrival to a fisherman, who in return told it to the merchant whom he supplied with fresh fish, who in return sold the fish on the market of the village of Chin. Ever since the days of Avatar Kyoshi, who had killed the man who gave the village it's name, its inhabitants were violently hostile to the Avatar. Therefore they felt nothing wrong with giving these news to nearest the Fire Nation officers, who in return would report it to the next high-ranking officer in the area.

Meanwhile, Commander Zhao was looking over the sea, thinking about the last few days.

His defeat at the hands of Prince Zuko had shaken his authority on his flagship and it had taken quite some effort to restore it. No less than three high-ranking officers had been bold enough to openly challenge him to a duel, thinking he would be a pushover. One of them was dead now, while the other two were still suffering from the third-degree burns he'd given to them. Not to speak of the insolence of some parts of the crew.

It had taken sniffing out the ringleaders and punishing them severely to restore order.

His wrist was still stiff, as he'd mercilessly beaten up those of the crew who had instigated this little rebellion with a thick wooden stick, always calling "Another one!", when the stick in question broke due to overuse and he needed a new one to continue the beatings. Those men - and a few women - were now recovering in the brig from being beaten green and blue, and he was recovering from a stiff wrist and aching arm muscles after all the beatings he'd dished out.

However, it all had been worth it, as no one would now question him again, that was for sure.

I spent years building it all up, and this little snot of a disgraced prince almost destroyed it. I'll make you pay for it, Prince Zuko, Zhao thought darkly, already thinking about how he would get back at Zuko.

"Sir, there a priority message for you waiting in your inbox!" a sailor reported.

"Let's see what that is about." Quickly walking to the command center of his ship, he took the scroll from his inbox and read it. His mood brightened significantly. "Well, well, well. It seems the day has improved significantly. Captain!"

The Captain of his flagship approached. "Yes, Commander?"

"Signal to the other ships that we change course towards Kyoshi Island. The Avatar has been sighted there, being given shelter by the local peasants - how foolish of them. All troops are to prepare for a landing operation on our arrival," Zhao ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" The Captain saluted and left.

Zhao had not expected an opportunity to present itself this early. Sure, his fleet had moved significantly to the east already, but they should manage to reach the island in a few days if they maintained maximum speed. It was smart of the Avatar to first go to an island where no one normally would look, as it was utterly uninteresting and insignificant. That was why the Fire Nation had no assumed control of it yet.

Well, Zhao decided that while he was at it, he could kill two birds with one stone and claim another territory for the Fire Nation as well, teaching the locals a bitter lesson to never support an enemy of the Fire Nation.

Meanwhile, the other ships in his fleet answered with loud acoustic signals that they saw the flags signaling the change of course. The whole fleet began to turn around.

...on Kyoshi Island, three days later...

"Good, good! Now try again to the left!" The strike narrowly missed her. "I'm impressed! It's mere days and you can already almost hit me."

Suki was indeed impressed how far Sokka managed to come in mere days. She now knew she had been wrong about him. He wasn't a hopeless case as a warrior. Sure, Sokka at first had been a bit embarrassed about wearing one of her spare uniforms, but she had avoided even mentioning it. However, once they got to the actual training, Sokka showed an almost child-like enthusiasm about learning from her, not caring at all that he was learning from a girl. His desire to finally learn how to actually fight had to be really big.

Suki now also had a good idea why he was absorbing her lessons this fast. Sokka might look like a goof at first, but that was deceptive. His mindset was perfect for a warrior's needs and she couldn't help but to notice that he was way brighter than he appeared. Clearly, living in an icy land with little outside stimulus had prevented him from discovering his gift.

She had also misjudged him on a personal level. Once the outer layers were peeled away, it was clear that Sokka actually was rather insecure and passive, unsure what his place in the world should be. It was something he didn't want to show to anyone. He had not once shown any arrogance once she'd started to show him the ropes. He actually was quite pleasant to be around now.

"I'm trying to, but you're really fast!" Sokka replied, still trying to hit her with the wooden training fan.

"I don't expect you to. I've got years of training. That you force me to actually dodge already is a great improvement.," she said honestly.

Many people knew that they were training most of the day, but didn't say anything. Sokka however had refused to leave the training hall while wearing Suki's spare uniform, feeling that there were some things where he drew the line. Sokka didn't mind the whispers, but Suki was very aware about the gossip that was circulating. Since Sokka was the first boy she did take serious, the villagers were now speculating that there could be more to it.

Well, that is perfectly ridiculous. I'm just showing him the ropes, nothing more, Suki thought, although she had to admit she really liked teaching him, at first not even having noticed how much time had passed.

"I have to apologize. I first thought of you as a girl, but I was wrong. You are a warrior," Sokka told her, while blocking her strikes.

"Stupid Sokka..." she told him a little playful. "Just because I'm a warrior doesn't mean I can't a be a girl at the same time. I do have the same desires as many other girls have."

"Yah!" Sokka made an unexpected move and Suki lost her balance. She fell into Sokka, who lost his balance as well and they both ended up in a heap on the floor in a very suggestive position.

They were frozen in surprise, looking into each other's eyes. Normal reaction would be to jump apart in embarrassment, but part of them didn't want to end this close body contact. This was the first time they both had such... 'contact' with the opposite sex. Hell, their faces were close enough that they could feel the warmth of each other's breath.

It seemed that karma right then decided to play a prank on them.

"Suki, have you seen... YIKES!" One of the Kyoshi Warriors had opened the door right then. She stopped when seeing Suki and Sokka on the floor, Suki lying on Sokka, their faces only inches apart. "Goodness, Suki! Do you really have to do that in our training hall of all places?! And to think you are on our case about self-control!"

"This is not what it looks like!" Suki defended herself, being too embarrassed to move.

"Oh, of course. In this case I won't disturb you two any longer." That said, she quickly left, obviously to spread the gossip.

"Uhm, not that I complain, but maybe you could get off me?" Sokka then suggested when Suki made no move to get off him.

"Oh dear!" Suki gasped, trying to get off Sokka as quick as possible. At least her face paint was hiding her blush. "Oh, that's great. Now the entire village will think we were making out."

For Suki this was the worst case scenario. Her carefully cultivated reputation now was dead-sure to take a serious blow.

Sokka was blushing, his awkwardness around girls shining through. "You know... You lying on me... I kind of liked it."

If he had expected Suki to scold him, he was wrong. Instead, she did look a little nervous. "It was kind of new to me as well... You're the first boy that came this close to me."

Sokka couldn't help but to wonder what she actually looked like under her face paint. He had no idea where the thought came from, it just happened. Her uniform was covering up most of her curves and her breastplate disguised her breast size... Sokka shook his head. Where were these thoughts coming from? He'd never before felt this strange need to take a closer look.

"Time-out before the next lesson?" Suki asked, herself trying hard not to take a closer look at Sokka.

"Good idea." Sokka knew he otherwise would never be able to concentrate on the lesson.

She's a warrior and definitely a girl, Sokka thought, putting an emphasis on the 'girl' part.

Ohhhh, I think the 'girl' part just returned with a vengeance, Suki thought, still surprised at how flustered she'd been. This had never before happened to her.

o

"Come on... come on..." Katara impatiently said, while waving her hand over the nearby waters.

She'd had enough of staying cooped up in the village and being forced to watch Aang getting stalked and decided to concentrate on her waterbending training. After all she had spent as much time as possible going through the lessons in the scroll copies she had available. The need to be as good as possible before reaching the North Pole was driving her.

She would not allow those people to reduce her to a glorified healer - though of course healing was important and Katara was eager to learn that as well, wondering how that worked.

She had trained herself with water bowls, but that no longer was enough for what she needed. Meanwhile, her brother was away for most of the day and she didn't even want to know what he was up to this time, although the goofy grin he was sporting in the evenings at least hinted that he seemed to be in a good mood, which was a relief for everyone involved.

Training to manipulate water in a bowl only got her so far, so she had walked down to the beach - a beach far away from the village - to see if she could get those beginner lessons done as fast as possible. Waterbending after all was like a muscle; training it a lot would in the end give better results. She'd had various successes already, resulting in a deep satisfaction that she was making progress.

For the moment however, the sea seemed to be mocking her when she was trying to form the water into a complicated shape - a lesson meant to improve her fine control.

Why doesn't it work? I just want to create an interesting shape, nothing more. Her thoughts then wandered. Damn Sokka, telling me I'm jealous of those little girls! I'm not jealous that Aang gets all their attention! I'm not.

Katara stopped when noticing that her waterbending had reacted to her drifting thoughts and she saw a rather goody copy of Aang's face, which had formed on the surface of the sea, giving her a smile. She gasped in surprise and the face fell apart.

Katara felt like her powers were making fun of her. "Oh, that's great... Just admit it. I am jealous."

Katara sighed, before sitting down and looking over the sea. In a mere week, things had changed so much. Having grown up with no other boy of her age-group other than her brother - who thus didn't count - she was pretty clueless about the interaction between sexes. The only hints she'd gotten was from observing the adults before the men had left for the war. At least she was sure that Sokka wasn't much better in that regard.

She was very unsure how to act around Aang. There also was the problem that both of them were rather young. Oh, sure, she already had started her way on becoming a woman and she could see that Aang was also just starting the fun that was puberty. Yet, she wondered if he was ready for that kind of emotion, or if he just saw her as a big sister and nothing else.

"Katara?"

Hearing Aang's voice, she looked to her left and saw him jumping down from a tree he had hidden in, looking really jumpy. Momo was sitting on his shoulder, acting as a lookout for any trouble. "Aang... Finally escaped your fan club?"

Aang sighed, before sitting down beside her. "Don't get me wrong, at first it felt nice to be appreciated, but then I realized they admite the Avatar, not Aang. Why do they like me for what I am, not who I am? I never did anything worthy of note, I just got born with these powers. Being the Avatar really sucks, it brought me nothing be trouble."

Katara knew where this came from, since he'd lost everything just because he was the Avatar. She knew there was more, but Aang still was reluctant to talk about it. "Well, I do care. I do care for Aang the person. That you are the Avatar is just an extra."

For the first time in days, Aang felt his spirits lifted and he gave Katara a little smile. "You know, when I grew up there weren't any girls around. It was a purely male temple. Even when I visited other cities, I only saw them from afar. For some reason I didn't want to approach them."

I guess he's already over his 'girls-have-cooties' phase then, Katara thought in relief.

She didn't want to imagine how Aang would have been if still in that phase. She knew from experience. While Sokka was her brother, he too had went trough it and she had been the only target, causing her lots of annoyance and several screaming matches, which generally resulted in their Gran-Gran tanning both their backsides good to show them that this was no good behavior.

Aang looked a bit dreamy, while he continued. "You were the very first girl I ever talked to. At first I thought all girls would be all as nice as you are, but after the last few days, I guess I was wrong."

Had Aang just given her a compliment? "You know, you are actually quite a nice guy, but I still don't know you that well. How was it growing up in a temple, being a monk and... with no girls around?"

"Oh, there are stories I could tell you..." Aang then sighed. "I still try to come to terms they are gone. Me trying to have fun is helping me, you know?"

Katara had a feeling that was why he wanted to ride the giant koi in the first place. "There is nothing wrong with trying to feel better after something terrible happened." She saw the look Aang was giving her. "I will tell you once I feel ready, just like you can tell us when you feel ready."

Aang nooded, then brightened up. "Thanks. You know, regarding fun, once we leave, I have to show you the city of Omashu. Their mail delivery system is lots of fun!"

"How can a mail delivery system be fun?" Katara had difficulties imagining that.

"Well, it's not the boring kind! You should have seen what I did together with my friend Bumi... Huh?" Aang stopped when Momo hissed. "Momo, what's wrong?" He kept forgetting how much better the lemur's hearing was, thanks to his big ears. "There's something at sea? Too bad I forgot my glider, but maybe my airscooter... Give me some room, Katara."

Creating an airscooter, Aang used it to ascend higher than the trees to have a good look on the sea. What he saw however, made him stop. "Oh uh!" He quickly returned to the ground. "Trouble, trouble, Katara! Fire Nation ships, and they are coming here!"

Katara paled a little. "Oh no! We have to warn the village!"

As quick as they could they ran towards the village, hoping they would reach it before the troops would land on the island.

On the ships meanwhile, there was lots of activity.

"Sir, we are ready for the landing. All troops are prepared for invading the island as soon as you give the signal," an officer reported to Zhao, who was looking at the island from the command tower of his ship.

"Good. As soon as we have secured our bridgehead, I will lead them personally. I do not want the Avatar to escape," Zhao said, knowing that his personal battle armor was ready and he just had to put it on.

"Yes, Sir!"

Zhao was confident this would be easy pickings.

Arriving in the village meanwhile, Aang and Katara saw that the news seemed to have already arrived.

The villagers were busy with barricading themselves into their homes, while others for some reason were moving away the statue of Kyoshi, probably since they feared it otherwise would get destroyed. The Kyoshi Warriors had gathered in the village center and they were then joined by their leader Suki and...

"Sokka? What in the name of the spirits are you wearing?" Katara asked, shocked that her brother would wear something like that.

"Hey, calm down, I'm still wearing my pants." Just to show he meant it, Sokka lifted the hem of the skirt to show his pants.

"Oh boy..." Aang all of a sudden was relieved he was not in Sokka's place. "If I'm ever told there is a place where I don't need pants..."

Katara was stopped from making a snarky comment when Suki spoke up. "All right, listen up and listen good! The Fire Nation is about to land on the island. We have to fend them off before they can reach the village. We can't fight them on the beach, as the ships would cut us to ribbons."

"Are you really sure? It's awfully many ships," Aang voiced his concern, having the sinking feeling that he was the true target. of this invasion. "I don't think you can fight them all."

Suki knew they probably would die trying, since the numbers would be massively against them. "We know... But we have to at least try to hold them off for as long as we can."

On the beach meanwhile the Fire Nation troops had created a command post, while even more soldiers landed, bringing weapons and equipment with them. They had trained landing operations countless times, so it was all going well without any problem. That was also the situation when Zhao arrived, riding on a komodo rhino.

"Captain, you and your men are to secure the surrounding countryside. We will take the village we have spotted. All right. Let's move in," he called.

They quickly marched towards the village. What they encountered was strange. No one was seen, the streets were empty and all houses closed up. The village seemed to be deserted, but due to their training they were expecting an ambush and they were completely right in that regard.

"Yaaahaa!"

The soldiers were surprised when they got ambushed from several sides, their attackers striking and then retreating quickly. They could barely see who was attacking them and felt hurt in their pride that a bunch of girls with pained faces had already killed several of them in this ambush. However, that also was driving their anger.

Zhao however stayed cool and looked indifferent. "Don't let this get to you. Fight back!"

While their attackers had had the element of surprise, this was gone now as the soldiers' training kicked in.

Swords and lances drawn, they went to the counterattack, not caring who exactly their enemies were. The firebenders meanwhile did not hesitate to set houses on fire, uncaring that about the occupants when then fled in terror from the flames. Soon enough more blood was spilled, but this time it not only was the of the ire Nation.

It went south quickly for the Kyoshi Warriors. While in theory they were trained to fight in big battles, they'd never had any practical experience against enemies who truly wanted their death. So while they certainly were good against enemies in low numbers, they were very inefficient against a whole army which could wear them down.

The confidence of the Kyoshi Warriors from after their surprise attack quickly turned into horror when one after the other suffered bad injuries, until Suki knew that this wasn't working and ordered a retreat. She did not want to risk any of her girls dying in a senseless battle. With bleeding wounds and burns from the enemy's firebenders, they were forced to retreat into the woods.

"Oh crap..." Sokka cursed, watching the whole thing from their hidden shelter.

Part of him wanted to fight, but Suki had made it clear he would get himself killed right at the moment. It seemed like she cared about keeping him whole. Instead, he was told to watch out for Aang, while Katara and some others were hastily preparing Appa for leaving, as it would be stupid to risk Aang's safety. Aang as the Avatar was too important, after all.

Part of him felt guilty for feeling relief that Suki had remained uninjured, while the other girls had suffered some serious injury. Aang himself had watched the whole thing in horror and then...

"Aang...? Oh great, what is he doing?!" Sokka cursed. He'd been told to watch out for Aang by Katara, and the young airbender was again doing something stupid.

"Stop, leave them alone!"

Zhao smirked when seeing the lone figure who was standing on the street before them, but also raised an eyebrow at the sight. "Well, well, well. If this isn't the Avatar himself... and younger than expected. Prince Zuko must be even more of a weakling than I first thought, if you, a mere child, gave him that much trouble when he attempted your capture."

Aang hid his surprise at Zuko's name being mentioned and also said nothing about that strange story Zuko must have cooked up. "Big words! As if you can do better!" Aang challenged him, wondering what the hell he was doing.

Zhao wondered how stupid this kid had to be. "You must be far more stupid than I anticipated. Just that staff you are holding won't cut it when you are confronted with all of my soldiers. I'm Commander Zhao. Remember this name, for it will haunt you for the rest of your life."

"You want me. Leave these people out of it!" Aang tried to bargain.

Zhao laughed. "Oh my, how naive. Little fool, these people gave you shelter. That alone is reason enough to make sure this island will never again cause any trouble. They will learn to accept the new reality of the Fire Lord as their master."

Aang paled when realizing that he indeed would be unable to stop this and the consequences that would follow. "Just because they helped me...?"

"You must be very naive." Zhao was truly disappointed that this was the great danger for the Fire Nation. "Get him!."

Aang right then finally knew that he'd screwed up royally by running onto the streets like an idiot. Mere split-seconds before he got tackled by a dozen soldiers, he jumped up and opened his glider to escape. As much as he didn't want to leave, he knew he couldn't fight an entire army and that the villagers wouldn't want him to get captured.

"Shoot him down!" Zhao cursed.

On his orders, fireballs streaked through the air, forcing Aang to do neck-breaking maneuvers to not get shot down. Getting a taste of how this war truly was made Aang filly feel how brutal this all really was. Before, he had seen the consequences, but Zhao's ruthlessness and Kyoshi Island being conquered drove home how dire things truly were.

"Sokka, we're ready..." Katara stopped when seeing what was going on. "Sokka, what is Aang doing?! I thought I told you to watch out for him!"

"He slipped away! Let's pick him up in the air, come!" Sokka left no room for argument when he took Katara's hand hand pulled her to where Appa was waiting.

Suki was there when they arrived, arguing with Oyaji.

"But... I want to help! The girls are preparing to dress like simple villagers and I want to help the village prepare for the day when we throw those soldiers out," Suki argued.

"No, Suki. You have a bigger responsibility. I trust you that you help keep the Avatar safe. He is young and inexperienced. And no offense, but his companions right now don't strike me as capable of protecting him," Oyaji told her, seeing that they'd gotten an audience.

"But... I failed. I swore to protect our home and I couldn't do it."

"I think even Kyoshi would have forgiven you, seeing as you could hardly be expected to fight an entire army. Now go, time is short!" Oyaji ordered, leaving no room for argument.

Aang meanwhile was feeling his arms getting stiff from the many evasive maneuvers he was doing. He breathed in relief when he saw Appa finally arriving to pick him up. Landing on Appa's head, he didn't even ask why they'd picked up one extra, feeling too much inner conflict. He felt horrible that his mere presence had brought this over the village, even though they'd chosen on their own to shelter him.

I only rested here for some days, and for them it was reason enough to invade, Aang thought, looking down to where he saw more soldiers flooding onto the island while they were slipping away.

Katara saw the emotions warring within him. She knew she would have to console him as soon as they had landed.

On the ground, Zhao watched the sky bison fly away, annoyed.

So close, and he slipped away! he cursed, barely holding back to cursing aloud. Well, enjoy your freedom while it lasts, Avatar. I will make sure these peasants won't have any.

"Get the whole island under control! Bring in the materials to erect an outpost. These peasants can't be allowed to have any chance to ever rebel!" he ordered, deciding to vent his frustration on the island.

Kyoshi Island would be in for a difficult time.

...an hour later, somewhere on the mainland...

Suki sighed when she looked at her reflection on the surface of the small pond. Small ripples went over her image when tears escaped her eyes. She no longer cared how it looked, as she had just experienced the worst day of her life. Her home invaded and her being forced into exile. She felt she was unworthy to any longer wear Kyoshi's colors. Carefully removing her headpiece, she started to wash off her face paint.

The water became a little milky when the white and red paint joined it and Suki felt like she was washing away a part of her life that now was over. She'd finally scrubbed it all off and then looked at her image again. There no longer was a Kyoshi Warrior looking back. Instead, looking back at her was plain old Suki, someone she'd only seen seldom over the years.

Just look at me. Once a proud Kyoshi Warrior, now an exile, Suki thought, her heart heavy.

"Suki?"

Suki at first didn't want Sokka to see her like this, but then she reasoned he would do so anyway sooner or later. He'd first met her when she felt really secure about her life and now nothing was sure for her any longer. She wondered what he would now say, while turning around to face him.

Sokka for his part had not failed to notice that Suki was depressed - which was little wonder after seeing her home get invaded by the Fire Nation and herself being forced into exile. Now looking at her however, those depressing thoughts were not important for the moment, since this was the first time he saw Suki's face without any paint on it.

She was beautiful.

However, he quickly controlled himself. Despite what Katara might say, he was capable of understanding what others felt. At least sometimes. "Suki? How... how are you holding up?"

Suki wanted to laugh at that stupid question, but she couldn't, since Sokka seemed genuinely concerned for her. "I feel like crap. I lost my home and the one thing I lived for."

Sokka knew, there weren't words that could cheer her up. "So, what do you do now?"

Suki looked up. "I will do as Oyaji told me. I will come with you and protect the Avatar on his journey, regardless how long it takes. I swear I will only wear the colors of Kyoshi again once this stupid war is finally over!"

Sokka knew he shouldn't be happy that Suki would travel with them, but he couldn't help it. He was also relieved that Suki instead of getting depressed was trying to find a new purpose. "Eh...? You feel better now?"

"Better? Not really. But having something important to do helps not getting depressed. I'll get better once I got some time to digest this day," Suki admitted, knowing it wasn't that easy to go on after such a horrible day.

"You know, there's something else you can do to distract yourself," Sokka suggested.

Suki had no idea what that could be. "What would that be?"

"Get some new clothes. Can't be comfortable to wear this all the time," he said, pointing out at her uniform.

Suki knew he was right, but that didn't mean she would get rid of her uniform - well, two uniforms, since Sokka had worn one and returned it to her after their escape - as it would still be useful in battle. However, she really didn't want to wear it all the time. Hopefully, they could get some new clothes in the next town.

"I guess you're right. Where are we heading to?" she wondered.

Sokka scratched his chin. "Well, Aang said something about a city called Omashu."

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"New Friends"

Chapter Text

Well, they honestly had had a bit too much excitement in Omashu.

How were they supposed to know that Aang's old friend Bumi was tough enough to become 112 years old and on top of that being the king of a whole region of the Earth Kingdom? His antics in testing Aang had made all of them highly nervous. At least Bumi had apologized for making them go through mortal terror that they could be suffocated by the rock candy growing on them. Granted, they had not been in actual danger - Bumi had told them so after the fact - but that didn't make it much better.

Now however that all the serious things were over, and it was time to relax.

Aang and Bumi had just done a wild ride in the mail delivery system of Omashu and were now sitting on a ledge which was overlooking the city. Despite Bumi being a century older now, it had been surprisingly easy to connect to him. Some people really never change that much.

"Bumi, did you make the delivery system more wild than it used to be?" Aang asked, remembering the wild ride.

"Well, Aang, that would be telling." That basically was a confession.

"Well, that cabbage merchant seemed less than happy that we scattered his cabbages, though I have to admid it was really spectacular how they flew in all directions," Aang said with a laugh, remembering that part of the ride too well.

"Oh, I'll pay him to make up for his loss. Now, can you keep a secret?" Bumi asked his friend.

"What a question. And you know the answer already, don't you?" Aang knew that Bumi knew he could keep secrets.

Bumi laughed before sitting down next to him. "Good, then don't spread it around, but I do have a serious side as well. -sigh- That's the price for getting this far in life and for having a good relationship with your better half." Bumi noticed the looks Aang was giving him. "I think you would be surprised to learn I loved her very dearly and I have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My family is quite extensive."

"She must have been quite the woman." Aang could imagine that the woman Bumi did end up with must have been quite the character.

"Oh yes, and I miss her every day ever since she was taken from me..." Bumi looked melancholic for a moment. "Now then, Aang, it's time for responsible Bumi to help you. You are in some serious need of guidance."

"Wouldn't I know it, Bumi? This whole Avatar business still feels like a massive stone tied to my neck... Urgh, bad analogy to an earthbender," Aang confessed.

"Indeed, but still fitting. Though, sadly I can't give you much more advice on that other than what you already know. Have trust in yourself and learn what you can, starting with waterbending," Bumi told Aang.

"Could you be my teacher for earthbending once I got water down? You showed my how awesome you are." Now that the stress was gone, Aang had to admit that Bumi was a truly powerful earthbender.

"Oh, thanks for the flowers, Aang. After all, I'm only the greatest earthbender on the world... well after you once you are fully trained," Bumi chuckled. "However, I fear I can not be your teacher. My many other responsibilities make that impossible. However, I have no doubt that you will find who you seek soon enough."

"If you say so, Bumi." Aang wondered if that really would be the case.

"There is something else. You sure feel guilty for what happened on Suki's island, don't you?" Bumi asked his friend.

Aang realized that Bumi was very perceptive when he wants to be. "How can't I? Thanks to me wanting to visit the island, it's now under Fire Nation control."

"While that is tragic, you insult them for taking responsibility for their own choices. They knew of the danger and did let you stay anyway. Just like I'm doing right now," Bumi reminded Aang.

"I know, but I still feel bad about it," Aang admitted.

"As long as you realize the fault lies not with you..." Bumi's expression then turned more serious. "However, let me warn you how the world has changed. Why do you think I as the king of Omashu, have so much power?"

"Ehh, I honestly never thought about that. Gyatso didn't get that far with my education."

"I know you hated sitting down for lessons... Aang, it's because the Earth Kingdom, as much as it wants to pretend otherwise, always was more of a number of smaller entities that listened to what Ba-Sing-Se told them. It would have been impossible to control such a huge area effectively from one central government with the means available back then," Bumi explained to Aang.

"But how is that important now?" Aang wondered.

"It is important, because the war has fractured that relationship. Those parts of the Earth Kingdom not already conquered by the Fire Nation feel abandoned by the capital; that they were left to take the beating while in Ba-Sing-Se they ignore their plight. The regions have started to do their own thing, only contributing the bare minimum to the central government by this point. There basically no longer is an Earth Kingdom, only it's not official."

Aang looked a bit disheartened by that development. "So the Fire Nation already destroyed the Earth Kingdom."

"No, not the Fire Nation, but the apathy of those who were supposed to care for the lands as a whole. I know you will see that in due time. Even though I'm sure you will end this war, things will not return to how they used to be." Bumi looked surprisingly thoughtful at that.

"I always was told that there are supposed to be four nations," Aang said, remembering his lessons.

Bumi laughed. "And that worked so well for us. Say, your friends from the Southern Water Tribe, do they have anything to do with the tribe in the north?"

"No, why do you ask?" Aang wondered.

"See? The idea that those two tribes are one nation is laughable and once the war is over, they will continue to go their seaparate ways The same way like the Earth Kingdom will come to its logical end. The idea of four nations for four elements has proven to be rather impractical once being put to the test. Reality is more complex than that." Bumi then gave Aang an interesting look. "Think about the colonies of the Fire Nation. What will happen to those people once the war is over?"

Aang wanted to say to send them back to the Fire Nation, but then realized that many probably had been born in the colonies, considering how long they had been around - even in his time there already had been colonies for decades. Also, he imagined forcing them to leave under threat of violence, and all of a sudden it didn't feel so right anymore.

"There are no easy answers, are there?" Aang asked his friend.

Bumi gave Aang a look of approval. "That you understand that shows you can learn. Continue to do so, and you'll be a great Avatar. However, never forget you are still human. Despite pressure, also try to enjoy life."

Aang knew that was Bumi the friend talking. "Seeing how you rule, you know how to do so. You have more of that rock candy?"

Bumi then chuckled. "Yes, I do, enough for you get a tummy ache. But enough of serious Bumi. I've seen your friend looking ready to eat an ostrich horse. Ah, I really like someone who can appreciate the tasty meat."

Knowing that Bumi had to be talking about Sokka, Aang shook his head in amusement.

"Oh, and something else... Try to talk like today's youth," Bumi then added.

"Eh?" Aang wondered.

Bumi then chuckled. "No offense, but a twelve-year old expressing himself like I do makes you look rather old-fashinoed or outright archaic. No twelve-year old should sound like an old man."

Aang honestly had not noticed. But then again, they couldn't have known different in the Water Tribe and with how things had progressed, there had been little chance for him to even notice. He honestly wondered if anyone other than Bumi would have bothered to tell him.

...some days later...

Sokka studied their map of the southern Earth Kingdom. "There should be a town behind these mountains... Gaoling, if I read right. We can rest there before returning to the western coast. We really need it."

Sighs of relief answered him.

Of course as soon as they had left the city of Omashu, they'd discovered that Zhao was a sore loser after their meeting on Kyoshi Island and Fire Nation troops had literally hunted them, forcing them to make a long detour to the southeast, just to throw them off their trail. Good thing it seemed to have worked, as they were finally being left alone and now on course to a non-occupied province town - obviously not important enough for the Fire Nation to occupy.

"Thank all goodness," Suki sighed. "When I went with you, I never imagined it would mean being cooped up in this saddle for days apart from breaks to take care of our... other needs. Thank all what's holy for those breaks."

"Be glad we are flying over land. You don't even want to know how complicated that is while flying over the sea with no land in sight. I wanted to die from embarrassment the first day of that," Katara told her, dreading when they would return to flying over the sea. As much as she didn't like staying on Zuko's ship, it at least had proper bathrooms.

Suki knew she would get that 'honor' sooner or later as well and didn't even want to imagine how they had managed that - not that she would have much of a choice in the end. She therefore changed the topic. "At least there won't be any crazy kings in that town. No offense, Aang, but being made to look like a huge sugar cake was not exactly good for my confidence on top of everything else."

"Well, that's Bumi for you. He hasn't changed at all and already did crazy stuff like that all the time when he was my age," Aang said.

"Did age mellow him out?" Katara asked, remembering Bumi's antics too well.

Aang laughed. "No way! If anything, he became more crazy!"

He was feeling better, that was for sure. Talking to Bumi had been therapeutic and despite not wanting anyone to know, the old king did have a serious side. He did feel better now, although he knew some of the guilt would never leave him. However, Bumi's advice to actually enjoy his life despite the pressure was good. He would follow that.

"Eh, Suki..?" Sokka asked carefully.

"I know what you want to ask me about. I honestly try not to think about what happened to my home, but that's not working." Suki then sighed. "It's not nearly as bad as what happened to Aang or your tribe. I know I can still see them again, but it still hurts."

Sokka was not known to be the most empathetic person around. Instead, his incredible bluntness at time could come over as rather insulting. Surprisingly for himself, he was always careful with his words when it came to Suki, to wanting to add to her pain. That was new for him.

Sokka then decided to change the topic. "Speaking of Bumi, he at least gave us extra funds. Zuko might have been generous, but it wouldn't have lasted us all the way north," Sokka said, while rolling up the map. Truth to be told, he really liked Bumi. How could you not like a man who shared his love for well-made meat? That guy was a real man.

"Yes, and I'll make sure it won't be wasted on useless junk," Katara added, making her word final.

Aang had the feeling that Bumi had made quite an impression on Sokka. Then again, Bumi made an impression on everyone.

Aang tried to concentrate on steering Appa over the mountains. While he still felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, it felt a bit less like a burden now. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Katara and Suki talking about something. It seemed Katara was overjoyed to have a girl her age she could talk with and had relaxed quite a bit. Sokka also acted a bit strange around her. He seemed less prone to act stupid when she was around.

He quickly looked away when Katara started to turn her head, not wanting her to catch him looking at her. While he knew he liked her, he was unsure what it meant for him. Time passed. Aang then saw how they had passed the mountains and beyond them...

"There, look!" Aang called.

Before them, a cozy town was nestled between harvested fields. The dark brown roof tiles creating a contrast with the green grass surrounding the buildings. The town might not be one of the bigger ones, it was downright modest compared to Omashu, but compared to the rural Earth Kingdom, it was very urban. Being still further north than Kyoshi Island and more land inwards, no snow covered the ground.

"Yep, that's Gaoling," Sokka confirmed.

To say Appa was grateful for the rest after the past several days was an understatement. The big sky bison had went to sleep as soon as he had landed in a small clearing in the woods near Gaoling. That was a clear sign that he would not go anywhere for the rest of the day. Momo seemed to agree to this course of action, since right after that he curled up on Appa's head and took a nap as well.

After having built the camp, this left them with nothing to do for the rest of the day and it still was morning. Their supplies were still plenty so there was nothing they needed to buy and they thus just aimlessly wandered down the main street of Gaoling, taking in the sights, having left Appa to guard the camp. Even when sleeping, a huge sky bison was enough to scare away would-be thieves.

Suki however knew there was something else they actually did need. Or better, what she and Sokka needed. She'd thought about it for a while and had finally come to a decision. However, this also meant she would have to ask Katara for money, since the girl had pretty much declared herself to be the most responsible one when it came to their finances and thus controlled what it was spent for.

"Katara, I hope you don't mind me taking some funds? There's something I need to buy for Sokka and me," she asked the other girl.

Katara arched an eyebrow, having no idea what Suki could want to buy, since they already had everything they needed. "As long as it isn't too expensive... After all this money has to last us for much longer. I hope it is something we do need."

"Don't worry, this is about as much as I need. And yes, it will be very useful," Suki said, taking a handful of coins out of the money bag. "Also let's say you'll be thankful for my idea. Come, Sokka. I know you will like this." She didn't wait for an answer and took his hand, dragging him away.

"Hey, wait!" Sokka protested to no avail.

"What is that about? All of a sudden she acted so excited," Aang wondered when Sokka and Suki had vanished into the crowd.

Katara got some thoughts which she quickly wished she didn't. She didn't want to imagine her brother and Suki doing those things! "I don't really want to know."

She got a puzzled look from Aang for this. "Why?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," was the only answer she gave him.

Aang wondered what that now was about.

Suki meanwhile was dragging Sokka down the street by his hand.

It had been difficult for her to adapt to her current situation, since all her life she had been following basically the same plan each day. She has caught herself almost doing some stuff from her old routine without thinking, before she remembered that she no longer was home. Thankfully her companions were most understanding that this was a difficult time for her. The pain of loss would always be there, but she knew she had to go on.

Her companions were actually very pleasant. Aang, despite what people might think because he was the Avatar, was basically just a nice and lively kid. Katara was quite motherly for her age when she wasn't getting angry because of her brother's antics. Sokka... while he did have a serious side, he could also be quite funny when he wanted to. Poor guy was still hurting however, that he never got to become the warrior his father had promised to make him.

Nothing I can't change, she thought determined, feeling a bit warm around the heart at the idea that she wanted to spend more time with Sokka. This was something new for her.

"Woah, wait! Suki, where are we going?!" Sokka finally gasped, while trying to wiggle his hand out of her hold.

"Oh, it will be a surprise. A good one." She said nothing more until finally having found what she was looking for. "Here, that's the place I was looking for."

"A weapons shop?" Sokka asked when reading the sign and taking in all the different weapons displayed. "Aren't we armed already? I don't know what more we could actually want."

Suki shook her head. "No offense, Sokka, but I do not think that a boomerang and a war club are going to impress most of your enemies. I gave you instructions on how to use battle fans and I will teach you in the future as well, but I think it is time we both get serious. After all, do you really think I can only use battle fans?"

Sokka needed a moment to consider this. He had really wanted to use the weapons of his tribe. However, Suki was right in that they weren't exactly made to impress more serious enemies. He took a look at his trusty weapon boomerang and suddenly felt woefully lacking in armament. The fans tucked into his belt already were proof that he would hardly fit into into the imagine of a Water Tribe warrior anymore.

His club now seemed a bit crude to him and his boomerang was not exactly cutting it, while the fans, although certainly a weapon of elegance he would continue to use, were not exactly suited for sending a message to his enemies. While he would always hold onto his boomerang - after all his father had given it to him - something more could be good. Perhaps Suki was right and a new weapon was needed. As it was now, they would be caught with their pants down in case they were drawn into a confrontation.

Yes, it certainly seemed smart to get a good weapon. Question only was, what should it be?

"Well, perhaps we should take a look..." he said hesitantly.

"I knew you would see it from my perspective," Suki said, then led him into the shop. "Let's take a look around and tell me if there is anything that catches your interest."

Inside, Sokka was awed by the sheer selection of weapons available. There was nothing this shop didn't seem to have. Maces, swords, flails, bows and spears lined the walls, while expensive-looking leather and metal armors were put onto display racks. Sokka felt overwhelmed; he didn't know where to start looking and Suki seemed content to let him look around, saying nothing while watching his reactions.

"You know, you are not making it easy. There is so much here..." Sokka was carefully not to whine.

"Oh, it's not suipposed to be easy. You have to select a weapon you think is a good fit for you," Suki told him, then continued to observe him bowsing the weapon racks.

Sokka did test multiple weapons in his hand, but they didn't feel right. Flails and morning stars reminded him way too much of his war club. Spears and halberds were out as well - after all, he'd wonderfully humiliated himself with a spear against Zuko. Sokka didn't even touch the missile weapons, knowing right away he would be no good in those.

He's taking his time to find the best fit for himself. Good, Suki thought while watching him browsing through the weapons.

Finally, his eyes were drawn to a display and he decided to investigate closer. "Oh...wow.." Now THIS is a man's weapon!... Well, although I guess a woman can use them a well. He added the last bit without thinking when remembering his very female companion.

Suki gave Sokka a smile when seeing him almost drooling while looking at his choice. "I knew you would be drawn to that kind of weapon. After all, men do like sharp stuff. And you are in luck, I can use these very well."

"Does it mean you like sharp stuff as well?" Sokka asked her.

"Yes, but it doesn't make me any less of a girl," Suki admitted.

Sokka by now had forgotten his reluctance. He just hoped they had enough money to pay for these.

...at the same time...

"You know, I'm really bored. Let's find something to do! There must be exciting stuff in this town," Aang told Katara while they walked through the commercial district of Gaoling at a leisurely pace.

Katara knew that Aang was right. She herself also was bored. While her brother at times was really annoying, he had the ability to liven up the day significantly. She had not even noticed, having lived with him her entire life, until recently. Ever since he wasn't around all the time due to spending it with Suki (and Katara did not want to imagine what they could be doing!) she had become aware how boring things could become with him being absent.

Not that things were bleak. Aang actually was really nice and it was hard to imagine that he was raised by monks. It didn't go with the image that people like that always were dead serious. Aang had a youthful enthusiasm that was addictive. While he was still coming to terms with how the world had changed around him, he seemed determined to not let this get to him.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Aang tugged on her sleeve. "Hey, Katara, look at that!" he told her excitedly, pointing to a big advertisement poster on a wall.

"What's this? 'Master Yu's Earthbending Academy is holding an exhibition of its teachings at noon on the central square. Admittance is free'," she read the advertisement, trying to ignore the flashy picture of supposedly cool earthbenders on it.

"Katara, I've never seen any real earthbending up close," Aang started.

"Oh, and what about your friend Bumi?" Katara asked.

Aang blushed. "Well... that was more him slapping me around and I didn't see that much... I know I'm not ready to learn earthbending yet, but some pointers are always good. I really want to see this. Oh please, can we go there?"

Looking at a nearby sundial, Katara saw that it almost was noon. "Well... we do have nothing better to do. So let's see what those earthbenders can do."

"Oh, yes, yes!" Aang then almost dragged her towards where a sign said the central square was.

Two streets later, they stopped when seeing what was on the central square. "Woah..." Aang said in awe when seeing a small stadium, complete with spectator ranks and entirely made out of rock, occupying almost the entire square. It was clearly created just recently with earthbending. "Those guys are not kidding around!"

"Come in, ladies and gentlemen, we still have free seats and the exhibition is about to start," a woman in the uniform of Yu's academy called. "If you are interested, free academy hats are available as well!"

There was no problem getting inside, though Katara gave Aang a strange look. "Aang, why did you take one of those free hats?"

"I think it looks great on me, doesn't it?" Aang said proudly, showing off his new hat.

Katara didn't think it looked that cool, but held back. "Well, at least your head won't get cold."

Walking up the stairs, Katara and Aang found two empty seats in the upper ring of the stadium and then waited for the show to start. The stadium was packed with people who where hoping for some free entertainment. They didn't have to wait for much longer when a man in robes, obviously Master Yu, entered the arena, causing the crowd on the ranks to go silent.

"Welcome to the exhibition of my school. I hope that for the next hour, we can entertain you with all of the forms and skills my earthbending academy. Of course we are available for questions when the exhibition is over. Our academy is always happy to accept new students," Yu spoke to the crowd, clearly working hard to appear friendly to them.

Then the exhibition began and the students did start with basic earthbending skills, before moving on to more complicated forms. The crowd oohhhd and awwed when seeing these displays of bending powers. When the students started to juggle rocks and create various shapes from loose earth, the first applause thundered through the stadium. Even Katara and Aang were caught up in it, never having seen earthbending - apart from Bumi teaching Aang a lesson - so they were easy to impress.

They all knew it was an advertisement show for Master Yu to gain new students at his academy, but it was working. Several youngsters among the spectators looked really excited and already were begging their parents to join the academy so that they could learn to do the cool stuff as well.

"I've never before seen anything like this. Bumi was more like a force of nature," Katara said excitedly, feeling younger than she was.

"Yeah, they are awesome! I can't wait until I learn earthbending myself. That will be so cool!" Aang told her, while enjoying the show greatly.

At least they enjoyed it until they heard a snort from behind them. "I don't see what's so great about this cheap display."

Looking behind them, they saw a girl around Aang's age standing there. She was rather short for her age, being smaller than Aang. She obviously came from a wealthy family, since she was wearing a very expensive looking white and green dress, with a flying boar being prominent on it. Strangely enough she wasn't wearing shoes. However, her most striking features were her eyes. The green eyes were expressionless, a milky-white layer dulling their color.

The girl was completely blind.

"I, uh... how..." Katara stammered, feeling very awkward all of a sudden, unsure if the girl would take offense if she did point out the obvious, which would make it difficult for her to actually follow the exhibition.

"Ha! I managed to do it again!" the girl suddenly laughed, waving her hand in front of her useless eyes. "People always get flustered when they are confronted with my blindness. That's the third time today! I'm really good at this. Never gets old."

The girl then moved to sit between them, clearly enjoying their discomfort. Interestingly enough, she moved as if she wasn't handicapped at all by her blindness. "Hah, those losers. Juggling around stuff is just flashy. ... Oh please! They need three of them to change the shape of that rock. I can do that with one hand! This is so lame, I'm really ashamed that mother wanted to see this crap and dragged me here."

They both looked stumped, since this was exactly what was happening in the arena. Aang finally couldn't stop his curiosity anymore. "How are you doing this? I mean... you obviously can't see what they are doing."

The girl laughed again, clearly enjoying their confusion. "Man, that's good. You are the first guys who actually wonder how I'm doing it and have the guts to ask me. Well, since you've asked so nicely, I'll tell you. I'm using my earthbending to sense my surroundings. It's quite good, too. I do know that you are bald while she should not sit like she got a stick up her ass. Hey, watch this!"

Suddenly a chunk ripped out of the stone floor, hovering between her hands and she commanded it to rapidly take different forms - far faster than anything down in the arena. "That's so easy... Nothing that idiot Yu had ever taught me."

"You were taught by him?" Katara asked, glancing to where Yu was watching the spectacle with a pleased smile, already mentally counting the money he would gain with new students to his academy.

"Yeah... Not that he could have taught me much in the first place, but the jerk mostly made me do breathing exercises and then claimed I accomplished something great. What were my parents thinking when they got that guy? Yet, my mother and father think he's some sort of genius," the girl griped.

"You're that good?" Aang asked, really impressed by the skill this girl was showing.

"Good?" She laughed so hard that tears came out of her sightless eyes. "I'm the best!"

Bumi would take offense at that claim, Aang thought, feeling the girl was a bit too arrogant for her own good.

"Toph!... Toph, where are you?!" they then heard a woman call and the girl lost her smile.

"Oh great, that's mother dearest calling. Well, you were the first guys who didn't freak out and I have the strange feeling you are all right. If you guys want to see how awesome I really am, just look for Toph Bei Fong!" She then got up and walked down the row to where a middle-aged woman was frantically looking around.

Aang and Katara by now had forgotten the exhibition, listening in to those two.

"Toph, there you are! I leave you out of sight for a moment, and you wander off," her mother scolded Toph, acting as if Toph was a four-year old.

"You know I can sense my surroundings just fine!" Toph clearly had had this argument countless times and seemed tired of it.

Her mother ignored it. "You have again taken off your shoes. Do you want to catch a cold in this weather?"

Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "Mother, I can't use my earthbending with shoes on. You want me to actually become the blind cripple you think I am? Also, these guys have no problem with the temperature. It's not that cold."

"Don't talk back to me, young lady. I see it was an error to take you with me. Let's go!"

They watched her mother forcing her to put on her shoes, before taking her hand and leading her away. Unlike before, Toph now seemed quite unsure and clumsy on her feet, almost stumbling several times. It was a huge contrast to how securely she had moved before. Aang and Katara shared a look, before leaving the stadium for a secluded spot to talk.

"That's the first time I've met someone who can see with her feet," Aang said in awe once they had retreated to a small side alley.

"Gran-Gran told me of people who lost their sight and relied on their ears, but this is a new one for me as well," Katara replied, also quite impressed. Then she looked a bit disappointed. "She also acted a bit like a brat. No wonder her mother is so disappointed."

"Come on, Katara, how would you act if your waterbending is constantly ridiculed?" Aang challenged her.

Katara knew she would not take it well and accepted that Aang did have a point there. "Let's go back to camp and tell the others."

o

Aang stormed back onto the clearing where their camp was. He really wanted to share their experience with that strange girl with the others. He didn't even notice Katara struggling to keep up with him, that was how excited he was.

"Hey, guys, we..." Aang stopped when seeing an unexpected sight. "What are you two doing?"

It was an interesting sight, that was for sure. Sokka and Suki were holding wooden training swords, while they each had a real sword in a scabbard strapped to their backs. Suki was busy with doing moves and Sokka was trying to imitate them. Occasionally Suki attacked and Sokka was forced to defend himself. Momo was watching the whole thing with rapt interest from Appa's head, occasionally imitating them in sheer fascination.

"What does it look like?" Sokka said, putting a stop to their training session. "Suki is teaching me how to use a sword properly."

"Don't tell me you have spent the money on weapons," Katara complained while looking at the swords on their back. In her mind this was a horrible waste of money, since they already were armed and didn't need anymore weapons.

Suki rolled her eyes, giving Katara an interesting look. "Katara, nothing personal, but I think you should leave stuff about weapons to those who actually do have experience with them. To your information, Sokka was not well armed. A club and a boomerang are not very efficient weapons and as much as I like battle fans, they are not always useful."

Suki had a point, but Katara still wasn't sold on it. "Yes, but still..."

"Oh sure, let's complain to the guys who have no super-cool powers at all," Sokka snarked, seeing that his sister wasn't getting the point of the whole thing. "Has it ever occurred to you that we might want to defend ourselves?"

Katara knew she wasn't getting the point. She had never in her life seriously used a weapon and had no idea how they were thinking about it. She was seriously training with her waterbending powers and therefore probably would also never need any other weapon. The same was true for Aang, who as the Avatar would never have any need for a weapon.

It was the old communication problem between benders and non-benders.

"Why am I...?" Katara started.

Aang stopped the argument before Katara could give an answer. "Guys, you wouldn't believe who we found! Someone who can see with her feet!"

"All right, now I know you are pulling my leg," Sokka said after laughing, since it sounded ridiculous.

"No, really. She's completely blind but can see her surroundings with earthbending," he excitedly told Sokka, still deeply impressed at such a feat.

Suki knew that there probably was more to the story and held up a hand. "All right, time-out. Please start from the beginning. Uh... and Aang, what are you wearing?"

Aang only now noticed that he was still wearing the academy hat, only he now felt a bit strange wearing it. "Oh, I got that for free." Taking it off, he threw it to Appa.

Appa grunted when the hat landed on his big head, having long gotten used to the antics of his partner. Momo for his part saw the sudden darkness under the hat as an opportunity before enjoying his new temporary shelter and took another nap.

And then Aang and Katara did explain.

From how they discovered the exhibition, to the stadium and then meeting Toph. They went into detail how Toph effortlessly sensed her surroundings and how she bragged about her powers while giving them a small demonstration. They also told them how then Toph's mother showed up and her powers seemed to evaporate as soon as she had been forced to wear shoes.

"Granted, that's impressive, but we do have other worries," Sokka tried to slow down their excitement.

"Perhaps not, Sokka. I find it impressive. On Kyoshi Island we've had contact with some earthbenders over the years, but I've never heard of anything like this. However, she does sound a bit... arrogant," Suki said, trying to imagine what that Toph-girl looked like.

Katara snorted. "She surely wasn't humble about her abilities and seemed to have an inflated opinion of herself."

Sokka shook his head. "So what? It's not like we'll ever meet her."

...later that day, Bei Fong estate...

"I still don't get why we are doing this," Sokka sulked, not happy that he got outvoted.

How should he have known that Aang and Katara would win over Suki for their idea to look for that Toph girl in order to talk to her? He honestly saw no point in the whole thing, but obviously their curiosity had gotten the better of them and they had started to ask around in town about the Bei Fong family so that they could find out where she was living.

Finding out where the Bei Fong family was living was simple enough; they just were the richest family in Gaoling, with lots of influence in other parts of the country. What was interesting was the fact how little people knew about Toph. They knew the Bei Fongs did have a daughter named Toph and that she was blind. Beyond that however, people knew little and many were even surprised, thinking the Bei Fongs were childless

It seemed Toph was quite sheltered by her parents and only few even knew what she actually looked like.

"See it as simply being nice. After what Aang and Katara told us, that Toph girl sounds to be quite a good earthbender despite her handicap. Admit it that you are curious as well about her," Suki told Sokka.

Sokka grumbled a bit, unwilling to admit that he indeed was a little curious about Toph.

"Well, I hope she can tell me how she's using her feet to see. That would be awesome to have!" Aang threw in, still finding this to be an incredible ability.

Thanks to it being early winter, it was already starting to get dark when they arrived at the wall that surrounded the big property of the Bei Fongs. The main gate was out, since it was guarded by two mean-looking guards who clearly wouldn't let them pass. This meant that due to Aang being the only one who could actually pass the high wall without trouble thanks to his airbending, they were forced to cool their heels while waiting for him.

At least this was the plan until suddenly a hole collapsed and Toph walked out of it, clearly not caring that it got her dress dirty. "Jeeez, you couldn't get any louder, could you? You made almost as much vibrations as a whole herd of rhinos."

"That shrimp is why we are here?" Sokka asked, annoyed.

"Hey, who are you calling a shrimp?" Toph sulked, using a rock column to get up to Sokka's eye level. "Just because I'm smaller than other girls my age doesn't mean you can rub it under my nose!"

"Woah, peace! Please don't get at each other's throats!" Aang panicked, fearing that things were already going south.

Toph laughed. "You obviously have no idea what angry for an earthbender actually means. I'm just a litte ticked off, nothing more. Man, I didn't think you would feel the need to seek me out this fast, and with friends nonetheless!"

"Won't your parents wonder where you are?" Katara asked her, still surprised at this girl.

Toph snorted. "Why should they? They think they can let me wander around the compound, where I'm kept safe behind high walls. Honestly, they always ignore I'm an earthbender and they must think I'm deaf as well, otherwise they would try to make a bigger secret of the fact they want to marry me off to some nobleman's son in the future. They just have another one of those here and are trying to get the best results for themselves. Clearly they think a cripple can't continue the line without help. They don't get the hint when I make these jerks change their mind when they want to introduce me to them!"

They had listened to this rant, which revealed quite a lot of anger. "You seem to be quite comfortable telling this stuff to a bunch of strangers," Suki observed.

Toph gave her a smug smile. "Well, I do have my ways to tell if someone is lying to me or wants my hide. I actually feel quite comfortable around you. I'm also not getting around a lot. It's a relief I can talk to someone without acting like a shy cripple as my parents expect. Although maybe your names would be nice."

The few seconds of silence were confirmation that they only now remembered this little fact. Toph smirked. "Boy, this day gets better by the moment. Wonder how often I can get you guys."

It again fell to Katara to save the moment. "No better moment than the present! I'm Katara and the guy who called you a shrimp is my brother Sokka. Both of us are from the Southern Water Tribe."

"Is it true that it's always cold there and covered with ice and snow?" Toph asked, looking uncomfortable with the idea.

"The entire year," Katara told her truthfully and then got a grimace as an answer. Toph made no secret of the fact that she disliked winter. "The girl next to my brother is Suki, a warrior from the island of Kyoshi."

"Hello, nice to meet you," Suki greeted Toph.

"Once heard my father rant about a backwater province named Kyoshi," Toph said, due to her blindness not seeing Suki's annoyed look.

"And last but not least, this here is Aang. Believe it or not, he is an airbender," Katara introduced the last member of their group.

Toph laughed. "Oh, that was a good one! I did hear him clearly saying that he wants to learn earthbending. I didn't know you could be this funny!"

Aang looked downright offended. Of course she could not see what he actually looked like, which would have been an easy indicator. Creating an airscooter, he hovered a meter above the ground and then waited what Toph's reaction would be. He didn't have to wait long when her expression all of a sudden turned to complete surprise.

"Hey, where are you?" She was moving her feet, scanning her surroundings, but of course couldn't find him. "You just vanished. That's not possible!"

"Oh, I'm still here. I'm just using my airbending to hover a little above the ground. You obviously haven't dealt with anyone who's capable of not touching the ground," Aang told her, his airbending pride restored at seeing Toph being totally confused.

Toph looked a little miffed when Aang again touched the ground, but nonetheless looked excited, even though she tried to hide it. "Granted, a nice trick. Then what is it with earthbending?"

Aang gave the others a questioning look. The way they looked to him made it clear they saw no problem with him telling her. "Well, I'm the Avatar. I can bend all elements."

"Avatar? Can dimly remember my house teacher mentioning that in a dull history lesson. Now that's a story I really want to hear!" Out of nowhere a few stone benches formed, a clear invitation from Toph to start telling the story.

Seeing as they wouldn't go anywhere and had the time, they decided to humor her and started telling what happened ever since they found Aang in that iceberg. Toph sometimes asked questions when people she had not met were mentioned, especially Zuko and Mai. Otherwise however, she was surprisingly well-behaved and listened with a look of longing and excitement.

"Oh, you have it so good. Go wherever you want, with no one telling you what to do. Setting out to save the world. That's the life I always wanted and not the purgatory I'm living in right now," Toph finally said after they were done, sounding envious.

"Then why don't you leave?" Aang asked.

"They're my parents. Where else am I supposed to go?" Toph looked downright unhappy. "I even started attending illegal earthbending matches to get out of this hole, but even that isn't cutting it."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Anything we need to know?"

Toph snorted. "Well, my life story is simple, won't take long. I was born blind, so my parents treat me like a raw egg that could break at any moment. They feel that I'm a helpless cripple and that they have to make sure I in my ah-so-great helplessness have to be taken care of. When I ran away at age six and met a herd of badgermoles, they were way nicer than my parents and more helpful to boot. Where do you think I learned earthbending?"

"Wow, so it's like with the airbending and the sky bisons. They taught the first airbenders as well," Aang said excitedly.

Toph turned to where the house was. "My parents don't understand. I tried to tell them countless times I can now see just fine with my earthbending by feeling the vibrations, but they insist on what they think I am. They'll never change their mind."

Sokka shared a look with Suki. "Well, that's too bad. I know little about all this bending crap, but I bet you could have shown Aang here some nice tricks."

"I know nothing about bending as well, but I think after what you learned at this age on your own, Aang could use someone like you," Suki added, deeply impressed by Toph's skill.

Toph actually did look interested for a moment. "Teaching the Avatar earthbending... Talk about bragging rights! Hah, then everyone would have to show me respect... Too bad my parents would never allow that."

"I'm not yet ready to learn earthbending anyway. Water has to come first. Hey, maybe you can get them around when we return in a few months?" Aang offered.

"Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara asked, clearly not happy with Aang simply making these decision. "I thought you felt Bumi should be your earthbending teacher?"

"Katara, Bumi told me outright that he's not the correct teacher for me," Aang explained.

That was news to Katara. "And you only tell us now?"

"Eh, I kind of forgot. Also, Bumi might be my friend, but I can't imagine him coming with us. And... no offense to Bumi, but I don't think you guys could manage to go through several months with him," Aang told them.

As much as Aang liked Bumi, his quirks could be very bothersome to most people. The pained grimaces were answer enough. The mere idea of having to spend several months with Bumi made them realize how poor of an idea that would have been.

"Thinking about it, spending several months together with him in small space would probably not be the best for our mental health," Suki admitted.

"Who is Bumi?" Toph asked. Their story had stopped before Omashu.

"The king of Omashu. An old friend of Aang - and I mean old," Katara tried to explain.

"That, and he's the best earthbender there is," Sokka added.

"No way some old coot is better than me!" Toph protested.

"If you come along, you can settle that with him yourself," Aang offered.

"Very, very tempting... Though, fat chance I can get my parents to allow me doing that," Toph finally waved it off, then sighed. "I hear my mother looking for me. Guess that means back to playing the obedient cripple."

The meeting ended right there and then and Toph returned to her family's garden, erasing the hole in the process. Walking to the house, where she could hear and feel her mother looking for her, she knew the evening would again suck big time with another noble presenting their son. Those things always went according to the same script.

So much for getting out of here, she thought in regret. She was not desperate enough yet to run away and burn her bridges. Still, she was allowed to dream.

She didn't even bother to remove the dirt from her white dress while walking up to her mother, already knowing that she now would have to scare away another prospective wannabe father-in-law who wanted to make a contract to have her marry his son at age sixteen. For her age she was wiser than her parents would ever suspect.

"Toph, what have you done to your dress again?" her mother scolded her as soon as she saw the dirt on it.

"Nothing much, just enjoyed the dirt," she said, not even bothering with making an excuse.

"This won't do. Come, let's get you cleaned up right away! You really have to meet Lord Worfan. It does look very promising and your father wants you to be present," her mother gushed, obviously excited.

Sure... Toph thought in bitter sarcasm.

Being herded into the bathroom, Toph know that protesting against being scrubbed down was pointless. Don't get her wrong, she had nothing against personal hygiene, but her mother's excessive insistence on three baths a day really threatened to make her rethink that and instead go dirty all the time.

The female servant waiting for them took some of her hair and saw how dirty it was. "This is what you give me to work with? Well, honey, I've seen worse. We're going to turn this sow's ear into a silk purse."

Before Toph could complain, the servant with frightening ease stripped her naked in mere seconds and Toph didn't like that, since being naked made her feel highly vulnerable. The servant then didn't lose a moment to push her into the bathing tub. Thankfully, Toph by now knew that even blind eyes hurt horribly with soap in them and closed them in time.

Something else however... "Aaah! It's freezing!" Toph complained, the bathing water being cold enough that her teeth clattered.

"It would've been warm, if you were here on time," her mother reminded her.

Soon enough Toph was turned into the picture of a proper girl and she hated every moment of it. Her mother then escorted her to the room with the big table, where she would meet that Lord Worfan. The sound of excited talking reaching her ears already was a bad sign to her, since it meant talks had progressed quite a bit by now.

Suddenly I do have a very bad feeling about this... Toph gulped, hoping her usual tactics would work.

...back at the camp, next morning...

The next morning, they were about ready to climb into Appa's saddle and leave Gaoling. A full night's rest had done wonders to refresh them and they now felt ready to finally return to the western coast and meet up with Zuko. While Aang talked with Appa to prepare him for the long journey back, Sokka was busy with loading the last of their stuff into the saddle, Suki was covering their fire pit and Katara was filling up their emergency water skins.

"Hey guys, you weren't easy to find, you know?"

This routine was broken when Toph walked into their clearing. Gone was the dress they'd seen her in before. Instead she now was wearing normal street clothes of the Earth Kingdom, in the usual green and yellow colors. She was also wearing a backpack. Compared to what they had seen her wear before, she now looked downright ordinary, though she also looked much more comfortable that way.

"Toph? What are you doing here?" Aang asked her, while hopping off Appa's head.

"Weeeeell... Circumstances changed and actually showing the Avatar how earthbending is done looks to be a good thing." She then turned to Appa. "That's your sky bison? I know you told me you're flying around, but to be close to it... It's really big."

Katara finally found her voice. "Toph, don't tell me you ran away."

"Oh no, don't even start! I'll tell you what happened after you left!" Toph looked decidedly unhappy. "My parents in their infinite wisdom again presented me to a noble to whose son they planned to wed me to at sixteen to make sure I'm kept safe in my helplessness and that the family fortune in kept good hands." Every word was soaked with sarcasm and hurt.

"Of course I do start the usual routine to make him change his mind and what does he say each time? He says it's just a phase I will grow out of! To make matters worse, he and my father then wrote up a damn contract and my parents told me the 'news' about my future wedding to that guy's son! They acted so happy it was sickening. So you now understand why coming with you is such a better prospect."

"I wonder if we should really let you just run away from your problems. I bet you didn't even try to convince your parents otherwise," Katara said, crossing her arms.

If anything, this made Toph look angry. "Oh, suddenly you think I have to face this? I do remember how you told me that your grandmother left her home because she was to get married against her will. And what about how you were ranting about how you disapprove of arranged marriages? Face it, Princess, either you measure me the same, or you are a real hypocrite," Toph ranted, her sightless eyes staring at Katara.

Katara gulped and touched her necklace. Toph's rant had hit too close to home.

Katara knew that denying Toph to come with them would now make her look like a hypocrite after her opinions about arranged marriages and her grandmother's history. She could hardly be set against it in the Water Tribes, only to suddenly find nothing wrong with it in the Earth Kingdom. She knew they were going to regret it, but there was little choice.

"All right, this point goes to you," she finally admitted, still with her arms crossed.

"Great!" Toph said, her sour mood evaporating instantly.

"Wow, I won't even have to look for an earthbending teacher now!" Aang cheered.

Toph then laughed. "Oh, don't think I'll go easy on you. Avatar or not, I'll put you through the wringer until you've got it. Still eager to learn it?"

Aang paled a bit. "Uhhh yes, yes, yes. Although too bad I have to learn waterbending first, so this has to wait. Yeah, really too bad."

"I'm blind and yet you're transparent to me," Toph snorted. "Don't think I'll make it easier on you even after the wait."

"Toph... How exactly did you leave your parents? Hopefully you didn't do too much property damage?" Suki asked carefully, hoping it wasn't a mess.

Toph waved it off. "Nah, just told them my mind this morning before I took off, surfing away on an earth wave... Although I might have ripped out a big chunk of the perimeter wall just to spite them."

"Could it be that you are downplaying things?" Sokka asked with an arched eyebrow.

"All right, all right! It develoved into a really ugly screaming match, I then laid waste to their prized garden before flattening almost the entire wall to vent my anger before I left them," Toph finally admitted.

Suki shook her head. "So much for no property damage..."

"They most likely have also sent their guards after me to get me back, so maybe it's better to leave right now," Toph remembered, a bit peeved she'd forgotten this point.

Knowing that they should better make their exit, they quickly climbed into the saddle and Aang made Appa take off, before any trouble would find them. Toph had already looked uncomfortable when jumping into the saddle from a conjured stone column, but now that they were in the air, she grimaced and groaned.

"I knew why I hated your description of flying," she complained, looking unwell. "As long as I'm up here, I really am blind. Geez, this sucks!"

"Better get used to it, as you will be in this saddle for a long time," Sokka told her sarcastically while unrolling his map. "Oh, and let's hope you won't get airsick. That would be a real mess."

"Thank you soooo much!" Toph groaned, knowing this REALLY was going to suck.

"By the way, what is it with 'Princess'?" Katara wondered, remembering what Toph had called her.

"Oh, it does fit you wonderfully. Sometimes you act high and mighty and sit like you have a stick up your ass." Everyone look horrified at Toph and her vulgar choice of words. "You'll all get nicknames I call you when I feel like it. Too bad I don't have any ideas right now."

"I have the feeling this journey just got a lot more complicated," Suki sighed, knowing that Toph would be difficult to travel with.

Toph still didn't look too thrilled to be in the saddle. "Where are we going anyway? Didn't pay attention to that part."

"Didn't I mention that?" Sokka looked like he was about to have some real fun. "We are heading for the North Pole. You know, really cold with ice and snow all the year and not one bit of earth around, while you would rip off your skin on the cold rocks."

Toph paled. She hadn't considered that waterbending would mean going there - to a place where she would not only be utterly helpless but also utterly uncomfortable the entire time. There was no going back however, her decision not allowing to do so, but her horror manifested itself in a scream of pure despair.

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

...at the same time, at a costal village...

"I tell you, something is seriously wrong with this village. I can see it in the faces of the people; as if an invisible weight is resting on their shoulders," Ursa told Zuko and Mai, while they were entering the village.

"Yes, they do look more depressed than Zuko had ever been. Which means something, considering Zuko's tendencies to get depressed," Mai added, while looking around.

"I'm no longer like that," Zuko reminded her.

"Perhaps. However, it's my job to remind you of your shortcomings, as it is yours to remind me of mine," Mai told Zuko. "I wasn't kidding about this. Just walking towards this village is starting to depress me."

Ursa watched them talk and how easy they got along, even though observers might think they were arguing. Zuko did like Mai's snarky, sarcastic and brutally honest personality and it didn't throw him off anymore. That they were walking through this village however was just the product of chance.

They had already arrived in the bay closest to the coal rigs two days ago and now were waiting for the Avatar to catch up with them; not knowing what was keeping him for so long.

With nothing to do but to wait, they had been forced to find ways to fill the time. Sadly, Iroh had found this day to be the perfect moment to test out a new music instrument he had bought before their journey to the South Pole. While he was great with the tsungi horn, and Zuko no longer went depressive when he heard the horn as it reminded him of Lu Ten, Iroh was really bad with most other instruments.

The infernal noise, which could hardly be called music, made the crew avoid that part of the ship whenever possible. Mai had claimed that she was in danger of her ears bleeding, while Zuko outright called it a war crime. Even Ursa, normally not one to say such things openly, was finding it horrible. Since it would be useless to tell Iroh - indeed he probably would only lose interest once he saw that really no one wanted to listen - they had fled the ship.

Sometime during their journey, Ursa had suggested them getting some Earth Kingdom clothes so that they could visit villages outside the colonies incognito and not cause any scenes. Zuko at first had been against it, hating the idea of sneaking around. However, Mai had asked him in the face if he expected everyone in the Earth Kingdom to be mighty impressed by him and offer any information he was looking for. After all, they either were afraid of the Fire Nation, or hated it. Not exactly the best circumstances to get honest answers.

He had accepted that she did have a point and at least got some payback, when Mai had complained that Earth Kingdom colors looked totally ridiculous when looking at herself wearing her new outfit in the mirror. He'd then reminded her of her own words, so she'd been forced to swallow down her pride and accept it. She now no longer said anything about it, since Ursa's idea had been right. No one blinked an eye at them once dressed like this. Even Zuko's scar got no reaction, apart from people whispering how cruel firebenders could be.

However, in this village, people barely seemed to notice them at all.

It was a small village close to a mountain near the sea. However, things seemed to be seriously wrong, as all people they had met on their way looked depressed, afraid, or a mixture of both. No one had spoken a word to them, not even looked in their way, as if being afraid of strangers. Ursa was right in that something had to be seriously wrong.

"Quick, hide!" Ursa called, and pulled both teenagers into a shadowed side alley as soon as they had passed the gate into the village. They didn't question her and hid behind some crates, watching what had alarmed her.

It was easy why she had been alarmed. A patrol of Fire Nation soldiers were walking down the street, and these would have recognized them easily. Not only that, they also saw a second patrol coming from a different street. The villagers shied away as soon as they saw the soldiers, their looks haunted.

"All right, I now have a good idea what's wrong," Zuko said, while watching one soldier screaming at a child to get out of the way or regret it.

"We should get out of here fast. No need to tempt fate," Mai suggested, having no wish to get arrested due to stupidity.

Waiting until the coast was clear, they quickly left and didn't stop until they were on one of the hills surrounding the village, allowing them to look down on it. It looked very peaceful from the distance, but this clearly was a wrong impression. This many soldiers in such a small village could only mean complete occupation.

"I now get why they are afraid. But even an occupation should not cause such a depression," Ursa wondered, while looking at the village.

"Maybe it's more that that?" Zuko wondered. He'd never before seen anything like that.

"Oh, it indeed is more... A very sad story." They had not even noticed someone else approaching. An old man who unlike others didn't look afraid. "Strangers are not seen often in this area. You have already seen the state our village is in."

"Hard to ignore it. I severely doubt it's just because the Fire Nation occupies it," Mai said, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"Sadly, that's true. Our village was conquered six years ago. It was determined that the mountains surrounding it have big coal deposits, so many are now forced to work in the mines. It however was not enough for Bozu , the leader of the local soldiers and final authority now. He's also taxing us heavily and his men simply take whatever they want, claiming it's all theirs anyway."

They knew that there were enough supremacists in the army who would misuse their position to crown themselves as small dictators and make the conquering of the Earth Kingdom more difficult by enraging the populace. This seemed to be one of those cases. Jerks like them never understood that in order to conquer the land, you should not turn its inhabitants against you.

"Surely they were not accepting this? I can hardly imagine them being happy about this," Ursa asked.

The old man shook his head. "Of course not. Shortly later, a rebellion led by a man named Tyro tried to throw them out. It was futile. They were outnumbered ten to one. Tyro and the survivors were imprisoned and deported to one of the coal rigs to serve as slaves. Any earthbender found is arrested brought there as well. Earthbending itself is illegal now as well."

Now, this wasn't unheard of. After all, the Southern Raiders were busy with killing or kidnapping every single waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. However, earthbending being made outright illegal in an already conquered area was indeed unheard of. Even in or near the colonies, earthbending wasn't unusual, as long as the benders accepted the laws of the Fire Nation.

"Is that why everyone looks so depressed?" Zuko wondered.

"Oh yes... People lost hope and it has been like this ever since. I'm old and have seen so many horrible things that nothing can scare me any longer. The others however live in terror that they could be next for even the smallest thing. The soldiers don't need a reason to arrest you nowadays."

"Talk about complete over-reaction from that Bozu," Mai snorted.

"Maybe, but now it's too late... Well, I need to get going. Just an advice: don't enter the village. You'll only get into trouble with the soldiers as they turn up at random. They don't like to see strangers," the old man warned them, before leaving.

"That Bozu must have gone off the deep end. Imagine if everyone would act like him," Mai told them, shuddering at the idea.

"Haven't they ever heard that holding conquered territory requires the locals not to hate you? I wonder whose idea was it to let him continue doing this in the first place? After all, I doubt this wasn't reported," Zuko wondered.

"Take three guesses and the first two don't count," Mai sarcastically told him, knowing the answer was clear due to the importance for the coal supply in the southern waters. "Considering what kind of sadist he is, he clearly would love this."

Ursa shook her head. "Another of Ozai's decisions coming to haunt us... Even worse is, that we right now can do little about it."

Mai frowned. "Oh yes, I can imagine the Fire Lord just looking for a reason to declare us traitors."

"Well, technically we already are traitors," Zuko reminded her.

Mai gave him an annoyed look. "You know what I mean, Zuko. Honestly, I can live without spending the rest of my days in a prison cell. I wouldn't last a month before dying of boredom."

Zuko again looked down at the village. "It's unfair. I want to make a difference, and now I can't even help a single village out of fear what my father could then do. Somehow I imagined helping the Avatar being something different than this. Something more meaningful."

Ursa and Mai knew that Zuko, while far better than he had been, still was prone to having self-doubts at times. "Don't worry, my son," Ursa told him, putting her hand onto his shoulder. "Our hour will come, and then you can show that you do mean it serious with helping the world."

Mai didn't say anything witty and gave Zuko a look he knew was meant to be encouraging. Over the years he had learned to interpret her very subtle body language. He also knew that despite not appearing like it, she as well wanted to make a difference; only that she wasn't so obvious about it.

They were both right. Their hour would come - just not yet.

Returning to the ship, they saw some of the crew being close to tears and the reason was obvious, as Iroh seemed to now test how his new instrument sounded outside. To their dismay, it didn't sound better - in the contrary. Outside, Iroh being inept at playing it became even more obvious. Even the seagulls were avoiding the ship, fleeing as fast as they could as soon as they heard the infernal noise.

While Ursa really liked Iroh, this was one of the times she didn't want to be anywhere near him and she fled downstairs to the safety of her own cabin - behind a thick steel door which would absorb the worst of the noise. Mai and Zuko fled up the stairs of the command tower, knowing the thick windows of the bridge would shield them somewhat from the noise.

Zuko tried to catch his breath, once upstairs, leaning onto the map table. "How are the men even capable of enduring that torture?"

"Well, most can't and simply hide away when they can," Lt. Jee said, while approaching Zuko. "The smart ones block their ears." He pulled some cotton out of his left ear and showed it to Zuko.

"Better get some for us as well. If I have to listen to this for much longer, there will be a murder," Mai hissed, her head starting to hurt from the noise coming in from the outside.

Jee quickly put one cotton back in so that the noise wouldn't be too bad. "I have known the General for some time. While a master on the tsungi horn and good with the pipa, he is dreadful with most other instruments."

Zuko groaned. "Let's pray that he does get the hint when no one is willing to listen to this infernal noise."

...two days later, afternoon...

Thankfully, their prediction had been right. The whole crew giving Iroh the cold shoulder while he was trying to learn playing his new instrument had done the trick. Instead, Iroh had returned to his favorite hobby: playing Pai Sho against Ursa while enjoying some warm tea. After all, she was the only opponent on this ship who could give him a serious challenge.

Zuko and Mai had not said anything, but their relief was great at this turn of events.

Not wanting to waste their time being idle - and knowing there literally was nothing to be found in the area - they had resorted to sword training. As much as Mai had back then ripped into Zuko for relying too much on his firebending, she had been forced to admit that while her throwing skills were phenomenal, once someone of enough skill got close enough she was in trouble. Learning how to use a weapon seemed wise.

It also gave Mai something different to do, since her throwing training had become boring routine. And if there was one thing she feared, it was boredom (she would never admit her fear of boredom was a childhood trauma).

"Helping the Avatar really doesn't turn out to be that great. It's almost boring. Most of it consists of sitting around or doing the stuff we do anyway," Mai griped.

"Maybe we should buy him an hourglass so that he can be more punctual?" Zuko suggested.

Mai knew Zuko was trying to play on her level. "Not bad, a good attempt. Sarcasm is difficult to learn, but you are making progress. Though at least this time it's not their fault."

Zuko knew what Mai was talking about. "Yes... Zhao."

Yesterday a ship going towards the coal rigs had stopped by and exchanged news with them. Those news finally explained why the Avatar was late.

Of course Zhao would try it big and invade an entire island in order to catch Aang. It thankfully had failed, but meant that Kyoshi Island was now under control of the Fire Nation. Zhao had then hunted Aang and recently had lost the trail. That explained why the Avatar and his friends were late. Leave it to Commander Zhao to make further trouble.

A sound from the skies finally stopped them in their activities.

Mai took a look up and spotted an approaching sky bison. "Finally. This means we won't have to sit around for much longer."

"Don't you know that patience is a virtue?" Sometimes Zuko caught himself that Mai's sarcasm had rubbed off on him a little.

"You talking about patience is a joke in itself..." Mai countered. At times it was a really strange way of flirting, but they enjoyed it. "Let's ask them how bad it was."

The big sky bison landed on the deck without any problem, but they then saw that something was amiss. Katara was missing from the group and in her stead a different girl was in the group. There also was some... thing with white fur perched on the Avatar's shoulder. Last but not least, all three of them looked like something severe had happened.

"Zuko, we need your help!" That was the first thing they heard from Aang when he jumped off Appa's head. "Katara, she... she..."

"Stop, young Avatar," Iroh said, approaching. "You can't help your friend when you can hardly explain yourself. Calm down a bit first."

Aang took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. Not that it helped much. "Katara, she got herself into trouble. We need your help to get her and a friend out of it."

"See, it does help." Iroh told him, before taking a look at the girl with them. "I do see you have made new friends in your travels and it surely will be fascinating to hear their story, but what happened exactly?"

Sokka shook his head. "My sister's idealism is, what happened. I knew it would get her into trouble one day... But I guess I better start from the beginning."

"You see, we traveled an entire day to get back to the coast after having to evade some Fire Nation troops. Arrived late at night and got woken up in the morning by something felt like someone was striking the ground with a huge fist. What do we find? An earthbender training with a big rock. Toph wasn't impressed, said the guy was a beginner."

"Who's Toph?" Zuko asked.

The unknown girl answered. "Oh, she's the friend who is in trouble. An earthbender who will teach Aang once the time is right. Don't be fooled by the fact that she's blind, she can hold her own very well. Oh, and my name is Suki from Kyoshi Island, so that you know right away."

"The island which got invaded?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, and please don't remind me of that fact." The look Suki gave him made that not a request.

Sokka then took over again. "Well, Katara greeted him and he ran away. My sister then got the idea to ask about him in the nearby village and did find him. Haru is his name and man, is that village messed up."

"If you mean what the Fire Nation did to all earthbenders, we know. We visited the village two days ago," Mai told him, so that they'd be spared a redundant explanation.

"Yeah, but what you don't know is, that Haru's father is Tyro, the guy who led the rebellion. Well, Katara left to talk more with him and then later ran back into our camp, totally in tears. She told us Haru saved an old man from being crushed by some rocks, only to get arrested and shipped off to the rig when the old man ratted him out for a reward. I should have known she would do something without considering the consequences!"

Suki shook her head in disbelief how Katara had messed up. "No idea what exactly they had planned and how she roped Toph into it, but today it got her and Toph arrested and shipped off as well. I don't even want to know what went wrong that Toph couldn't defend herself. Now we have to get them out of there."

Mai shook her head. "That's why I think too much idealism is bad. Well, this is a fine mess they got into."

Zuko had facepalmed at so much naive idealism getting them into trouble. "That's great... that's really great! Now we have to get them out of there. And we tried to avoid trouble You know that means we have to cut down all of the guards on that platform? If even one survives, we'll be hunted like animals."

"Kill them? All of them?" Aang gulped, only now understanding the situation. "Can't you, you know, use your authority?"

"What authority? I'm in exile and have no command power whatsoever. Sorry, but as much as I want to solve this without bloodshed as well, there's little choice, as much as it horrifies me as well," Zuko explained to Aang, still cursing the two girls who had gotten them into this bind and make him break his promise.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Aang ran to the railing, throwing up into the sea.

Ursa sighed. "Poor boy. He has seen lots of death already, and now he knows more is to come if he ever wants to see his friends again. He just discovered one of the unfortunate things being the Avatar brings to you: you get drawn into nasty situations."

Zuko shook his head. "I can only hope he doesn't lose it." He then looked up to the bridge and saw Lt. Jee looking down to him. "Raise the anchor! Full ahead towards the prison rig!"

"Young Avatar, is this such a harsh truth to you?" Iroh asked, when Aang was done parting with his breakfast the wrong way.

Aang shivered. "I was raised on principles of non-violence. It's... it's so..." Aang tried to find words for it.

Iroh knew what the problem was. "Pacifism is a noble goal. Sadly, reality wants to show us how difficult it is to actually live that way. Even your mentor knew when to set his beliefs aside in times of need. Think about it, young Avatar."

Aang sighed. "It's just so difficult. It goes against what I knew all my life."

"Don't worry. You will find you own way, I'm sure of it." Iroh then looked to Appa. "You know, a huge sky bison is a little obvious. We should better find a way to disguise your friend," Iroh then suggested to Aang.

"Later... right now I need to calm down..." Aang looked pale when he sat down and started to meditate in order to not lose it after hearing what would happen. He hadn't done so in a long time and it couldn't hurt to try it.

Deep breaths, in and out, in order to calm down. He did this for a few minutes before he tried to find his inner center, like Gyatso had taught him. Slowly, he felt his burdens leaving him... that, and him leaving something else. He was so occupied with concentrating, he didn't even notice his tattoos starting to glow, not that he suddenly felt quite different despite what had just happened. At least until he heard gasps, opened his eyes... and looked at himself.

"What the...?" His body still seemed to be meditating while he had somehow turned into a spirit. Everyone else was looking at his body, unsure what to do. "What happened to me?" Aang then looked around and... "Woah!"

Everyone had watched Aang' tattoos starting to glow and he then became perfectly still, although a quick check showed he still had a pulse and was breathing. He just seemed to be out of it. Unsure what to do, they did keep their distance.

"All right, I think this definitely falls under 'weird Avatar stuff''. I honestly have no idea what to do now," Sokka said, scratching his head. This was way outside of his frame of reference.

"Didn't you tell me you saw him glowing like this before?" Suki asked, remembering what Sokka had told her about Aang losing it in his village.

Sokka shook his head. "Yeah, but back then he freaked out and almost flattened my village. Now he's just sitting there. I don't get it."

Only Iroh was looking at the scene and what had appeared with entire different eyes thanks to his past experiences. The Avatar was perfectly fine, despite him looking a bit unnerved about leaving his body. Therefore he wasn't concerned. He however also saw something else the others didn't. Something that surprised him a lot.

"By the spirits..." After all, what else could you say about a grown-up spectral dragon landing on the deck of the ship?

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Fate of the World"

Chapter Text

Aang at first was frozen in fear. Leaving your body already was enough to make you freak. However, then being confronted with a big spectral dragon nearly made him run. Nearly, because the dragon, while impressive, was passive and just watched him in interest. Not that it helped lessen the fear he felt. Granted, that already was better than his previous encounter with a dragon he had together with Kuzon - since a nestling mother being protective of her egg in general tended tended to violently remove anyone nearby.

"Uh...eh... hello Mr. Dragon... Eh, you are Mr. Dragon, right?" Aang stammered, unable to get out anything more.

The dragon seemed to understand Aang's fear and inched closer, until one of his whiskers gently touched Aang's forehead. Before his mind's eye, Aang saw someone riding this very dragon. Someone, whom Aang recognised despite never having met the man in life. It was Avatar Roku, the Avatar before him. The picture also helped rousing something in his memories, also helping him to get confirmation that it indeed was Mr. Dragon.

Aang looked at the dragon in surprise. "You are Avatar Roku's dragon, Fang!... Although I have no idea how I know your name."

Fang was clearly capable of understanding human speech, as he nodded and Aang could have sworn to see a hint of a smile on the reptilian features. Fang then lowered one of his wings and looked first at Aang, then to the empty space on his back, sending the message what he wanted Aang to do.

"You want to show me something?" Aang asked, and Fang nodded again. "Uhm, OK. As long as it doesn't take too long. I have to rescue some of my friends, you know?"

Fang gave him a look of understanding; a promise that it wouldn't take too long. Aang no longer felt afraid when he climbed onto Fang's back, nor when the big reptile lifted off. He felt that Roku's companion would protect him at any cost, which probably was something he knew from Roku. He hadn't even noticed in his excitement that Iroh had watched everything in amazement.

Aang was impressed at the speeds Fang was flying at, although not being concerned about air resistance certainly helped. The ocean below was zipping by in almost a blur. He'd always wanted to ride a dragon ever since that time he and his friend Kuzon had tried with that green lady dragon. Aang was so excited at this unusual ride that he completely forgot about what had happened before for now. The ride was even more exciting than riding Appa, although he would never tell this his friend. The big sky bison did have his pride after all.

Aang had no idea how much time had passed when an island appeared at the horizon.

Aang could see from afar that there was an active volcano on the island, thanks to the smoke plume. The island itself was shaped like a crescent moon. He saw a big stone bridge leading over the lava flows to a huge temple at the flank of the highest peak. Aang gulped when seeing it was built in Fire Nation architecture, meaning that this place was located in the Fire Nation.

"Woah, stop!" Aang screamed when Fang flew directly towards the outer wall of the temple.

However, he then felt stupid when they simply flew through the wall. For a moment he had forgotten that they weren't physically present, so they could simply go through the wall as if it was not there at all. They then flew down a huge hallway to an equally huge gate. Thankfully for Aang's nerves, this one was open and they flew right into the central room of the temple.

"Roku..." Aang said, when seeing the huge statue of Avatar Roku in the center of the equally huge room. Dismounting from Fang, Aang looked around. "I don't understand. Why do I need to go here?"

Fang's whisker again touched his forehead and Aang first saw a huge fireball crossing the sky. He then saw the sun only having the least time in the sky, while the moon got the most. Finally, he saw himself standing in front of the statue, the light of the sun hitting its face, while the real Roku appeared. The vision then was over and Aang blinked, trying to make sense of what he had seen, which wasn't easy.

"A huge fireball in the sky... can't imagine what this could be. Shortest day and longest night... you mean the winter solstice?" He did remember this from when they were taught in the temple school. The solstices were very important dates after all.

Fang looked pleased, then pointed at something on the wall. It was an ornamental calendar. The dragon first pointed at one date, then at another, which was marked with a sun symbol. Aang needed a few moments before his education set in and he understood. He gulped hard at the implications. "The solstice is in two days?! How am I supposed to make it? This is in the Fire Nation!"

Fang calmly looked to the statue of Roku, then to Aang. Aang now knew what this was about. "You mean it's the only way I can talk to Roku? Oh, that's great, that's really great! Why can't anything be easy?"

Fang clearly understood his fear and frustration and gave him an encouraging look. Aang sighed. "I guess I have little choice if I want to talk to Roku and finally understand... I... huh?!"

Around them, their surroundings flickered and it seemed Fang had not expected this, looking very uneasy about it. -flash- There was a binding white light for a moment and then... they were not in the temple at all.

"W-what?" Aang looked around. "What is this place?"

It was understandable why Aang felt panicked, since the place where they had landed was right out of the worst nightmares. They stood in the middle of a decaying city, the buildings slowly falling apart as if in the stomach of a giant beast. The yellowish mist filling the ground looked like a blanket of death and despite the sky being clear, lightning in all kind of colors arced across it.

The worst was the sky. The sun and the moon were out at the same time, and yet both looked horrible. The sun was so dim, the sky was just a nasty purple twilight, as if its power was running out and it soon would go dark. Equally worse was the moon... or what was left of it, since it was crumbling apart, with half of it already being gone. And despite the apocalyptic scene surrounding them, all of it was bathed in utter silence.

"Fang, what is this?!" Aang looked to the dragon, who looked very disturbed at whatever this was.

-flash- White light blinded them once more and now they were back in the temple instead of being in the middle of whatever nightmare that had been.

"Was that what you were supposed to show me?" Aang asked the dragon, but only got a shake of the head, meaning that whatever it was, Fang was surprised and disturbed by it.

Fang then lowered his wing, telling Aang that he would now return him to his body. Aang climbed up and they quickly left the temple. However, Aang paid it little mind, his thoughts returning to the horrible nightmare he had found himself in for a moment. It had been utterly apocalyptic, and yet different, since he had thought the destruction would come with fire.

I don't know what that was, but I know I really don't want to see it again...

...at the same time on the prison rig...

It had looked like a good plan, Katara thought, before again yelping in pain while the flogging continued and she tried hard not to spill any tears, not wanting to give them that satisfaction.

She had felt incredibly guilty that thanks to her encouraging him, Haru had gotten arrested after helping to free the old man who had been trapped by an avalanche and was in danger of getting crushed. She had not expected the old man the be a dirty rat and sell out Haru right away for some kind of small advantage.

Compounding on it, she then in her idealism had cooked up a plan to get onto the prison rig herself and make the inmates rebel and flee. In retrospect it had been a really dumb plan, especially since she had kept it secret from Sokka and Aang, whose input would have been really helpful - even if only to tell her she was being incredibly stupid.

After winning Toph over - which had been easy since the girl was itching for some action after being cooped up on Appa for too long for her tastes - the plan was hatched. Toph would make it look like they both were earthbenders and as soon as the guards would try to arrest them, Toph would trap them and then use force to get out where the rig was.

A seemingly good plan, which had went wrong right away.

How should she have known that there would be a giant of a guard, who quickly grabbed both of Toph's hands and lifted her off the ground, thus making her helpless? Toph was kept off the ground until both of them had been thrown onto a metal ship to get ferried to the prison rig. Any hopes were dashed when Toph said that while she could see through the metal fine enough with her seismic sense, there was no way she could bend it, as it was too different from earth and rock.

She had been horrified to see the actual conditions on the rig.

The prisoners looked seriously underfed and all carried a look of defeat, their spirits broken by the cruel treatment and lack of any hope. The sadistic Warden having a sick prisoner murdered by chaining a metal weight to her feet and then having her thrown into the sea had been the horrible highlight of her introduction to the rig. Even Toph had become sick and thrown up after what they had just witnessed.

Haru's father Tyro had then told them why no one reacted to such horrible things anymore.

Captured on this rig with no earth anywhere near to bend, forced into hard labor and being completely at the mercy of the sadistic Warden and his guards, everyone had pretty much given up. Haru had asked his father if there was nothing which could help. Tyro replied that the only thing that could give people hope was a way out of this hell, which again got them back to the start of the problem.

It was then when her idealism had struck again and made her compound even further on her previous lapse in judgment.

She had decided to give everyone a motivational speech. It had not achieved a lot, but made the Warden single her out and have her shackled to a horizontal steel beam, leaving her hanging with her feet barely touching the floor. The Warden had called out that they would make an example of her, before the flogging had started. She had never before felt so much pain. The back of her shirt and her chest wrappings were in tatters by now and she was sure that her back was a bloody mess.

At that moment the flogging stopped.

"You think that's enough?" the flogging guard then asked the Warden, seeing how Katara's back was now criss-crossed with shallow wounds and smeared with blood, although it was nothing life-threatening.

"Can't they see she's got enough?!" Haru growled, trying to ignore his father's hand on his shoulder.

"Perhaps we should do the front as well, to drive home the message," the Warden said, while inspecting the shivering Katara.

"Bastard!"

"AAAUUUUGH!" the Warden cried out when Toph, after being forced to witness everything, jumped out of the crowd and bit the Warden hard into his arm. The warden quickly hit her with a fist, making her let go, before two guards seized Toph.

"You will be next for this, you little brat! Get her out of my sight!" the Warden called, while holding his injured arm, the bloody teeth marks all too clear. The guards obeyed by simply dumping Toph down one of the chutes to the coal storage.

"OW! AHH! OUCH!" Toph cried out while tumbling down the chute before landing in the coal storage.

"Good, let her stew down there. Anyone else who wants to make trouble?" the Warden challenged the prisoners.

Haru was barely held back by his father. "Let me go. That fat bastard is gonna get it now!" Haru growled to his father.

"Son, stop. You won't help your friends by doing this," Tyro warned him.

"How can you say this! Look what they have done to her!" Haru snapped, looking angrier with each moment.

Tyro sighed. "Don't you think that deep inside I want to tear apart those bastards? Yet, I have to think about the others as well. If you attack the Warden now, you just will be punished as well and not be there to treat your friend's wounds."

Haru trembled in helpless anger. "Damn it... damn them all!"

"Warden!" a guard called, "There is a ship approaching the rig! Fire Nation!"

The Warden raised an eyebrow. "There aren't any ships expected. Send some guards down to the dock to inspect the ship. No need to..."

-Brrrommmmomomlllmooommmmm-

Everyone froze when the whole rig started to trumble like in an earthquake. -BRRROOOM- In a big explosion of blackness, a sheer neverending stream of coal shot out of the very chute where the guards had dropped Toph into. A huge pile of coal rained down onto the surface of the rig, forcing everyone to take some steps back to protect themselves from the falling coal. When the dust cloud finally cleared, everyone was greeted by an imposing sight.

Standing on a tower of compressed coal was Toph, looking very pissed and sporting numerous bleeding scratches from tumbling down the chute and her hard landing in the coal pile. "All right, you made me really angry and gave me what I need! Coal is a form of earth! Now it's my turn!"

Coal clustered together, compressed into cannonballs, which Toph then blasted at the guards, her anger fueling her earthbending and making her unthinking of what so much force would cause. The sheer impact was enough to shatter bones and turn internal organs to mush. Those guards which were not smashed against the metal walls were thrown overboard, drowning due to being unable to swim after getting so utterly broken.

"She's just one girl! Set the damn coal tower on fire and- OW!" The Warden was stopped when getting hit in the head by a coal projectile.

"No, she's not alone!" Haru shouted, before turning the coal around him into a shower of dangerous projectiles.

"She's never alone!" Tyro barked, before crushing a guard with a compressed block of coal.

This finally broke the spell on the other prisoners. The years of desperation and hopelessness turned into an explosion of hatred. Being given the means to finally fight against their tormentors awakened burning bloodlust. Screaming like mad, they seized any coal they could get to get their final revenge. Of course the firebenders fought back, hot lances of fire smashing into the rioting prisoners, killing a number of them on the spot, but there simply were too few guards for a victory.

This doesn't look good at all! the Warden cursed, fear growing within him when seeing his men getting cut down.

He tried to flee to a lifeboat to escape, but got confronted by Tyro before he could go far. "Going somewhere?" Tyro snarled, before his coal-clad fist smashed into the Warden's face, causing blood to fly. "Now, Warden, let me show you my opinion on how you run things."

Upstairs, things were winding down.

All of the soldiers were dead and the earthbenders, coming down from their high, collapsed, shivering, vomiting or starting to cry. Now that it was finally over, the years of mistreatment and the horror of how easily they had given in to complete bloodlust caught up with them. They only now realized how much they had lost.

Toph felt the anger slowly leave her system. Now that she did survey her surroundings, she 'saw' the dead bodies littering the deck. She had never before been confronted with the dead. She knew what living people felt like. Something was always in motion in them. These people were not moving, nor did anything inside them. They were unnaturally still. Even worse, she could feel how some of the bodies were mangled and all of a sudden she started shivering.

Many people forgot that despite Toph being so tough, independent, brash and confident, she still was a twelve-year-old girl. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was a lot like other girls her age. Thus when being onfronted with death caused by her own earthbending, done in a moment of rage, she felt cold.

She now knew, these feet had killed.

Haru was desperately trying to get off Katara's shackles. The girl was in bad condition. Her back was a bloody mess, while her front was splattered with vomit from throwing up when seeing the carnage. Considering how the girl was shivering, she clearly had been horrified by the carnage she'd been forced to witness. She was sobbing and crying, trying understand that reality had just clashed horribly with her idealism.

"No, stay awake, Katara! I almost got you out of these!" Haru panicked, fearing the worst when seeing Katara's eyes roll up.

"Katara! Katara!" Katara thought she was hearing the voice of her brother, then merciful darkness claimed her.

o

"All men, out! Get the ship's doctor! Girls, help me with her!" Ursa commanded, while putting a blanket on the long table in the middle of her quarters. The heavy steel door then banged shut and they were alone. "Strip her naked, then put her belly down onto the table."

Mai and Suki did as told, while Ursa glanced to her bed where Toph, wrapped into several blankets, had fallen asleep in mental exhaustion. It was a grim reminder of the situation they had encountered when storming the rig - though not herself as she was no warrior, she had only seen the aftermath. The smell of death had been everywhere and everyone wanted to leave as fast as possible - of course after convincing the earthbenders that they weren't the enemy, which took quite some persuasion.

Indeed, it almost had come to more violence. Little wonder, considering that those earthbenders had been tormented for years by the Fire Nation. Right now they did have a boatload of traumatized earthbenders, Toph being shell-shocked and Katara having been tortured. Not to speak of an Avatar who still was out of it for some mystical reason.

Ursa then turned to the task at hand when seeing that Suki and Mai had laid down the now naked girl onto the table. In this state of nudity, her injuries were even more glaring and she looked even more vulnerable. If nothing was done, it would leave a horrible mess of scars. The ship's doctor was still busy with treating the worst injuries the earthbenders had suffered, meaning it was up to her to help Katara until the doctor would come.

"Mai, get a sponge and some water. I need you to carefully clean her wounds," she commanded, before looking to Suki. "You stay with her. Should she wake up, tell her to stay still."

Ursa then turned her attention to the various sealed pots. The years had helped her a lot to gain a much greater understanding of herbs than she'd had in her youth. Using herbs and other ingredients to create effective remedies and medicine which would not harm the patient was a very difficult science in itself. She did feel a little pride over the fact that she had become quite good at this. The crew did show her great respect for her skills, while the ship's doctor was very grateful that she was making medicine for the more common afflictions one could contact at sea.

Finally having located the correct pot, Ursa saw Mai return and start to clean Katara's wounds. It didn't look as bad without the excess blood, although it now showed what her back would look like without immediate attention: a mess of criss-crossing scars. While Mai was trying hard not to show how much the sight disturbed her, she didn't succeed. She'd seen numerous injuries over the years, but never such a recent one on a girl of her own age. It did hit closer to home than she wanted to admit.

"There, all done," Mai announced, trying not to look at the water in the bowl, which now was very red, as was the sponge. She felt unwell.

"She's still out like a light," Suki said, while gently caressing Katara's face. "I think seeing that carnage had been too much for her."

"Maybe it's better this way." Ursa then gathered white ointment from the pot. "This will mostly prevent scarring. -sigh- Sadly, the poor girl will keep a few of the worst scars. A sad reminder of this day. Help me to smear it all over her back. It will also soothe the pain should she wake up."

Both girls gathered ointment in their hands, then wrinkled their noses. "Yuuucck, this stuff smells like Sokka's worn socks!" Suki complained, making the other two females wonder how she knew what Sokka's socks smelled like. Suki noticed. "We travel together - we are doing our laundry together. That's how I know. Not that my own worn socks smell much better."

Now they understood the comment.

Mai cursed that she had both hands full of ointment and couldn't hold her nose shut. "Does it have to smell this horrible?! It smells worse than Zuko when he's missed a bath."

"Sorry, but the plants I made it from have a very strong smell that I can't remove. Next time I'll have some clothespins ready you can put onto the nose." Ursa then walked up to Katara. "Now come, we shouldn't waste anymore time."

Katara groaned, a sign that she was starting to wake up. Ursa hoped the girl would not move too much while they were working on her.

o

Sokka was trying very hard not to freak out.

He had every reason to do so after what had happened today. First of course was finding out that his sister and Toph had decided to play the hero and as a result got arrested and sent to the prison rig. Then Aang did some weird Avatar thing and went totally still while his tattoos were glowing. Almost half an hour of unbearable waiting had followed until they had finally reached the rig, only to be greeted with the sight of a nasty carnage. Toph looked like she had went in serious shock and Katara had been cruelly punished by the guards.

I don't even want to know how Dad will react once he learns what happened to her, he thought, remembering that Hakoda was quite protective of Katara.

It was almost an hour since he'd seen his sister being carried away for treatment. For the moment they had a boatload of traumatized earthbenders who would depart as soon as they had hit the shore. That they wanted to depart as soon as possible was understandable, considering that a ship of the Fire Nation was not exactly the place they wanted to be right at the moment.

Many of the men and women looked completely worn out, making no secret of the physical and emotional hell they had went through. These people would need lots of help to recover. Sokka still remembered when Haru's father had returned, his hands covered with blood and stating that the Warden had decided to depart... permanently. His voice had been quaking, making clear he knew what he had done and needed time to come to terms that he had killed someone without regret, regardless how much the Warden had deserved it.

Convincing them that the crew of the ship would not harm them had been highly difficult and even now the earthbenders had all gathered at the far end of the deck in a protective position, boulders of compressed coal being set around them.

Their own group was not faring much better.

Aang was still doing whatever glowing Avatar-thing he was doing, causing some of the earthbenders to watch him in fascination. They could do nothing until he'd wake up. Toph had curled up and was shivering when they'd found her on the rig. Now she was in the care of Lady Ursa and was probably given something to sleep better. It was disheartening how the tough girl had collapsed like that, a reminder that she still was a twelve-year-old. And then there was his sister. It took every bit of control to not lose it once he'd seen what had been done to her. She still was being treated and he couldn't help but to worry about her.

Taking something out of his pocket, Sokka looked at Katara's necklace. It must have fallen to the deck sometime during her torture, as he had found it at her feet and quickly pocketed it, planning to return it to her once she was awake.

He looked over the deck, his eyes finally resting on Zuko and Iroh talking to Tyro, the spokesman of the earthbenders. Haru's father still looked jumpy around firebenders, no wonder after what he had went through, but seemed the most reasonable of them - or maybe the least damaged.

"It's not your fault, you know." Looking up, he saw Haru standing beside him. "I was there when it happened. I felt so angry and yet helpless. I was forced to listen to her cries..."

Sokka indicated to Haru to sit down. "You're an only child, right? Then you don't know how it feels to worry for your sister. If Suki hadn't held me back, I think I would have slammed my sword into corpses."

Sokka then sighed. Suki's presence would have helped him, but she was busy helping with treating Katara. For knowing her only for such a relatively short time, he sure had grown attached to her. Unlike his sister, she understood him so well and he really enjoyed spending time with her.

"Perhaps not. However, I do understand how you feel about being unable to help in any way about it. You want to do something, regardless what, to make yourself useful," Haru said, giving Sokka a knowing look.

Sokka sighed, not feeling like his usual self. He then looked to Aang. The young Avatar still hadn't moved. Any other time he would have found it amusing to see Momo sitting on Aang's bald head, trying to imitate him, but not now. "I wonder what's going on with him?"

Haru shrugged. "How should I know? This goes over my head."

"A good way to think about such stuff," Sokka had to admit, then looked around. "I honestly was afraid it would cove to violence once your people saw all of this."

"It almost came to violence. Remember how we had to work together to stop any misunderstandings? Granted, I really wonder why you are traveling with an exiled prince of all things, but I learned that sometimes questions only hold you up," Haru said, finding the whole situation a bit bizarre.

Sokka remembered their frantic efforts to keep everyone calm. He honestly had no idea how they had managed to actually accomplish that. He also wondered what his father would say to such an accomplishment.

Right then Aang finally opened his eyes, the glow vanishing, and Momo jumped off his head. Looking around, he wasn't surprised by seeing the earthbenders - after all, he did see them before getting back into his body. Not that he minded, since it meant he had been spared the bloody stuff. "Seems I missed everything while I was away."

"Aang..." Sokka knew Aang needed to know, especially considering how he seemed to spend most of his time with Katara.

Aang didn't allow him to continue. "Sokka, there's something really important I have to tell all of you. Where are the girls? We don't have much time."

"Aang!" Sokka finally stopped him. "There's something you need to know..."

Mere five minutes later, the door to Ursa's quarters banged open with a gust of wind. "Where is she? I need to see her!"

"Haven't you heard about knocking first?!" Mai asked him, sounding more annoyed than usual. "She could have been topless in here!"

"Oh!" Aang gasped, his imagination betraying him right then by trying to construct a topless Katara in his mind. He shook his head to get that picture away before it would get embarrassing.

Only now did Aang look around and saw Toph, wrapped up in several blankets, sleeping on Ursa's bed. Toph looked very pale and her sleep seemed uneasy. Aang then saw Katara. She was sitting up on the table in the middle of the room, grimacing while the doctor was securing the last bandages in which her whole upper body was wrapped up in. Thankfully, the bandages did double as chest bindings and she was wearing her pants, meaning Aang hadn't stormed in at a bad moment.

"Sorry, we were unable to stop him!" Zuko called, while he and Sokka appeared behind Aang. "Brainiac here told him in the worst way possible."

"Sokka! You made it sound like Katara is dying!" Aang yelled at the boy.

"I just said she got hurt! It was you who imagined the worst!" Sokka shot back.

"JUST SHUT UP!" Zuko finally shouted, looking ready to breathe fire. This finally made both of them go silent. He then realized what he had done and looked to Toph. She still was out like a light.

"Mom, what have you given to her?" Zuko asked Ursa.

"Something really strong. She'll be asleep for several more hours," Ursa told her son, knowing that all noise in the world wouldn't wake the girl up right now.

"Way to go to make me feel better..." Katara groaned, her eyes showing how much the day had taken out of her. Witnessing something this harsh at such a young age was bound to leave invisible scars, not to speak of the visible scars. "Aang, I'm not going anywhere, so don't worry. I'm not that badly hurt as well." She then took in his concerned looks. "Please not now. I'm still trying to come to terms with it myself."

Aang knew enough to see that Katara didn't want to talk about it, and instead walked over to Toph. "What's wrong with her?"

Ursa shook her head. "Despite how you told us she acts, she still is a twelve-year-old girl. The realization that she has used her earthbending to kill has hit her hard. I think she needs to spend some time with me to come to terms with it."

"-urgh- That's why I was so reluctant to take her with us..." Katara sighed, while slipping on a shirt that clearly was a loan from Mai, as her own had been beyond repair. She'd probably switch it with one of her own later. Then she realized something. "Where is mother's necklace?"

"I have it. It must have dropped to the floor while they were doing... that to you." Sokka honestly didn't want to spell it out, the sight had deeply unsettled him.

Accepting the necklace, Katara quickly returned it to the place on her neck. "This honestly has to be one of my low points. I'm just glad this is over and we can soon again be on our way."

Aang then remembered what he had been about to reveal until Sokka had dropped that bomb about Katara and Toph. "Eh... there's something really important I have to tell all of you. I might have found a way to contact Avatar Roku."

"That's good, right? As a young child I did listen to stories that Avatar Kyoshi sometimes talked to previous Avatars for advice," Suki asked.

"Well, yeah. I really need to talk to him. However, there are two problems." Aang rubbed the back of his head, wondering how to explain this. It wasn't like they were suffering from a lack of problems right now.

"Of course. As usual, one problem gets solved and three new ones appear in its place," Mai sighed, wondering why things could never be easy. "What kind of problems have opened up now?"

Aang knew to better spit it out. "Well, the first problem is, that it has to be done on the solstice."

Ursa quickly did the math. "The solstice is in two days. Please tell us the second problem isn't too bad."

Aang looked pained. "Look, I have to do it in a temple on a crescent-shaped island..."

Zuko's eyes widened, since he knew only one island that fit the description. "Wait a moment! I know which island you mean! Please tell me you don't mean..."

Aang grimaced. "I know. The island is located in the Fire Nation."

Now everyone looked troubled.

...two days later, en route to Fire Nation waters...

The sun was rising over the horizon, greeting a new day - the day of the winter solstice.

All of this didn't matter much to the ship plowing through the ocean, the engines running under full steam for almost two days now. Ever since they'd dropped off the earthbendes at the coast, where they would retreat into the forest for the time being, they'd taken a direct course which in the end would have gotten them to Crescent Island.

Though they couldn't help but to shiver at Tyro's comment that he first had to deal with 'an old rat' when the man had had been about to depart, knowing what that was about.

Of course everyone knew the ship would not reach the island. They knew that the Fire Navy in recent months had started to create a blockade to hinder free passage to and from Fire Nation waters and was doing strict checks on each ship that wanted to do so. However, the ship entering Fire Nation waters wasn't the plan anyway. They just needed to get very close to the sea border to the Fire Nation.

"Prince Zuko, in the sixteen years of your life this is perhaps the most reckless thing you have ever done; trying to enter the waters of the Fire Nation after getting banished. I understand your determination to help the Avatar, but what about your personal security?" Iroh questioned Zuko, who was busy with checking the map.

"Uncle, I have to do this. Please understand," Zuko said, not looking up from the map. "Don't ask me, why. I simply feel it's very, very important that the Avatar has to meet Roku and I want to make sure about that. He has no idea how dangerous a temple of the Fire Sages can be."

He does know how dangerous this is, but he is willing to take the risk, Iroh thought, knowing Zuko's stance had shifted further without him noticing.

"Well, what I do understand is, that there's no way that I'll let you go there without me to back you up. Regardless how stupid that plan is, I won't let you go alone," Mai told Zuko, her arms crossed.

Zuko sighed. "I know it's really stupid to violate the banishment, Mai. I remember us going through this multiple times. Can you understand my reasons?"

Mai's eyes softened. "I do. It's just..." It was difficult for her to admit being afraid, despite having become more open about her emotions.

Ursa put her hand onto Mai's shoulder. "It's because you are afraid?" Ursa saw that she had found the root cause. "Mai, no need to be ashamed of your fear. You don't want to lose Zuko and you have every right to be afraid, considering what we are about to do."

"We?" Zuko asked, finally looking up from the map. "I understand Mai, but what is it with this 'we'?"

Ursa gave Zuko a very determined look. "While you were busy, Mai was not idle. She came to me, then I talked with Iroh. Since you are determined to do this, we decided that if you go, we go as well. No discussion!" Ursa blocked off any attempt of Zuko's to get in a word. "Mai has decided to share her whole life with you, so having her help you is a given. Iroh and me have seen you grow up into the responsible young man you are. We would never leave you alone to face such a difficult task."

It took some moments, then Zuko felt moved that his family and beloved were willing to risk their lives to help him. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"Perhaps a 'thank you' would be in order?" Mai said, before giving him a one of these knowing smirks Zuko loved so much.

"I... Thank you!" Zuko said, before hugging Mai, not caring that the entire crew on the bridge could see. "This means so much to me. Especially from you."

Mai knew that Zuko was far more open about his emotions and generally expressed his affection for her in a more physical way. This still had taken her by surprise however, and she couldn't help but to blush at being held by Zuko in public. She always enjoyed these... but not here of all places!

Ursa couldn't help but to giggle girlishly when seeing how flustered Mai looked. It completely went against the image Mai had built and made her look downright cute. It was a good thing to see, too. The years had healed the invisible scars and Ursa had watched how the girl became much more comfortable with her emotions. She still didn't like to show them of course, so moments like these felt heartwarming to Ursa, since it showed Mai without her mask in place.

"It does warm my heart to see such young love. I think the royal line will be in for a great future," Iroh commented, unable to hide his smile.

Zuko finally released Mai when Lt. Jee ah-hemmed to get his attention. "Prince Zuko, we are closing in on the border. For now our ship is still behind the horizon and I have ordered the engines to be stopped."

"Good. Drop the anchor, then wait for our return. If everything goes all right, we return during the night. Lt. Jee, I put the ship and its crew in your care. If any warships approach, drive away. We can find you, but the safety of the crew comes first."

He indeed has come far, Jee thought, while issuing the needed orders. He was a snotty royal brat when we left. Now he's growing into a true leader. It's a real shame his father had not seen these qualities.

On deck meanwhile, the group around Aang noticed that the ship had stopped.

"We've stopped. That means we'll take off soon," Suki observed, before looking to Toph, who was leaning on the railing, her sightless eyes staring over the sea.

"You're staying here?" Suki asked carefully. Toph had recovered from the initial shock, but still was not entirely back to her normal self. She was a lot quieter and sometimes seemed lost in thought. It honestly was a bit concerning.

Toph didn't turn around. "Nah, I don't feel up for it. I also heard that island is a volcano. No way I burn my bare feet. I'm good where I am and wait for you guys to return."

Suki was not fooled, but out of respect said nothing about it. "I hope you won't get bored while we are away."

Toph waited until Suki had left, before letting out a quiet sigh. Truth to be told, while she no longer was shell-shocked, the ugly truth that her earthbending could be and was used for killing had given her nightmares. She didn't dream the same way as others, as having to rely on her earthbending for vision meant that instead of colorful pictures, she saw monochrome outlines in her dreams. She didn't know it any different. However, while other people's nightmares would involve lots of blood, hers involved bodies that were mangled, not moving, or both. That was horrifying for someone who could feel people being alive.

Having been shielded from those things for most of her life, Toph only now understood, that with her great powers also came responsibility. She had never considered that her casual usage of earthbending could hurt others, even if only by accident.

Growing up and understanding all this stuff sucks, she silently whined, knowing that more like this would come and challenge her no-care attitude.

"I still think it's suicide. After all, I hardly think the Fire Nation will welcome us with wine and flowers when we cross the border. Why are we doing this again?" Sokka asked his sister, still thinking that this was pretty stupid what they were about to do.

Katara sighed. "We need to take every advantage we can get. Anything which helps Aang. I think it's worth the risk."

Sokka watched how Katara was still walking a bit stiffly. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

This was a side of her brother she didn't see often. It showed that he did care deeply for her, despite their differences. "Sokka... I... Thanks. I don't want to get hurt, either. I 'll watch out. Promised." Katara then looked too Aang. "You think Appa can manage the distance in time?"

"Oh Appa can fly long distances easily. It's that he has to do so as fast as possible which will wear him out. We should make it. Good thing we can take our time on the way back." Aang then gave Katara a concerned look. "Are you sure you're up to it?"

Katara knew that Aang was maybe even more concerned than her brother. His concern for her was adorable and she could not help but to admire what a good person he was, even though he had regular bursts of immaturity. His question also hit reality when Katara felt the bandages under her shirt. The scars were much less severe than two days ago, but the doctor had made it clear that she did need to wear the bandages for a few more days to allow her skin to heal properly. Some scars would remain, a lasting reminder that she should not act impulsively.

"I feel a lot better. My back's itching, but otherwise I'm back to normal. I won't forget what I have seen, but unlike Toph it didn't take me by surprise. I'm having nightmares, but I won't become withdrawn. Having been on regular hunting trips while growing up makes it easier for me to come to terms with it," Katara explained.

Aang swallowed. Of course, Katara having lived at the South Pole, where everyone was expected to pull their weight and not leave some work to others, had been on hunting trips. Of course Katara had hunted animals and then also assisted in the butchering process. No wonder that she was easier able to come to terms with the sight of blood and other stuff which would make him hurl. It still hit her because people got killed, but she was better prepared for the aftermath.

His thoughts were interrupted when Zuko, Iroh, Mai and Ursa walked on deck, Ursa having changed into something more practical which looked like the uniform Zuko was wearing, just with a personalized chestplate to adapt to her female form. Ursa didn't have a wish to go into possible battle in robes, while Mai didn't care. Ursa also was armed. After all, she did reason she should be able to defend herself and has learned some fighting skills. A short sword was not the greatest weapon, but it would do since her firebending was next to useless in battle.

"Please tell me your bison can carry this many people. I have no wish to take a bath in the ocean," Mai said when counting eight people who would ride in the saddle.

"Oh, Appa can carry a lot of weight." Aang then noticed the look Mai gave him. "Oh, eh, not that you are heavy or anything..."

"Mai, play nice," Zuko said to Mai. She give Aang one last, pointed look, before starting to climb into the saddle. Zuko gave Aang a knowing look. "Some good advice: no girl likes the topic of her weight."

Aang looked to Katara for a second. "Uhhh, OK!"

"Sokka, better never get the idea to ask me for my weight," Suki warned Sokka while she climbed into the saddle.

"I wouldn't even think about it." No way Sokka would say that to her. Although at the same time... from his perspective Suki's climbing revealed she did have a really nicely shaped ass. He quickly shook himself out of it, feeling now wasn't the time for this.

Aang was about to jump onto Appa's head, but first gave Momo a look. "Sorry, but where we go, it could be really dangerous. Keep Toph company while we are away." The lemur looked a little disappointed, but obeyed and jumped onto Toph's shoulder.

A few minutes later, Appa was high in the sky - much higher than usual in order to be out of range for the weapons the Fire Nation employed on their ships.

"Captain! The Avatar has been spotted! However, he's flying high enough that our weapons can't reach him and will pass the blockade soon," an ensign reported.

The Captain didn't look pleased. "Send a priority message to Commander Zhao. The Avatar has passed the blockade. His goal is most likely as predicted. Advise to set course for Crescent Island at once."

"Yes, Sir!"

...hours later, approach to Crescent Island...

While running against the clock to reach the island in time sounded exciting at first, most of it was just long, long waiting. With eight people on Appa, this wasn't fun at all anf they were glad Toph had decided to stay behind. Mai was bored enough that she was balancing a stiletto on one finger, Iroh was taking a nap, Ursa was giving Katara and Suki some female advice, Zuko and Sokka were arguing about sword techniques and Aang was entertaining himself with small airbender tricks.

The highlight was Sokka using a tool they didn't recognize to open the top of a metal cylinder - and did they wonder what that thing was - only to then take out a spoon and start to pull out food from within the cylinder to eat it.

"Sokka, what is that thing?" Suki asked him, being genuinely puzzled how Sokka could get food out of that cylinder.

"This here is a wonderful invention!" Sokka looked downright enthusiastic. "They call it canned food. Take a spoon and get some as well!"

Everyone not being from the Fire Nation - those who did hail from there after all understood why Sokka was so excited - looked skeptical, but Suki decided to put it to the test. Taking her own spoon, she tested it. "This actually is tasty, even though it's cold. Beans in a tomato sauce."

"Really?" Telling Appa to hold course, Aang jumped into the saddle to take a taste himself. "Wow, and no meat at all. That's a first one for you, Sokka!"

"Hey, I can appreciate some good food even without meat." Sokka then looked at the big can. "What a practical invention. Took me by surprise when I saw the ship's cook open one of those."

"What exactly is that?" Katara finally asked.

"One of the secrets why the Fire Nation armies are so well-organized," Iroh told them, knowing an explanation was needed.. "Logistics always is the weak point of moving armies, and nothing is more important than the fact that soldiers need to be well-fed. There were predecessors to this, but several decades ago the process of preparing and canning foods was developed into what it is today. One such can can be stored for months and it won't spoil."

"It's a bit sad such a wonderful invention was made due to the war," Ursa added, knowing how many problems

They probably wouldn't believe me should I add that collecting empty food cans is serious business, since all the metal is sent beck to the smelters, Ursa added silently, having read that tidbit as part of her own education.

The hours had went by slowly and the sun was already inching towards the horizon, the blue of the sky was starting to give way to orange and red.

Aang had just tested if he could create a miniature air scooter in his palm - he actually could - when he saw something at the horizon. "Smoke plume ahead! We're almost there!"

Crescent Island then finally appeared from behind the horizon. Once they got closer, they saw how much of a desolate place it was. What little plants had managed to survive didn't look healthy and the island basically was just a huge rock in the ocean. The big volcano with the lava rivers flowing down its flanks certainly didn't help. From the docks, a path led to a long stone bridge, the only way to safely cross the lava and reach the temple. The true size of the temple revealed itself the closer they got, flying close the the surface to avoid detection. The building was huge and had the basic shape of a tower.

Appa landed on the far end of the island facing away from the docks, from where they could walk to the bridge. Appa looked ready to have a little nap while they climbed off. Moments later, he rolled to his side and clearly wouldn't be available for the moment.

Iroh held up a hand to hold the others back, while watching the temple. "It's a bit too silent. Normally, there should be sages guarding the outside of the temple. Their absence is suspicious."

"No guards?" Suki took a closer look at the temple. "You think they are expecting us?"

"Of course they do. They would have been stupid not to. They know that this date is important and are just waiting inside to let the trap snap shut," Zuko growled.

"Oh, that's great!" Sokka whined. "Just when we were making progress! How in all names are we supposed to get in now?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

It was only thanks to his training under Iroh that Zuko did not blast flames towards the unknown speaker right away. All of them were on alarm right away, drawing their weapons while moving to put themselves between Aang and the unknown man. Said man turned out to be a Fire Sage in his mid-thirties who did not look alarmed at all when being confronted with so many weapons.

"Peace, I'm not your enemy," he told them.

"Talk is cheap! Why should we believe you?!" Katara snarled, wishing her waterbending wouldn't be this underdeveloped despite her harsh training schedule.

The man seemed calm. "While it is true that I have my firebending, all of you together could kill me at any time. I am at your mercy. Had I wanted to harm you, I would have brought the other sages with me."

"Well... yeah. Still possible that you want to lead us into a trap," Sokka said, not daring to lower his sword.

The sage sighed. "I have nothing to offer but my word. I have been waiting outside for you to arrive, away from the other sages. I did wait many years for this day. The day when I would commit treason to the sages and help the Avatar to find his destiny." He then looked to Zuko. "I am surprised however, that I also meet the one true heir to the throne."

"Lower your weapons. I think we can trust him." Ursa then gave the sage a hard look. "If you truly want to help us, tell us your name first."

"I am called Shyu. Follow me, and I can lead you through secret passages into the temple."

They reluctantly followed, having little choice if they wanted to make progress, still being wary that this could be a trap. However, Shyu really led them to a hole in the rock that led into a tunnel. A big boulder beside the entrance showed how it normally was hidden. There was no darkness due to scattered lava pools off the wayside.

"Ohhh, this is really hot," Katara complained, wiping sweat from her forehead. She was not used to such heat.

Shyu saw this with a little amusement. "Sadly this can't be helped. Avatar Roku once called this temple his home and formed these secret passages out of the magma. The nature of the island can be quite unpleasant on the unprepared."

Aang perked up at the mention of Roku. "What do you know about Roku?"

"My grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this Fire Temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place," Shyu explained, before he grimaced. "A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku; its eyes began to glow! That was when we knew you had returned. The other sages wasted no time to report it to the Fire Lord."

"That must have happened when you lost it and almost flattened our village," Sokka threw in, then shut up when Suki gave him a dirty look.

"Oh..." Aang looked unhappy. "I guess I really blew it with that one."

"Do not be disheartened. You can't be held responsible for powers you never wanted and have little control over," Shyu consoled Aang. "Normally, the sages would have been the kind of people to help you. However, things have changed. In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came. They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him. My family never lost hope and never wanted to serve the Fire Lord like this. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages."

"You know... you are really brave. You know you are losing your home doing this, yet you don't hesitate to help us," Aang said in awe.

"I have practically waited all my life for this moment. Helping to save the world is worth this personal sacrifice." Shyu then looked to Zuko. "I have also waited a long time to meet you, Prince Zuko. You have no idea how important you are. It calms my heart to see that you as the true heir have decided to help the Avatar to right what has gone wrong."

Zuko gave Shyu an unreadable look. "Why me? It is not that I can make that big of a difference. I am helping the Avatar because it is the right thing to do. And what is it with this 'true heir'?"

Shyu looked down in sadness. "Our nation is bleeding out. Right now the successes in the war are still covering it, but soon even that won't suffice anymore. The war has ruined our people's prosperity. Sages on the mainland are reporting how poverty is on the rise and whole areas get devastated to keep the war industry running. The war has tarnished our nation. It can only end when you take the throne, which is rightfully yours. Your sister Azula is no option at all."

Zuko gave him a long, confused look. "How? I'm just a banished prince. I command a rusty, small ship and that's it. Once they find out I'm helping the Avatar, I'll have nothing at all. How am I supposed to take the throne?"

Iroh put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "You are not as alone as you think, Prince Zuko. You have those who care for you, your crew would sail to the end of the world for you and you are starting to gain the trust and respect of the Avatar and his friends. You are already gathering those who will help you. Just one battle at a time and it won't be as hard."

Trust my uncle to make the impossible sound easy, Zuko thought, although Iroh's words did move him.

Shyu gave Ursa a look. "It is a relief to see you here. Your disappearance had worried me greatly. You were never told, but the sages saw more than just your blood strengthening the royal line."

That was news to her. "Really? While some good has come out of it..." Ursa looked to Zuko, "I simply feel that all of my future was taken from me at that day. What more is there?"

Shyu looked pained but had noticed Iroh giving him a subtle sign. "I'm not proud the sages did this. Azuon and Ozai however were told something else that strengthened their resolve even more to bind you to their line. The sages also saw that the descendant of that particular line will come and bring change. The Fire Lord felt that they could stomp that out by making your line theirs."

"So it could mean either me or my mother? After all, I sincerely doubt Azula will make any good changes," Zuko observed.

"Or both of you. Such predictions are always vague and both of you have the power to bring change. Of course I also feel relief that Lady Ursa has not come to harm," Shyu explained while leading them deeper into the caves.

"This sounds like a really convoluted net, if you ask me." Mai honestly felt like a aeadache was coming up listening to all of this.

Only then did they remember they had an audience. "Listen, this is a really personal thing to my mother. She'll tell you once she feels ready for it, and not any earlier!" Zuko warned them not to ask questions.

"Eh, we'll say nothing, OK?" It was clear Sokka had been about to ask a question but now knew to better stay silent.

Katara for her part had an uneasy feeling that Ursa's story was not a nice one. What she had seen of the woman made her look very ill-fitting with the royal family. Now it was hinted that her becoming Ozai's bride had not been her idea and Katara couldn't help but hold onto Kanna's engagement necklace.

She always keeps quiet about her personal past... How horrible must her forced marriage have been? Katara wondered, feeling unwell.

Shyu looked thoughtful. "There is something else... Something I've been holding off on telling you. It happened sixteen years ago, just a few days after Prince Zuko's birth. I was kneeling in front of Roku's statue after horrible dreams of unspeakable destruction - of the end of the world - kept me awake. Then, all of a sudden, there was a shimmer in its eyes."

Everyone looked to Aang, who held up his hands. "Don't look at me! I was still on ice at that time!"

"I was surprised when I found myself surrounded by thick mist and then faced a young woman who clearly was from the Water Tribes." Shyu saw that Sokka and Katara gave him a look of surprise. "I thought, since water was the next element in the cycle, that the Avatar had been reborn. However, she corrected me quickly. She told me she would have been the Avatar following you."

Mai snorted. "A message from the future. Sure."

Shyu gave the girl an intense look which made Mai very uncomfortable. "Young lady, you live in a world full of animals that define fantastic, real spirits and people able to bend the elements. Tell me, why you think this should be impossible?"

Mai swallowed hard, feeling very unwell and finally did something she did very rarely. "S-sorry. I take it back." Seeing the look Zuko gave her, she gave him a weak look that made it clear he should never mention this again.

Shyu turned back to Aang. "She told me that her whole world is being torn asunder and that she has meddled with the wheel of fate to give us a chance to avoid this fate."

"Meddled with the wheel of fate? You mean that she changed things? Changed us?" Ursa asked, uneasy with the idea.

"She seemed desperate and was fearing her own destruction as well. Only our young Avatar, she said, could now save her. She said, her world was being destroyed by the Imbalance. Ever since then I was wondering what kind of destructive power that had to be." Shyu looked very uneasy mentioning it, as if the mere idea scared him.

"The Imbalance..." Aang couldn't help be to feel afraid. He had not told anyone about the destruction he had witnessed for a moment when being with Fang. Suddenly having a word for it made it way more real.

They had finally reached a tall staircase. "These stairs lead up to the inner sanctum. Once there, you can contact Avatar Roku by standing in front of his statue while the sunlight hits his eyes."

The ascent to the top stair was fairly uneventful and soon they pushed open a floor plate to reveal that they were inside the temple. The big hall was empty, its only exits being an arch with a big stairwell leading down and a huge set of gates at the other end. Approaching the big gates however, Shyu's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No... NO! The gates to the inner sanctum are closed! They were open when I left at the morning. The other sages must have locked them why I was away," Shyu gasped in disbelief, running up to the closed gates. "Now there's no way we can get inside..."

Suki looked at the huge gate and its strange locking mechanism. "What's the big problem? Can't we simply break open the lock?"

Shyu sighed. "You don't understand. These gates can only be opened either by five firebenders at the same time or a fully realized Avatar. At this moment, we have neither of those."

Sokka made a quick headcount. "Well, we only have three firebenders. Now what?"

"I have learned how to make two separate flame streams with my hands, however, I severely doubt that my nephew or Sage Shyu know how to that," Iroh said, while taking a close look at the gates.

"Oh, that's great. That's really great! So close and now we run into a wall," Aang groaned, ready to bash his head against the gates.

Mai gave Ursa a look. "Well, I see another firebender."

Ursa shook her head, looking really conflicted. "I wish I could help. However, have you forgotten that no fire left my hand since my early childhood?"

"She's a firebender?" Katara honestly had thought the woman to be a non-bender.

Iroh understood the reaction. "Surprised? It should make you think on your on prejudices."

Katara understood what Iroh was telling her with that. Did I really decide she has no fire because she's so nice and caring?

"It's not that you are crippled, you know? Sure, it got hammered into your head that firebending is too dangerous to use, but I think you can get past this," Mai told her, while giving Zuko a look that he should stay silent. "I know Iroh tried to help you, but it's like part of you never wanted to truly try."

Zuko gave Mai a hard look. "Mai, now is really not the time..."

"No, son. I... We talk later about this. Time is short and we at least have to try." Ursa swallowed hard. "This... this is not easy for me, but Mai is right that I at lest should try my best."

Zuko made no comment and they got into position to open the gate. "On three," Iroh counted. "One.. Two... Three!" Four flame streams hit the lock openings. However, Ursa's attempt failed, and the best she was able to produce was a small fireball that dissipated after three meters.

"Oh dear..." Ursa groaned when seeing her pathetic attempt at firebending.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes, it's coming from the inner sanctum!"

"Oh no, the other sages have heard us!" Shyu gasped.

Iroh gave Ursa a pleading look. "Ursa, please! Remember all the love you feel for those you care for! We now only have one last chance!"

They tried again and Ursa tried to remember everything that could make her inner fire burst into a small inferno. Her loving parents, holding Zuko for the first time after his birth, Azula at a time where she still was untouched by Ozai's evil. Unlike nearly all her life, she did not try to hold down the small sun that was blooming within her and instead allowed it to grow. It felt like a blood was on fire, yet it didn't hurt when the power deep inside herself broke the chains it had been put into since her early childhood.

"YAAAAHHHHGHHH!" she screamed when a stream of fire left her palm. Due to her being untrained, it didn't last as long as it should have and had cost her much strength, but it did the trick. The lock snapped open and the gate opened a bit, before suddenly stopping.

"The flames didn't last long enough! Quick, run in before the gate closes again!" Shyu quickly told Aang.

Aang did need to be told twice and ran to the already closing gate. He did make it in just in time, before the gate slammed shut and the locks snapped back into place. As soon as the gate had closed, white light spilled out from behind it for a few seconds, then there was silence... At least until they heard voices and people moving up the stairs.

"That was the gate!"

"Hurry!"

"Quick! We must act as if we are fighting against each other to lessen the suspicion and we can backstab the sages when they least expect it!" Shyu said.

It would probably not look really convincing, but duping the sages long enough to deal with them was enough. As much as some of them disliked doing this, it was necessary to stop the entire Fire Nation from hunting down Zuko. Should they even get the idea that Zuko was helping the Avatar, he would be as good as dead. They also hoped that this would raise their chances of getting out alive.

Their mock-battle was difficult in that they had to use firebending and weapons without hurting each other. They heard people marching up the stairs and then saw the sages. However, someone else was with them... together with numerous soldiers. Zuko felt like the ground had vanished under his feet when he saw who it was.

"Zhao!"

o

Aang blinked. One moment, he had been in the inner sanctum of the temple, looking at the eyes of Avatar Roku's statue when the light reached them, and now he found himself on a mountain overlooking misty plains. Before him stood a man, high in age and wearing the robes of the Fire Nation. Aang knew who he was right away.

"Avatar Roku..." Aang felt overwhelmed by the presence of his predecessor.

Roku gave him a smile like a grandfather would give to his grandson. "Hello Aang. I've been waiting a long time for you. You can't imagine how much of a relief it is to finally meet you."

Aaang then remembered the reason why Roku had to wait for so long. "Roku, I..."

A simple gesture stopped Aang. "No, my boy. If there is someone to blame, it's me. It were my errors that started this entire mess in the first place. Also, there is a good reason why an Avatar should only be told of the fact at age sixteen, as you have experienced. We are supposed to enjoy life, before our duty calls."

Aang did remember how he had been shunned and how Gyatso had spoken on his behalf. "I know. My whole life became a mess when they revealed it so early."

"Sadly, it can't be helped now and I don't like putting so much responsibility on such young shoulders, but time is running out." Roku looked grim. "I've sent my dragon Fang to fetch you at the first opportunity, because there is something very important I have to tell you."

"Does it have something to do with the huge fireball I saw?" Aang wondered.

"It has. That was a comet, a cosmic wanderer that met our world. Back when the Fire Nation started the war, Fire Lord Sozin knew it would fly through our atmosphere and burn with an intense heat. He and the other firebenders used it for the devastating first strike that destroyed your people."

"You mean the comet made them much stronger?" Aang said, having a good guess what this was about.

Roku saw that Aang was beginning to understand. "Oh yes, much stronger. Each firebender got power equal to the firebending of the Avatar. You can see how they managed to destroy the Air Nomads in one strike."

All of a sudden Aang felt being locked up in an iceberg had been the lesser evil. "But, what does this have to do with now? After all, the comet is long gone, right?"

"I wish that would be the case..." Roku did show a hint of fear. "Sozin's Comet will return by the end of the summer, and Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world; a world where the Fire Nation rules supreme. Aang. You must defeat the Fire Lord, before the comet arrives."

Aang paled. This was a nightmare coming true. "How? I've not even started learning waterbending, not to speak of earth and fire!"

Roku sighed. "I know that for true mastery of the elements, years of training are needed. However, time is short and the situation is dire enough that we have to resort to unusual means. For now it has to suffice that you learn as much as you can about each element. Enough so that at the end you can unlock the true powers of the Avatar. Actual mastery can wait until the world is saved."

Aang shivered. He had known the task ahead was huge, but getting a time limit on top of it made it even harder. "Roku... you, you ask a lot of me. I barely know what it means to be an Avatar! There is no one left to help me understand!"

"Well, that is where you are wrong."

Hearing a woman's voice, Aang looked to his left and saw a young woman, who was clearly from the Water Tribes, standing there. "Who, who are you?" Aang had not expected company, but did remember what Shyu had told them. It was one thing to hear about it, but another to see it for real.

"Don't worry. I'm a friend. My name is Korra, and I'm here to help you."

Roku looked shocked. "How is this possible? I can feel the Avatar spirit inside you, yet it feels damaged in a way."

"This is because I am the Avatar from over 70 years in the future and I did something incredibly stupid that caused the damage." Korra saw their shocked looks. "Look, my time is short. Not only the world is at stake! The entire future is in danger!"

Aang finally said something. "Shyu told us of you. He said the Imbalance destroyed your world."

"The Imbalance..." Korra looked haunted at the mere mention. "It's something worse than the war you are fighting in right now. Something that has been broken ever since the beginning of the Age of the Avatar. Something that in the end is going to kill all of us..."

"But what is the Imbalance?" Aang had a feeling he would not like the answer.

"That would require a longer explanation, and my strength is already fading. My time here is nearly up, but if you want Roku and the other previous Avatars to help you whenever you have questions or need advice, each of you take my hands."

Roku and Aang were confused at this sudden turn of events, but finally took hold of Korra's hands. Aang then gasped; the contact only having lasted a few seconds. "I feel so strange..."

"That's because I strengthened your connection to your previous lives. It's something precious I wasted in my dumbness. Cherish your past lives, for they will give you good advice." Korra then started to fade. "My time is up for now. Until will meet again, Aang." Korra then was gone.

"That was weird," Aang said, looking at where Korra had stood. "But I could feel her fear and sorrow. Something horrible had happened to her world... And it could happen to us as well."

Roku looked thoughtful. "I saw it when I held her hand. Her world, our future, was destroyed by forces beyond our imagination. I can feel my connection to you growing. Very soon we can talk whenever you need guidance."

Aang was glad for every help he could get, the task before him really intimidating. "I'm sure I'll ask you many things. This is all so confusing."

"The solstice is almost over..." Roku then felt something and in his mind's eye saw ships of war anchoring close to Crescent Island. "Your friends are in great danger. I can help you to keep them safe. However, you have to trust me."

Aang felt strangely calm, Roku's words giving him strength. His eyes and tattoos started glowing. "I won't let anyone hurt them!"

o

While Aang was inside the sanctum, things were going rather badly for the others.

They could not have been in a worse fix. While they could have fought off the sages with the element of surprise, having Zhao and a dozen highly-trained firebenders against them made this a fight impossible to win. At least not without suffering fatalities of their own. It took only moments for them to realize that they were in trouble and they dropped their weapons, before they were chained to the pillars, rendering them helpless.

Zhao took a look at his prisoners. "What an illustrious group... Two Water Tribe peasants who are not too old for a good spanking and a girl who thinks that she can play the warrior. Really pathetic. The Avatar must be really desperate to surround himself with such refuse."

"And you are the warmonger that invaded our island." Suki always felt the sting of that day.

Zhao knew what that was about. "Ah yes, so you are from that place. It means taking the island under control was the right thing to do, considering what kind of elements it was breeding."

He then turned his attention to the other group. "And here... An exiled prince who does not know his place, a woman who should have stayed dead, a bratty runaway girl and a man who has fallen from general to joke."

He then took a look at the final prisoner. "And finally a traitor either way. Regardless if you have helped the Avatar or felt a misplaced loyalty to Prince Zuko, the Fire Lord will punish you either way."

He was interrupted when a soldier approached. "Commander Zhao, we are unable to open the gate."

"What's the meaning of this?" Zhao asked one of the sages.

The sage did look a little intimidated. "It has to be Avatar Roku. He does not want us to be in there."

That finally broke Zuko out of his silence. "Ha! Admit it, Zhao. So close and yet you can't reach your goal. At this rate I'll catch him first."

If Zhao was bothered by it, he didn't show. "Oh, I don't worry about this, since after all he has to come out of there sooner or later. You should be far more worried about your own future, which right now is rather bleak. Your father after all will not be pleased to see you blatantly violating your exile. Oh, he won't kill you, but you will wish he does."

"My father does not scare me any longer, Zhao."

"Really? We will see." Zhao then took a look at Iroh. "How far you have fallen. From a hero of the Fire Nation to helping your disgraced nephew to violate our laws. I think your brother will be more than happy to lock you up in a dark place."

Iroh stayed remarkably calm. "The only dark place I see is the one you are in."

"Spare your platitudes for someone else." Zhao ignored the implications and took a look at Ursa. "You should have known better than trying to help your son. I think it will only take little persuasion to get the Fire Lord to allow me to keep you. It would be well worth it for you."

Ursa gave him a look of disgust. "This will be hard for you once I make sure you miss the needed body part."

"Charming. Well, I can make you change you mind." Finally, Zhao stopped in front of Mai. "Well, it must have been quite an adventure for you, but everything has to come to an end." Zhao then forced her to look at him when she tried to ignore him.

"Take your dirty hands off her, Zhao!" Zuko snapped.

"Touchy? Well, you obviously saw something in her. Too plain for my tastes, but maybe my other officers..." Mai decided right then to show what she thought of him by spitting into his face. Zhao's gloating turned to anger. "You bitch!"

-slap!- "Ouurgh!" Zhao slapped her hard with the back of his hand, causing spit and some blood to fly.

Everyone of course knew that Zhao was a heartless bastard, Zuko's history with him and what he did on Kyoshi Isle was proof enough of it, but hitting a girl who could not defend herself was a new personal low. Zuko was almost literally foaming in anger, jerking at his chains in a desperate attempt to get free and beat Zhao into paste.

"It takes a really great man to hit a girl who's tied up with chains," Suki growled, disgusted at Zhao and his violation of even the most basic forms of human decency.

"Yeah. Even Zuko there would never step this low." Sokka actually kind of liked Zukoby this point, but he could hardly say that.

Katara gave Zhao a dark look. "I guess I was right. Fire Nation officers need to be barbarians to get the job."

Zhao was no longer in the mood for holding the higher ground. "You'll all change your tune fast once you know what kind of fate awaits you. Oh yes, you'll all get exactly what you deserve! All of you will beg to be slave labor in our coal mines once you know!"

Mai spat out some blood, knowing she at the moment had to look like an abuse victim. "Still doesn't change the fact you are only brave enough to attack those who can't defend themselves."

"You..." White light spilled from behind the gate. "Finally..." Zhao said when seeing that.

"Damn it, Aang! NO!" Sokka shouted.

Katara's eyes were wide. "It's a trap! A trap!"

"FIRE!" Zhao shouted, when seeing a bright light through the open gate. Right away, ten firebenders concentrated all their firepower on trying to kill the Avatar.

They could only watch in horror when a huge wall of flames obscured everything inside the gate. Nothing could have survived this. Yet, all of the flames suddenly got sucked into a ball, held by an old man who looked solid, and yet glowed like a ghost, his eyes burning hot-white. Zhao gasped before the man released the fire, blasting him, all soldiers and the sages cleanly down the stairs, while the chains of the prisoners crumbled away.

"Avatar Roku...?" Shyu gasped while the others scrambled to pick up their weapons, completely overwhelmed by the sheer power the man radiated.

"We have little time..." One flick of his hand, and the entire outer wall was ripped away. At the same time he stomped down his foot and the whole island started to shake, smoke and dust clouds being thrown up while the volcano started to roar.

"Earthquake!" Sokka screamed, while trying to stay on his feet. Cries of panic from down the stairs hinting that there was a panic going on.

-fweeep- Roku did make a strange sound. "Your bison will come. It now is time for us to leave this place." their surprise they all were suddenly sucked into something that look like a giant version of Aang's air scooter, with Roku riding on it. They blasted outside and at some distance safely dropped into Appa's saddle.

They all looked in wonder at Roku, while Appa left as quick as possible. Zuko was most affected by this. "You are really Avatar Roku?"

"You have achieved much, but your way is still long." Ruko then gave Zuko a smile. "I have faith that you will make the right decisions." Roku then faded away with the solstice being over, leaving behind a sleeping Aang.

After all the excitement, they couldn't help but to just sit there while Appa was taking them away from Crescent Island. For some moments, no one said anything, until Suki finally decided to break the silence.

"I just hope whatever Roku told Aang was worth all this." She then leaned closer to Sokka. "If you excuse me, Sokka, but I'm only moments away from having a hysteric fit - regardless how sexist it sounds - after this whole day and need something warm to hold upon."

Sokka didn't complain. Having a beautiful girl wanting you to hold her being something a teenage boy could never say no to.

Meanwhile, Zhao could only watch the collapse of the temple from his ship and the Avatar's bison vanishing behind the horizon. To make things worse, Zuko and the other traitors had used the chaos to slip away as well. Without them, it was next to impossible to prove that they had violated their exile. He could hardly tell the Fire Lord of Zuko's part in this disaster, as it would reflect badly on himself.

"Commander Zhao, we were unable to find Shyu. Either he is dead, or he has fled," the head sage said, still shell-shocked at the loss of their temple.

"May as well have some use for him. He will take all of the blame for this disaster by helping the Avatar," Zhao growled.

Just wait for it, Prince Zuko. I'll get my chance to reveal your treachery and then hunt you down like the animal you are...

...later, back on Zuko's ship...

"Come on... What's taking them this long?" Toph worried while walking in a circle on the foredeck of the ship. Momo watched her in fascination, trying to figure out what she was doing.

She would never admit it, but all the waiting started to get her real worried. Additionally to her early teenage-angst because of her recent actions, she now felt how it was to be concerned over other people's well-being. It did not mesh well with her ideas of not needing anyone else and it confused her more than anything else.

No one had said that the early onset on puberty would be easy and with all the recent baggage it become even harder for her.

Maybe I should have accompanied them, she thought, for a moment forgetting that she would have hurt her feet in the process.

Back at home, things had been very easy. Her parents were treating her like a helpless cripple, she felt she already was superior to all of them and she was well-prepared for the outside world. Now she did wonder if she really had been as ready as she had thought she was after all. Toph was still ignorant of the fact that this also was part of the process of growing up: overestimating yourself until you collide with reality. While she was a great earthbender, she still had a lot to learn about the world.

She stopped pacing when she heard the growl of an approaching sky bison. The stampede of people approaching the deck only confirmed it. Only moments later Appa had landed. However, Toph got very mixed signals from her companions. They seemed shocked and scared.

"People, what's wrong? You didn't manage to get this mystical stuff after all?" Toph wondered.

"No, Toph, we did. Part of me now wishes we would have stayed ignorant." That was all Suki had to say about it.

Toph didn't understand, holding onto Suki's arm. "Isn't knowing a good thing? Come on, tell me!"

Suki sighed. "Toph, we want to tell everyone once they have gathered."

Now Toph was a bit freaked out. "Everyone? Can't you at least give me a hint?"

At first no one answered, until Katara felt it was her job to break it to Toph. "We learned that things are MUCH worse than we thought..."

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Long Path North"

Chapter Text

To say that the atmosphere on the ship was bad was an understatement.

After hearing what exactly was ahead of them - that the Avatar needed to learn enough to defeat the Fire Lord before the end of summer and the arrival of the comet - everyone felt the pressure. Everyone in the Fire Nation of course knew of the comet, but that it actually would return had been kept very much secret. Such a power in Ozai's hands would spell disaster.

They had less than nine months to knock Ozai off the throne, or all of their efforts would become meaningless. They had expected to have enough time to help Aang find teachers for learning the three remaining elements with reasonable skill, but now they were on an almost ridiculous time table. It was simply impossible that Aang could get more than the basic training in each element in that short time.

It was simply impossible to learn all the stuff that other Avatars learned in ten years in less than nine months. No determination in the world could change the facts after all.

Yet, the only thing they could do was to make plans and hope that somehow things would go their way, despite how high the stakes were against them. One of those facts was, that they could not afford to lose too much time anymore. Each group would take a more direct course north and try to avoid unneeded distractions. Although they knew it would be impossible for Zuko and his crew to go to the Northern Water Tribe itself, having them close by for when everything was done and they returned to the Earth Kingdom was a good idea.

Aang looked over the dark sea while pacing on the front deck. He had been unable to sleep due to the sheer scope of things resting on his shoulders. Everyone counted on him, but he knew he could not do wonders. His goal of mastery of the remaining elements had to be shelved for now; simply learning what he could in order to be able to enter the Avatar state at will had to be enough.

Yeah, no pressure. Just learn enough in less than nine months or the world is doomed, he thought sarcastically in an attempt to grasp the scope of the task.

"Man, that's really, really bad..." he said to himself. Being so riled up that he was unable to relax was pretty much his modus operandi when facing something impossible.

"How am I supposed to even do that? Boy, Appa, I wish you could give me advice..." he told the big sky bison, who was resting on the deck. Appa in return gave him a look that was surprisingly intelligent and made Aang lean against the railing. "Yeah, you can hardly give me advice on this. Sometimes I really wish this whole Avatar business had been dumped on someone else."

He sighed loudly. Life had been so much easier before this whole Avatar business had been dumped upon him. "Why me? It's simply unfair..."

"That may be, but that should not stop you from making the best of it."

Aang saw Shyu approach and lean on the railing beside Aang. "Oh, Shyu. Couldn't sleep either?"

"Pretty much. After all, my life got turned upside down and I need time to come to terms with it." The sage then gave Aang a knowing look. "I guess after you learned what is expected of you and how little time you have, you find this very much overwhelming."

Aang sighed and looked to the moon that was high in the sky. "Everyone expects so much of me. On top of it I now know I'm on a hard time limit or the world is doomed. I have no idea where to start and wonder if I can actually make any difference."

"I think in that regard, I can give you good advice. Right now, everything looks huge and unbeatable. However, if you take on one small task after the other, you in the end realize that you managed to solve the problem. I have no doubt you are very capable of saving the world if you concentrate on the current task and not try to take on the world in one go. However, there also is one other advice you should take to heart," Shyu told Aang.

"Really? Which one would that be?" Aang wondered.

"Despite being the Avatar, you should not forget you also are a twelve-year old boy. Others might not see it, but I'm not fooled. You are trying too hard to fulfill the expectations of others. Even though the situation is dire, you should not let this dictate who you are," Shyu told Aang.

"You know, that's the exact opposite of what the monks wanted. They wanted me to suddenly become dead-serious and just live for being the Avatar. Monk Gyatso felt they were being stupid," Aang explained.

"Then Monk Gyatso was much wiser than them. Let me tell you some words of wisdom from Avatar Roku. He said: 'Roku is, who I am. The Avatar is, what I can do'. It's a big difference; one you should always remember," Shyu explained, seeing how Aang seemed to understand now.

"It's so simple the way you explained it. Does that also mean I shouldn't let the whole Avatar-thing go to my head?" Aang asked Shyu.

"That as well. There were some Avatars who could tell you how them putting duty over everything else made them very unhappy in the end. Just being the Avatar is not enough for a fulfilled life, nor will it make you happy on its own. A little egoism that you reserve enough time for being yourself is not a bad thing in this case," Shyu explained.

Aang was a little amazed when realizing that Shyu had never met any Avatar other than him. "You learned all of this just by reading?"

"You would be amazed what you can learn from books." However, we both know something else is bothering you."

"It's the whole thing about the future..." Aang admitted.

"Ah yes, seeing Avatar Korra in person made you realize it is a very real danger," Shyu observed.

Aang had told them all about what had happened regarding Korra and the future, even the short glimpse he got of the end of the world. Now everyone knew something even worse than the war was looming, yet it was difficult to understand the nature of it. The Imbalance... It had to be an utterly destructive force, but no one understood where it came from and how it could be stopped. At least not until Korra would give more information.

"I even got nightmares," Aang admitted. "The end of the world... and I'm not even told how I am supposed to prevent that from happening."

Shyu knew that would give anyone nightmares. "To be honest, I myself wonder what can be done about that. Right now it's an abstract danger. However, she had to know how to prevent the Imbalance from destroying the world. I think for now concentrate on what you can affect." He then looked around. "It's still a long night and I need to prepare to leave the ship tomorrow as soon as we arrive at the mainland."

"What will you do? The whole Fire Nation is now after you," Aang wondered.

"Don't worry. General Iroh does have some friends with whom I will hide until the time is right. I'm very sure our paths will cross again in the future. When that happens, I'm sure you will be very ready to meet your destiny. You should try to get some sleep as well." Shyu then left Aang alone.

However, instead of walking to his cot, he made his way to Iroh's quarters, where the old general and Ursa were already waiting. "I'm ready to keep it safe until the moment it is needed," he told them.

"Good. We know it will be safe with you. Far away from all eventual trouble we'll get into," Ursa said, while Iroh gave Shyu a wrapped-up item. "You know how important it is."

"Oh yes, I know," Shyu said,

"It is most important that it's kept safe. Once the time is right, Zuko will need it in order to claim his rightful destiny," Iroh added, knowing of the importance of the item.

...a few days later, near a port town...

Katara had tried very hard not to put attention to the scars on her back when washing herself, but she knew she had to accept them as being there to stay, since she sincerely doubted that even healing by waterbending could remove scars.

After parting with Zuko for the time being until they would meet at the ruins of a long-destroyed city, the group had taken off on their paths north. Not too much had happened on the way and now they were camping near a town, planning on purchasing whatever they were needing before they would be on their way again.

(They had no idea about a village, where the spirit Hei Bai had kidnapped all the inhabitants into the Spirit World, only to then realize there now was no one left to do something about his burnt-down forest. Feeling rather dumb about it, the panda spirit then returned everyone and used more constructive ways to convey what he wanted.)

Truth to be told, they all were nervous.

Aang had told them of the time limit they were now on. That time limit changed so much that it was difficult to remember the consequences of such. But even worse was what Aang had told them about the Imbalance, Korra and the glimpse he had seen of the end of the world. It was something horrible, and yet they were failing to grasp it nor could they do anything about it at the moment.

Didn't stop them all from having nightmares about it.

Not that she didn't have nightmare material of her own. She at least two times had woken up in the middle of the night from dreaming she was being flogged again. Truth to be told, after all what their allies from the Fire Nation had done for them - which included the help she'd gotten after her horrible ordeal - her earlier feelings about the arrangement felt strange.

It had changed those personal connections, while her feelings on the Fire Nation as a whole had changed little. She was trying to make sense of it. It had not happened right away. Instead, it had been a slow process where their new allies had shown through their actions they could be trusted.

Really strange. But then again, Gran-Gran insisted the world can't be divided into pure good and pure evil, Katara thought. Allies, yes. But I guess it'll take some more before we can talk about friends.

Looking to her left, she saw Suki emerge from behind some bushes further away, knowing the girl was just done with her morning toilet. Looking to her right, she spotted Sokka using the reflective surface of the nearby pond so that he could safely shave the still meager hair growing above his upper lip. Aang also was shaving, though it was his head - something she still thought looked a bit weird.

That left one final person of their group, and she announced herself from her stone tent right at that moment.

"Ooooh, crap! Damnit!"

"I wonder what now the matter is?" Katara wondered.

"Whatever it is, better leave the talking to me. Both of you have the impressive ability to rile up each other," Suki told the other girl, speaking from experience.

The beginning of the journey with Toph had been rough, to say the least. Her and Katara regularly argued about things, forcing Suki to defuse things before it would come to screaming. Katara felt she knew how things should be run while Toph felt she should only care about her own things and nothing else. Suki honestly wondered which of them was more stubborn. Solving that problem had required lots of patience from her side.

And let's not even start about convincing Toph that proper hygiene was required. She understood that the girl had become highly irritated on that matter due to her mother forcing her to bathe an excessive three times a day - or even more at times. It was only now that she had convinced her on regular baths. It was a bit sad she had only conceded the point after getting traumatized.

Toph was not back to normal, but she looked annoyed enough when emerging from her tent. "Oh crap..." she groaned while looking incredibly awkward.

"Toph, what is wrong? Did you eat something that didn't sit with you?" Suki asked carefully, not wanting to irritate her even more.

"Damn if I knew... I woke up and felt like crap. It feels like my insides are contracting painfully and yet I feel like a bloated mess," the girl groaned.

Suki and Katara looked at each other, having a good idea what that could be about. "You think it's that? Toph after all is the correct age for it to begin," Katara wondered.

"What are you talking about?!" If anything, Toph now felt a bit scared as well.

"I know this sounds strange, but could you change your underwear and then show us the ones you've worn tonight?" Suki asked her carefully, knowing that Toph due to her blindness would not detect it.

"Yeeez have you suddenly developed a liking for a girls' undies, Fans?" Toph wondered, but still did as told, closing the stone tent behind herself.

Katara meanwhile gave the boys one look and Sokka understood. "Aang, let's better gain some distance. We don't want to be here for that." As if to underscore it, Sokka took Momo and forced the lemur to come along as well.

"Sokka, what's the problem?" Aang wondered while the older teenager dragged him away.

"Aang, how much do you know about girls? I mean, how they work down there?" Sokka asked him bluntly.

Aang needed a moment before he understood. "I... I know how they work. Some months before I left the temple, Monk Gyatso sat me down and explained everything. It only got more embarrassing when a week later I was given a lecture by a nun from the Eastern Air Temple about how exactly a girl's body works, how babies are made and how they are born."

"Ah, that means you have suffered the same as me," Sokka realized when seeing how embarrassed Aang looked. "I not only had Dad and Gran-Gran explain it all to me, but Gran-Gran forced me to be present when she explained all of it to Katara. I have no idea which one of us was more embarrassed."

"I'M BLEEDING FROM WHERE?!" Toph's voice suddenly erupted from their camp.

"Oh, sounds like they are starting to explain that to her," Aang said with a slight grimace. "I guess her parents never bothered to explain those things."

"Wait a minute..." Sokka now had that expression when he realized something. "Why were you guys even learning that? Aren't monks supposed to... you know... not do that?"

Aang looked a bit nervous. "You know, I asked that question. They told me better be prepared than being sorry. Also, now that I think about it..."

"Yeah, you pretty much have to do that in the future. No being celibate for you." Sokka did not want to go into any more detail about that, not wanting to know.

"WAIT, A GUY STICKS IT IN THERE?!" That almost sounded like a panicked yelp from Toph, just really loud.

"There is no way I'm going back until they are done," Sokka decided, then looked to Aang and even Momo. "Right, guys?"

"I'm the Avatar but I'm not insane!" Aang agreed with Sokka. Hell, even Momo nodded, showing he had no wish to be anywhere close to a highly irritated Toph.

It took a while before Suki appeared.

"It's safe now, but I really want to deck Toph's parents. They never bothered to explain any of that to her." Suki said, sounding tired. "Toph is more shocked than anything and we need to buy some things for her now."

Walking back into the camp, they caught the tail end of a rant from Toph.

"...and I had honestly thought they were doing some kind of wrestling in their room. I want to scrub my brain from knowing what they were doing..." Toph sounded ready to hurl, now finally knowing what she had witnessed from her parents in her ignorance before having moved to the ground floor.

That's way too much information, Sokka thought, relieved he never had witnessed anything like that with his own parents.

o

"Great going, Katara! You just had to make those pirates angry!" Sokka spat, while they were running through the streets of the port town to get away from the angry pirates that were chasing them.

"How should I have known that they would notice me taking the scroll this fast?" Katara shot back while hoping that her endurance would be enough for running away.

Sokka would have loved to give her a slap on the back of her head. "How about not stealing it in the first place?! You already have scrolls you are learning from! What about not being impulsive?!"

This town would have been rather unremarkable, if not for the fact that when shopping, Katara had stumbled over those sailors offering rare items. Of course Sokka had noticed right away that those guys were pirates - it was so blatantly obvious that it did raise the question what kind of town this was - and told Katara not to trust them at all. Didn't however stop Aang from buying some sort of bison whistle.

Too bad that they had also shown them a scroll about waterbending techniques from the North and Katara, who had become rather obsessed with learning as much as possible before reaching the North, was desperate for anything she could learn more about waterbending. That his usually proper and honest sister had resorted to theft would have made Sokka laugh, if not for the fact that said pirates were now out to kill them outright for Katara's theft.

"Can you two stop talking and concentrate more on running?!" Aang gasped, while running beside them, Momo barely hanging on his robes. With so much stress he found it difficult to get his airbending to work, something he had sworn to work on. "I don't want to end up as a human pincushion!"

"Damn, where's Toph when you need her?" Sokka cursed.

They probably could have gotten out of this easily with Toph just using her earthbending. However, she and Suki were not with them right now. Truth to be told, they had no idea were those two were right now. Due to Toph needing some things to deal with her feminine issue, Suki was somewhere in town with Toph right at the moment to get those things, thus leaving them to fend on their own.

Running around the next corner, they were faced with a tall wall. "Dead end! Aang, can you lift us over the wall?" Katara gasped when seeing that they had reached the end of the line.

"With the way I'm panting right now? No chance I could get the breathing right," Aang said while trying to catch his breath, now regretting how he had neglected his physical fitness.

"Now we got you!"

Turning around, they were faced with four very pissed-looking pirates. It seemed that they were not in the mood to forgive and forget. Sokka drew his sword, despite knowing that he would have no chance against four men who were far stronger and taller than he was. Nevertheless, he at least had to try.

"You must be either really brave or really stupid, boy," one of the pirates laughed humorlessly, before they raised their weapons, clearly intending to kill them all.

-craaaack- "Ahhh!" At least that was their plan until a suddenly appearing hole made them fall into the dirty sewer water beneath and the hole then closed up to force them to find a different exit, revealing Toph and Suki standing at the entrance of the small dead end.

That was downright gentle of her, Katara thought, seeing how Toph's usage of her bending had changed.

"Now, that was rude! You started making trouble without me," Toph complained, although it was clear she wasn't nearly as annoyed as she pretended to be. "So, who caused this?"

Sokka sighed, putting his sword away. "Ask Katara. It's her fault we got into trouble."

"Princess causing trouble? I've got to hear that," Toph said in anticipation.

Katara gave Toph a cold look, which the girl of course could not see. "Ha, ha. Very funny."

"Seriously, what happened?" Suki asked, taking in the whole situation. "We leave you three for less than an hour and it turns into you getting into mortal danger. What is this about Katara getting you three into trouble?"

"Big advice, Suki: never take Katara shopping in a curiosity shop," Aang deadpanned, causing Katara to give him a hard look. Aang was annoyed enough to forget his politeness for a moment. "What?!"

"This is the second time your impulsive actions got us into trouble," Sokka reminded his sister.

Katara wanted to argue, but then realized Sokka had a point. After what happened with the prison rig -and she would not forget that one - her stealing the scroll was the second time she had gotten them into serious trouble. She would not admit it to Sokka, but she was disappointed with herself and vowed to do better and think about the consequences of her actions.

Suki raised an eyebrow. "All right, I bet there's an interesting story behind this. Tell me while we are walking back to camp after we are done with grocery shopping. I really want to hear this."

"Not only you," Toph added, eager to hear what kind of trouble Katara had caused. After the recent nastiness, she could use a good laugh to lift her spirits.

...back in the camp...

"Man, I still can't believe that Princess became a thief! Who knew that she got it in her?" Toph giggled in way that was so feminine it ran against her tomboyish image. She still found the humor in Katara doing something less-than-proper.

Katara rolled her eyes and tried not to react - difficult when Toph could easily gauge her mood by her heartbeat. Truth to be told, after the whole thing on the rig, Toph had become a bit more tolerable. She had dialed down on being... obnoxious. Perhaps being confronted with the reality of war had stomped out some of her delusions. Though Toph could still annoy the hell out of them when she wanted to.

"It's not that funny. Those pirates could have seriously hurt or even killed them for the theft of the scroll," Suki reminded her.

Toph waved it off. "Nah, don't be a stick in the mud. Turned out all right, didn't it?"

"Really?" Suki crossed her arms. "Let's wait until you are in serious danger and we laugh at your peril. Would you like that? Hm?"

Toph stopped and turned to Suki, her sightless eyes open wider than usual. Toph then quickly turned away, unwilling to let the others see how her face had colored slightly. Suki did have a point. Losing her interest in talking any further, Toph let herself fall to the ground, taking solace in the familiar earth beneath her.

Suki had to remind herself that Toph still was very immature. Was I like this as well at that age? she wondered to herself. She then looked to Katara. "Still, you as a thief..."

"It's not theft!" Katara defended herself. "Those pirates clearly had stolen it, so I simply liberated stolen writings of the Water Tribe."

Suki already knew she was talking against a wall. "All right, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Aang for his part played with the bison whistle he'd bought. Blowing into it, no sound came out. However, he then saw Appa looking to him, despite the thing seemingly having made no sound. "Well, I will be! It really works! Appa, now I can call you whenever I really need you!"

The big sky bison let out a deep groan which could be interpreted as him telling his friend to not treat him like a taxi service.

"How did Appa hear something? That thing didn't make a sound," Sokka wondered, wondering about the whistle.

"Oh, bisons have a much better hearing," Aang explained. "They can hear stuff we can't. Oh, by the way, you want to later help me scrape off the dirt between Appa's toes?"

"Hard pass." No way Sokka woud get roped into that.

Katara meanwhile took a look at the scroll. "Well, this looks more complicated than my other scrolls. Still, I won't give those jerks any excuse to exclude me."

Aang, having noticed what Katara was doing, was impressed how determined Katara was to claim her rightful training. "With all what I need to learn, maybe I should get a headstart as well? I've never done waterbending before. At least not that I can remember about."

Katara felt like an idiot. "Why didn't we think about this before?" Rolling up the scroll, Katara gave Aang an encouraging look. "Come, let's go to the nearby river. I'll show you everything I can do and then we can go through the scroll together!"

"Well, we do have the entire day left. How about a little spar, Sokka? Let's see how far you have come with battle fans," Suki offered to Sokka when seeing how Katara and Aang were walking off to the river in order to read the scroll about waterbending. It was best to leave the benders to their own business.

Some months ago Sokka would have been insulted by a girl offering him training. Now however it was the most natural thing in the world to him. Sokka did like Suki because of two things. First, she was a serious warrior and had earned his respect. Second, because of Suki being Suki. He would not tell her, at least not yet, but he always felt happier when she was close by. Having grown up without any girls his age that weren't his sister, this was still new to him, although he did like the feeling a lot.

He also looked at the battle fans. They were Suki's spare pair and that she had gifted them to him was a gesture he only now understood fully. It not only was about trust but also her believing in him, which meant a lot to him after years of failure.

Their little spar with battle fans soon started and Sokka really enjoyed it.

"Really good! One wouldn't even know that you're just doing this for a short time!" Suki said, while putting Sokka back into a defensive position.

"As you told me, I'm a fast learner!" Sokka reminded her, before again pressing forward.

Suki knew that his progress in this short time was insane. It revealed how capable of learning Sokka was, once he got the stimuli needed. "I see it as bigger progress that you are willing to learn from a girl."

"Hey, it's not that I have anything against girls! It's just that I couldn't imagine them as warriors," Sokka defended himself. "That, and I especially don't mind being taught by you."

"Oh?" She hadn't expected him to admit that and all of a sudden she didn't feel too confident anymore. "Really? What makes me so special?"

Blocking a strike, Sokka rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! You are very patient and understanding and are really good at explaining everything. You didn't make fun of me when I admitted I can't fight to save my life. I like you, because..." Sokka stopped talking and blushed a little.

Likes as in 'like-like'? Suki wondered. "Oh... eh... So why do you like me?" she asked.

"Because... because... Suki, you are a really beautiful girl. A beautiful girl who's really nice, patient and yet is no pushover. You know how to fight, to defend yourself..." Sokka stopped talking when he saw Suki looking surprised. "I'm babbling, aren't I?"

"No...I... You really think I'm all these things?" Suki asked, her face starting to become red as she felt flattered by how Sokka saw her.

"Yes! It's... it's like a dream coming true. OK, the fighting thing came after I met you, but now I'm unable to respect a girl if she's incapable of defending herself. Damn, Suki, I really don't want to sound corny, but should I have a girl of my dreams, you'd be a really good fit," Sokka finally confessed. Strange that it happened during a spar.

Now that blush spread over Suki's entire face. "Oh... I don't know what to say... I wondered..."

"Eh, yes?" Sokka probed, hoping he wouldn't have to reveal more of his feelings.

Suki knew, now was her time to confess her feelings. "Back home, most boys were intimidated by me. Those who weren't, were either wimps or brutes. You... you are better than all of them."

"Oh... wow...wwooooaahh!" Sokka had stopped, thus causing Suki's strike to almost connect. Sokka stumbled and fell into her, in return causing her to lose her balance. With a loud -thud-, both of them hit the ground.

"You know, this is kind of familiar," Sokka said, when seeing how he was lying on Suki, their faces almost touching. They had full body contact and like last time felt each other's breath.

Suki couldn't help but to laugh a little. "Yes, only that this time you are lying on me. I have to admit, it's not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be." She then noticed that their faces had inched even closer together. "Uhh, Sokka? I know this is kind of a personal question..."

"You want me to come even closer?" he guessed.

Suki blushed a little. "The past years I had been more warrior than girl. Now the girl wants a bigger share of me." She stopped when she realized how she was babbling. "Just be careful, all right?"

"Don't worry." Sokka said, before their lips gently touched.

It was not a deep or intense kiss, but for both of them it was the very first one and that made it special. When they parted again a little bit later, they were both blushing and smiling. It was clear that they had enjoyed this a lot.

"I guess this answers the question?" Sokka suggested.

Suki took a deep breath. "Well, it seems we both like each other. I really want to do more of this."

"Oh boy..."

It effectively killed the mood when they heard Toph sigh. The earthbender was groaning as if she was enduring horrible torture. "Must you guys do that while I'm present? You know I can feel everything through the ground. I don't get what's so great about it."

Suki sighed while she and Sokka got up. "Trust me, Toph, once you are a little older, you'll see the appeal of it. Then you'll understand why people like doing it."

Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "I still don't get what's so great about it."

Sokka gave Suki a look that made his thoughts clear. 'She will understand sooner than she might think, once puberty fully kicks in' was the message.

At the shore of the nearby river meanwhile, Katara and Aang were reading through the scroll.

"Man, while the art on this thing is really nice, the movements look rather complicated," Aang said, while looking through the scroll.

"As much as I want to start doing these, we should start slow and keep to what I have learned from the southern scrolls. After all, you've never done waterbending, did you?" Katara asked, while rolling up the scroll.

"No, not even once. Where do we start?" Aang asked, looking at the lake in anticipation.

While Katara knew Aang was eager, she doubted he would get results right away. After all, it did take her putting in really hard work to do so. "Let's start with the basics. If you want to control the water, you first have to get a feeling for it. Water is always changing and you need to keep a firm hold on it. Here, let me show you."

Katara drew some water from the river, moving it around while seemingly violating the laws of gravity. Recently, her bending powers had improved a lot compared to how of little use they had been before. Katara felt proud how far she had come with nothing but hard work - and some help by finally getting concrete instructions in form of scrolls.

"Hey, Katara, look at this!"

Katara's water splashed down when she looked in shock at how Aang was imitating her easily. He seemed to have lots of fun playing with the floating water. Katara tried to find words. "Aang?... How?... On your first try."

Aang was oblivious to her shock, being too happy at these fast results. "I have no idea. I just did as you said and it worked right away. Man, you're an awesome teacher."

"On your first try..." Katara had to sit down.

"Hey, Katara, what can you teach me next?" Aang ask enthusiastically, still oblivious to her worsening mood.

"Do you even care that you did this on the first try, while I needed years to come that far?" she growled, feeling deeply hurt in her pride of her waterbending abilities.

In the tribe she was the only waterbender left, thus she - of course without noticing - had put herself on a pedestal and thought of herself as the norm. After all, she had no one to compare herself to, just old stories. It was utterly shocking to see someone doing so much better than her at what she had thought was her destiny. She had not imagined it to be like this.

"Oh?" Aang needed a moment before he understood. "OH!" The water splashed down when when his joy evaporated, ending his concentration as well. "Katara, believe me I didn't plan to upstage you!"

"Too late," Katara hissed. "I should have known. You are the freaking Avatar. Of course it comes easy to you."

"Eh..." Aang couldn't exactly deny that and he deflated. "Yeah, the Avatar. I bet I just tapped into the knowledge of a previous Avatar, while you worked really hard for it."

Katara looked up when hearing how downcast Aang sounded. "Aang?"

"You know, being the Avatar cheapens a lot of stuff you accomplish. Remember how I said I was an airbending prodigy? Guess what many of the other boys said after it was announced I'm the Avatar. Suddenly everyone thought it wasn't such a big thing anymore. That's one of the reasons I don't like being the Avatar," Aang explained.

"Oh, Aang, I..." Katara's anger left her. "Sorry... I was just so shocked that you had such an easy time doing that."

Aang had never revealed to them how exactly his life had changed after being revealed as the Avatar, only that it had sucked. Now the picture was slowly coming together and she honestly hoped he would soon tell them the entire story. Being the Avatar was a sore topic for Aang - it was a duty he had never wanted but which was given to him by birth.

"You know, water is a lot like air. It always changes and is very flexible. I guess that's a big part why it came so easy to me," Aang tried to explain. "You said that was easy to you. Maybe the harder stuff won't come that easy to me?"

Katara knew that any kind of jealously was misplaced. "Well... Let's see about that."

Interestingly, further in Aang did start to have serious trouble when it came to the finer points of waterbending. He had real difficulties with forming the water into a specific shape and it was next to impossible for him to actually keep that shape for longer than a few seconds. That told Katara that while Aang had great potential for waterbending and had little trouble actually doing it, he had next to none of the relatively fine control she had gained over the years.

"Man, looks like experience DOES make a difference," Aang finally said once they had went through a lot of the things Katara could do with waterbending. They had decided to stop when Aang by accident had soaked himself.

Katara would never admit that this had been good for her ego. "Well, at least we know what the problem is. While you have lots of talent, as soon as it gets more complicated..."

"Yeah, my control sucks. Guess I have to leave out the really cool stuff until I'm better," Aang admitted, remembering how Monk Gyatso had told him to improve on his concentration.

"It's not only that, but I noticed you getting distracted multiple times and easily get bored when the lecture is longer," Katara added while pulling the water out of Aang's clothes.

"Eh... yes. Monk Gyatso also told me that I'm not exactly a good student when it comes to listening to lessons," Aang admitted, remembering several scoldings from his mentor.

"OK, lessons are over for now, but first I want to try the water whip from the scroll. It doesn't require very fine control and then I can defend myself with water," Katara said, taking a look at the scroll. "Let me try it and you can then later imitate my movements once you feel ready for it."

Katara gathered the needed water and tried the move. However, something went wrong and instead of the desired target, the whip hit Momo, who had been watching everything, throwing the lemur into the river. Of course he didn't stay there for long. Jumping out of the water, he let of a stream of screeching which Aang and Katara guessed could be curses, while looking angrily at Katara.

"Momo, believe me I didn't plan to hit you," Katara pleaded.

Momo gave Katara one last, mean look, before before he ran to where Appa was sleeping, hiding in the thick fur of the sky bison in order to dry off and be left alone for a while. They wondered again what had happened to this lemur that he was seemingly much more intelligent than he should have been. Aang had a feeling his late mentor was responsible for this.

"Oh, well. Let's hope we won't have more accidents," Aang said.

...at the same time, in the colonies...

"Now of all times we suffer from engine failure! We're supposed to scout ahead, not be behind them," Zuko complained while they walked through the streets of a coastal colony.

"Well, that had to happen. You can only run on full speed for so long before it damages the engines," Iroh said, while taking a look around. "I wonder what treasures I can get in this town."

"Oh no! Not again!" Zuko groaned, having forgotten his uncle's love for shopping.

"And I thought according to cliche it's women who are obsessed with shopping," Mai commented dryly, while Ursa was hard-pressed to keep down a giggle.

Zuko hoped it wouldn't get worse.

Rushing towards the border near Crescent Island had taxed the engines of their old ship to the maximum and they were now suffering the foreseeable engine failures. They had managed to get into the port of this colony, but for the moment were grounded until the repairs were done. Even hiring the best workers the colony had to offer however, it would take a day or two before they could set sail again. It was a reality that Zuko didn't like at all.

At least during that fiasco Zuko had not been forced to actually fight against his own nation. He already was feeling conflicted enough after all. His decision to actually help Aang reach Roku now meant he was even deeper in it. Technically he already was a massive traitor to the Fire Nation, yet he didn't feel like it. This was causing serious tension inside Zuko, even though he was trying to hide it.

"Uncle, this is just an excuse to again buy all kind of junk you'll never need," Zuko protested.

"You might call it junk, but I call it a relaxing experience. That, and I have always found a use for the things I buy," Iroh reminded him.

"Like that dreadful music instrument of yours?" Mai asked, making no secret that she remembered this incident all too well. "It certainly did have a use: making the entire crew dislike you."

"Ursa, dear, I know you'll come to my rescue," Iroh asked, giving her a hopeful look.

"Well, I wouldn't know. Something on that day caused me to have a migraine and I locked myself in my quarters," she said, revealing an amazing level of snark in the process.

Iroh looked defeated, knowing he would never again get a chance to touch that music instrument.

Her being snarky was a side of his mother that Zuko didn't see often, but it showed why Mai did like her so much. It was a reminder that his mother was an outsider to the nobility, sporting character traits no noblewoman would ever have. It also again reminded him how poor of a fit she had been for life in the palace. In retrospect he now knew how much she must have hated that cage of rules, to never be allowed to do the things she liked. Also, like him she lost her home but gained her freedom in the process.

Suddenly someone ran from around the corner, directly into him! He and the other man fell to the ground.

"Damn it! Don't you have eyes in your head?!" Zuko cursed.

The other man, who looked like a farmer in his thirties, looked downright mortified. "I'm sorry! I didn't look where I was going, I was too dis..." He stopped when finally looking up. "You... you are Prince Zuko!"

The sudden change of the man's mood threw Zuko off-balance. "Yes? So what?"

Suddenly the man fell to his knees in front of him. "Please, you have to help our village! I'm desperate and the guard has laughed me away!"

"Young man, I think you should calm down and stop degrading yourself like that," Iroh told the man. "I think this will be important, so we should talk about this in a more fitting atmosphere."

A bit later, they all set in a tea house at a secluded table.

"Only you would think of a tea house as 'fitting atmosphere'.," Mai said, while once again understanding why Zuko at times wondered about his uncle.

"Only in time you'll understand how calming a tea house can be," Iroh told her, then took a taste of the tea. "Well, acceptable." Everyone translated that as 'good enough to return'.

Zuko finally had enough and looked to the man who had begged him on his knees. "Well, I have no sense for tea. Let's get to business. Who are you and what could be so bad that you begged me on your knees?"

The stranger looked nervous to actually be in company of so much royalty. "My name is Ze-Long and I am a representative of the recently established farming village of Gaipan some hours up the river. Our community entirely consists of farmers who have moved to this part of the colonies after being forced to sell their small parcels of land in the Fire Nation to the crown due to them no longer being able to work economically with so little land."

"An old problem," Ursa sighed.

The truth of the matter was, that the ancient inheritance laws of the Fire Nation concerning farm land caused it to be split between the children of the deceased. That rule came from a time when people died often and the land would merge back once distributed under the surviving siblings. However, with people living longer and becoming more healthy, it resulted in the farm land splintering until farmers were left with uneconomically little pieces land.

The government did know of the problem and did nothing to reform inheritance laws. It instead opted to buy the land when the farmers whose land had become too small had to give up. By now the government had gathered considerable farming land and made the former owners mere workers. Therefore it was no wonder those people left.

And that was another part of the perverse plan behind it.

The government got massive swaths of agricultural land, thus basically nationalizing food production, and the farmers leaving for the colonies, where those inheritance laws didn't exist, would increase the population of colonists while also making control of the land tighter. The government got double the benefit by not changing the laws.

"At first it was a peaceful place. However, recently our village gets terrorized by a gang of teenage brigands who hide in the forest surrounding our village. They kill or steal our cattle, burn our crops and attack people outside the village. Thankfully there are no deaths yet. I was sent to get help from the guard but they simply laughed me off; said they have no time to care for some peasants," Ze-Long explained the problem.

Ursa let out a very unladylike snort. "They are paid by the government for the safety of the colonies. Of course in their mind this means nothing at all."

"We're desperate. Of course we have heard the news of your banishment, but I hope it means you won't brush aside our suffering like it's nothing. We don't have weapons and no firebenders live in our village. Please, you are our best hope in this," Ze-Long said, obviously trying hard not to sound too much like a beggar.

"Well, I don't know..." Zuko was unsure, especially since this came out of nowhere. He looked to his companions for advice.

Iroh set aside his cup. "Prince Zuko, remember that our ship is still grounded until the repairs are done. This means you will have more than enough time to take care of this matter."

"Also, since you do want to take responsibility for our nation in the future, you have to start somewhere. Now you can show that you do care," Ursa reminded her son.

Mai rolled her eyes when Zuko looked to her. "What? You know I'll help you, no matter what you decide. So stop being so indecisive and finally get on with it."

Zuko looked back to Ze-Long.

...the next day...

"Well, this is something different for once. Good thing we don't have to get there on foot," Mai said, while watching the surrounding landscape move by.

Since the village of Gaipan was only a short distance away from the river it was decided to use the small steamboat normally stored deep inside the ship to drive upstream. Not only would it save them lots of time, but also lots of strength. There really was no reason to walk the entire way after all and Mai had even remarked that the only thing it would accomplish was, to give them blisters on their feet.

"Is your village close?" Zuko asked Ze-Long while looking around.

"Yes. The pier for the fishing boats should be nearby, right after the next curve of the river," Ze-Long told him while observing their surroundings. However, looking around, he became confused. "Strange... Normally the boats should be out on the river at this time of the day."

Once the pier came into view, it was clear why there weren't any boats out. They spotted what had been several boats pulled ashore, now burnt-out hulks, while on one side of the pier there were signs that some boats had been sunk outright. In silence they docked, then inspected the burnt-out remains of the boats.

"This is fresh, barely a day old," Iroh observed, after taking a closer look. "These were all the village's fishing boats?"

Ze-Long looked close to despair. "Yes, and it will be very expensive to replace them. Why are they doing this? What have we done to deserve such hatred? We are just peaceful farmers!"

Ursa could only shake her head at such senseless destruction. "Whoever it is, they seem to have a problem with the Fire Nation in general."

Nothing more was said while they walked through a short stretch of forest which separated the pier from the village. Whatever small doubts had remained at Ze-Long's tale were now gone. At the same time it made them wonder what these teenagers were thinking they were going to accomplish with this. It seemed totally senseless and without any form of higher goal. Terror for it own sake.

Then Gaipan came into view. It was a fairly average village and the wall surrounding it was a reasonable security measure. Other than that, it didn't look any different from the other villages Zuko hd seen during his travels. Of note was an almost empty riverbed, a bridge leading over it into the village.

"This looks very recent," Mai observed, before spotting a large dam a bit in the distance. "You dammed it off?"

"Oh yes. The whole area had been rather swampy before the dam was built, reducing the flow to the main river into a mere trickle. Without the dam the whole village would vanish into the mud," Ze-Long explained while they walked through the gate.

They hadn't expected to get crowded by the villagers as soon as they entered. They were bombarded with questions and the faces of the villagers showed surprise and hope when seeing them. It was a very strange experience for Zuko, who was not used to people actually appreciating his presence. After all, while he no longer got looks of scorn in the colonies, people now tended to look at him in pity. It was a nice change to be appreciated like this.

It took a while before order was restored and they sat together with the village leader, who gave more details to their problem.

"To think a gang of teenagers can cause so much trouble," Iroh mused, giving Zuko a very knowing look.

"Well, one of them is certainly no teenager. Some giant of a man who's favoring brute force," the village leader explained.

"Is there anything else we need to know? Any information could be important," Ursa asked him, once he was done with explanations.

"Not to my knowledge, I only have some general information about this village to offer. It was settled only recently and there are the ruins of an Earth Kingdom village a bit further down the river. As far as I know it got destroyed around eight years ago. Ever since then there's an army path through the valley, but the soldiers generally never bother us on their way to the front."

It was a start. After all, every lead could be important.

A little bit later they walked through the forest.

"You really think a destroyed village will tell us anything?" Mai asked, making no secret she found it to be a waste of time.

"Those teenage brigands have to come from somewhere. Maybe we'll find some answers in the ruins," Zuko told her while the forest opened up to reveal the ruins of the village. "Although considering the state of the ruins, I have to doubt it."

The only thing that had survived the attack were the walls. Everything else had been burned away, leaving charred wood and a mixture of mud and ashes. If there had been any hints in these ruins - as unlikely as that was due to the sheer destruction - they were long gone by now. A superficial inspection was enough to show that any attempt to look further would be useless.

"Well, at least we can take a good guess what made them that aggressive," Ursa concluded, wanting to leave this depressing place. "If they fled from this there is no doubt it'd have made them incredibly hateful towards the Fire Nation, although that's no excuse for their actions... Is something wrong, Mai?"

Mai had become a little tense, something only noticed by those who knew her. "Yes..." Her voice was a whisper. "We are being watched. Over there in the trees."

They tried to not act any different while pretending to look through the ruins. "There are two of them. One is armed with a bow, the other one with swords. Both of them are around Zuko's age," Mai told them what she had observed while they walked behind a wall.

Zuko took a look to where he knew these two were hiding. "The one with the bow is our main concern. Let's see how they'll react..."

In the trees, every of their movements was being observed.

"Clearly Fire Nation. What's your impression, Longshot?" a teenage boy asked, clearly itching for a fight.

"Hm, we should be careful," Longshot, a teenager with a guarded expression that could rival Mai's, grunted while taking a closer look. "The men are wearing uniforms. No weapons, so they could be firebenders. The woman doesn't move like a warrior. However, that girl makes me nervous."

"A girl making you nervous? You've been hanging around Smellerbee for too long," the teenager snorted.

"No, it's not that. She moves like a predator ready for the kill. She's dangerous, Jet," Longshot warned, never stopping taking aim with his bow.

"I've never seen you this nervous, despite knowing you all my life. As for them, I really hate how they are snooping around our old home. Let's get the others. I want reinforcements when we deal with them," Jet decided.

They retreated, thinking they had not been seen, walking through the forest back to their home. They were silent, not only to not attract attention to themselves, but also since Longshot wasn't one for conversation. He only spoke when he felt his input was needed, but otherwise he kept silent. Jet knew this unnerved the others, but having known him for all his life he didn't mind any longer. He was already occupied with ideas how to deal with the intruders and therefore paid little mind to such things.

In the heart of the forest they finally reached their settlement. Built among the trees it was quite a good hideaway. On a first look one could even mistake it as the sanctum of people who wanted to live in peace with nature. No one was in sight, but Jet and Longshot knew that their friends were too good to be caught when someone approached their hideout.

"Smellerbee, Sneers, Duke, Pipsqueak! We've got a job to do!" Jet called.

Four people walked out of the shadows. The first was a teenage girl with short, reddish hair and painted-on face markings who looked very boyish. Next was a teenager who was bulky enough that one could think he was older than he actually was. The last two were a really strange pair; a huge and muscular man in his early twenties and a teenage boy that was way smaller than most of his age.

"What's up? You sound like someone pissed you off," Smellerbee said, taking in how tense Jet looked.

Jet didn't look too thrilled. "Yeah. Fire Nation. Four of them with at least two firebenders. Snooped around the ruins of my old village. I think they are trying to find us. Let's better give them what they deserve."

"You mean...?" the Duke said with wide eyes.

Jet smirked. "We put that off long enough. Since the Fire Nation sees us as enemies anyway, we now go all out. Get your weapons, we leave right away."

Seeing the others scramble, Jet turned to Longshot. "You think they can get themselves to do it?"

Longshot grunted. "They agreed with your bigger plan. They are ready to draw blood."

o

"No one yet. I wonder what they are waiting for?" Zuko wondered.

They had went through the forest and around the village, now getting close to the dam that was stopping the village from getting flooded. Just looking at the dam already revealed it to be far bigger than they'd thought. Should it burst, the entire village would be flooded in mere seconds.

"They are watching us..." Mai cautioned, being better at tracking than Zuko was. "They keep to the trees and are clearly waiting for a good chance to attack us. I've spotted six of them."

"Are they any good?" Zuko asked.

"Let's put it this way: they clearly think they are hiding well but obviously have never met someone with more than just rudimentary tracking skills," Mai explained, almost looking offended. "As for fighting, one's so small, he'll not be much of a threat, two are packed with muscles but clearly have no clue about anything beyond hitting hard and the only girl in the group is built like a weed. Really the two who watched us earlier are the most dangerous ones."

"Too bad we left our weapons behind," Zuko cursed, feeling his swords could have been useful against the swordsman.

True, Mai didn't like using a sword, but considering she otherwise would have been helpless in melee, she felt the need to learn using one. Still, the weapon's weight always bothered her. "It's not like I'm weaponless. They won't expect what they can't see."

Zuko knew this to be true. Some time ago Mai had actually shown him exactly in which places she was carrying throwing weapons. Zuko had blushed at that time since it clearly also was Mai's version of a striptease, even though Mai's underwear had stayed on. But her slowly shedding the outer layers had made him aware of two things. Mai clearly found a liking to teasing him and she was carrying more weapons than he'd thought, some in places better left unmentioned.

They then finally reached the crown of the dam, the forest ending there.

"Die, Fire Nation scum!" someone screamed, before the attack happened.

...

The sad 'fight' that follows is too humiliating for description. Therefore the beautiful flower-covered curtain of silence is lowered for a moment to preserve the dignity of the attackers.

...

Some time and violence later, all six attackers were on the ground; disarmed and covered with bruises. They also looked utterly humiliated while their leader looked downright pissed. Since he was the only one still trying to make trouble, they had tied him up with their own rope - which obviously had been intended for them - to stop him from getting violent again.

The fight had been a very one-sided one. The bowman was essentially useless after one projectile from Mai had cut the string of his bow. The small teenager and the girl were obviously not used to fighting someone on equal terms and were quickly subdued. The two heavy bruisers were great melee fighters, but clearly not used to go one-on-one against trained firebenders - good for them that years of training just resulted in some singed hair as the worst injury.

The leader had been the only real problem. He was a good swordfighter and they didn't have any melee weapons. Still, in the end him not knowing how to battle a firebender caused him to lose. Getting kicked into the balls from behind by Mai hadn't hurt, either.

"Well, now that all of you are more or less peaceful, you can finally tell us what you intend to accomplish with your actions," Iroh told them, acting as if nothing of big interest had happened.

"Hurting the Fire Nation, what else?!" the leader screamed, again trying to break the rope to no avail.

"Man, Jet, calm down! Don't give them any reason to kill us!" the girl hissed.

"Kill you?" Mai snorted, looking offended. "If we had wanted to kill you, you would be all dead by now. We actually had to try hard to not hurt you too much."

"You expect us to believe that?" Jet snorted, clearly not buying it.

"I honestly don't care what you believe. We want to know why you are terrorizing the people of Gaipan," Zuko said, giving Jet a hard look. He knew this kind of people.

Jet said nothing and just gave him a look that said: 'Do you really have to ask?'.

Ursa sighed when seeing that this Jet was being intentionally difficult. She took a look at the other five. "Well, since this is getting us nowhere. Perhaps we should first know how all of you come to live outside of any village."

They clearly hadn't expected being asked how they come to live in the forest. They had expected a swift death or torture. Surprisingly, it was Longshot who first broke his silence. "Well, Jet and me lived in the same village. You've seen what happened to it. We escaped just in time. The others joined us later on."

"Well, my parents were killed by firebenders... I could live with my uncle in Yu Dao, but I don't want to, as it's in the middle of the colonies," Sneers said.

Smellerbee sighed. "When the Fire Nation seized my parents' land to make them simple peons, I ran away."

The huge Pipsqueak shrugged. "Lost everyone early. Grew up on the road until I met them."

That left the Duke. "I was a street rat; never had anyone. They took me in when I tried to steal food from them."

"It does explain why you joined him. He offered to give you the home you were missing in your lives. However, I still wonder what you were trying to accomplish by destroying the lives of these people. Surely there is a better way than terror?" Iroh asked them, having an idea what could be going on.

That finally made Jet break his silence. "Shut up! We accomplished a lot against the Fire Nation. We are a constant thorn in their side! We are constantly hiding from them; wanted enemies of the Fire Nation!" He stopped when Mai actually laughed, finding the sight disturbing for some reason. "What...?"

"You really think that?" Zuko asked, wondering if the guy was a bit delusional. "The only reason we're here is because the guard didn't even want to be bothered with the whole thing. They think of it as not worth their time. I doubt they even know who you are. Not exactly wanted by the entire Fire Nation."

"Jet, you told us we have to stay hidden because there are wanted posters of us!" Smellerbee complained.

"Also, was it your idea to prey on those who can't defend themselves?" Ursa asked, seeing the first crack in the group. There clearly was something wrong.

Jet's anger began to rise. "So what? They are Fire Nation. They all have to pay!"

Ursa shook her head at so much anger. "Remember why you ended up here. Now look at what you are doing. You try to hurt and kill those who can't defend themselves. You destroy their livehoods, use terror and violence and excuse it with the greater good. Honestly, you are becoming just like the people who ruined your lives."

"Damn it, shut up!" Jet shouted, becoming angrier by the moment. To his annoyance, his companions did not speak up, clearly hit by these words. "Don't give in! Not so close to final victory!"

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Any of you know what he means with that?"

There was silence before Longshot spoke up. "We planned to steal explosives and blow up the dam."

"Traitor..." Jet growled, feeling betrayed by his oldest friend.

Iroh gave Them a thoughtful look. "You wanted to destroy the dam, therefore destroying Gaipan and killing everyone inside. Were you really ready to accept so much blood on your hands? To be responsible for mass murder? Think about it. Had you done it, you would have become no different than those who you despise. No different at all..."

"No, there is a difference! The whole valley would have been freed!" Jet shouted, seeing that the others started to crack.

"Really? And then what? Be proud of a valley full of dead bodies?" Iroh knew he was starting to get through to the others. "You can't guess how many times I've heard officers making flimsy excuses before they commit the most horrible of atrocities."

"Silence! Just be silent!" Jet screamed, finally losing it. "They all have to die! They are the scum of the world and I can't rest until every single of them is a corpse!"

"Jet, you are scaring me..." the Duke whimpered, trying to find refuge in Pipsqueak's arms. The big man said nothing but looked disturbed.

"Jet.. I.. I don't even recognize you anymore. You... you really think they all have to be killed?" Smellerbee asked hesitantly, starting to become afraid of their leader.

"Every single one! They are all guilty!"

"Damn, no!" Sneers decided, moving a bit away from the others. No one stopped him. "I... thought you were right. I thought nothing about blowing up the dam... Now... No way I would kill children! Forget it!"

"Then you don't have what it takes to do what needs to be done! I knew right from the start you're not as dedicated to the cause as the others! The Fire Nation tainted you early on!" Jet accused him.

"He's not the only one." Pipsqueak was carrying the Duke, walking to Sneers. "My main concern is protecting the Duke. He's scared and wants out and I go with him."

Enraged, Jet looked to Longshot and Smellerbee. "And you two? What's your decision?"

"Jet... you... you are really serious? Killing them all... even the children?" Smellerbee stammered, having difficulty to recognize their leader of years.

"They are all guilty by birth. You agreed to the plan and now you chicken out?" It seemed Jet would take her leaving him especially hard.

"I... I agreed and thought nothing of it... I ignored what it would mean..." Smellerbee had become pale and then jumped up, running to the others. "No, I don't want to end in that place where you are!"

Jet growled in disappointment. "I guess that means it's again just the two of us, right Longshot?"

"No."

"What do you mean, no?" Jet gasped, seeing in shock how his oldest friend joined the others.

"I thought I know you... I saw how you changed over the years. Excused it and tried to look away when thinking about the final consequence... I can't anymore. You're no longer the Jet who was my friend. I see that now."

"You can leave. We won't stop you," Ursa told them, seeing that there would be no need to hold them back.

Together, the five of them started to leave. "...maybe my uncle in Yu Dao needs some help. Not the best place, but if you are desperate..." They then vanished in the woods.

"TRAITORS! And I thought you were dedicated to the cause!" Jet screamed, then looked at his captors in fury. "Well, go on! Kill me!"

Zuko snorted, then gave Mai a look and she slammed a stiletto handle-first into the ground. "There's no need for this. You're beaten. Without them, you are nothing. You can cut your ropes on that but by that time they are long gone... Come, let's leave."

"You damn Fire Nation scum!" Jet screamed while they left. "I'll find you and then you'll be sorry you ever crossed me! You made yourself an enemy, you hear?! I'll find you and then you'll be sorry for this very day!" To his rage, they ignored him while walking away.

Iroh shook his head while Jet's angry shouts faded with the distance. "This war is tearing the world apart. The seeds of hatred are falling on fertile ground. Now you see how anger and hatred can twist even the best intentions into something very dark."

Despite having saved Gaipan from destruction, they felt a bit somber at seeing where Zuko could have ended up without support.

...three days later, a coastal town...

"I told you we would miss nothing if we skip the Divide. We are now well ahead of schedule," Sokka said with a hint of pride while they were taking a break in a small coastal town before they would continue their journey to the meeting point.

"But the Great Divide did look interesting from above! It could have been great to explore it," Aang complained, bordering on whining. "It's not often you see something like that and we simply skipped it."

Katara quickly gave him a piece of melon in order to stop his whining. Sometimes he's really showing his age...

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... You know that for me, that's just a big hole in the ground. It's hardly anything to get excited over," Toph snarked, before taking a bite out of a chunk of melon, causing melon juice to splatter everywhere.

"Toph, you have disgusting manners," Katara complained while knocking against another melon to check if it was OK, before she would buy it.

"What's your point? I was forced to play the part of the well-mannered girl for years. Guess what? I feel far better with being one of the guys. Guys can piss on good manners and do the stuff they like doing. That's what I can relate to," Toph remarked, before spitting out melon seeds.

Katara could only shake her head. "You are impossible."

"Oh, I am. But after years of all the crap I had to endure to become a 'proper lady', I have earned this," Toph said, closing the matter.

Katara by now knew that getting Toph to act more feminine was a lost cause. She also knew Toph was overcompensating; trying to forget some nasty recent events. At least two times Toph had woken up during the night with a cry of terror, but then insisted she got it. Katara knew about trauma and denial, and thus ensured Toph would feel included.

Katara then looked around, looking a bit bewildered. "Feels strange. We're in the middle of Fire Colony territory, yet I don't spot a single soldier."

"Oh, you really are foreigners," one pedestrian said, shaking her head. "We all here are part of the Fire Nation colonies. They claimed this area many decades ago and we have arranged our lives with that fact. Life after all has to continue. Why do you think you are paying in Fire Nation money?"

Katara was surprised by this. "If this has been colony territory for so long, then why...?"

"There are no colonists living here since this is really as unimportant as it could get," another pedestrian explained as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "But look a bit closer and the signs are everywhere."

They did look around and now actually noticed all the small things. While the people did mostly wear Earth Kingdom green, there were red parts incorporated into their clothes. The newer buildings looked like they were build with fire safety in mind, they did spot a Fire Nation flag over one building and even managed to make out a small post office using hawks.

"And we didn't even notice. Wow," Sokka said.

"Now that I think about it, I noticed all of you are mixing some terms from the Fire Nation into your speech," Aang realized.

"Good observation, boy," an old man nodded. "We adapted to the new realities. It's a slow but steady process. Just five years ago, when a new road was built close by to connect two colonies, the village successfully lobbied for a short branch line into the village. It helped commerce a lot."

Aang scratched his bald head after hearing all of that. "Those things are really more complicated than I first thought. It's like Fire Nation stuff is dripping in piece by piece."

Katara felt a bit uncomfortable that technically they were walking around a Fire Colony, then noticed the vendor looking impatient. "Uh, thanks." Paying for the final fresh melon, she took a look around. "Where's Suki?"

"Oh, she's down there at the docks. Looks like there were this fisherman and his wife arguing and she couldn't help herself and wanted to be the peacemaker," Sokka told her, then looked down the docks. "Looks like she doesn't have much success, however."

Indeed, Suki looked a little desperate, standing between the fisherman and his wife, who were both verbally sniping against each other. As much as Sokka liked Suki, he would not get near this one and instead opted on carrying some of Katara's purchases. Aang however didn't have such reservations and walked closer, only to hear the arguing.

"...and I told you, what you say is rubbish..."

"...you'll bring yourself into an early grave..."

"Hi," Aang said, causing a stop to the shouting.

Suki sighed when seeing him. "Aang, maybe you can get these two to stop arguing."

"Sure. What's the problem?" Aang asked.

The fisherman's wife found her voice first. "This old fool wants to go out for a fishing trip and he's angry I won't come with him. I know there's a storm approaching but I can't convince him not to throw away his life!"

The fisherman snorted. "Storm? Just look around, woman. The sky is totally clear and we have next to no wind. You honestly want to tell me there's a storm approaching?"

"You see the problem?" Suki told him, already looking exhausted. "Aang, as an airbender, can you take a look up there if there is a storm approaching, or not?"

"Sure. We didn't see anything on Appa, but that was hours ago. Let me take a look around. I'll be right back." Unfolding his glider, Aang took off, not even noticing the astonished look the married pair was giving him. Thankfully for Suki, it finally made them shut up.

Manipulating the currents, Aang quickly gained height. Others would have been deathly afraid with a fear of heights at this point, but not Aang. For him it was the most normal thing in the world and a fear of heights was next to unknown with the Air Nomads. It was at times like these where he felt truly free and only the sky was the limit - a moment to ignore all his troubles. Free as a bird.

Up here, he could let his thoughts wander to other things, as operating the glider pretty much was a reflex by now. While the whole thing about ending the war should have occupied his mind, it was something else he was thinking about.

How can I even tell Katara how strange I feel around her? Well, strange in a good way, he thought, while ascending higher.

Aang was in a bit of a dilemma. He was not ignorant about the facts of life - Gyatso had made sure to teach him those before his twelfth birthday to make sure puberty would be less confusing - but actually starting see a girl with something more than just friendship was plain confusing to him. He did like being around Katara and there was a deep sense of friendship. However, at the same time he caught himself looking at other parts of her anatomy and had had some interesting dreams about her.

What would she think of me if she knew I find her that kind of beautiful? he wondered.

Granted, he saw how the interactions between Sokka and Suki had changed. It was nothing blatant, but still noticeable. It also seemed to have made the two of them happier. He could have sworn Katara had looked a little jealous of them. He wondered what that meant. Still, Sokka and Suki were both three years his senior, so it made sense they would be less reserved about such things. It however also made Aang wonder if he was too young to have such thoughts about Katara.

Toph is right about one thing. Growing up does suck.

He also thought about is recent lessons in waterbending.

While he indeed held a great talent for it, Katara's sheer determination to learn as much of it as possible - all due to her knowing that in the North she had to fight for the right learn waterbending - was something else. Aang had been downright humbled when after a training accident Katara had stuck her injured hands into the water and she had healed her injuries by instinct.

Aang on the other hand had struggled to heal even a small cut - though after hours he'd managed to do so. That had resulted in a discussion when Katara wondered why that was, since Air Nomads as pacifists seemed a perfect fit for the healing arts. The only conclusion they came to was, that Aang had no special talent for healing and would have to learn it the hard way.

In a way he was relieved not to be good at something, since it grounded him and showed that just being the Avatar was not a solution to everything. Some of his past lives must have been excellent healers, but that was not helping him in the slightest. Aang simply had no exceptional talent for healing and had to put lots of sweat into it.

Aang stopped his introspection when seeing something at the horizon. "Oh, that's great..."

Descending took far less time. "You better stay! There's a huge storm front approaching! I honestly have no idea how this could have happened on a clear day."

The fisherman's wife gave him a look that said: 'I told you so'. The man grumbled in defeat, but even his pride would not make him go out on sea with a storm approaching. Instead he started to make sure the boat would not be thrown around by the storm.

"Thanks. I had no idea I would step into the middle of a war when I tried to settle their argument," Suki told Aang while they walked back to the others.

"No problem. It gave me some nice quiet for thinking, " Aang replied, then saw the others. "Guys, we need to go back. There's a storm coming up and I want neither our stuff nor Appa get soaked through. You know how much soaked sky bison fur smells."

Sokka and Katara didn't need to be told. They had smelled soaked Appa once before and were not keen on a second time.

o

They had managed to get everything into a cave in the cliff side. Appa's tail end had just entered when it was as if the clouds were bursting open and rain pelted the land. They had barely escaped getting soaked and smelling wet bison fur the entire time. Making a fire to keep warm, they knew they would spend their time in this cave until the storm had gone by.

Watching the storm rage outside, they knew they wouldn't leave this cave for a while. "Oh, wonderful. Looks like we're going to stay in here for a while," Toph said while making herself comfortable with the bare rock.

"Would you rather be out there?" Suki asked her with biting sarcasm.

Toph held up her hands at the mere thought. "No way! I don't want to get soaked to the bone!"

"She's not exactly wrong however. What are we supposed to do while sitting in here?" Sokka wondered.

"Maybe we can play a game of 'I see something you don't'?" Toph suggested, but it earned her silence. "Oh, we must be really messed up if my baiting doesn't work."

"You know..." Aang's words were soft, but all of them gave him their attention. "You never asked me what exactly happened what got me into that iceberg."

"We thought to wait until you want to talk about it on your own," Katara explained. "After all, it can't be easy for you to talk about it, right?"

Aang gave Katara a look of thankfulness that his feelings had been respected. "I know. My whole life changed - and not to the better. But I feel like I have to let it out before it becomes to much for me."

No one made a stupid comment about it and even Toph moved to show she was listening. The girl would not admit it, but she did wonder about Aang, since from the things she was told, she had a guess that his story had to be messed up in some way.

"You guys know that despite what others are telling me, I don't really relish being the Avatar. While the whole war thing plays a big part, it started way before that... at the day the monks told me I am the Avatar."

"Wait, from all I heard the Avatar isn't told until being sixteen," Suki remembered her lessons about Kyoshi's life.

Aang sighed. "Would have been nice. But the monks didn't give me that much time. Here I was, a monk of twelve years who just earned his tattoos, and they presented me with my four childhood toys, which they had used to determine that I'm the Avatar. They told me early because they saw that something nasty was coming up."

"The war..." Katara in a way understood why the monks did so, but had a feeling it would be to Aang's disfavor. "How did you feel about being told?"

"To be honest, I had no idea what to think of it. I didn't feel any different than before. However, I did learn fast how others thought about it." Aang looked sad. "The other acolytes avoided me. They said I have an unfair advantage, even though I didn't change at all. Everything I accomplished now suddenly was devalued. Gyatso tried to keep up my spirits, but the other elders became determined to fill my day with nothing but training."

Sokka raised an eyebrow at that last point. "They couldn't have been that enlightened. Sounds to me they cared me about having some kind of secret weapon."

Aang let out a humorless laugh. "Gyatso told me they no longer saw me - just the Avatar and the role I have to fulfill. And just when I started to feel better, things got a lot worse when I listened in on Gyatso having a serious argument with the other elders."

"Something tells me you didn't like what you heard." Toph would not say it outright, but Aang's story hit closer to home than she wanted to admit.

"Gyatso told them that treating me like a living weapon will only alienate me from everyone and that they can't treat me like that. But the other elders didn't want to hear it. They told him that my needs don't matter compared to what the world needs and decided to send me to another temple for strict training. I was devastated when hearing that. I know now that Gyatso would not let them do that, but before he could tell me, I had already left on Appa."

"Understandable you didn't want to wait for them to do that to you. However, you running away must have had serious consequences," Katara gently told Aang, finally understanding what exactly had happened that made Aang rather sour on the whole Avatar business.

"There already was a big storm coming up when I left. Appa and me, we got in the middle of it and Appa was unable to stay afloat. Both of us fell into the ocean. It was so horribly cold and I knew I would drown at any moment. Suddenly there was a white light... The next thing I remember was you holding me when I woke up."

"The Avatar spirit reacted your pain. But trying to save you, it froze both you and Appa solid into ice." Suki honestly tried to understand the mechanics of that. "Considering how much pathos is made about past Avatars, it's really humbling to hear how thankless of a position it can be."

It was difficult for Suki to admit that, since due to the elevation of Kyoshi to saint-like levels on her home island, many had a highly distorted idea of the Avatar. Hearing Aang's story also made Suki wonder how much of what was written about Kyoshi was blind worship. She had a feeling that Kyoshi also had to have struggled with Avatarhood in some way.

"Well, that was my story. I really felt I needed to get that out." Aang then waited what they would say.

He did not expect to be the target of a group hug. Hell, even Sokka and Toph went along with it. They really wanted to remind him that they were now there for him. Aang felt the whole burden being less crushing when being reminded he no longer was alone. It wasn't him against the rest of the world.

He did feel better after sharing his past with them.

...at the same time...

While the storm had just reached the coastal village, it was already raging over Zuko's ship. Thankfully, Zuko did listen to his uncle's advice and ordered the ship to be anchored in a bay that would shield them from the raging sea. The waves and wind were still rocking the ship, but not nearly as much as on open sea.

Deep inside the ship, almost next to the big furnaces that ran the ship's steam engines and which now were running low to just power the ship, Lt. Jee was enjoying a drink with some of the stokers. Even if not for the fact that the years at sea had made them a tightly-knit community, he had always been more comfortable with simple crewmen than with officers. In the army and navy officers looked down on everyone below them. He couldn't, which had been a contributing factor in making his career a dead end.

"Man, that's really strong but good stuff!" he remarked, after tasting the alcohol one of the stokers had brewed in a small distillation beside the furnaces.

"My whole pride. It took me lots of patience to get the right mixture and brewing it takes time," the stoker said, clearly proud of his accomplishment.

"Better not let Prince Zuko catch you brewing it," Jee cautioned him.

The stoker laughed. "Oh, no problem. He knows; wanted to taste it first. Man, poor Mai had to drag him to his bed after he took a swig and it blew him off his feet. A teenager shouldn't drink this stuff. Granted, that was a year ago and I think he can take it now."

"Could you imagine him taking a drink with you at the start of the journey?" another stoked joked, playing on how useless Zuko had been.

Jee snorted. "No way. He's come a long way since then. He has developed from a royal pain to a worthy crown prince."

"Very nice what you think of my nephew."

They all jumped up when they saw Iroh and Ursa approach. "General Iroh, Lady Ursa, we..." Jee tried to say, but was stopped by Ursa.

"No, you have done nothing wrong. You have spoken very good about my son and frankly we both don't want you to treat us different from the others." She then spotted a full tankard. "Ahh, exactly what I need. You don't mind?"

"No, we don't. But are you sure you want to? It's really... strong..." Jee stopped when Ursa picked up the tankard and took a deep swing from it. Jee couldn't believe it how she'd downed that much without any trouble. "Wow..."

"Ahhh, I needed that!" As soon as she had said that, she seemed to hiccup and... -boooaaarrp- "Ooops, sorry," she excused herself after letting out a loud belch.

"I haven't seen many women who can drink on ex like that without any ill-effect," one of the stokers said in awe.

Ursa had to laugh. "Despite living on this ship for a long time, there are some things you don't know about me. I'm certainly not like the noblewomen who cry when they break a nail."

Iroh had watched everything in amusement. "Would you mind if we sit at the fire? We wanted to give the young people some room. Especially now, since young Mai is suffering from the storm and my nephew is helping her through it."

"She still can't keep it down during rough sea," another stoker laughed, remembering that while Mai got used to living on a ship real fast, the rough sea still caused her stomach to revolt.

Ursa and Iroh sat down at the fire. "In case you are still curious, you have to remember I grew up in an insignificant village under very average circumstances, lived for years as a hermit and have traveled with you for a long time. I can keep my alcohol down, even though I try to not make it a habit. I was a poor fit for life at the royal court."

"I remember how much you suffered. The isolation from everything you knew, the tight rules and finding yourself with literally almost nothing meaningful to do. You were very unhappy," Iroh remarked, remembering these times all too well.

"I have to admit, I still wonder where our journey will go. Oh, I know for sure that the Avatar will rush through his training, but what will come after that?" Lt. Jee wondered.

"Well, we asked that to ourselves. As far as we understand, our biggest task besides helping the Avatar to get his needed training - and I have to add the trainers for the two remaining elements won't be as difficult to find - is to help him gather a force large enough that we can back the Avatar when he forces the decision," Iroh explained.

"Well, that means we will obviously become involved in that. Does it mean he wants to gather forces from the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom as well?" Jee asked, interested in these developments.

Iroh nodded. "Oh yes. While the Avatar alone has enormous power, it still would be futile without others to back him up." Iroh gave Ursa a meaningful look, signaling that they had something else in mind as well. "That, and we are needed to show the other nations that the Fire Nation does not consist solely of bloodthirsty monsters."

The stoker who distilled alcohol laughed. "You mean we have to be role-models? That's rich."

"Well, we can hardly call ourselves role-models. Not with our tack records," Ursa said, clearly including herself. "We just have to show we can be reasonable."

She at least hoped it would work out this way.

At the same time, several decks up, Mai suffered silently.

She prided herself on being able to defend herself, on not being whiny and certainly not being like these others girls she had met in the capital, who were prone to being the damsel in distress due to being useless in general. However, right now she couldn't help but groan, feeling awful due to the rocking of the ship. She had already emptied her stomach, but the urge to expel more overcame her regularly. Right now she really felt like shit and was glad that Zuko was holding her during her suffering.

"I hate this... I hate being weak..." she groaned, fearing that too much motion would upset her stomach yet again.

"I would never think of you being weak," Zuko said, while one of his hands made circular motions on her stomach to calm it down a bit.

"You only say that..." She stopped, gasped and her face became paler than it already was.

Zuko already knew what to do. In one quick motion he shifted their weight and bent her over, so that her face was directly above a bucket at the bedside. He held her hair out of the way while she choked and retched, coughing up some foul stomach juices from her already empty stomach. Finally being done, Mai was pulled back up by Zuko, looking downright miserable.

"Here..." Zuko said, helping her drink some water from a cup to cleanse her mouth and ease the burning sensation in her throat caused by the acid.

Leaning back after she was done, Mai groaned again. "I feel like shit."

"Well, you certainly look like it at the moment," Zuko remarked, knowing she wouldn't be offended by blunt honesty.

"You really know how to talk to a girl," Mai remarked weakly, some of her normal sarcasm getting through.

"You know, this reminds me of something my uncle told me. He said that no one can be strong all the time and that you appreciate those close to you when you have a weak moment."

"Your uncle talks... way too much." Nonetheless she allowed Zuko to hold her a bit closer. She did hate being weak or sick, but Zuko caring so much for her made it more bearable.

Zuko for his part, while hating to have to see Mai being miserable due to being sick, still enjoyed the closeness they both shared at the moment. He knew that Mai could as well have locked herself into her quarters to suffer privately. That she trusted him so much that she allowed him to witness her in such a weak moment showed how close they had grown over time.

Zuko wondered what he would have become without her and decided to not even think about it.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Enemies of the Fire Nation"

Chapter Text

"Yes, they are very impressive - they are best there is, after all," Zhao commented while observing the training of the Yuyan-Archers at Pohuai Stronghold.

"With good reason," Colonel Shinu, the commander of the stronghold, said while clearly being proud of his men. "Their training is strict and uses the newest methods to impart the highest archery skills to them. Selected from already superior archers of the regular army, nothing can top them once being fully trained."

Zhao watched a few of the archers hitting the bullseye on their targets several times in a row. They did so without much pause for aiming. "Very impressive what discipline can achieve..."

"Certainly. These men will never waver from their oath. Well, with one exception, but he's disgraced," Colonel Shinu added, although he gave Zhao a look that said he should finally get to the point.

"Yes, they are one of the most elite units in the army of the Fire Lord, used only sparingly in battle. Exactly what I need in the search for the Avatar," Zhao finally said, returning to the reason why he was being present in the first place.

"Exactly, and that also is why I won't allow you to have any of them at your disposal," the Colonel said, finally coming to his own point while giving Zhao an annoyed look. "Your attempt at buttering me up in honor, but my men are not at your disposal."

"May I ask about the reason why that is?" Zhao asked, clearly displeased at this unfortunate turn of events.

"Gladly. You've already pointed out they are elite soldiers. The Yuyan are one of the most valuable units of the entire army, each one having cost a fortune to train. They are not something I'm about to hand over to some hotshot Commander who's trying to prove himself," Colonel Shinu said.

"Please reconsider. The search for the Avatar..." Zhao tried to explain, only to be interrupted.

"...Is already something being done on a big scale. You won't make any difference with your pet project. Your request is therefore denied and only a direct order from the higher-ups can make me turn over my decision," the Colonel said, this clearly being his final decision.

Zhao growled, but knew that he couldn't go against an appointed unit leader of an elite unit with his rank. Why was it, that someone always put stones into his path? After the disaster at Crescent Isle, where he had failed at all of his goals and even had to report the devastation of the main temple, he had something to prove in order to repair his reputation, which was suffering after letting the Avatar escape a second time. He couldn't let that humiliation stand, especially after also having been made look like a fool by that weakling Prince Zuko two times as well.

After years of rising in the ranks, this now was a serious threat to his power - a fact he disliked very much. Not to speak of the fact that it was endangering his other plans. Catching the Avatar now would make things a lot easier for when his northern plans would be set in motion. He had worked hard to convince the Fire Lord of the validity of his plan after all.

He did not want something to ruin everything on the home stretch.

His thoughts were interrupted when a soldier walked up to them. "Sir, urgent message from the capital!" he reported, handing a hawk message to the Colonel.

Colonel Shinu read it, his expression darkening, before giving the message to Zhao. Zhao in turn smirked when reading the message. "Well, well. It appears I've been promoted to Admiral. Therefore, my request has just transformed into an order."

To be honest, Zhao had already expected that promotion. After all, it was pretty much required for the big plan and Zhao had expected the news to reach him at any day. The timing however couldn't have been better for him and her even wondered if the Fire Lord had known.

The Colonel's expression remained dark, but he knew he now had to follow orders, as much as he disliked it. "As you wish," he almost growled, before leaving.

"Sir, this was attached to the message. For your eyes only," the soldier added to Zhao, handing him another message, this one quite a bit thicker.

Zhao read through the lines, his eyes widening first in surprise and then in satisfaction at his future orders. As expected, the Fire Lord promoted me so that I could lead that historical moment. My lobbying for the operation indeed did pay off... Hmmm, he does mention the war council is petitioning him that I appear before them. I can already imagine that they again want to make things difficult for me.

Zhao looked up into the night sky, seeing the crescent moon between the stars. I have kept the scroll after burning down all the other books and making a run for it. Interesting, that the wisdom of the world will now give the Fire Nation ultimate victory over the Water Tribes.

Zhao was amused that his little adventure of years ago - which he had mostly forgotten for quite some time - would finally pay off.

...two days later...

The group around Aang didn't find their current location very reassuring. It was the abandoned city of Taku, which had been razed by the Fire Nation very early in the war and then had fallen into ruin - essentially just being a huge tomb that no one in their right mind approached.

Normally, they would have made a big detour around such a dire and depressing place and wouldn't have entered; leaving the dead at peace. However, it was the designated rendezvous-point with Zuko - a place where the Fire Nation surely wouldn't bother to look at - thus they did so anyway and just tried to not to disturb the ruins. Taking shelter in one of the buildings that got built directly into the rock of the hill next to the ruins, the group now had to face a different problem - one they had not foreseen coming.

"Damn! -cough- That's way worse than the time -cough- I drank spoiled milk. At least back then -cough- I only got a serious case of the runs," Toph complained, trying to find some warmth inside the sleeping bag.

Toph had come down with some sort of sickness, causing her to have a high fever, coughing fits and a running nose. Her strength had been sapped and even her bending powers had taken a time-out due to her weakened state. Of course that had pissed off Toph to no end, especially since it meant she was truly blind at the moment, but right now she was pretty much bedridden.

The bad thing was, that this sickness seemed to be contagious and Suki had infected herself with it as well, already showing all of the symptoms.

"Nnngghh, that is -cough- way worse than the last time I got the flu," Suki groaned, before accepting some water from Sokka. "-gulp- -gulp- Thanks, Sokka. Oooohhh, I feel like I'm burning up."

Katara felt Suki's forehead, giving her a concerned look. "You're not imagining things. In fact, you have a high fever, just like Toph."

"Question is, which one of -cough- us is sicker," Toph tried to snark, but it came over as a whimper. "Man, I never imagined -cough- I could feel this crappy."

Toph had every reason to complain, since she felt absolutely horrible, like something freshly shat out. The smell of vomit was still lingering, since both girls had emptied their stomachs some time ago. Despite normally not minding things that others considered gross, the act of vomiting disgusted Toph when she had to do it herself.

"This is not good. Both of them are really sick, running a high fever, and suffer from it. None of us have any knowledge about healing - me being able to heal scratches does not count - not to speak about that we have nothing at hand we could use even if we did," Katara said, being very concerned for her friends.

"Where is Zuko when you need him?" Sokka wondered, nervous since Zuko already was over a day late. It was a bit ironical that after not trusting him at the beginning, they now wanted him to be present.

"Sorry I''m -cough- being such a burden," Suki apologized.

Sokka didn't want to hear any of it. "No one is blaming you. After all you can't help getting sick."

Suki tried to laugh, but it only resulted in a coughing fit. "Have I told you how considerate you are?" She then grimaced. "Kind of -cough- ironical that I worked hard become -cough- such a strong warrior of Kyoshi, only to be -cough- struck down by a common sickness."

Sitting a little apart from the others, Aang was trying to keep Momo entertained while watching the entire drama. "Man, if Ursa were here, she could help them real fast. After all, she did fix you up real well."

Katara grimaced a little when remembering the few remaining scars on her back she got as a permanent reminder to not let her idealism get her to do something stupid. "I... remember. Problem is, she is unavailable as well and we are still left with this mess! I really wish I would know more about how to use my waterbending for healing. Right now it's not much of a help."

"Maybe I should look around to find a healer," Aang said, looking over the ruined city of Taku into the distance, where he could spot other settlements.

"Aang..." Katara said, not wanting to let him out of her sight.

"I know... You're here to protect me, but this is an emergency. Both of you are needed to take care of them and I'm the only one fast enough. One way or another, you won't stop me," Aang told her, understanding all too well why he didn't want her to go.

Sokka rolled his eyes and looked to Appa. "No offense, Aang, but Appa is a bit easy to notice, and flying around in a glider also is quite obvious. You could as well shout out: 'catch me'."

"Who said anything about flying with my glider?" Allowing Momo to hop off, he didn't wait for their answer before using his airbending to use his glider to speed off at an astonishing speed at ground level, leaving behind a dust trail.

"Impulsive... He's going to get himself into trouble. I know it..." Sokka grumbled, then gave Katara a look. "You don't seem to be thrilled, either."

"No. Can't he understand that he's too vulnerable right now?! He... -cough- -cough-..." Katara stopped when a short coughing fit overcame her.

Sokka paled at the implications. "Oh no, Katara! Don't tell you got it as well!?"

"Oh dear..." Katara groaned, feeling that things were getting from bad to worse.

o

Speeding towards the swamps half an hour later, Aang hoped he wasn't on a wild goose chase. The healer he'd found turned out to be half-senile and next to deaf. Only though shouting his problem to her as loud as possible did he finally manage to get a coherent answer; one he still had some doubts about.

Honestly... Sucking on frozen frogs is supposed to make them better? Either that old crow has become totally senile, or this is the strangest cure I've ever heard of, he thought while being on his way.

Still, he at least had to try. His friends were suffering and needed his help.

His life had taken a really interesting turn - and that not only meant being the Avatar. He did remember the adventures he'd been on with Kuzon, especially his visit to that female dragon, but they got nothing on his present. Never in his life would he have imagined traveling around the world with friends in order to prevent a nation gone mad from gaining ultimate victory. While the situation was dire, it still was a huge adventure they were on. Compared to his sheltered life at the temple, this couldn't be a bigger contrast.

In his tunnel vision he didn't even notice that he'd already caused way too much attention with his speeding around. The howling wind caused by his speeding around at ground level tuned out the sound of signal horns in the distance. He was oblivious of the danger he was in.

There it is! Aang stopped when seeing the swamp, exactly as described. Now he just had to find some frozen frogs.

Running down to the murky waters, Aang was careful to not enter the dangerous areas. Surprisingly, it was rather easy to find the frozen frogs - clearly there were not that many predators eager on having a snack on ice, otherwise the frogs would have found more hidden places to hide in. "Ah, got you! Now I only have to collect enough of those..."

"Surrender right now!"

Scared by the sudden, cold voice, Aang quickly turned, only to be confronted with several archers from the Fire Nation. He didn't have any idea how they had found him this fast, but this wasn't good. "Oh no!"

What followed was a nightmare to Aang.

Trying to grab his glider for an exit was met with failure when several arrows impacted into the wood. Whenever he tried to flee in one direction with his enhanced speed, a rain of arrows landed in his way, making clear the way was blocked. It was as if these archers could predict every single of his moves and reacted with frightening speed. He was driven further and further into the swamp, until he was with his back to a big tree.

Not good! Not good at all! he thought in panic, creating an ice shield to protect himself - a trick that Katara had figured out recently nd shown to him.

It was to no use when several arrows hit the same spot, shattering the ice in mere seconds. Aang wanted to run again, but it seemed the archers were done with messing around, several arrows nailing his clothes to the tree without actually injuring him. Before he knew it, he was covered by a net and soldiers with chains approached him while other aimed their arrows at him to make it clear they wouldn't hesitate to kill him, should he resist further.

Aang looked absolutely frightened, knowing what this would mean.

...back at ruins of Taku, hours later...

"-cough - cough- Ooooohhhhh," Katara moaned.

The sickness had hit her hard and she now was a mess of high fever and feeling horrible, especially after having voided her stomach only minutes ago. She couldn't even find the energy to clean her running nose, being forced to rely on her brother for this, Sokka now being the only one left who didn't get sick - if you didn't count Appa and Momo - and he looked close to the breaking point.

There was a good reason why Sokka had always been kept away from the healer's tent after all.

Sokka was at a loss what to do. Katara was the one being good at taking care of sick people, not him. Also, Aang was gone for hours now and he got a really bad feeling that something had happened to him. Being forced into total helplessness however only made it worse for him. Suki and Toph had become delirious by now, Suki seeing white mice and laughing at their antics, while Toph swore to someone invisible that she was a good girl and doesn't have to take a bath.

"Katara, why now of all times?" Sokka bemoaned.

"Sorry..." Katara said, at least still being coherent. "It -cough- couldn't be helped."

Strange that it ends like this. Brought down by a mere sickness, she thought but wouldn't say it aloud.

-clacknack-

The sound of a breaking twig shook Sokka out of his misery. Drawing his sword, he called "Whoever you are, show yourself!"

"Spirits, relax! Is that really how you greet people?" This sarcastic voice could belong to only one girl, and indeed it was Mai who appeared from the shadows.

All of a sudden Sokka was filled with new hope. Spotting Ursa, he dropped his sword and ran to her, falling on his knees in front of her. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! You are really here!"

Ursa blinked at this display, then noticed the three sick girls, all of them moaning in discomfort while she could notice the smell of sick people from this far away. "Oh dear! This does look quite serious."

"I am at my wits' end! Please help them!" It was only Sokka's feeling of masculinity that stopped him from sobbing in relief.

"Man, pull yourself together! That is downright embarrassing," Zuko said at seeing this display, holding Sokka by the shoulders to pull him back to his feet. "You know, a simple sign of gratitude would have been enough."

"Oh, I guess we just witnessed his sensitive side," Mai added with a smirk, seeing the humor in Sokka acting so much like a stereotypical emotional girl. "I guess he shares more character traits with his sister than he wants to admit."

Katara tried to laugh, only to erupt into a coughing fit.

"While I do appreciate your sense of humor, we perhaps should concentrate on the matter at hand," Iroh reminded everyone while Ursa already was busy with checking the girls, shaking her head at their condition.

Walking back to the entrance, she put two fingers into her mouth and blew a loud whistling sound. "That will tell some crewmen to come here. This is quite serious and I have a very good idea what they are suffering from. I can milden the symptoms, but I do lack the needed ingredient to help them on a permanent basis in such a short time frame. Otherwise it'll take two weeks for them to recover."

"two weeks? We don't have the luxury of two weeks," Sokka groaned, remembering the tight timeline they were on.

"What kind of ingredient can cure them that fast?" Mai wondered.

"Oh, the coating from the skin of a certain kind of frog," Ursa told her, enjoying the slight look of disgust from Mai. Even if she was trying to deny it, Mai did have some typically feminine disgusts; frogs and getting really dirty being among them.

Hearing that, Katara looked ready to gag. "That's disgusting..." She then noticed Momo having climbed onto her head. "Momo, please -cough- get off my head." The lemur acted as if he hadn't heard. "Great..."

"Why don't you get off and come here? The young girl doesn't need this right now," Iroh suggested and Momo right away ran to him. However, it looked less like a wonder when the biscuit in his hand got revealed.

Ursa shook her head. "I better don't ask why you carry that with you."

"Oh, you would be surprised when things like this come in handy," Iroh said, finding the humor in it.

Zuko looked around. "Where's Aang?"

Sokka only now remembered. "Oh no... He left hours ago to locate a healer. He hasn't returned yet and I have a really bad feeling about this."

"He left on his own? In this area? This is highly dangerous!" Iroh looked alarmed at the news. "He couldn't have known, but Pohuai Stronghold is not too far away, with hundreds of soldiers stationed inside, not to speak of elite archers. If he's not back yet, I fear for the worst."

"Has he forgotten that he's public enemy number one?! What was he thinking?" Zuko facepalmed at such impulsiveness. Even he wouldn't have done something this stupid.

"I knew it. Great..." Sokka picked up his sword and was about to run outside, but Zuko stopped him. "What?"

"No. Getting him out of this trouble is not your job this time. You also look like you could fall over from exhaustion anyway." Zuko looked outside. "This time it's my job."

"Not exactly, it is ours," Mai added, then saw the look Zuko gave her. "Oh no, don't even think about it. I'm in this together with you and I will fight at your side." Zuko didn't argue, knowing it was useless.

"I hope you know what you're doing and that it isn't just youthful foolishness. If you are recognized or actually caught, you'll be in deep trouble and none of us can help you," Iroh cautioned them.

"Don't worry. I have an idea that makes sure no one will recognize us," Zuko said. "Although it means we need to borrow something from you, Mom."

"Oh, Aang..." Katara whispered, fearing for the worst while her fever was getting stronger.

...at Pohuai Stronghold...

"Nnnggh!" Aang groaned, but the chains wouldn't give way.

He was in quite the fix; he knew that without any doubt. He got locked up in a huge fortress, each of his limbs being chained at two pillars, effectively immobilizing him. Whoever had given the orders knew exactly what to do to render him totally helpless. What use after all was airbending, if he couldn't move? Right now the mighty Avatar was a mere prisoner.

"Don't bother. We consulted old texts that explain how to make sure an airbender can't escape."

Looking up, Aang stopped when he recognized the man who had attacked and conquered Kyoshi Island. The same man who had laid the ambush at Crescent Island, as his friends had told him. Considering all the trouble this guy had already put them through, he did remember the name. "Z-Zhao..."

"Exactly." It seemed Zhao was pleased that Aang did remember his name. "I told you, you'd remember my name. To be honest, I'm even a bit disappointed at how easy it has been to capture you. You aren't really bright if you buzz around like that - it was embarrassingly easy to track you down that way."

"Not really bright?! Once I get out of these chains, I'll show you!" Aang shout, despite the situation being hurt in his pride.

"No. Do you really think we are that stupid? You'll stay exactly where you are right now," Zhao laughed while taking a look at the glider. "Interesting invention. It'll look good in the museum of the capital as an exhibit about final victory and the destruction of the Avatar... You know we could kill you right now?"

Aang's eyes went wide. He hadn't thought about that until now.

"Order is to kill or capture. You see, you being reborn wouldn't be much of a problem for us. It would take at least ten years for you to start becoming dangerous again - by then the Fire Nation would have long won the war and perhaps you even got sent onto your way again after the Water Tribes both got wiped out completely."

Aang was horrified at how Zhao could casually talk about genocide as if talking about the weather. It now occurred to him that the man either had to be completely mad, or actually was that evil. One way or another, Aang knew his life was in great danger right now. Even worse, the man had just told him they were planning to do the same thing to the Water Tribe which was done to his own people.

He's insane... Totally insane, Aang thought, feeling quite afraid now knowing what kind of man had captured him.

Zhao continued "However, we won't do that yet. Orders are clear; if we manage to capture you, the Fire Lord himself wants to do the deed - killing the last airbender and Avatar makes a great legacy."

Aang paled. "The Fire Lord is coming here?"

"Once I've sent him the news tomorrow morning. Your death will be one of the keystones in our total victory... among others. Until then, have a good night." Laughing, Zhao turned to leave, only to be knocked down by a strong gale sent forth by Aang. Cursing, Zhao gave Aang an evil look.

"That won't help you! Make as much wind as you like, it won't get you out of here. This fortress is guarded by hundreds of soldiers. You've got no chance to escape and no one will come to your rescue!" Zhao then slammed the door shut.

Aang was left alone with his thoughts.

Outside the door, Zhao was angry with how this little pipsqueak was showing him no respect. Well, not that it will matter for much longer! He turned to the guards. "Regular patrols throughout this part of the fortress! Four man always guard this door!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Leaving, Zhao tried to forget this little incident. He had something else to prepare for.

Half an hour later, a supply wagon was pulled to the main gate of the fortress.

"Alright, let's do the usual check," the guard said, checking with his fellow soldiers if there was anything amiss with the cargo. However, it all checked out. "Open the gate!"

They had checked out the cargo quite diligently, but missed looking at the undercarriage, otherwise they would have seen two figures dressed entirely in dark blue hanging onto the underside of the wagon. The wagon almost was through the gate when one guard remembered looking there as well, causing the Sergeant in charge to chew out the other guards for being sloppy. However, in the confusion both figures managed to slip away and the guards could of course find nothing.

Sneaking around the shadows, both figures noticed that there seemed to be some sort of gathering going on. Zhao was standing on a balcony overlooking the yard of the fortress, clearly wanting to give a speech to his troops. Zhao waited for silence, before he began.

"We are the sons and daughters of fire, the superior element! Until today only one thing stood our path to victory, the Avatar. I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!" Zhao called, and cheers went through the crowd.

Zhao waited for silence, before he continued. "This is the year Sozin's Comet returns to grant us its power! This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Ba-Sing-Se and burns the city to the ground!"

It was obscene to witness how everyone present cheered at Zhao's speech, which promised a huge bloodbath. It was very disheartening to see how far the Fire Nation had fallen. The two figures however paid no mind to it, since it would mean reduced guard activity in the fortress itself - exactly what they were hoping for.

They perhaps should have listened to what else Zhao had to say, as it was quite important.

They'd had a good guess where Zhao would hold a high-security prisoner and started to sneak in while Zhao continued his motivational speech.

Some time later, four guards were standing at their post guarding the door to the prisoner. The man in charge looked down the corridor, nervous. "Where's Len-Cheng with his men? The discipline of those slackers needs to be whipped up," he grumbled, annoyed that the regular patrol was late.

"Ah!"

They froze when hearing this faint gasp from around the corner. "Len-Cheng?" No answer. "Len-Cheng, did something happen?" Still only silence.

"Both of you, keep guard. If anything happens, sound the alarm. You are with me," the head guard ordered, mistrustful of what could have happened behind the corner.

The guards watched their comrades walk around the corner with drawn weapons. At first there was only silence, then... -hmmpphhh- -clang- That was reason enough for alarm; one guard made a grab for the alarm horn, but... -tchack- His hand jerked away when a throwing knife embedded itself into the wood.

They drew their weapons, only to be confronted with the very people who did all this.

"Stupid chains!" Aang cursed, again trying to get loose, but the chains gave him no slack. "This is not good. I'll never get out of here."

What will Gyatso think of me? I thought I was smart, but only made it easier for them to track me down. I've let down everyone by being careless, he berated himself.

For someone his age, the prospect of impending doom normally would be a very alien idea. However, considering what he'd already went through, Aang no longer had any illusions about his future. He'd stay in these chains until the Fire Lord would arrive to personally kill him, thus robbing the world of any hope. Aang felt really strange at the prospect of death - like something unreal becoming very real all of a sudden. He didn't like it at all.

"Uuuff!" -clangglanggg- "Arrrgh!" -clong-

"Oh, now what?" Aang wondered when hearing the sound of fighting through the entrance gate.

At first there only was silence, then the massive gate opened and Aang held his breath when two figures walked in. Both people were dressed entirely in black, making it impossible for Aang to see if they are man or woman. Both were armed with swords, one with a single one, the other with dual dao swords. However, the most striking thing were the mask they were wearing. They were theater masks of a blue demon and a white lady. Aang had a feeling he'd seen those before.

"Who- Who are you?" Aang gasped.

Both persons looked at each other, before lifting their masks, revealing two very familiar people to Aang.

"Zuko? Mai? What's with those masks?" Aang wondered, right afterward wincing at how stupid this sounded.

"Well, did you really think we would try to get you out of here without disguising our identity?" Mai asked while working on lockpicking the left chains, while Zuko worked on those at the right. "Unlike you, we can't yet risk being branded as enemies of the state."

"As for these masks... They are a really good disguise but my mother threatened dire consequences if we don't return them to her," Zuko added, knowing these Masks did hold sentimental value to his mother, even if they weren't her original ones. "And honestly, what were you thinking?"

Aang looked a bit sheepish. "Well, this wasn't exactly the smartest idea I got..."

"Lectures can wait until we're safe." Finally unlocking the final chain, Mai tossed Aang his glider. "No talking while we're getting you out. After all, no need to tempt fate that someone recognizes our voices." That said, they both slipped their masks back into place.

Aang knew that he would get an earful later; now they still had to get out of this place.

At first things went smooth enough.

Unknown to them, Zhao wanted to take another look at his prisoner. "I want a full transcription of my speech sent to the Fire Lord along with my message about..." Zhao dictated to an aide, but then stopped.

Unconscious guards littered the corridor, looking quite beaten up. Zhao got a really bad feeling and made haste to reach the prison. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw that door was open and the Avatar gone.

"You can't be serious! Is no one here doing their jobs right?!" he cursed, feeling he was surrounded by incompetence. "Sound the alarms! Find me that pipsqueak; dead or alive is the same thing to me!"

It's like everything is conspiring against me, Zhao growled silently.

-Bwwwwwwooooouuuuuuuuuppp-

"Oh, uh! Not good!" Aang gasped when alarm horns echoed throughout the fortress.

Things then went to hell pretty fast. Before they could even reach the exit door to the yard, the guards caught up with them and a fight was inevitable. It was strange in a way that even though they were armed with swords, Zuko and Mai did not fight with the intent to kill - just disarming and knocking out. Perhaps Zuko felt that causing a bloodbath wouldn't help his case once he would try to secure the throne.

Aang couldn't care less for the reasons, he just was glad he wouldn't have to witness spilled blood up close. He already was busy enough with using his airbending to slam guards against the walls or blow them down the corridor. One air blast broke the door to the yard and all three of them stormed out, only to be confronted with many, many soldiers in the yard.

"The Avatar has escaped! Kill him and his conspirators!" Zhao shouted from above, looking down at them in anger.

"Not good! Really not good!" Aang gasped, knocking away those closest to them to get some room.

They knew this was a fight they couldn't win, there simply were too many soldiers and their only hope would be to reach the gate. However, that hope got dashed very quickly when the main gate got slammed shut as part of the state of alert.

"Well, well, well... a noble effort of a rescue; nonetheless futile," Zhao called from where he was entering the yard. "I have no idea who the two of you are, and I honestly don't care. After all, you'll be hanged anyway."

The one in the blue mask crossed his twin swords in front of himself, looking ready to attack Zhao.

Zhao couldn't help but laugh at the gesture. "You think you can threaten me with a pair of swords? You are doomed and if you are not killed in battle, then the gallows waits for you and you accomplice."

Frantically, Zuko looked around, trying to find any way out of this before the soldiers would try to encircle them. He then spotted war material being stored a bit further away, among other things several big catapults. Seeing those, he got a really insane idea, but considering the situation they were in, every idea would be a good one.

I must be totally mad, he thought, pointing to the catapults.

Aang and Mai needed a second before they understood his intent. Both thought this would rather break every single of their bones than gaining them freedom, but considering the alternative, they gladly took this gambit and with renewed strength battled their way to the catapults before the soldiers could encircle them.

Zhao of course also got a guess what they were doing. "Damn it, stop them! Get me the archers!"

In the yard the three of them had finally managed to fight their way to one of the big catapults. "Hang on!" Aang shouted, causing a strong gale to throw them onto the catapult. Holding onto each other tightly, Zuko swiped on of his swords to release the mechanism.

"Ouuahh!" he screamed when a sudden pain hit his shoulder at the very moment the catapult blasted them off, nonetheless he bit his teeth together and held on for his dead life.

They were flying a long distance and the human body wasn't made for that kind of acceleration, all three of them seeing dark spots. Aang was trying to use his airbending to steer them away from crashing into a tree or getting slammed with full force into the ground. Nonetheless, he knew it would be a hard landing somewhere in the middle of the forest.

"Watch out, this will hurt!" he warned them when they were going down, using all he got to make the landing as soft as possible - which still meant it felt like slamming into a wall.

"Aaarrgh!" Mai cried out when feeling that she'd had a bad landing on her right leg, pain exploding from it.

"Ow... Everyone in one piece?" Aang asked, only to notice the arrow sticking out of Zuko's shoulder. "Oh-uh! Zuko, your shoulder!"

"Oh crap..." Zuko groaned, now feeling the arrow. "Damn, that hurts!"

Grimacing under her mask, Mai stood up. "Let's get to our boat first. I have no wish to get captured... and don't touch that thing! I have no wish to see you bleed out before I can patch that up."

Back at the fortress, Zhao was close to having a fit.

"This can't be real - a fortress full with soldiers and the Avatar in chains, yet he still does manage to escape. Has fortune decided to be my enemy?!" he seethed, feeling personally insulted by this turn of events.

"Admiral Zhao, Sir!" a Captain reported. "We've searched the area and found nothing. Regardless who those two strangers are, they managed to spirit away the Avatar."

Zhao's eyes narrowed. "Oh yes, them as well. Those two just made themselves enemies of the Fire Nation. I want wanted posters out there. For conspiring with the Avatar there will be a high price on their heads."

"My men will try to describe the masks they wore as best as possible, but what should we call them?" the Captain asked.

Zhao snorted, actually remembering the play those masks belonged to. "Exactly what the masks those coward hid behind look like. The 'Blue Spirit' and 'White Lady'. Regardless who they are, I'll make sure they'll regret this very day."

I didn't get this far, only to be humiliated again and again! Once I have put what I found in the Great Library to good use, no one will laugh at me anymore. Oh yes, I'll have the last laugh...

He however also knew that the hostile Colonel would use the chance to report this to the capital. He knew this would have some serious consequences.

o

"Ow!" Zuko yelped when Mai finally fastened the bandages. She was not exactly gentle.

After all the excitement of their daring escape, things had slowed down significantly. It now was time to recover and that meant tending to their wounds - or at least Zuko's wound, since internal muscle damage wasn't something they could do anything about. Now, an arrow stuck in a shoulder, that was something they could work on.

"Oh, don't be such a baby. You've endured much worse things after all," Mai shot down any complaints.

To be honest, she had been a bit nervous about pulling out that arrow - Zuko had screamed much more when that happened - since she didn't have too much faith in the first-aid lessons Ursa and the ship's doctor had given her. Thankfully, nothing had gone wrong and Zuko didn't bleed out.

"It still hurts," Zuko still complained.

"Oh dear..." Mai decided to not comment on that. "Can you still move your arm?"

Zuko tested it and found no problem. "Seems that way, but I won't tempt fate. No way I want to go down screaming in pain."

"Want me to kiss it to make it feel better?" Mai suggested.

Zuko had a feeling she was joking, but decided to call her on it. "Sure, why not?"

"Hey guys, we need to make a stop at that swamp first," Aang suddenly called from the other side of the boat, interrupting their banter, and they saw him pointing to a swamp at the bank of the river.

Mai looked at the swamp in disgust, some of her actually existing feminine sensibilities acting up. "What do you want in that dirty hole?"

"I really need to get some frozen frogs in order to make my friends better. The old healer said it works," Aang explained, knowing exactly that it sounded totally outlandish.

Zuko and Mai now did remember what Ursa had said about frogs that were a crucial ingredient for a fast cure to help the girls. Mai's look of disgust only became stronger, but she as well knew that this was a stop they should make, otherwise all this trouble would have been for nothing.

"The things we do..." Zuko said, wondering how they got from a daring escape to collecting frozen frogs.

Thankfully for them, after their little detour to the swamps, it didn't take long to return.

The small steamboat was pulled aboard and they could already see Iroh waiting for them, looking relieved that all three of them had returned mostly healthy and still in one piece. He had feared that he could lose them and seeing their return put his mind finally at ease, even if they were returning injured.

"Thank all goodness. You have no idea how hard it was to wait if you return," he told them in relief, wishing his nerves wouldn't be strained this much. "I feared you overestimated your skills. Thankfully, you've proven me wrong."

"Not that we got out of there unharmed," Mai said, visibly favoring her left leg, while Zuko made no secret of his shoulder wound.

"Oh dear, the place is going to be crowded. Ursa is already taking care of three very sick girls," Iroh realized when seeing that both teenagers were injured.

"Oh yes! I did find the cure for that!" Aang exclaimed, showing the bag in which the frozen frogs were stored. "I just hope it actually works..."

Entering the sickbay a few minutes later, Aang suddenly got hugged! He needed a moment before realizing that it was Sokka, who looked ready to have a crisis. "You are back! Oh, thank all spirits!"

"Woah, calm down!" Aang gasped, surprised how much the girls being sick and him being gone had affected him.

"Do you have any idea how much torture it is to watch them suffer and have no way to help them?" Sokka almost whined, waving his hand at the beds where all three girls were tugged in, delirious from their high fever. "Please tell me you found something to help them!"

"Yes... Hope it works..." Taking the frozen frogs out of the bag, he showed them to Ursa.

"Well, I better won't ask where you found these, but they are exactly the kind of frogs we need. I could extract what I need from them, but that would take hours," she said while inspecting the frogs.

"They shouldn't have to wait that long. I was told sucking on them while they are still frozen helps right away. Is that true?" Aang asked, feeling things should be sped up.

Ursa knew she would regret confirming it, but Aang possibly wouldn't take a 'no' as an answer. "True, it could also be ingested orally that way. At least until they are completely unfrozen and have to be spat out. You're really going to do that?"

"I just want them to get better," Aang said, not thinking about the disgust factor.

It wasn't difficult to get all three girls to open their mouths and each to suck on a frozen frog like on a pacifier. They had no idea what they were actually sucking on. Aang sat down to recover from his adventure while Sokka, surprising enough for Aang, was absent - little did he know that Sokka had made himself scarce because he knew of the inevitable fallout. After all, he was not stupid, but Aang in his youth was ignorant of it.

The ship's doctor meanwhile was busy with applying fresh bandages to Zuko's shoulder, commenting that Lady Mai should have taken his lessons about first aid more serious, much to Mai's annoyance. She then winced when Ursa found where she has sprained the muscles in her right leg, applying a salve on it before covering it with some bandages.

The girls meanwhile slowly became coherent again while they continued to suck on the frozen frogs, the ice mostly gone by now. It was like the cobwebs were lifting from their minds and awareness returned - even though for Toph it just meant that her hearing and tactile feeling went back to normal. Katara and Suki looked around, noticing where they were, while Toph looked slightly annoyed.

"Guysch, can anyshone tell me whersche we are?" Toph tried to say while she continued sucking.

"Oh, you are aboard our ship. All three of you were in bad condition, but Aang here managed to find the cure. It is what you are sucking on right now," Ursa explained, part of her just waiting for when it would hit them what the cure was.

Sometimes I can be quite sadistic, she thought, slightly embarrassed at herself actually anticipating the inevitable outcome.

"Really? It doesch hash a strnge tastche," Suki mumbled and could swear that her tongue now felt something very different.

Of course moments later all the ice was gone and the frogs were fully re-animated. -ribbit- All three girls stopped sucking, suddenly becoming aware what exactly they got in their mouths. Their eyes went as big as dinner plates, even Toph - who normally wouldn't be fazed by such a thing - drew the line at sucking on a living frog. Their mouths opened in shock and the frogs jumped away, leaving the girls with the sudden urge to vomit.

"Oh shit!" "Urgh! Ph - ph - pffft! Pffuuaahh!" "Yuck!"

Seeing this reaction, Aang felt it best to leave as fast as possible, but the door was blocked by Zuko. "Not so fast, bucko. You now have to live with your decision."

"Even I know that making a girl suck on frog will... -cough- -cough-" Mai stopped when suddenly a coughing fit overcame her. Her eyes widened when she realized what this meant. "Oh, great... -cough-"

"Oh, it looks like you caught it as well," Ursa said, knowing right away that Mai's mood would now take a turn for the worse.

Mai eyed one of the still frozen frogs, then gave Aang a very hard look. "Better let him -cough- go now, Zuko. I don't want him to -cough- watch what I have to do, and him present raises the danger of me removing -cough- some of his vital body parts."

Inside, Mai felt like running away in sheer revulsion at the idea of what she was about to do. She still was a girl after all, and even she shared some of the things the entire female gender found simply revolting. Being forced to suck on a frog was one of those things. In her mind, her usually much-neglected feminine side was having a crying fit at what would come next.

Zuko stepped aside and Aang even used his airbending to flee as fast as possible.

...a few days later...

Over the next few days the girls were recovering from their sickness - more than enough time for Aang to make numerous apologies that he had made them suck on frozen frogs in order to cure the worst of it. He was still walking a little on eggshells around them however.

Katara had doused him in sea water when he'd made a comment that she was looking better now, Toph grumbled the whole time that he should be glad there was no earth nearby and Suki had made it clear they are not on speaking terms for the next few days. Mai, who had only been hit mildly by the sickness, was always twirling a throwing knife in her hand, making Aang very nervous.

He knew they would forgive him eventually, but it still was unnerving. He mostly spent his time with Appa and Momo, just to keep away from annoying anyone for the time being.

There of course were things that they missed out on while staying on Zuko's ship; recovering while their ride was cruising up the coast northward.

In the remote Makapu Village, a fortune teller told the local populace that they should not care about the nearby volcano. She claimed that someone would come and prevent any kind of disaster and that the volcano was no threat to the village. That people did believe her blindly, since by this point they had turned off their brains and were prone to outright idiotic to suicidal behavior just because their fortune was told in a certain way, was very telling.

However, no one came and when the volcano really did erupt, the villagers wasted precious time just sitting there like dumb lemmings before they they finally ran for their lives, many getting killed. After the destruction of the village, the survivors hunted down the fortune teller and lynched her in their fury, while not wanting to admit how utterly idiotic they themselves had acted.

However, that was nothing our heroes could know about.

Right now Aang was busy with bushing Appa's fur while Iroh, interestingly enough, found it fascinating to talk about the big sky bison while scratching Momo on the head. "It really is a shame that no sky bison has been seen for many years now. With the Air Nomads gone, they were hunted as a reminder of their culture."

"It's quite depressing to think about it. Poor Appa will have it hard when he wants to find a mate," Aang sighed, feeling like his friend got screwed over big time by the time skip.

"Perhaps they are still alive somewhere - after all the world is big. -sigh- My nation does not have a good track record with element-teaching animals," Iroh sighed.

"Why?" Aang wondered.

"It is a sad story. My grandfather Sozin popularized the idea that killing a dragon in battle would be the ultimate expression of power. Sadly, that meant everyone wanting to prove something emulated his idea. Nowadays the dragons have gone extinct after decades of decimation," Iroh explained.

Aang had to sit down when hearing this. "It's like I learn one bad thing after the other happened while I was asleep. Now the sky bisons and the dragons..."

Iroh looked out over the sea. "Much has been broken over the past century. Let's hope we can mend the worst of the damage once this war is finally over. Don't let it drag you down. Perhaps you can tell me more about your friend here?"

Now, that certainly was a topic Aang had a lot to say about. "You mean Appa? There are stories I can tell you about him... But perhaps I better start at how he got his name?"

"I have to guess something about apples, but I'll let myself surprise." Iroh honestly wondered how Aang became bonded to the big bison.

Sokka meanwhile was some meters away, leaning on the deck railing and watching the coastline go by.

The bout of sickness had greatly weakened the girls, so it would still take some time before they could again travel on Appa. Ursa had put her foot down and told them outright that ignoring a full recovery, they could suffer a relapse. None of them were eager for that, thus they would stay on board for somewhat longer.

Not that Sokka could appreciate it, due to Suki still not feeling well enough for training and her not wanting to accidentally infect him resulting in her being reluctant in being close to him. Training with Zuko was no fun either, due to him being much better at swordsmanship and not having Suki's skill at adjusting to a less skilled opponent.

"Hm...?" He saw Toph standing beside him. "You're being bored as well?"

"How did you guess?" she asked sarcastically. "Of course I'm bored. Just sitting around, no earth to play with and Twinkle-Toes walking on eggshells around us."

Sokka rolled his eyes at Aang's nickname, which Toph had come up with during her frustration about being sick. "Maybe we should take some dirt with us next time. The coast is only a boomerang throw away, but no way Zuko would let us land without a serious reason."

"Man, I expected great adventure when coming with you guys, not all this boredom," Toph groaned.

"Wait until we reach the North Pole, then you'll be bored..." Sokka mumbled, ignoring the fact that Toph's ears were good enough to hear him.

"I heard that! Do you have any idea what kind of hell that will be for me?" Toph was not eager at all to be completely helpless in a place where she couldn't use her seismic sense at all.

"Believe me, I'm already dreading your bad mood." Letting Toph give him some harsh looks, he returned to leaning on the railing.

"Just wait for it. I'll come up with a nickname for you soon enough and then annoy the hell out of you," Toph told him.

Sokka knew she was struggling to find something for him. Katara had gotten her nickname of 'Princess' really fast, and it still annoyed her. Suki was dubbed 'Fans', though she took in in stride. Aang being called 'Twinkle-Toes' was a recent development due to his habit of sitting on an air scooter, which always annoyed Toph. Just yesterday Toph had sarcastically nicknamed Mai as 'Sunshine' and Zuko as 'Hothead', but still was stumped with Sokka.

"Man, what would I give..." He stopped when spotting something. "Could that be...?"

"What?" Toph asked, annoyed that Sokka forgot she couldn't see. Sokka suddenly ran to the command tower. "Hey, what did you see?! Yes, just ignore the blind girl!" she cursed. This was one of those times her blindness was a real annoyance to her.

"Telescope... Telescope!" Sokka babbled in excitement, causing everyone on the bridge to wonder if he was on drugs. "Ah, there!" Grabbing the item in question, Sokka dashed outside.

Putting a sea chart aside, Zuko sighed. "What is he now upon?"

Lt. Jee looked just as bewildered. "That young man is rather strange. You would think he sometimes is on mushrooms or something like that."

Walking outside, Zuko was greeted with quite a comical sight. Sokka looked like he was dancing in excitement while observing something at the coast through the telescope. It made Zuko wonder how he could see anything while moving around this much. Regardless what he was seeing, it had to be interesting.

"Oh, Zuko." Sokka finally noticed him. "Here! Look! There, at the beach!"

Deciding to humor him, Zuko took a look through the telescope and saw a beached ship. "What's so special about that?"

It took Sokka a few moments before he understood that Zuko couldn't know. "It's a ship of the Southern Water Tribe! One of the ships of my father's fleet! I've recognized it right away," Sokka explained.

Zuko now understood why Sokka was so excited.

He understood him all too well. While he had lost his home and still dreamed of one day being able to return to it, Sokka had temporarily lost his father and all of his role models. Of course Sokka would be excited at a chance to re-unite with his father or at least a man of his tribe. Zuko saw a strange kinship with Sokka, since both of them were longing for something, though in his own case it was much more difficult to achieve.

However, Zuko realized there was something else at stake. If they could manage to make contact witht the men of the Southern Water Tribe, it would be an enormous help in the struggles ahead. Considering the time limit they were on, every help was needed and he sincerely doubted that the Northern Water Tribe would extend a big contribution unless there were serious people negotiating an agreement. As much as they would be impressed by Aang being the Avatar, such political things should be left to older and more experienced people - people like Hakoda.

Zuko lowered the telescope. "Then you go first. Should they see me first, they'd try to put an axe into my head."

As much as Sokka wanted to deny it, he knew this was a distinct possibility.

After some back and forth they decided that would be better for the moment to keep anything Fire Nation out of sight, since the reaction of the Water Tribe warriors otherwise could be unpredictable. While Sokka and Katara were both excited while climbing into Appa's saddle, Toph looked like she was ready to burst from excitement.

No wonder, since she was on earth withdrawal.

"Oh, dirt, dirt! Wonderful dirt!" Toph sang a little later.

As soon as Appa had landed on the beach, she had jumped out of the saddle, doing a little happy dance before rolling around on the ground. It actually was kind of cute to see her acting her age. She had always taken the ground for granted and only now knew that she should treat it like a precious gift. Right now however, she just felt happy.

"Don't you think you're overcompensating a little? After all, it's not like dirt is that uncommon," Suki asked while watching Toph rolling around in the dirt.

"Oh let's have someone remove your eyes and then give them back after a while. Now got it?" Toph said, barely holding back from kissing the ground.

Suki shook her head. "There are some things about you I'll probably never get. Must be an earthbender thing."

Sokka and Katara paid Toph's antics no mind, running to the ship to inspect it.

"It's been beached for quite a while, the sea life on the underside has totally dried up and died," Sokka said after observing the hull.

Katara meanwhile had climbed on board and looked inside. "That's really strange," she said while emerging from the inside and jumping down to the beach. "It's still being maintained, but the cabin got cleaned out. I wonder what that could mean?"

"Oh, it means that I'm not actually living on the ship while I recover."

They had not even noticed the man walking up to the beach. However, the water siblings right away saw that he was no threat. It was a man from their tribe whom they knew very well, since his family's trent was right next to theirs. However, he looked worse for the wear, his chest heavily bandaged and being forced to use a staff to walk around without trouble.

"Bato?" they both gasped in surprise.

What then followed betrayed the fact that they were teenagers. Normally, teenagers would shy away from things like hugs. However, after not having seen him for two years they didn't care and ran to him to give him a hug, even if only to see that he is real, which he was.

Bato laughed. "Careful, it wouldn't be a great reunion if you accidentally fell me." They carefully let go of him. "I didn't expect to see the two of you here. Spirits, how much time has passed... Both of you have grown really tall since the last time I've seen you."

"We haven't seen any of you in so long..." Katara couldn't help but to feel a bit hurt when remembering their father leaving for the war.

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere for a while," Bato told her gently, seeing how this unexpected reunion was affecting them.

"Bato, if you are here, where's Dad?" Sokka asked excitedly, not noticing how Katara's mood became a bit less joyful at mention of their father.

"As you see, I got hurt during battle. Hakoda agreed to leave me behind at a nearby monastery, where the nuns are taking care of me. Your father has taken the fleet further east and I'm soon expecting a message where to meet up," Bato explained.

"Oh, damn..." Sokka had really wanted to meet his father after two years, but now he got denied.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling your separation won't last for much longer." Bato then got a far-away look. "Two years away from home... Is everyone still in good health?"

"Yes, though I fear at times that Gran-Gran will overwork herself." Katara then remembered something. "Oh yes, your wife did give birth without problem. You are now a father to a son named Tonraq."

"And I was not there when she gave birth to him, nor am I there when he's growing up," Bato said with a sigh. "This war is truly depriving us of the things that are most important." Bato then remembered the circumstances of them meeting. "I wonder what made the two of you travel so far from home? We are almost halfway around the world."

"Oh, they are with us."

Aang, Suki and Toph had held their distance to not ruin the moment. However, now was the perfect time to introduce themselves to the man. Bato looked over them. At first he wondered why a blind girl would travel with them, but she walked like someone who knew how to defend herself. The older girl was easier to read; she was a warrior and Bato didn't doubt that she could give many of his tribesmen a good fight. Last he saw the boy and stopped dead in his tracks when seeing his tattoos.

"Well, this comes really unexpected," Bato admitted.

Aang felt a little uncomfortable due to the man's attention on him and rubber the back of his bald head. "You know, there is a long story behind all of this."

"Oh, I believe you right away about that and I can't wait to hear it. No airbender has been seen for a century, after all,"Bato remarked, finding this quite interesting.

"Actually, there's a really interesting story behind that as well. My name is Aang, by the way," Aang said, not exactly eager to tell the story yet again.

"Well, I can believe that, Aang..." Bato then saw how close Sokka was to the redhead girl. "Ohhh, a girlfriend? You're growing up much faster than I anticipated, Sokka."

Sokka and Suki blushed a little. "Yes, my name is Suki, but we are not at that point yet, though we are testing the waters. Is there a problem with that?" Suki finally said, hoping there wasn't some kind of tribal problem.

Bato held up his hands defensively. "Oh no, not at all. Honestly, I already felt that Sokka would stay single unless he'd look outside of the tribe. Actually, by the way you're holding yourself, you must know a lot about fighting. I respect that."

"Good. I already get enough stupid remarks for being a girl who's a warrior," Suki said, hoping there wouldn't be a problem with that as well.

Bato knew to better avoid that topic, as the girl seemed to have made some bad experiences. "No complaints from my side."

Suki felt relief that he wasn't giving her grief for her choice of career. She did remember Katara telling her what their sister tribe was like about women. Speaking of Katara, Suki noticed... did Katara actually look jealous when Bato had said she's Sokka's girlfriend?

Since I sincerely doubt she's in love with her own brother, she must feel left behind in that department in general, Suki concluded.

Bato meanwhile approached the final member of the group. "Oh, and who are you, little girl?"

If there was one thing besides people making an issue of her blindness - apart from herself making fun of it - that ran Toph up the wall, it was calling her 'little'. She did have her pride after all. "Hey, I'm almost a teenager!" She stomped on the ground, causing a stone pillar to shoot out, bringing her to eye level with Bato. "The name's Toph, and I hate people making fun of my height."

"Peace. I didn't mean any offense," he apologized, not voicing his opinion that Toph already qualified as a moody teenager.

Bato felt that Sokka and Katara had found a truly strange circle of friends. He then however finally seemed to remember something. "However, we should leave the beach. There's a Fire Nation ship anchoring not far away and I really don't want to invite trouble."

"You know, there's a really interesting story behind that as well," Katara admitted, hoping Bato wouldn't react negatively.

Bato stopped in his tracks when hearing this. "Somehow I dread hearing that particular story."

o

The inside of Bato's quarters at the monastery was homely. Decorated in the style of the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka and Katara felt right at home, and also said so. That was only underscored by the cooking pot in which Bato was preparing a stew, which only served to make Sokka and Katara a bit homesick.

However, Bato's thoughts were at other things, since he had no idea what to think of the story that had unfolded in front of him, especially with their extra 'guests'.

The nuns in the monastery had every right to be nervous, considering that the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and the Dragon of the West were present, not to speak of the former wife of the Fire Lord. Only the girl was breaking the mold, being pretty much an unknown factor. Bato of course did not trust them, not after what happened in the past, but with everyone vouching that there was no ill intent, he had promised not to judge them until he had heard them out.

And quite a story it turned out to be, causing him to constantly ask if he had heard correctly. Now looking at the four people from the Fire Nation, he re-evaluated his opinion of them.

Prince Zuko had clearly suffered a lot in some way, as evidenced by the huge burn scar on his face, but in the course of his exile had learned to dislike the war his own nation was waging. Being confronted first-hand with all the consequences was bound to do so. Zuko had made it clear that while he loved his home nation, he knew that the war was steering it into towards an abyss from where it would never recover from.

Retired General Iroh was very different from what he'd imagined him to be. For someone who had fought so many battles and was famed for breaching the outer walls of Ba-Sing-Se, he couldn't be further from what would first come to mind. He was a man who had realized through personal loss, that the war was not was he was told all his life. The man now seemed very anti-militaristic, although he wouldn't shy away if fighting was the only solution.

Lady Ursa was a surprise, as he had imagined the wife of the Fire Lord being a pampered, totally loyal and useless woman. Ursa was the exact opposite. She'd despised life at the palace and got disposed of like a useless tool. The years living in bitter poverty had hardened her considerably and Bato had to admit, if not for the fact his wife was waiting for him back home, he would be quite tempted.

The girl, Mai, was a bit of an enigma. Running away from a home that suffocated her with its rules to travel with the boy she had feelings for, she was still guarding her inner self well. It was a bit disheartening that the scars from her rigid upbringing made her so reserved. After all, someone who is willing to give up everything for the happiness of someone else had to have a kind heart.

Seeing people like them put his belief that the Fire Nation only consisted of war-mongering bastards into question.

He also had seen the changes in Katara and Sokka.

When they had left, Sokka still was an immature young teenager who had been denied the warrior training all the young men normally go through. However, this older Sokka was different. While he still was awkward in his own way, he had matured quite a bit and Bato more than once was reminded of Hakoda. Last he'd seen him, he was playing around with his boomerang and now Sokka actually was close to getting a girlfriend.

Hakoda indeed had missed a lot.

Katara was, if anything, an even bigger contrast. The similarities to Kya now were striking and whereas Katara two years ago had been a helpless girl, she now freely demonstrated how far her waterbending had grown due to her working so hard on it. However, he had become shocked when learning what had happened to her on that prison rig and that she had a few lasting scars from it.

Hakoda won't take it well once he learns of that, Bato thought, knowing Hakoda would take what happened to Katara badly.

The friends Sokka and Katara had gathered around themselves couldn't be more exotic as well.

First of course was Aang. Bato still couldn't believe that this boy was the Avatar, having awakened after 100 years inside an iceberg. In all the stories he'd grown up with, the Avatar was made to be someone bigger than life. However, seeing how Aang pretty much was your average 12-year old boy reminded Bato that even the Avatar had to come from somewhere.

The girl Suki had led a group of female warriors who had kept the peace on their island. Sadly however, the Fire Nation had invaded recently, forcing her into exile to protect the Avatar. The signs between her and Sokka were clear - painfully clear. The chemistry between these two reminded him of his wife. Also, while the idea of a girl being a warrior might be unusual to him, her body language screamed to take her very serious.

Last but not least, Toph Beifong. He had of course noticed the girl's blindness, but she was capable of moving around without much problem. She might look like a helpless little girl, but after that demonstration of her earthbending earlier, Bato knew she was far from it. Of course, leaving her home after being promised to some stranger was very understandable.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to make such interesting friends and experience this much adventure," Bato finally said after the recounting of the incident at the prison rig.

"Trust me, we didn't either," Sokka admitted, finding it a little difficult to believe that a few months the most excitement had been fishing together with Katara. "On the other hand, you probably didn't expect being away from home for so long, either."

"True. Thank you again for telling me how my family is faring." Bato then gave the four from the Fire Nation a look. "You know, had they not vouched for you, I would have been tempted to attack despite my injuries."

"Believe, we know how that feels. Well, at least we imagined an angry mob chasing us away when entering your village, not just one untrained guy," Zuko admitted, ignoring the look of annoyance Sokka gave him at this reminder.

"Oh, I found it amusing to watch you handling him with such ease," Mai added, unable to help it. It always was amusing to see Sokka's expression at this reminder.

Sokka looked ready to shout, but Suki's hand on his shoulder calmed him down.

Suki was calm, but gave Zuko a knowing look. "Oh, perhaps he was untrained back then. Last I heard however, he keeps up with you quite well, although it is kind of an unfair advantage you got trained by a master swordsman."

Just by watching this I can already predict it won't be too long before these two can't get enough of each other. Bato poured himself a drink. "As unusual as your help is, it surely can't hurt. Maybe with the Avatar learning the elements, we do have a chance in this war after all."

Katara sighed. "Bato... about that. Things are about to get much, MUCH worse."

"How do you mean? Is that something you haven't told me yet about?" Bato wondered, seeing how Katara actually looked scared.

Aang looked pained, answering for Katara. "Well, I got into contact with Avatar Roku, and he told me what the Fire Nation is planning to do. They used the power of a comet to become much stronger, destroying my entire people with this power. The same comet is returning at the end of summer."

-splink- Bato dropped his cup when hearing these news. "You mean...?"

Sokka grimaced. "If the war isn't over by the time the comet arrives, we have lost. Then everything was futile and the Fire Nation has conquered the world. We are now on a time limit."

"But, the Fire Lord can't..." Bato was trying to find words.

Ursa shook her head, knowing too well that Ozai would. "You don't know Ozai like I do. He wouldn't hesitate to use the comet's power to cause as much death as possible, if it means gaining final victory. Like he has discarded me, he would set the Earth Kingdom ablaze as something he sees as an obstacle."

"Believe me, she is not exaggerating about my brother," Iroh added, remembering how his brother had turned out when growing up. "He does see the continuing resistance of Ba-Sing-Se as a personal insult against him."

Those were shocking news to Bato. Everything Hakoda and his men had done up to now seemed so meaningless compared to the doom lurking at the horizon. "Great spirits..."

"Yes, that's what I thought as well. My brother would use the comet's power to literally raze down as much of the Earth Kingdom as it's possible. Should that happen, no one would be left to stop him," Iroh brought the matter to the point. "While our priority is to ensure the Avatar learns the elements, we do have to see the bigger picture."

Ursa gave Aang a gentle look. "No offense, Aang, but even with all the power you can learn, the Fire Nation still has enormous armies at its disposal. You can't win on your own; never manage to reach Ozai to challenge him. That's where you need allies who free the way for you and make sure to keep your back clear."

"So you are not only on the way to the North Pole to secure waterbending training, but also to forge an alliance?" Bato asked, no intrigued.

"Yes, but there's a problem. You see, even though Aang is the Avatar... he's not exactly someone who can do that. Hell, many wouldn't even give him any authority, because he's a kid," Sokka said, not bothering to sugarcoat it. "However..."

Bato had a feeling what Sokka was playing at. "Your father not only would have the authority, but it would also give your friend the support of the Southern Water Tribe..."

Katara hated to pull their father into it, but there was little choice in the matter. "Perhaps this can finally give the two tribes the chance to get a better understanding of each other. Some of the things I heard from Gran-Gran..."

Bato hadn't askd, but it was clear that something about their sister tribe had riled up Katara. He started to pace, trying to get his thoughts into order. "Our current battle at the shores of the Earth Kingdom... Totally irrelevant compared to what's at stake now. ... This is very, very serious..."

"He reminds me of Zuko. He's also sometimes pacing like this when he's pondering something," Mai remarked to Suki.

"He does?" Suki was always a little surprised to hear what kind of strange habits Zuko got at times, although she knew she probably got some as well. "I took him for being more the brooding type."

"Oh, he does that as well," Mai added, unable to hide a hint of amusement.

Now I know why I dreaded Mai having regular contact with other girls her age... Girl talk with me as the topic, Zuko thought, hoping he didn't show any reaction.

"I see little other choice... Some in the Earth Kingdom might see this as abandoning them, but this is too serious. Hakoda needs to know about this; needs to take charge. If anyone can convince the Northern Tribe to enter an alliance, it's him," Bato said mostly to himself.

Bato knew this was a drastic change of strategy for them, but they no longer could allow themselves to mess around and were on a time limit.

"My decision is made," Bato announced. "Chief Hakoda needs to know of this as soon as possible. I'll do anything needed to convince him to take course for the North Pole right away." He looked to Sokka and Katara. "Both of you most likely are going to meet your father faster than you thought you'd be."

"Oh man!" Sokka said in anticipation, while Katara looked less than enthusiastic.

"Uhm, thank you. You know, that's kind of a big thing you're gonna do," Aang thanked Bato.

Bato shook his head. "No thanks needed. I would be unable to live with myself if I simply ignore the looming danger." Before his mind's eye he saw horrific visions of the Earth Kingdom in flames while the trail of the comet covered the sky.

No, never... Bato would do anything to prevent that from happening.

"For now however, tell me everything, regardless how unimportant it seems," Bato said, before turning his attention to the cooking pot to make sure the stew he was preparing wouldn't burn.

And tell him they did.

Bato was impressed at their adventures, though Hakoda would be sick with worry over the dangers his children had gotten into. The whole story this time unfolding in front of him, he knew Hakoda would have lots of questions once he told him. Bato also felt that he now had potentially more nightmares. As if the comet was not bad enough, there also was that part with an Avatar from the future.

Bato had listened to Aang trying to describe what he had glimpsed that Imbalance had done to the world. The description alone was enough to keep him awake at night. And the worst part was, there was nothing they could do about whatever it was - only Aang could, and he had no idea yet how to do so or what the Imbalance actually was.

Bato felt like his life had changed in mere hours.

The door opened and one of the nuns entered, looking a bit guarded at the presence of so much Fire Nation. "Excuse me, but a messenger delivered this for you."

"Thanks." Taking the offered scroll from the woman, Bato read through it. "Good news, I was told where the rendezvous point is located. Would take me only a few days to get there on foot - I can always get my ship when we are sailing north."

Bato's declaration felt to everyone present like a sign.

"So all of you will come north?" Sokka asked.

"We have to. Things have changed... forever. The endgame is approaching and we either win, or go under." Bato knew he had to be blunt about it. "No more messing around."

This was a sign that the game had been changed now, and that maybe they did have a chance after all. Just a bunch of children and teenagers - no way they could win this, even if one of this was the Avatar. Having the needed manpower to back up their cause? Then they could have a chance after all.

...the next day, inside the Fire Nation Palace...

Admiral Zhao was not his usual confident self. He had gotten orders to make haste to arrive in the capital in order to appear in front of the war cabinet and the Fire Lord in order to give a report. While he knew the Fire Lord favored him, he also knew that the number of his enemies in the war cabinet was great. His recent failure to keep the Avatar prisoner had cost him lots of credibility and was now endangering his plans.

Being called before the war cabinet like this meant that certain elements were now trying to cut him down and even the Fire Lord must have agreed to that tribunal. This was happening at the worst possible moment, while his forces were gathering for the very plan that would land him in the history books. He had to somehow stall for more time.

Finally, the carriage arrived at the palace and guards were quickly escorting Zhao towards the war chamber, where everyone would be waiting for him.

Earlier then he wanted he stood before the war cabinet while the Fire Lord sat behind the wall of flames. To his surprise, he saw Princess Azula sitting close to the wall of flames, making him wonder why a teenager was attending such an important meeting. The girl's expression was unreadable, yet he felt like she was watching him closely the entire time.

"Your Majesty, I have followed your orders to appear before you and the war cabinet to report about my current plans and the war effort in the Earth Kingdom."

"The war cabinet is ready to hear your report, Admiral Zhao," Ozai told him without much emotion in his voice.

Zhao knew, he should better sell this well. "I have to first report on on the progress our troops are making in the Earth Kingdom. Resistance is crumbling quickly and whatever there still is, comes only from insignificant groups that can not cause us much trouble. The march of the Fire Nation's armies to Ba-Sing-Se is now only a matter of time and little more. I can personally reassure this war cabinet that my plan to conquer the Northern Water Tribe has the highest priority. Preparations for the operation are well underway at this very moment as the fleet under my command is preparing for the journey north. Those savages are weak and will be brought to heel easily. Once they are brought under control, the war effort can be entirely concentrated on Ba-Sing-Se for a swift final victory."

Zhao already saw the looks he was getting from the war cabinet and knew this would get ugly.

"You sound very optimistic, Admiral." As soon as Ozai said that, Zhao knew he would not get the protection of the Fire Lord. "However, there are others in this cabinet who are not of the same opinion."

That was the sign that it was open season without any consequences.

One general stood up, giving Zhao a hard look. "Oh yes, take me for example! How dare you to ascribe the destruction of the great bridge over the Hanliao River, the massacre at the southern coal rigs, or the murder of Governor Wan, one of our most important turncoat assets, to insignificant groups!"

"Also don't forget that the military adventure you are so much invested into promises little in return. Those savages have not left their waters in many decades and we should first concentrate on the Earth Kingdom. We can finish them off later at our leisure," another general scolded Zhao.

The Fire Lord then let the flames rise for a moment to show that he would speak now. "I have to add, Admiral, that you promised me an easy victory against those savages. However, your recent failure at containing the Avatar has made me reconsider my stance."

"Your Majesty, I ask of you to give me this chance. Preparations for the operation are already at an advance stage and all reports confirm that the Avatar is on his way to the Northern Water Tribe in order to learn waterbending from them. It is his only avenue for doing so, after our nation eliminated all the waterbenders in the south." Zhao would not call it begging, but it sounded like that.

"You seem to be more worried about your chance to enter history books than to do your part for the greatness of our nation," one general accused Zhao.

"Enough!" Ozai said and everyone was falling silent. "You are correct in that calling off your operation against the northern savages now would waste a great number of resources. I will grand you the chance to redeem yourself, Admiral Zhao, by defeating the savages. However, I had to satisfy myself that your recent failures have given me significant doubts that you can shoulder an operation of such scale. Therefore, I have decided that someone will supervise you for the entirety of the northern operation."

Zhao felt humiliated. It boiled down to having a minder who would watch his every move. However, Zhao knew that the Fire Lord's word was law. "I thank you, Your Majesty, that you give me this chance. I will not disappoint you. May I inquire who your appointed supervisor will be?"

"Most certainly, Admiral." Even though his face was not visible, Ozai sounded like he was wearing a sadistic smirk. "My daughter, Princess Azula, will take that duty. Her orders are an extension of my will."

Zhao said nothing, even while Azula gave him a mocking smirk. However, he knew that a teenage girl, princess or not, holding his leash, was a public humiliation. While he thanked the Fire Lord, deep inside Zhao was seething.

I won't forget this! Just wait until I have become Zhao, the Conqueror of the Moon, then even you, Majesty, will treat me with the respect I deserve, he thought in anger.

The meeting took a bit longer, but soon enough everyone left, until it was only Ozai and Azula. The flames went out and Ozai indicated to Azula to get up and follow him to the great map.

"Perhaps promoting him had indeed been a little hasty," Ozai said while looking over the map. "It seems I promoted him beyond his level of competence."

"Such things do happen. People like Zhao are good at the level they are, but fail once they have responsibilities they are unable to deal with properly," Azula added.

Being the only ones inside the war chamber, they were looking at the part of the world map showing the northern wastes where the Northern Water Tribe was living. Unlike with the south the Fire Nation had not bothered with them for decades, though that was now sure to change. Many felt those savages could wait until the way more important war in the Earth Kingdom was decided in their favor, but Zhao was forcing their hand now.

Ozai had commented on Azula's firm grasp of world politics and army movements when Zhao's report of the Avatar's escape had arrived. That also was why she had been present at the meeting. Needless to say, the Fire Lord was severely disappointed with his freshly-promoted Admiral. Letting the Avatar escape again, especially under such circumstances, screamed of incompetence.

"Nonetheless, he will be given his chance. Should he fail, make sure he won't even bother with returning," Ozai told Azula and she knew what her father meant with that.

"I will ensure that he will be properly... motivated," Azula added.

"Oh yes, you will. Some men need a firm hand in order to achieve the desired results," Ozai said, again looking at the location of the Northern Water Tribe on the map.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Die is Cast"

Chapter Text

"Aang, you look really tense ever since we parted ways with them," Katara worried while Appa was flying through the labyrinth of the northern Earth Kingdom mountains. "Are you still thinking about the temple?"

"They told me about the people living there. I really need to see how much the temple has changed. And also..." Aang stopped himself.

Katara however had a good guess what that was about. "You are thinking about how the Fire Nation is extorting that Mechanist, aren't you?"

Aang sighed. "My feelings about that are all over the place. One one hand something is screaming in me that he's a coward who has sold out and only makes this war worse. But then I remember that he's doing it to prevent the Fire Nation from killing all of them and I feel horrible for my earlier thoughts."

"The world is not just good and evil and the man got stuck in a nasty position. We have to remember how desperate he has to be," Katara added, her feelings about the whole matter also being complicated.

"Let's hope we can get over with this fast. I feel stupid and bundled up..." Toph complained.

Due to the low temperatures Sokka and Katara had changed back into their warm clothes, Suki had put on her uniform, which was modified for winter and kept warm, and while Aang didn't need extra layers due to his airbending, Toph didn't have that luxury. The girl felt stupid, but couldn't deny that wearing the thick clothes was better than freezing her ass off, though she was still holding out on not wanting to wear fur boots.

They had parted ways with the ship and its crew for the time being. The ship would take course for the northernmost civilian port while they were making a detour to the Northern Air Temple. Since people from the Fire Nation obviously would not be welcome at the Northern Water Tribe, the ship would stay in port and the crew had to try and find ways to pass the time until all business at the North Pole was done.

As it stood right now, after their visit to the temple, they would take course for the port, exchange some final plans and get what they needed before they would make their way north in order to find the tribe. It felt weird that they were this close to actually reaching the North Pole, considering it always seemed so far away.

That moment the mountains parted to reveal the Northern Air Temple.

"There it is!" Aang called, pointing at the structure. "From far away it looks to be intact."

"Must be a wonderful sight..." Toph commented, knowing she wouldn't get it until they would land.

"Look, up there!" Suki called, pointing at things flying around the temple which were not birds. "Are those gliders?"

Aang took a closer look. "Yes, they are. But like we were told, those are not airbenders. An airbender would move through the skies with elegance and under their own power. Those gliders are using trickery to stay in the air and nothing more."

"You sound disappointed," Katara observed.

"Part of me doesn't like how they took something from my culture, altered it and claimed it as their own." Aang wouldn't admit it, but deep inside he felt an unpleasant resentment bubbling up.

Toph let out a dramatic sigh. "Yeeez, even without any earth being around I can feel you being in a pissy mood."

Sokka for his part looked utterly fascinated by the sight. "Interesting to watch how they stay in the air without any bending. Those things could be quite useful for a lot of things."

Suki gave him an interesting look. "You look like you really want to know all about it."

Sokka was not shy to admit the truth. "I always liked building things."

"I should show them how a real airbender flies..." Aang itched to use his glider to give them a show in order to assure himself.

"Maybe later, Aang? We better introduce ourselves first," Katara suggested.

Aang really wanted to fly off - airbender instinct - but Katara telling him that made him reconsider. It more was the fact that it was her asking him than anything else. "All right, let's try to land first."

Aang then decided to fly closer. They did pull up to one glider whose pilot sat in a strange chair with wheels. The pilot did notice them and his eyes went wide. "Woah! I've never seen something like that before!"

"Oh, uhm, excuse me, but can you show us where we can land safely?" Katara asked, feeling this had to be one of her more unusual conversations.

The pilot set aside his surprise, now being excited at seeing the giant sky bison. "Oh yes, I do! Follow me and you'll be on the ground in no time!"

During the whole thing Toph rolled her sightless eyes. "I feel kind of excluded." It was one of those moments where her blindness was a real problem for her.

They were being led to a big landing platform were numerous youths were already waiting, having watched the gliders and now being in awe when seeing Appa. Thankfully, they did make space when seeing how big Appa was, so he managed to land without any further trouble. Aang for his part was taking a look at the temple and comparing it to the memories from when he had visited it together with Gyatso. He did notice several changes like chimneys.

"Honestly, I never saw something like that before!" It was the pilot, now out of his glider, though still in that strange wheeled chair with his legs not moving.

"Oh, Appa gets that a lot," Aang said, still being distracted.

"Man, you must be the Avatar! We have already heard about you!" the pilot said excitedly.

"Oh, you did?" Aang didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

Suki for her part knew how that must have come to be. They must have seen the wanted posters. That honestly is not the way Aang should rise to prominence.

Toph meanwhile had jumped down. "Ah, wonderful stone! Eeeek! Cold! Cold! Cold!" she then gasped when feeling how cold the stones actually were.

"Gives you a little taste of what's to come," Sokka reminded her.

"Very funny, Snoozes," Toph spat out, having finally found a nickname for him some days ago."Look, I don't want to risk freezing my toes off!"

"No problem, the inside is heated. Follow me!" the pilot said. "By the way. Teo is the name!"

Heated? I don't remember the temple having something like that, Aang thought, knowing that had to be one of changes made by the Mechanist.

As soon as they were inside, things indeed did warm up. "Aaaahhh, much better!" Toph no longer had cold feet, but then noticed Teo's mode of transportation. "Huh? Is there any reason why you are moving in that thing?"

"Toph!" Katara gasped, realizing how insensitive that had to sound.

"No, that's what everyone asks me first," Teo waved it off, not sounding offended. "I got caught up in a flood when I was younger and my legs got crushed by debris. Ever since then they don't work properly anymore and my father built this chair for me so that I can still be mobile." He then again looked to Toph. "Guess we both are members in the club for cripples."

That normally would have sounded incredibly offensive, but Toph only chuckled. "I already start to like you. Finally someone who gets it!"

"You can still feel them?" Suki asked, pointing at how Teo's legs were wrapped up.

"Why do you think they are wrapped like that? If I try to move them even a little it hurts like nothing else. Keeping them immobile saves me from constantly screaming in pain." Teo seemed to be used to his injuries if he could talk about it like that.

"What exactly did your people do with the temple?" Aang asked, looking unsettled when seeing metal pipes being bolted to the ceiling of the corridors.

The big hall they then entered, the central part of this part of the temple, had gone through some significant changes. While someone clearly had tried to not make it intrusive, the changes were insulting to Aang's eyes. There were metal pipes - a lot of them. While the statues and murals were all still there, the metal pipes in the hall looked like they got stapled on - not to speak of metal elevators and strange machines moving in dark corners.

The big sky bison fountain at the back wall looked bizarre with pipes left and right of it, though at least it still was giving clear water, only that the water now was flowing onto some kind of wheel which powered some machine. At least whoever did this didn't decide to ram the pipes straight through the walls.

Part of Aang felt all of this was a sacrilege.

"Oh, Dad felt it important to improve our standard of living. Why do you think is that warm in here? Heated air is being pumped in. At first he talked like he wanted to tear out the insides of this place, but for some reason he toned it down a lot. He never told us where that change of heart came from." Teo honestly looked puzzled.

While that should have reassured Aang, it didn't. If anything, the words 'tear out' only served to alarm him. "I need to see something for myself..." Without another word he set off.

"Did I say something wrong?" Teo wondered while they followed him.

"He knew the temple when it still was occupied by the monks. Seeing the changes made in it is really riling him up," Suki guessed. "How many changes did your father make?"

Teo tried to remember. "Quite a lot of them, though he tries to avoid structural changes or building over the wall pictures."

"Are you joking? The insides of the walls are filled with metal pipes. It's like a labyrinth," Toph said, sounding honestly amazed at what she was sensing. "I could get lost following all of those..."

"Wow, this is all very interesting. I really need to meet your father." Sokka did sound excited by what he was seeing.

"Sokka, while I like your enthusiasm, try to keep a lid on it, all right?" Suki told him, knowing how excited he could get at something that interested him.

They followed Aang back outside and over a stone bridge until they did reach a separate tower of the temple which held big statues and originally was used for group meditation. Nothing had changed in that place, though Toph did notice that despite the hall having no roof the floor was warm, much to her delight. Aang did look around, and the sight was calming him.

"At least this part was not ruined..." Aang sighed in relief.

"Ah, you mean this tower! Would you believe that Dad originally had planned to tear down that wall and rip out the floors so he could turn it into a bathing house? Though, he changed his mind and we now mostly use it for other things. Good thing, it looks awesome." Teo only then noticed Aang looking pale. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, maybe you should stop talking about tearing stuff down? His heart rate feels like he's really riled up." Toph was not Ms. Sensitive, but she realized that Aang was getting more agitated by the moment.

"Um, all right?" Teo looked a bit unsure what this was about. "Sorry, but I don't get why he's not liking what we built."

"Oh, we have visitors?"

That was the Mechanist entering through the big gate at the far end of the hall, riding on some contraption that looked like a cart with a steam engine, transporting building material in the form of bricks. Sokka looked at the cart with utter fascination and Suki already knew that his passion of building things had been roused.

"Ah, Dad! They arrived on a flying bison! Isn't that amazing?!" Teo greeted him.

"Really? Fascinating! I did see the pictures of course..." It seemed the Mechanist was fascinated by the revelation.

"Ehm, you did all of that?" Sokka asked.

"I certainly did." The Mechanist looked proud of his accomplishments. "The temple was an empty shell when we arrived. I took what was there and made many improvements. Granted, at times it was complicated..."

Aang however had a different reaction. "What have you done with the temple?!"

"Ah, you noticed. Making this temple habitable again was quite some work. The real difficulty was where to put the needed pipework. I know my solution not the most pleasing to the eye at times, but some sacrifices have to be made for progress." He seemed oblivious to Aang's mood.

"Some sacrifices?!" -CRAC!- Aang finally lost his composure, flipping over the cart with a burst of wind, scattering the bricks. "The temple looks like you cut it apart and then put it back together with different parts! ... And what have you done with the dead?!" Aang already had the horrible thought of them simply dumping the bones over the cliff.

The Mechanist was taken aback by the anger. "Ah! Peace! We didn't desecrate them! We turned some chambers in the basement into bones houses."

"Aang, stop it!" That surprisingly was Suki. "Yelling like that won't change anything."

Aang still looked angry. "I hate what they did with the temple..."

Suki then looked to the man. "You are the Mechanist?"

"Yes. You already knew of me?" the man wondered.

"Let's say we were told about you by some people who visited you some years ago," she told him and then saw his expression change.

"Dad, is something wrong?" Teo wondered.

"No, no. I only want to show them my workshop. Why don't you go to your lessons? I think you'll be late otherwise." The Mechanist then saw Teo leave quite fast, his son clearly having forgotten that fact.

o

The workshop of the Mechanist was quite the place of wonders - especially for Sokka, who looked very eager to look at the various inventions the man had made over the years, as well as the blueprints hanging on the walls. A candle on the dask, which was giving off some popping sparkles all of a sudden, did catch his interest.

"Interesting. What is that?" Sokka asked the Mechanist.

"Oh, that is my candle for measuring time, I invented it after I became dissatisfied with sundials and hourglasses. Each time a full hour is reached, that happens. Though, I admit it is a bit impractical and I'm looking into ways to measure time better," he told Sokka.

I better don't tell him the Fire Nation already got mechanical clocks, Sokka thought, remembering the big clock he had seen on Zuko's ship.

"Granted, just a small thing in my long list of inventions, like my finger-safe knife sharpener. Took me only three tries." Sokka recoiled in horror when seeing the three prosthetic fingers on the man's left hand.

"Oh dear, someone else with a severe lack of self-preservation instincts," Suki sighed, wondering about the world and a lack of common sense. "If this goes on, I could become as cynical as Mai."

"We are not here to talk about those things." Aang still was not in the greatest of moods. "We are here to talk about him creating weapons for the Fire Nation."

The Mechanist deflated. "You know about that."

"The people from the Fire Nation who visited you several years ago? They told us what is going on here." Katara honestly didn't like the situation.

"When the soldiers came, they were about to murder all of us without a second thought. I did throw away my pride... I begged them on my knees and offed anything if they spare us..." The Mechanist looked traumatized by the memory. "It was by pure chance that Qin was among them and decided it be more fruitful for the Fire Nation to milk me rather than kill me."

Aang didn't sound impressed. "Coward..."

The Mechanist however didn't like that accusation. "We are all civilians without any kind of training or weapons. Would you rather have me stay proud and let them slaughter all of us?!"

Taken aback by this outburst, Aang realized what he had implied was beyond the pale. "No... no, I don't."

"And no one else knows?" Suki asked.

The Mechanist's shoulder dropped. "I was too ashamed at what I had to do to secure our survival. I know my son would be bitterly disappointed with me."

"What I don't get is how no one here seems to know what you are doing? How do you even manage to hide all of it?" Toph was confused how the Mechanist even after years could keep it secret.

"All the exchanges take place here, and the place is off-limits unless I want someone in here." The Mechanist then shook his head. "As for my secret workshop, it's behind a special door. An interesting lock... I had to invent a special air pump to get it open, but no one else can enter the rooms behind it."

Aang gasped. "You are using the inner sanctum as a workshop?!"

Realizing his mistake, the Mechanist held up his hands. "There are no alterations there! I didn't touch what's in there! I only use the available space for my needs. I also have to warn you that Qin is scheduled to arrive today."

"Today?" Sokka didn't like the implications of that. "Great timing we have. When?"

The Mechanist checked his candle. "In several hours."

Aang took some deep breaths. " You better decide what's truly important for you, or I will decide it for you. Now, I need some time in the air..."

"I better go with him. He's not at his best right now." Katara then followed Aang, hoping to get his mind on other things.

"What about you, Toph?" Suki asked the girl.

"This place is weird. I never before felt something like this, so I want to take a closer look. Also, no chance I go outside, I would only freeze my toes off." That said, Toph left to get a good feel of the place.

"I guess that only leaves the two of us?" Sokka gave Suki a hopeful look that she would stay there with him.

Suki sighed. "Don't worry, if anything, I have to be present to make sure your enthusiasm won't get you into trouble. Though, I admit it's interesting how all of this was done without bending."

The Mechanist then interrupted them. "Speaking of which. There is something I could use your help with."

...at the same time...

"I thought you were supposed to attend to your lessons?" Katara asked Teo while he was readying a glider for her.

"I think this here is more important," Teo waved it off. "You asked how it feels to fly when it's not on a huge bison, so let's find out."

Katara then looked to where Aang was looking over the cloud-covered valley below. He had been that way ever since arriving at this spot and she couldn't blame him. The day after all had been very stressful for him. Though, ever since Teo had arrived and offered to let her use one of their gliders, Aang was observing her closely and promised he would help her with her first true flight.

"Aang, I'm almost ready," Katara called while getting into the glider.

Aang looked at his own glider. "All right. I'm waiting for you to be ready to go."

"I hope you know what you are doing..." Katara had looked over the edge, and seeing how far down the ground was she no longer was sure anymore if this was a good idea.

Teo for his part didn't see the problem. "Hey, I've done this dozens of times."

Katara gulped when again looking how high up they were. For some reason that's not very reassuring.

Aang meanwhile watched them while scratching Momo's head.

"You know, Momo, the day already was hard. The temple is so different now and I'm not taking it well. Maybe I should apologize for how I acted?" The lemur didn't answer him, but the looks he was giving him spoke volumes. "I know, I acted like an ass, but can you blame me?"

Again, no answer, though it again seemed that Momo was smarter than one might imagine and again the looks he was giving Aang were telling. "You are right, I waved aside how they were trying to not change too much. Gyatso would tell me I was rather inconsiderate."

Momo then jumped onto Aang's shoulder and gave off an interesting sound. Aang interpreted it into what he imagined it meant. "Yes, he would tell me to apologize."

"Aang, we are ready!" Teo called.

Aang opened his glider, but Katara looked like she was getting cold feet at the last moment. Teo however didn't allow her to bail out and pushed her. Katara screamed in fear, until she realized that her glider was really allowing her to fly. Moments later Aang pulled up beside her.

"Great, isn't it?" he asked her. "Just be careful you don't swallow any bugs.!" As if to underscore that, Momo did eat a few bugs while they flew through a small swarm.

"Wow, Aang, I had no idea how great this is!" Katara said in amazement, but then realized something. "Aang, I have no idea how to steer this thing! TEO! You didn't tell me... Urgh?!" Katara was cut off when a bug did fly right into her open mouth and she swallowed on instinct. "Urgh! Ack! I- that was a bug!"

Aang knew to better do something, so he used his bending to steer her. "Don't worry, happened to me as well! You can digest it without any problem."

"That's not the point..." Katara feared that throwing up right now would create a huge mess on herself. "Flying might be great, but I have little idea how to steer this thing."

Aang had to admit, Teo had been a little too enthusiastic and didn't explain that to Katara. "Don't worry, I'll guide you."

While Aang used his bending to steer Katara, she gave him a look. "Aang, you look better."

"I needed to clear my head. I was not exactly fair to them, you know?" Aang now looked a bit ashamed.

"I understand why you lost your temper, even though they honestly tried to preserve as much of the temple as they could. However, the living have needs as well," Katara told him while he steered her back to the safe ground of the temple.

"That's true..." Aang then gave her a soft landing. "Here, safe back on solid ground!"

"Wow, not bad at all for a first try!" Teo said in amazement.

"While flying is awesome, I think in the future I prefer flying on Appa," Katara said while getting out of the glider. "You could have told me how to steer that thing. And Teo, not one word..."

Teo knew what she was talking about. "Don't worry, each of us had at least one bug go down the hatch."

That does not make me feel better, Katara thought, still worrying she could vomit at any moment. Aang actually laughing only made the whole thing more embarrassing.

o

Suki crossed her arms. "No, I will not calm down. Not after hearing that we are sitting on a disaster just waiting to happen."

Sokka knew she could be very stubborn when she had set her mind on something. "I'm also afraid it will blow us sky high, but what can what do about something we can't see, hear or smell?"

"As if we don't already have enough problems on our hands..." Suki honestly wished she had not gone with Sokka and the Mechanist, since ignorance was bliss.

The Mechanist had shown them a sealed room in the basement, revealing that sometime after the monks had left, a fissure had opened up and natural gas was leaking into that room. Natural gas that was highly explosive, as the burnt eyebrows of the Mechanist were silent witness of. Problem was that the gas was invisible, couldn't be heard and had no smell, yet had the potential to blow the whole temple apart if being allowed to spread beyond that room.

I almost wet my undies when hearing that. I'm not good with something you can't fight against, Suki admitted to herself.

"What's this?" Sokka asked, holding up a model.

"Oh, the prototype model of a war balloon; the real prototype is in my secret workshop. I'm under intense pressure to make it work, but the problem is that I have real trouble with the fact I can't figure out how to maintain a stable altitude," the Mechanist admitted.

Suki understood the implications. "Wait a moment. If the Fire Nation gains the ability to control the skies... then they would be unstoppable. With only one airbender left in the world, what is stopping them from going anywhere they want and attack from where they are safe from counterattacks?"

"Oh-uh! That sounds really bad." Sokka also understood what a massive game changer that would be.

"Wouldn't I know it?" The Mechanist looked like a massive weight was on his shoulders. "If I actually solve the problem and give it to them... I tried to ignore the consequences."

"So, you actually won't give them anything anymore?" Sokka asked.

"How could I? By now I feel like I could never look my son into the eyes again if I don't do this." The man clearly knew the consequences of such a decision.

That moment Sokka clumsily dropped some things. "Ooops! Let me gather this!"

Suki decided not to comment. "The Fire Nation won't accept that without a fight. So if that's really your decision, you better tell everyone so we can mount a defense against what they will throw at us." That moment a smell reached Suki's nose and she gagged. "Eeeewwwww, what is that horrible smell?"

"Oh, that was my lunch from a week ago. I completely forgot that egg," the Mechanist realized.

"Whatever you do, try to get rid of it! That's an attack on my feminine sensibilities!" She knew how that sounded considering who she was, but she stood firm to it.

"Where is it... where? How can something that small stink so much?" Sokka frantically searched for the broken egg, then stopped. "That's it!"

The Mechanist looked up as well. "Yes, that's it!"

"Do I dare to ask?" Suki wondered while holding her nose shut.

"Rotten eggs! Dump a whole lot of them into that room!" Sokka exclaimed, looking like he had made a major breakthrough.

"The gas will take on the smell of the eggs and we can smell it and find the source of leaks!" the Mechanist added.

"That's all good and well, but get rid of the egg first!" Suki reminded them.

Thankfully, the offending egg then was found fast and removed. While the Mechanist gave orders to dump all the spoiled eggs into the gas room, Sokka walked to Suki, who sat by the open window to get some fresh air. "Sorry, I forgot how unpleasant that must have been for you."

"Oh, I do have smelled worse. You would not believe much a dozen girls do stink after going through extended training in the wilderness." Suki remembered how all of them at the end had smelled like shit. "Sokka, seeing that side of yours shows how much others underestimated you."

"Oh, really?" he asked, listening closely.

"You don't exactly meet the criteria for stereotypical masculinity, and I don't think you ever will. However, that's not a bad thing at all and I like you the way you are." Suki saw that he now was listening closely. "You have other strengths. Ever since coming here that's as clear as day. I see- eeeep!"

Suki stopped when Sokka hugged her. "You have no idea... Damn, for two years I was more a punchline than a protector. You are the first..."

Suki understood. That side of Sokka, the one where he was interested in inventions, in building things, had not gotten any nutrition in his years at the South Pole. From what she had heard from bits and pieces, what he did create was met with eye-rolling dismissal. Her actually telling him that he did have other strengths and not only would have trying to become a warrior in his future meant a lot to him.

She also felt really comfortable with how close he was holding her and she most certainly wanted more of that in the future. Though no way she would tell him how her dreams recently had become... interesting.

...several hours later...

"Oh, that was the hardest thing I've ever done..." The Mechanist did look drained while saying that. "I'm an inventor; a builder. I'm not made for public speaking."

"I think you did well enough," Sokka tried to lift his spirits.

"You only say that because you are horrible at giving speeches," Katara reminded her brother, causing him to grumble and Suki decided to ask later what that was about.

The Mechanist had revealed his secret to the inhabitants of the temple - though he first had told Teo in private. Shock was the most prominent emotion going around, as well as the realization that a confrontation would be inevitable. There was little time for anger when you had to create a hasty defense. Them against an entire army - it would be a highly unfair battle.

The Mechanist knew he had lost some trust and wold have to work hard on regaining it. His own son demonstrated that best. Teo had not been impressed with his father at all, though he had conceded that it had been either him submitting or have all of them being cruelly murdered. Nonetheless, Teo was still giving him unimpressed looks.

Telling him was the hardest, the man thought, looking to where Teo was giving him looks like he had to re-evaluate his father.

"I honestly can hardly be proud of you, considering your inventions are being used for murder." Yes, Teo's faith in his father had gotten damaged.

Aang for his part no longer looked so sure that making the Machinist force a confrontation was the best course of action. After witnessing how the atmosphere in the temple had changed and how everyone was scrambling to build a defense despite none of them being warriors, he realized that demanding something and getting the real deal were two very different things.

"Toph, when it happens, can you help?" Katara asked the girl.

"With how cold it is out there - with all the snow and ice?" Toph looked highly annoyed. "I'll be very limited. I'm in real danger of suffering frostbite on my feet. And even if I try, it really dulls down my sight and concentration."

"Any other earthbenders here?" Suki asked the Mechanist.

"Sadly, the adults all died protecting us from the flood that destroyed our village. The few we do have are children and unable to fight," the Mechanist admitted.

"Can't you blast them with boulders while still being in the temple?" Aang asked Toph. "You know, having big stones thrown at them might convince them to leave."

"Nice idea. While that would be unpleasant, I could ground my teeth together. But I would need someone to actually direct where to shoot to." She pointed at her sightless eyes. "These after all don't work and my seismic sense has limited range."

"Oh, if only my newest invention would work! The war balloon would add some serious power to the air attacks," the Mechanist bemoaned.

"Ah, I remember you mentioning it." Sokka pointed at the model. "You said the problem is with keeping the altitude stable?"

"Yes, I'm flummoxed. You see, all the hot air in the balloon will make it rise, but it's useless if it rises the entire time. Making a hole in the top also was pointless, since it only caused the hot air to escape really fast," the Mechanist described the problem.

"Hmmm..." Sokka took a closer look at the model. "I got it! I..."

-ding ding ding ding-

The bell stopped Sokka's eureka moment and the Mechanist looked worried. "He's coming. You are sure...?"

"We won't run," Aang told him.

The Mechanist wanted to try again, but the trapdoor opened and War Minister Qin arrived, traveling up on a one-person elevator. "I hope your promise was not empty. Otherwise..." Qin stopped when seeing who was present. "You are giving shelter to the Avatar?!"

"You have a problem with that?!" Aang couldn't help but being blunt, knowing that man was openly threatening to order everyone in the temple being killed.

Qin looked to the Mechanist. "Giving shelter to the Avatar has been decreed to be treason by the Fire Lord. However, I will not mention your transgression as long as you hand him over and finally give me progress on the project."

"N-no... I won't!" the Mechanist got out.

"You are refusing?" Qin gave the man a dangerous look.

"Y-you won't get the Avatar and I won't give anymore." The Machanist was surprised at how he was actually managing to stand up to the man.

"What impertinence... You know the consequences," Qin warned him calmly.

The Mechanist knew that all too well, but feeling his son's eyes on him, he knew there was no going back now. "I-I know, but my decision is made."

"And that is your final word?" Qin got no answer. "All right, so be it. For breaking the terms and refusing to hand over the Avatar, you have sealed the fate of all those living in this place," Qin told him coldly. "Don't think you aren't replaceable."

"We will be prepared!" Aang declared, though he knew it was all outside bravado. "You won't be able to hurt them!"

"Oh yes, you are young and foolish." Qin honestly didn't see why the Fire Nation had made the Avatar such a priority. "I have a whole army at hand to flatten this temple outright. You will get a demonstration where disobedience leads to."

The elevator then lowered, Qin vanishing, before the trapdoor closed shut.

"Dad, you really..." Teo couldn't believe his father actually had found the courage to openly resist the man.

"Teo, help the others to prepare..." The man looked emotionally exhausted. "But first... Sokka, what did say about the balloon?"

Sokka only now noticed the model still being in his hands. "Uhm... yes. Well, I think you overthought the entire thing. You said the problem was that the balloon either continues to rise or loses the hot air too fast. But... I saw some other machines in this place. Why not install some kind of vents at the top that you can open and close to regulate how much hot air is in the balloon?"

The Mechanist looked floored at the simple concept. "Why- why didn't I find that solution? It's so simple!"

Sokka gave him an interesting look. "I guess you looked so much at the details, you lost sight of the obvious?"

"I must be getting old..." the Mechanist mused when realizing how he had missed something that obvious. "Boy, I need your help to modify the war balloon and get it ready in time."

Sokka looked to the others.

"Go, that's important. We'll deal with getting our defense into place," Suki told Sokka, knowing he was needed to get the balloon ready for use. "And Sokka... never again let anyone tell you that you don't have talents. You are likely saving our skins here."

Sokka blushed a little at Suki's praise.

"Oh man, I hope this won't go south..." Aang groaned, only now feeling the whole weight of what would soon happen and the gravity of his mere presence.

...some time later...

"The wait is getting to me..." Toph said, actually wearing fur boots until the time would come to take them off, thus needing someone to guide her. They had gotten her plenty of ammo, but she would need a spotter for her part in the defense.

"Is everything loaded up?" Suki asked, having done the inspection of their other defense efforts, now waiting for what would happen next.

Teo looked to were the gliders were parked. "We loaded all we could. All we could get on such short notice. Hopefully it will be enough."

"Sokka and your father are still not done with the balloon. I hope they won't take much longer. Everyone not being involved has retreated deeper into the temple." Suki then stopped. -booooo boooo boooo- She heard the war horns and knew what it meant. "They are coming."

"Let's hope we can stop them already on the way up," Aang said, opening his glider. "Let's go! Katara, get ready to resupply us and for emergencies!"

Katara understood. Considering all the snow lying on the mountain, waterbending could prove critical here.

She had worked he ass raw to learn as much about waterbending as she could, by now having burned through the scrolls and practicing as often as possible to get better before she would reach the Northern Water Tribe. Aang tried his best, but despite his talent, he was not an ideal student and Katara knew his road to learning waterbending would be considerably longer.

"GO!"

The gliders took off, following Aang.

They soon saw them - the column of soldiers marching up the path which led to the top of the mountain and the temple. The number of soldiers was considerable - more than they had ever before seen. All of a sudden the true gravity of all of this became obvious. The soldiers of course noticed them, but were unsure how to act against this kind of threat.

"Bombs away!" Teo called and their attack begun.

Their projectiles were different things. Most of the bombs were filled with a sticky slime, while others were filled with actual explosives. The attack was unexpected, soldiers either getting doused in the glue substances, or getting blown off the path, falling to their deaths with terrified screams. However, the surprise only lasted for so long.

"Firebenders!" a voice shouted. "Shoot them out of the sky!"

Gathering their wits, the soldiers did start to fight back, fire projectiles filling the sky in concerning numbers. Aang looked in horror when seeing the glider next to him erupting in flames, its pilot screaming before plummeting into the clouds hiding the valley below. Aang looked horrified, witnessing first-hand how war reaped in its harvest.

Despite the shock, he knew he had to concentrate on the now. Blasting over a ledge further above, he used his airbending to blast the snow off the rock, causing an avalanche to fall onto the soldiers below. Numerous of them were being dragged down to their deaths while others used their firebending to protect themselves.

Teo understood the situation. "We are only delaying them! There simply too many of them!"

"We need to reload now!" Aang called, seeing how they were running low on bombs.

They flew back up to Katara, who was busy with handing out bombs to those flying by, herself being stationed on Appa with the supplies. However, all of a sudden... -tchank- "Ahhh!" Katara screamed in fear when something shot by, Appa quickly abandoning his post in fear. More of the strange projectiles followed and Katara saw what those were. "Grappling hooks? On chains? But what could...?"

There were at least a dozen grappling hooks, and more shot out form the low clouds, latching onto the edge of the cliffs. That was followed by the noise of something getting closer. And then they saw it. It were armored metal vehicles which big, spiked wheels actually driving up the cliffs. Everyone looked in horror at those monstrous machines.

"Dad..." Teo knew that had to be part of his father work, and it now was coming to bite them.

They desperately attacked those tanks with their bombs, but the heavily armored vehicles didn't care about the sticky slime nor the explosions, continuing their way up the cliffs. Aang even did something either brave or stupid, flying directly at the cliff and blasting the grappling hook out of the rock. The tank in question fell... only to then shoot out another grappling hook.

"Those things are too tough!" Aang yelled in a mixture or disbelief and fear.

The tanks were already nearing the cliff edge and with their protection, the infantry was progressing up the mountain quickly. Suki watched that from the temple walls. "Oh, damn it! They have some sort of armored war chariots and the weapons from the gliders are not bothering those things!"

I hate having to be up here. But being down there would be suicide. We can't risk melee, especially against those machines, Suki thought, feeling bad at not joining the fight directly.

Toph, who couldn't see any of it, still heard everything and her imagination filled in the rest of it. "Time to get serious!" she called, pulling off her boots and grimacing at the cold floor. "Direct me!"

Suki felt a bit weird that she would wield Toph like a weapon, but the other girl said she was perfectly fine with it. "All right, get ready!"

It indeed looked weird when Suki turned the smaller girl into the correct direction and always gave an estimate how far away the enemy was before Toph launched big boulders like missiles. While there were a number of misses, just as many boulders hit their targets. Frighteningly, even though the boulders smashed hard against the tanks, breaking into pieces in the process, it caused only minor damage, dents at best.

"The armor on those things is absurd..." Suki cursed. "Let's try something else..." Suki corrected Toph's aim to instead target the wheels and saw that they were the weak point when a direct hit caused a spiked wheel to fly off.

Aang meanwhile tried something else. Landing right in front of the tanks, he used swiping air attacks to flip the tanks over. It worked... until all of a sudden the cabin rotated back into upright position and the tanks started to move again. It seemed the tanks were designed with earthbenders in mind, who would try to flip them over.

Aang looked at the display in disbelief. "That's unfair..."

Katara watched this from Appa in disbelief as well. "Those things seem to have an answer for all our attacks!"

Teo also looked horrified, especially since he just had witnessed another of the gliders being shot down, one of his friends finding a horrible end. "Those rotating cabins... I saw something similar in Dad's workshop. The balancing has something to do with water."

"Water?" Katara had an idea. "Appa, get me down to Aang."

The tanks by now had already come close enough to the temple that fire projectiles flew towards it. Chunks were being blasted out of the walls and volunteers tried to extinguish the fires before they could set the whole temple ablaze. It was an unfair battle, since it seemed the ire Nation troops get constant reinforcements.

"Take that!" Katara shouted while jumping off Appa. Mere months ago she couldn't have dreamed of what she was doing now, but finally getting training instructions as well as training until she would fall over from exhaustion had given results.

A wave of hard ice blasted into the nearest tank, freezing its systems solid. Another tank had its wheels ripped off by the ice encasing it. However, there were simply too many of them. In desperation, Katara used the snow to cause a small avalanche. However, that only flipped the tanks over, which they quickly recovered from..

Aang and Katara were in real danger of getting overwhelmed when Appa landed and slammed down his tail, the resulting shockwave blasting all nearby troops away. Katara and Aang used the moment to jump onto Appa and get away. The Fire Nation troops meanwhile were closing in onto the small final cliff which was separating them from the temple itself. Should they scale that one as well, they were free to torch the temple.

More bad news reached them as soon as they reached the landing platform. "We are out of bombs!" Teo called.

"And we are out of boulders!" Toph added. "I don't dare ripping stuff out of the temple for ammunition, or it could come down on us!"

-clang- clang- Those were the grappling hooks of the tanks taking hold of the final cliff edge. In desperation the defenders even tried to rip out the hooks to delay the tanks, but it looked like a futile effort.

"This is a nightmare..." Aang said while looking in growing horror at the advancing troops.

"Regardless what we throw at them, it only causes more of them to appear. And those machines completely change the battlefield." Suki knew the Fire Nation using those machines in great numbers would create a massive advantage for them.

"Where is Sokka with that war balloon that he... promised...?" Katara stopped when seeing something fly out of the temple. Something big and red. "There, they have actually done it!"

The morale of the defenders lifted when they saw the war balloon fly towards the advancing enemy. Under the massive red hull of the balloon was the gondola, holding both Sokka and the Mechanist, as well as the heat source, propellers and the controls. Underneath the gondola, huge slime bombs hung, ready to be deployed.

"It really works... You are a genius," Sokka remarked, but then noticed something. "Funny, they are not shooting at us."

"That's because we are flying the insignia of the Fire Nation," the Mechanist reminded him, pointing at the symbol on the balloon hull. "They think we are on their side."

"Well, their bad luck." Drawing his knife, Sokka reached for the ropes holding the massive bombs. "Now they get what's coming for them."

The dropping bombs exploded with a flood of glue-like slime utterly overwhelming soldiers and even causing the tanks to slow down to a crawl. Albeit, even that didn't stop those machines from slowly powering through this obstacle. The enmy was slowed down, partially paralyzed, but still was advancing.

Sokka looked in dismay that their payload had not been strong enough. "Crap, they are still advancing, and we are out of bombs."

The Mechanist felt this was all his fault, then noticed something. "Wait... You smell that?"

Sokka noticed it as well. "Yes... rotten eggs!" He looked down and then saw it. "There, that crevice! That must be the natural gas vent of the mountain. If we only..."

The Mechanist looked in surprise as Sokka began to move the heater. "Wait, without that we won't have any new hot air!"

"It's the only bomb we have! All or nothing!" Sokka called to the man.

Knowing this was it, both of them managed to throw the heated overboard and it fell down the crevice. "Let's hope we won't blow up the temple as well..." the Mechanist let out a prayer.

For some moments nothing happened. Then... -BRAAAOOOOUUUUUMMMM- A massive explosion erupted from the crevice, covering everything in dark smoke. The gas explosion was just as massive and spectacular as the Mechanist had warned. At first they saw nothing, but the strong winds quickly dispersed the smoke and the temple was still standing.

The damage done by the explosion to the landscape on the other hand was massive. The area between the outer and inner cliff had been violently ripped open, leaving behind a chasm destroying the foot path to the temple and taking with it all the troops that had been too close. The tanks were all gone, either thrown off the mountain and falling into the deep hole and the remaining soldiers were fleeing in a panic.

"Look, they are fleeing!" Teo called, pointing. "They've had enough!"

However, their jubilation was cut short when the balloon flew by, losing altitude quickly. "Ahhh! Crap!" Sokka shouted.

"Oh no!" One would think that was Katara, but it actually was Suki's loud gasp of panic.

"Don't worry, I get them!" Aang said, taking off on his glider again.

"Oh, I had a feeling the day would end badly!" the Mechanist yelped, fearing they would crash together with the balloon.

"Don't count us out yet!" Sokka fastened a rope to his boomerang. "I hope this works..."

He threw his boomerang and the rope did coil around the tail of Aang's glider. Both of them held onto the rope like their lives depended on it (which they actually did) while getting pulled onto of the gondola. While Aang quickly made his way back to the temple, hoping his glider would not break with the additional weight, Sokka and the Mechanist watched the balloon vanish into the fog.

"There it goes..." The Mechanist sounded sad. "I hope they don't find it."

"Oh, come on! What are the chances they get it in one piece? It'll be useless junk to them!" Sokka said, then sighed when they again had floor under their feet. "But don't expect me to do that again."

"SOKKA!" Suki ran over to him. For a moment he thought she was angry, but then she grabbed him and drew him into a deep kiss - tongue and everything - not caring she did that in front of everyone else. Sokka quickly surrendered into it and participated eagerly.

People looked surprised and some even applauded, but Toph made a face. "Yuck!" she gasped in disgust before trying to get her boots back on. "Don't do that where I can feel it!"

Finally, the kiss ended. "Never... never do something that stupid again!" Suki finally told Sokka. After that scare, I'm done pretending!"

"You mean... test the waters a lot more?" Sokka had noticed how they were still holding onto each other.

"You better believe I want us to test the waters a lot! After this I don't want us to dance around it," Suki told him, making no secret how this battle had rattled her, making her realize that with how dangerous their lives had become, they did not have the luxury to wait for good things to come to them.

They both were forced to grow up faster than other teenagers, so now they also wanted the good things that came with that as well.

o

The battle was over and only now could they think about what an actual battle entailed. They honestly didn't want to even think about the number of corpses lying at the foot of the mountain after the explosion which had blown away the only foot path to the temple.

The whole thing also had been a painful lesson to Aang. This was the first time he was involved in a real battle and he knew while they had won, there was a big death toll - not only from the Fire Nation but several of the defenders had died as well. He was painfully reminded of the realities of war and the fact that him forcing this confrontation was not only a good thing.

Aang knew all of that while looking over the mountains which were being bathed in orange light from the evening sun. "Katara, did I really do the right thing?" he wondered. It was only him and Katara right now. "I basically bullied them into all of this happening."

Katara knew why Aang felt like that. "While you could have been more understanding about the horrible place they were in, I think the attack would have happened anyway; as soon as they felt the Mechanist had lost his worth to them."

Aang sighed. "Doesn't exactly make me feel better. I understand why they are happy they did survive. However, the sheer toll this day caused..."

Katara understood that this was Aang's first real first-hand taste of how horrible this war was. He saw first hand how much of a blood price it was demanding. It had driven home to Aang how serious this all was. All of this had made Aang very thoughtful - something a twelve-year old shouldn't be.

Katara knew what Aang needed and hugged him. "Don't let this get to you."

There was a silent understanding that while Aang could not avoid becoming more mature - as the war would force him to do so if he wanted or not - he should not lose his positive core, which had defined him so much. Life would go on and he would have to manage to not let it defeat him and preserve his positive personality.

They both also didn't notice that the hug was taking a lot longer than it should have.

However, way down in the forests between the mountains, something else was taking place - something they had no idea about, but which would be a massive problem for them later on.

Fire Nation soldiers surrounded the war balloon. It had crashed through some tree tops, but was still intact. A soldier approached Minister Qin, who was watching the salvage operation. "Minister, we are done with checking the device. We can report that it is intact."

Qin smirked while watching some firebenders heat up the air to inflate the balloon again. While it was regrettable that he had lost his source of plans, all the forces lost today were made up by getting their hands on this prototype. He saw the losses as little more than collateral damage to get the true prize. They had worked on the problem for years, and this prototype would finally give them the missing puzzle pieces to set their industrial complex in motion.

"Excellent," he finally said with satisfaction. "I will personally ensure it will be delivered intact to the research department. This day is a turning point for the Fire Nation - a defeat which opens the path to many victories."

He looked in satisfaction how the balloon got fully inflated, the symbol of the Fire Nation being proudly presented. He enjoyed the symbolism.

...three days later, Port Last...

Port Last was not exactly a shining example of urbanism, but considering its position, it held everything one would ever need in a harbor town.

Granted, the settlement did have a different name, but as the northernmost civilian port of the Fire Nation colonies it had earned itself the name 'Port Last', and everyone outside of official documents called it that. It was the last settlement of the Fire Nation before the cold northern ocean. That of course was, unless you took the military bases into account. The settlement was nothing impressive, but big enough to have everything one could want.

The ship was anchoring some distance away and behind a cliff side, since they didn't want to enter the harbor until after the huge and very noticeable sky bison had parted ways with them again. Though, hearing from their latest adventure at the Northern Air Temple caused some mixed reactions due to the consequences of it.

"Honestly. You take a detour and find yourself in an outright battle," Ursa said while shaking her head. "And what a huge mess it devolved into. I honestly worry about all of you after that."

"It's not..." Toph started, but then could feel Ursa's heart beat and noticed the woman was truly concerned. She then dropped the front. "Look, we are trying, but it's not like we can just take a time out and get back onto our feet."

"You speak from experience." Toph knew Ursa played at her condition after the prison rig. "Just promise me to not neglect you own well-being. Making yourselves sick in the heart would make things worse."

Toph did not show it, but she again felt the sharp contrast to her own parents. Ursa was showing actual concern for them, even though she wasn't related to them at all. It honestly made her wish her parents had been more like Ursa.

Iroh also could only sigh. "Good intentions can have unintended consequences. In this particular instance it also set a chain of events into motion. I'm very sure Minister Qin won't just accept that loss, even though the land path towards the temple got destroyed. They will try again."

Aang couldn't help but to sigh as well. "We all know. Hopefully, we can end the war before they try again. They can get up there with those machines that can drive up walls. I've never before seen something like that. At least the Mechanist won't give them any more."

"His contributions might look great to you, but in the greater picture he was just one cog in a massive war machine which is constantly creating new and better weapons. Though I'm surprised at those new machines of war. They sound formidable," Iroh mused.

"Please don't sound impressed. I know those metal things will give me nightmares for some time. I'm scared that something like that is actually being built," Katara told Iroh, remembering how despite them disabling numerous of those machines, more simply had poured onto the battlefield.

"I still feel kind of guilty. First I blew up at them for living in the temple, then I basically bullied them into having to defend themselves. That was not one of my finest hours," Aang admitted, still feeling ashamed how inconsiderate he had been.

"However, you realized that on your own, and that makes a big difference," Ursa told Aang. "You learned from it and next time will be more considerate of the plight of others."

"That was all a huge battlefield..." Zuko thought aloud, remembering that according to them, the explosion and following collapse and avalanche must have killed many soldiers.

"Zuko, you know that's basically unavoidable until the war is stopped," Mai reminded him, knowing Zuko took such news not well.

"I know. But there always is the feeling that I should be able to do more; to try and prevent so much senseless death." Zuko wouldn't tell her that deep inside he was a mess.

The conflict inside him was close to the breaking point by now, even though he'd worked hard not to show it. There was no going back for him after helping the Avatar so much, and yet the hope that things could somehow return to normal with his father was still stubbornly clinging onto him. The focal point was his father; the stubborn part of him not wanting to accept that he meant nothing to Ozai and he would never be able to change that.

Irrational? Very much so. But also understandable.

However, Zuko already was stressed enough. Ever since the emergence of the Avatar, reality was hell-bent of robbing him of his final delusions. In a way Zuko was relieved that they now had weeks of inactivity ahead of them, meaning his inner conflict would not get additional fuel and he could try to finally get some distance.

"Sadly, the issue of the safety of those refugees in the temple is something we have little control over, apart from ending the war of course," Iroh thought aloud, knowing that there was little they could do about it.

"What do you plan to do now? I mean..." Suki asked.

"Well, no chance we can go any further north." Mai left unspoken they would be even less welcome there than they had been in the south. "No, we'll go into port and then wait... and wait... and wait. I can already see how mind-numbingly boring that will be."

"Better bored than helpless!" Toph protested, grimacing a bit due to feeling the cold metal deck was giving her bare feet. "I'll be stuck up there, being entirely helpless!"

"Well, it's either that, or suffer frostbite on your toes. Remember what happened at the temple," Sokka reminded Toph, causing the girl to show a short look of horror. "I only say, better get used to fur boots."

"Wonderful..." Toph didn't find that funny at all.

A bit later they had re-stocked their supplies and were ready to go.

Mai took Katara aside for a moment. "I know I'm not the best when it comes to being all-loving and that, but there's something I ask from you."

"Really?" Katara had no idea what Mai could want.

Mai gave her a deep look. "You heard pieces of what my life had been and how I was little more than an asset for my parents. What I hear from the North makes my neck hair rise and give me flashbacks. Promise me you won't allow yourself to be pushed around by them."

"Not that I intended to let them. Still thanks for the encouragement," Katara told Mai.

Watching her walk to Appa, Mai couldn't help but to think about it. Yes, what Katara was about to face did remind her of some of the parts of her life she wanted to forget, but the one she was empathizing the most with was Toph, due to both of them having parents who could not see them, though for different reasons.

Wheras her own parents had only seen her as an investment into improving their standing in the hierarchy and cared little for her as a person, Toph's parents were insanely overprotective of her due to her blindness. Ironically, that had led to the same treatment of not seeing the person, and like herself, Toph's parents had planned to marry her off to someone. Though, where she had been lucky to get Zuko, Toph was to be handed off like a prize to some stranger.

Granted, Toph also at times acted like an obnoxious little brat, but Mai still understood her.

She only with half an ear listened to Zuko ordering the helmsman to take course for the harbor while watching the big bison take off and take course north. She knew they now were damned to wait until things could continue. Not something she was looking forward to.

...at the evening...

The ship had entered the harbor hours ago. The boilers were reduced to low activity for the time being to conserve fuel and the crew had gotten what they needed in the settlement. Now everyone was getting comfortable, knowing that the next few weeks would consist of little more than waiting and planning ahead for what would come next.

In light of them staying in port for the near future, Iroh had decided that this night should be music night. Though, while Zuko and Mai by now normally would attend that, both of them really wanted to have some private time and the adults all knew it meant the two of them wanted to make out without anyone interrupting them.

That created some laughter among the crew and some jokes about 'so that's what they call it nowadays'.

The crew had gathered on the deck in the light of several lit braziers and while Lt. Jee was playing a moving piece on his pipa, Ursa was giving her best with the vocals. Everyone had said early on that she did have a wonderful singing voice and she was proving that once more while singing about the fire and loyalty of the dragons.

"She really is a wonderful singer..." the helmsman commented while listening to Ursa singing.

"Little wonder. Remember, she once mentioned that that she trained to be a theater performer," one of the stokers answered.

Iroh also was moved by Ursa's performance, but not only due to how good of a singer she was - and her singing voice indeed was beautiful - but also due to the meaning behind the song. It was more personal to him than anyone - including family - had any idea. Looking around, he also saw how over the years, all of them had grown into a tight-knit community.

Other ship captains would look in horror at how we are doing things, Iroh thought with amusement.

Finally, Ursa was done and bowed before her audience, who gave her thundering applause for her performance.

"That was wonderful, Lady Ursa," Iroh said, raising his cup.

"Thanks. I was always told that I'm a good singer," Ursa said while accepting something to drink to wet her throat.

"What a moving performance."

Everyone fell silent when hearing that voice, as it was a most unwelcome one. Looking to the gangway, they saw that indeed there stood Admiral Zhao, giving them all looks like he had stumbled upon a meeting of dirty street rats. That Zhao was here, in this far-away port, meant that he had come on purpose. That could only mean trouble.

Iroh for his part tried to play along, even though he knew Zhao was their enemy. "Admiral Zhao. What brings you to such a remote place? Perhaps you want to join us at the fire?"

Zhao for his part knew ever since Crescent Isle that they were his enemies. Sadly, he had no way to prove it besides his word and witnesses, and for such a serious accusation, that was not enough. Thus everyone involved had agreed to stay silent about the involvement of Prince Zuko and the other three in that fiasco, as it only would have reflected badly on them.

However, Zhao had not forgotten.

"Oh, I'm not here for pleasure. I'm here for official business," Zhao said calmly.

If anything, that only made Iroh more suspicious. "Kind of an honor that you took the long way just to meet with us."

Zhao's smirk said it all; he was planning something. "Oh, I did not travel alone. There is someone else who can't wait to meet you."

Zhao stepped aside and someone else walked up the gangway. That person was someone all of them recognized right away, since her face after all was widely circulated on pictures throughout the Fire Nation and the colonies. They however had not expected to be confronted with her here of all places and everyone fell silent when seeing Princess Azula enter their ship.

Ursa paled when seeing her daughter for the first time in almost six years. "Azula..." she whispered.

Ursa couldn't help but to see the differences in Azula. When she had left, Azula had been a prepubescent girl of nine years, while the Azula entering the ship was a fourteen -year old teenage girl with all the changes that came with it. But it went deeper than just the physical changes.

At the time she had left, Azula already was heavily influenced by Ozai but still showed sides of a normal girl of her age. This teenage Azula on the other hand showed what five years under Ozai's sole control had done with her. The aura surrounding her felt horribly wrong on a teenage girl and Ursa knew right away that Azula had been changed into something no one her age should be.

Then Azula spotted her. "Ah, right. You are here as well."

Ursa should not have been surprised, but she still was taken aback that underneath the outer indifference her mother instincts detected hurt and bitterness in Azula. "Azula, I..."

"Oh, please spare me your excuses." Azula for her part clamped down on her emotions. "Father was right about you, and that is all I need to know."

Ursa was deeply hurt by those words, as it proved what she had feared. "You believe him without even hearing my side."

"Your actions concerning me spoke a clear language." Azula truly believed that. "Alas, I'm not here to warm up ancient family drama or your failures as a mother. I'm here together with Admiral Zhao on business," Azula then brushed her off.

The crew looked concerned what kind of business that could be.

Several minutes later, Zuko and Mai were being busy in his cabin.

No, they were not busy with that, due to them not yet feeling ready to go that step. However, it didn't mean they weren't enjoying each other, wanting to spend this night together before they would have to return to the matters at hand. They were sure of their privacy, making it clear to not disturb them while they had their private time.

"Mmmhhh, Zuko, your hands are wandering to places normally taboo," Mai told Zuko, sounding utterly relaxed and even playful.

Zuko knew it was in moments like these where she lowered all of her defenses, showing her inner self. "It's not like you are keeping your hands off me, either."

They truly enjoyed moments like these, where they just were two teenagers getting quite frisky with each other, exploing and making each other feel good. It also had taught Zuko how to navigate around all the places Mai had stored sharp stuff in, and he was proving to be really good at it while managing to coax small moans of pleasure out of her.

-bang bang bang bang-

That hasty knocking on the door destroyed the mood. Mai looked utterly annoyed and Zuko grumbled while getting up. "I thought I told everyone to leave us alone..."

Zuko yanked open the door, only to be confronted with Ursa and Iroh looking utterly distraught. "What happened?" Zuko knew something must have happened.

"What happened is, that you have visitors, Prince Zuko."

That voice made Zuko go on high alert right away and then Ursa and Iroh were forced to allow the owner of said voice in. Zhao looked as smug as ever. "Looks like an inopportune time for you."

"What do you want, Zhao?!" Zuko didn't feel like wasting time to be nice.

"What I want? Just your crew," Zhao told him smugly. "By royal order, they are all to be drafted for my special operation."

Zuko couldn't believe it. His crew - his loyal crew - was being stolen from him. He looked to Iroh. "Uncle, please tell me that isn't true!"

Iroh didn't hide how this had caught him on the wrong foot. "He did. He's taking all of them - even the cook!"

Mai meanwhile had gotten up and faced Zhao. "By royal decree? I honestly doubt you are constantly exchanging letters with the Fire Lord to pull this off."

"He doesn't need to."

Zuako and Mai froze when hearing that voice. Then they saw her walking through the door. It had been almost three years since they had last seen Azula. They saw outside changes and how she was now carrying herself. They knew this Azula had changed since they had last seen her. Question also was why she was here.

"Azula?" Zuko honestly had not expected her of all people to appear. "What are you doing here?"

"What, Zu-Zu? Can't I pay my brother a little visit? Also, that scar looks just as bad as word has it," she asked her with feigned ignorance while adding insult to it.

"Considering how much time you've had to do so before now, I know this is not for my sake." Zuko honestly didn't want to play along Azula's games and decided to be direct. "What are you doing here?"

"Really... If anything all that time away from home only made even more choleric than before," Azula tsked. "However, if your happiness depends on it, father appointed me to be at Admiral Zhao's side during his upcoming operation."

"Father appointed you..." Zuko remembered how Ozai had never entrusted him with any responsibilities, thus hearing how Azula at such a young age was getting such an important task reminded him harshly of their father's favoritism.

Mai however snorted. "So what? Are you Zhao's minder who makes sure he doesn't screw up?" Mai then could have sworn Azula's expression darkened for a moment when looking at her.

"I can see why your parents don't want you back. You should not be that disrespectful of the Admiral, or it could take a bad end for you." Unlike with Zuko, Azula didn't put up an air of fake friendliness. "You made clear where your loyalties are when you abandoned me. That was very disappointing."

"Disappointing?" The sarcasm in Mai's voice was clear. "Heard you replaced me with with an underling who does your every bidding. Must have been an interesting job interview."

Azula looked annoyed that Mai was not being afraid of her. "Astria has all the qualities that you lack. Father even commended me on picking someone who is not suffering from divided loyalties."

"Of course you have to do what you feel is right," Mai told Azula, making the girl wonder what that meant.

Zuko meanwhile noticed Zhao looking at something hanging on the wall. "Admiral, what do you find so fascinating?"

"Oh, I had no idea you are using dao swords," Zhao said, looking at the swords in question.

"Really, Zu-Zu, you are still holding onto those things?" Azula said with a suffering sigh, turning to ignore Mai. "Why are you insisting on keeping that junk?"

"They are a gift from Master Piandao. I don't use them because they are too valuable to me." Zuko did lie through his teeth about the last part..

"Oh, really?" Zhao gave the swords one final look. "Nonetheless, I expect all of your former crew to report to my fleet soon. At least they will be witnessing great things; the final subjugation of the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko, Mai, Ursa and Iroh froze for a moment when hearing that. That announcement came as a nasty surprise to them, all of a sudden creating a massing danger to the Avatar. Even worse, there was nothing they could do about with no crew to operate the ship. Things had gone from bad to worse.

"Bad luck for you, Zu-Zu. Now you have no chance to hunt the Avatar at that place as well. Too bad," Azula mocked Zuko.

Zuko by now trembled with barely held-down anger and worry. "Get off my ship..."

"Gladly. It's useless to you without a crew." Zhao then left.

Azula for her part gave them a final look. "Well, have fun in this rusty bucket. As for you, mother, you at least were smart enough to not make a pointless attempt to apologize for abandoning me. That at least is something in your favor."

There was uncomfortable silence when Azula left.

Azula waited until they had walked down the gangway before she asked Zhao the important question. "What was that with Zuko's swords, Admiral?"

"I recognized those swords. They are very distinctive. Prince Zuko is the Blue Spirit. He freed the Avatar from captivity," Zhao said with a growl, still remembering the humiliation. "That can only mean that his little girlfriend is the White Lady."

Azula of course knew all about said incident and hearing that, it all clicked into place. "You are sure about that?"

"Completely." Zhao was working hard to keep his temper under control.

"Treason then. Zuko decided to ignore the greater good of our nation by freeing the Avatar, just so he could capture him on his own. Too bad that the hard evidence is rather thin." Azula knew that even under her father, such a public accusation needed some proof. In her mind it was an annoying formality at best.

"Princess, there are other ways to deal with the problem. And I mean in a permanent way," Zhao offered.

"Really, Admiral?" Azula already knew what Zhao was implying and a small part of her - which she silenced quickly - was horrified at the mere suggestion.

...a bit over an hour later...

"It... was an honor to serve under you, Sir," Lt. Jee said, the gathered crew looking depressed that Zhao had done this.

"I had not expected he would do that." Zuko looked defeated. "Please promise me you won't do anything to give an excuse to Zhao to let you suffer. He is that petty, after all."

All of them knew Zuko had a point, since Zhao had a serious grudge against them ever since the Agni Kai - though some would say merely by being associated with Zuko. It was very much possible that Zhao would only wait for an excuse to do something nasty to them. Lt. Jee knew that as well and that it was now up to him to prevent something like that from happening.

"I will do my best to prevent that. You have my word, Prince Zuko," Jee promised to him.

"I don't think this will be goodbye forever. I have the feeling our paths will cross again soon enough," Iroh thought aloud, though he knew what was happening was a major blow to them.

Watching the crew then leave - who were escorted by some of Zhao's guards at that, showing how little he trusted them - the four remaining on the ship were left with a serious problem.

"Zhao really played us. And Azula... What is her game?" Zuko felt like things were crashing down onto him.

"What my niece is doing here is easy to see. My brother clearly is not trusting Zhao after his latest setbacks and he ordered Azula to act as his eyes and ears. He must be sure that she would follow his orders to the letter." Iroh looked thoughtful, pondering the ramifications of this development.

"As much as it hurt me to see Azula in such a state, We have bigger problems," Ursa reminded them. "Zhao is assembling a fleet to attack the Northern Water Tribe. We have to warn those people."

"Fine and good, but how? The four of us are not enough to use the ship. It's not like we can duplicate ourselves," Mai reminded them, pointing out the obvious problem.

"No, I won't give up..." Zuko walked to the bridge, everyone following him.

Slamming a map onto the table, Zuko looked over it. "Here. Bato explained how the southern fleet will have to sail so that they can reach the North Pole." Zuko drew a line on the map. "We are here and should be able to intercept them. They are our ticket north."

"Well, you are still missing the obvious, Zuko. We are still stuck on this ship," Mai reminded him, feeling the situation was too serious for any snark.

"We have to leave the ship behind. We pack light and find a boat we can use."

Iroh and Ursa, despite how many things they had in their cabins, were surprisingly good at packing light and were dressed for the harsh environment, carrying the essentials and the money on them. They were sent out to get a boat - best one with a sail - so that they could leave the port. Zuko had given the map to his mother while he and Mai were doing some last minute preparations.

However, things were about to get ugly.

"Hm, General Iroh and Lady Ursa have left the ship. Too bad, but they won't do anything once our main targets are out of the way," Zhao said with disappointment while observing the ship through a fixed telescope on his ship. "I'm surprised you don't want to observe this personally, Princess."

Azula, standing nearby, looked indifferent. "Plausible deniability. As much as I know my father told me Zuko is expendable now and will approve of your action, I can not be personally connected to it."

Zhao then watched several of his soldiers stealthily enter the ship, opening the hatch that would lead to the boiler room, carrying several barrels down. He kew those barrels were full with blasting jelly and igniting that next to the boilers would cause a destructive chain reaction resulting in the obliteration of the ship and the death of all still on it.

It was a final solution and Zhao felt satisfaction he finally would get back at Zuko for all the humiliations.

In his cabin, Zuko was done with the final preparations. His swords were strapped to his back and strapped over his shoulder was a bag with the bare essential things he needed. Mai joined him outside on the corridor, having packed light as well. Zuko knew that she had all her knives on her person, though it was encouraging that she was not shy to carry her sword as well.

"As strange as it sounds, I'll miss this ship. It was the first place where I was truly happy," Mai told him while they walked to the bridge tower to see if there was anything left they needed to take.

"I know, but without its crew, it's just an empty shell." Zuko knew it was the crew which had made this ship special, and without them the place felt dead.

Walking onto the bridge, Zuko looked through the maps and papers while Mai was a bit bored. She looked out of the big windows over the deck of the ship... and froze. "Zuko!"

Dropping what he was holding, Zuko ran to Mai's side and he saw what she was seeing; several soldiers running down the gangway. He also saw the open hatch which led to the coal bunker and the boilers. His eyes widened in realization. "The boilers!"

That moment however, it was too late.

-BRAAAAOOOOUUUUMMMM- The blasting jelly ignited and ripped apart the boilers, making the explosion even worse than it already was.

"Ahhhh!" Mai screamed in panic when a massive fireball erupted, easily ripping open the deck.

"Mai!" Zuko knew they were in grave danger. Grabbing Mai, he jumped into the supply closet - which essentially was a massive metal box - slamming the door shut and then covered Mai with his body while using every ounce of his firebending to hold off the inferno that would reach them at any moment.

Iroh and Ursa meanwhile were horrified when seeing the massive fireball erupt from where the ship was docked.

"NO!" Ursa screamed, fearing the worst, while they both ran back to the dock.

However, they arrived to witness an inferno. The massive explosion had ripped the ship in two, both parts sinking to the bottom of the harbor floor. Massive flames engulfed the parts of the wreck above water, the bridge tower looking more like scrap metal than anything else. There was no way anyone could have survived such a disaster.

"Zuko... Mai... No..." Ursa didn't bother hold back her tears while Iroh looked grim, remembering all too well who it felt when he had lost Lu-Ten.

From his ship Zhao watched it all with satisfaction. "It is done," he then said, turning away from his telescope. "The ship was ripped apart and is a flame hell. Neither Prince Zuko nor his little girlfriend managed to get out of there."

"It looks like I'm an only child now..." Though Azula showed her usual indifference, deep inside she felt strange, a sense of loss, and she didn't like it at all while trying to stomp it out.

Zhao meanwhile called a soldier. "Prepare a message to the Fire Lord. Inform him that a tragic accident has resulted in the death of Prince Zuko. The funeral was at sea."

Minutes passed while Ursa and Iroh couldn't move in their grief.

However, suddenly. -clang- -clang- They looked up when hearing that - a strange noise coming from the wreckage of the bridge tower. "Yaaaahhhhggghhhh!" First a scream, and then the flames in one area were blown aside, revealing Zuko, Mai leaning onto him. They both jumped down to the dock, where they both promptly collapsed.

Ursa and Iroh ran to them, their grief having evaporated when seeing those two were still alive. Though, they both also looked worse for wear. Zuko and Mai were littered with injuries and burns. Some of Mai's hair had burned away and their clothes also told the story of how they had went through hell. As injured as they were, they also were alive.

"How?" Iroh gasped while Ursa reached for the first aid she had packed to treat their wounds.

"I pulled Mai into a massive steel closet... used my bending to keep the flames away as best as I could..." Zuko gasped, still shaking from what happened.

"You... you covered me. Damn, I would be dead without you..." Mai looked very shaken as well. Almost dying did that to you.

"It was Zhao... Zhao tried to murder us. His soldiers... they blew up the boilers." Zuko only now had time to realize what that meant. "My swords... He knows I was the Blue Spirit."

"We've gotten a boat very quick. We were on our way back when... Wait until we are there," Ursa told the teenager, knowing they had to leave now.

It took a bit, but reaching the boat - nothing fancy, but it was seaworthy and could easily carry all of them - they finally could ponder over the ramifications of what just had happened. It was Zuko trying to make sense of all of it which did tell the story.

"Zhao tried to murder us... Azula... No, he could have never done so without her knowing. Why didn't she...?" Zuko's expression became more horrified by the second. "Azula... she does whatever father tells her. ... He must have told her me being dead..."

"She only would have allowed it to happen, had my brother told her that you are expendable," Iroh brought it to the point, knowing the truth had to hurt Zuko.

"Then it means..." Zuko looked broken.

Ursa knew Zuko no longer was denying what they had already known. "I only wish you had learned this in a less drastic manner. We worried how you would react once no longer being in denial."

"Then there is no way back..." Everyone gasped when Zuko pulled out his special dagger, but to their relief he moved to attempt to cut off his phoenix tail in a sign that he also was cutting ties.

However, he didn't get that far when Mai stopped him. "Don't even think about putting your hair through a massacre, Zuko," Mai warned him.

To get her point across, she untied her ox horns, letting her hair fall down, though Ursa would have to trim the parts that got burned in the fire. She then threw her hair bands overboard. Zuko looked at Mai, for the first time seeing her with her hair down and finding the sight beautiful. Mai did notice and blushed a little, before pointing at Zuko's hair.

"Yes..." Zuko undid his phoenix tail, allowing the hair to fall down freely, throwing the band overboard. Iroh and Ursa followed the example, undoing their top knots.

"There is no going back now," Ursa said what they were all thinking.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Frozen North"

Chapter Text

It was two days after the destruction of Zuko's ship.

Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe was many things, but right at the moment he felt concern while his fleet of ships was sailing north. He had every reason to be concerned ever since hearing the news that Bato had brought to him. News, which made all what they were doing look unimportant all of a sudden.

Granted, it already was a success that he had lost none of his men during the two years they had joined the war - considering their low numbers, every loss would have been irreplaceable. Their accomplishments were nothing to be sneezed at, and his men did remind him repeatedly that it was his creativity which had saved their asses more than once.

However, everything had changed once Bato had re-joined them.

He first had become sick with worry when being told how Bato had run into his children so far from home, making him wonder how they had ended up halfway around the world. But then the story had unfolded and while it also got them news from home and confirmation that everyone had gotten through these two years, some had asked for confirmation regarding the adventures his children and their new friends had gone through.

They had heard whispers about the Avatar returning, but to hear from Bato that he was real and had met him... Though, considering he was a twelve-year old boy, everyone knew this was not an instant game-changer. However, what Bato then had told them caused the bottom to fall out. He told them of the comet that would return at the end of summer. Should the Fire Lord be allowed to use it, all of their efforts would have been for nothing.

They then would have lost instantly, all they had done becoming pointless.

That of course had changed their plans significantly. As much as some Earth Kingdom military representatives complained, this was a total priority, since messing this up meant an instant game over. They needed to set course north right away and hopefully manage to set things in motion to prevent the worst.

All of a sudden it's either win or lose, no more messing around, he thought.

Hakoda didn't show it, but ever since then he was plagued by nightmares of a world in flames, an ominous shadow, which he knew was the Fire Lord, looking down onto the destruction with a laughter of triumph while above him the comet filled half of the sky. It was a frightening nightmare - and worst was, it could become reality.

And then there are my children. What Bato told me... They have changed so much, Hakoda thought, remembering his surprise and horror.

His children had changed so much. He still felt guilty for breaking his promise to Sokka, leaving his son with little of the skills he was supposed to have. However, his son had changed a lot by now and Bato had attributed a lot of it on his girlfriend, even though they were denying being that far along yet. Sokka was starting to grow into a man and he had not been there to witness it and help him along.

Katara's change was perhaps even more extreme. During his absence Katara had gained considerable control over her waterbending, though the reason for training constantly also was due to gender policies in the North. Hakoda knew Katara was angry at him for leaving to fight in the war and he hoped that rift could be mended.

He also remembered that Katara got hurt. Alone the idea that his little girl got flogged and would retain some of the scars from that injustice had caused anger to rise, before reminding himself that he most certainly had not been there to prevent it. It made him feel that he had failed his daughter.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he was called.

"Chief, a small boat is approaching us. Looks like a fishing vessel," one of his men reported.

"What kind of fisherman would approach us?" Hakoda wondered before taking a look for himself. "There is someone on deck, waving. Looks like they want our attention. Give a signal to lower the sails; I want to see what that is about."

Soon enough that boat was alongside his ship. To his surprise, it was a woman standing on deck. Thinking of it, she was quite attractive - in the Water Tribe they appreciated women who also could pull their weight, and despite her good looks, he could see right away that she was hard-working as well. Hakoda then noticed what he was doing.

Keep yourself under control! My children would be disappointed with me, he scolded himself, though that also was coming from him being unsure if he was allowed to have such thoughts after Kya's passing.

"We are looking for Hakoda of the Water Tribe. Can you direct us to him?" the woman asked.

"Very easy, he's me. To be honest, you don't look like fishermen and I wonder what you could want that you made such an effort?" Hakoda didn't feel there was any danger considering their sheer numbers.

"I know that voice!" Moments later Bato appeared from under deck, looking a bit better already. "Ah, Lady Ursa. I'm honestly surprised to see you here."

Hakoda now knew who she was, since Bato of course had told them about that as well. He became a bit more guarded. "Bato vouched for you, but you will excuse me that I'm careful."

"That's understandable, considering my nation is at war with yours." Ursa honestly understood why he was careful. "We are bringing bad news and we are seeking shelter with your fleet to go north with you."

Bato felt unsettled. "What happened? Why not use your own ship for that?"

Ursa sighed. "Our ship was destroyed when an attempt on our lives was made. I know this will be a longer explanation, but we need shelter first. My son has fallen ill with a fever and we can not care properly for him on that small boat."

Both men knew that even with as little as they knew now that thing were likely to become much worse.

o

While that was happening, events developed further north.

"Nothing personal, Aang, but why is Appa flying so low? Being so close to the water makes me nervous," Sokka asked Aang while they flew through a labyrinth of icebergs.

"Perhaps you want to do his job?!" Aang snapped, before controlling himself. "Sorry... All the reflections from the ice are irritating Appa. It's easier for him down here than up there."

"Considering we were on Zuko's ship back home..." Katara realized, then looked around. "It does look a lot like at home. You honestly can't tell apart one iceberg from another one."

"Must look great..." Toph grumbled from where she was curled up. "Flying over the open ocean sucks. The pit stops especially."

Everyone grimaced, even though Toph couldn't see it. Flying over the open ocean brought its own problems with it, and that without doubt was the most embarrassing point. It was even worse for Toph who due to her blindness needed the assistance of the other girls. Toph felt deeply humiliated that she needed help for something that private.

Not wanting them to dwell on that, Suki looked around. "To think your home looks like this... To me all of it looks the same; everything is blending together."

"When you grow up with it, it's the most normal thing in the world," Sokka remarked, looking around. "Right away I can tell you I see at least six different types of ice."

I better don't ask how he can keep different types of ice apart. To me it all looks the same, Suki thought.

"You are sure we are still flying north?" Katara asked Aang due to them knowing that flying north, they sooner or later had to reach land.

"Appa's sense of orientation is really good. Once heard some of the older boys saying sky bisons orient themselves on invisible lines or something like that," Aang told her, being ignorant that the older boys had talked about sky bisons having an inner compass - thus orienting themselves by the magnetic field.

"Oh, really interesting..." Toph said with a yawn, before curling up even tighter. "Wake me up when something interesting happens. Man, I wish I could go into winter sleep."

-craaaac!- The peace was shattered when suddenly ice grew out of the water.

"Waaah, what the?!" Aang gasped and Appa tried hard to dodge the appearing obstacles.

"Aang, gain altitude!" Sokka yelled, not wanting to end up impelled by ice spikes.

"I'm trying, but Appa is kind of busy!" Aang had a feeling that the day had just gotten a lot worse. Then the ice actually caught Appa and held him in place. "Oh, wonderful... What a way to greet us."

That moment several boats appeared from behind a big iceberg.

"The Northern Water Tribe," Katara said, still shocked at such a massive use of waterbending. "Looks like they found us instead of the other way around."

What followed was a round of awkward explanations.

Honestly, those people acted like no one had visited their tribe in decades - and as it turned out that actually was the case, speaking of a serious case of isolationism. Talking to them, these people proved them to be utterly ignorant of the world and what was going on. It was the presence of the Avatar as well as the first contact with the South in almost 80 years which stopped the whole thing from becoming more complicated.

Escorted by the boats, Appa was swimming towards the city of the tribe.

"Pffft, listening to them, they are ignorant of stuff even I knew when my parents were trying to 'keep me safe'," Toph snorted, not impressed with the tribesmen. "They are so utterly clueless about the world it's kind of funny."

"Gran-Gran didn't say it, but the tribe must have really turned their back onto the world." As impressed as Katara was, that thought caused her worry.

Then they finally reached the entrance to the city and they gasped at what they saw. It was a massive ice wall sporting the symbol of the Northern Water Tribe. They watched in fascination how waterbenders were used to lift the massive ice gate and when they entered the city itself, they were struck silent by the sight.

The city of the Northern Water Tribe was massive, countless ice-buildings stretching to the cliffs, which were far away. Each building looked like a piece of art, with streets allowing the flow of traffic between them. Additionally, many canals were connecting the various parts of the city, with bridges spanning over them, and there was considerable boat traffic. Their arrival was causing significant interest, pedestrians stopping and looking in awe at Appa and his passengers.

"A city! An entire city made of ice!" Aang looked utterly mesmerized by the sight. "Seeing it, this is so incredible!"

"Wow... This is really breathtaking," Suki said in awe, amazed at the sight.

"Yeah, must look awesome," Toph griped. "Can you guys at lest try not to sound too awe-struck?"

Katara for her part sighed. "And it shows how much our tribe has lost. We were being strangled to death while they prospered by hiding themselves away." Katara couldn't help but to to feel a bit bitter over that fact.

That moment a small boat arrived from a side canal and then drove next to Appa. It's passenger, a teenage girl with unnaturally white hair, looked in amazement at the huge sky bison, before her sight moved up to the saddle and the passengers. Two of them looked back to her. One was a Water Tribe boy her age, though all the markings on his parka looked alien. The other was a girl also her age, and what she was wearing was green and entirely alien to her.

After some minutes they lost sight of each other when the boat entered a side canal. Sokka blinked. "Oh... Who does have white hair at our age?" he wondered to cover up his reaction.

Suki for her part swallowed hard to hide her own reaction. "It looked unnatural... ethereal. I wonder who she is? She looked to be pretty important."

Katara and Aang looked at each other, wondering what that was about.

Meanwhile, Yue also was unsettled. What was I doing, staring at them like that? She found no answer. Why was I so mesmerized at their sight? It was like...

Yue knew that the part of her that was not her, the energy which allowed her to live a normal life, had stirred in her, touched her very being. It was like a gentle nudge form Tui to get her attention in the right direction, and judging by what she had seen, those two also had felt it and looked her direction in curiosity. That was the extent of what Tui had done, but it most certainly had caused all three of them to pay attention.

Yue had no idea about the why, but perhaps she could find out.

o

If anything, Hakoda was even more nervous than before. Hearing what had happened, as well as what danger now was looming over the Northern Water Tribe, made their journey even more urgent. From what he had been told, Admiral Zhao would either brutally enslave the tribe, or outright flatten it into the ground if resistance was too great. Even worse, there was little doubt that man had the means to actually do the latter.

And to think things had looked so simplistic mere weeks ago, Hakoda thought.

Looking at the horizon without anything to actually look at, he was pulled out of his thoughts when he noticed he got company. "I never thought I would ever share my ship with members of the Fire Nation."

"Life is full of surprises; I learned that long ago. It does take turns when we least expect it," Iroh said, still trying to get used to the Water Tribe clothes he was wearing. "Mn, I still can't get used to these."

"We can't risk you wearing something red when arriving at the tribe. They probably wouldn't ask questions." He then saw the look Iroh and Ursa were giving him. "I would have done so."

"Like father like son," Ursa mused, looking a bit strange in what she was wearing due to no female clothes being available. "Sokka tried to be brave, but it was painfully obvious he was not trained at all."

That stung. Hakoda was reminded how he had failed his son and that in the end Sokka had to take training from his girlfriend to learn what he rightfully should already know by this time. Sokka might not blame him for such - as Bato had hinted - but he knew there were many things in the lives of his children which he had missed by being away or they had been denied due to no men being present for it. For one thing, despite their age, they had not been taken to ice-dodging.

"How is your son?" Hakoda then asked Ursa, having seen the condition Zuko was in when being carried abroad.

"Still a fever, even though it is lessening, and there is no reason for it. As far as I can tell, he isn't sick. Mai is taking care of him as we speak," she said, honestly being unsettled by it.

"It is due to Zuko finally accepting the final truths about my brother. He is going through a change and his fever is the outward sign of this change," Iroh said, having told Ursa earlier what he thought was going on.

It was not like Hakoda knew much about Zuko, but the pieces he did know painted a very unpleasant picture of what Zuko had went through. Alone the massive burn scar on the boy's face was alarming, especially after he had asked and learned that Zuko's own father was responsible for it. Hakoda had promised to keep silent about the issue, knowing it was a very private matter.

"I don't like seeing him like that. It makes me worry," Ursa admitted.

"That you worry shows how much you care for him," Iroh reminded her gently.

Hakoda couldn't help but to think about how Ursa and Iroh showed that just because they were from the Fire Nation didn't make them any less human. All his life the most contact he had with the Fire Nation was by clashing with its soldiers in battle. It was outright weird to see them as ordinary people. It felt even more bizarre due to the two standing next to him being anything but ordinary.

The Dragon of the West was infamous due to breaking through the walls of Ba-Sing-Se, but seeing him now, Iroh looked to Hakoda like an old man who had seen too much in his life. And then there was the former wife of the Fire Lord. Ursa was nothing like one would imagine her to be and Hakoda honestly wanted to learn more about her.

It was nothing like that, regardless what his men were sure to whisper.

Below deck meanwhile, Mai was being busy with keeping watch over Zuko, feeling unsettled by how much she was worrying for him.

"Damn it, Zuko. You are turning me into a worrying mother hen," Mai complained, though there was no venom behind it. "If it's like that now, how will it be once we are married?"

That there was no doubt about them marrying once being older spoke volumes. Of course she got no answer, but she didn't need one. "For my sake better recover fast. I hate seeing you like that. It makes me remember when you got that scar."

For Mai, these raw emotions laid bare how much she truly cared underneath the sarcastic personality she showed to the outside world. Little did she know it not only was Zuko going through a change, but her as well.

...that evening...

Drummers were beating onto the giant drums to announce the start of the feast at the palace. The feast was in honor of the Avatar and the first of their sister tribe to visit them in many decades. News of their arrival had spread through the city like wildfire and interest was massive. The tribe had known the Avatar had returned, but that he came to them - and especially in such a fashion - still came unexpected.

Though, the Avatar's companions were no less interesting.

There of course were the siblings from the Southern Water Tribe. Due to their strict self-isolation there had been no contact with their sister tribe in many decades. Assumptions about that tribe had always been there and many honestly believed that they were no different in situation to their own tribe. Little did any of them know that their assumptions would be thoroughly shattered soon enough.

The other companions were weird in the eyes of many. Rumor had it that one was a female warrior, which to many sounded like a ridiculous oxymoron, arrogantly ridiculing the mere idea of a female warrior. Though, amid that a number of girls became highly interested when hearing the news.

The final companion was the most puzzling of them all. Many wondered why a blind preteen girl was even seen as a useful companion for the Avatar. There were condescending comments and outright pity. Too bad that Toph did hear them and her mood had darkened considerably due to it.

"Just what I needed. A whole city full of people who think I'm a cripple to be pitied," Toph growled under her breath. "It's already bad enough that I need help with everything here, but that's rubbing salt into it."

"To be honest, I feel this is too much," Suki admitted, looking around.

"I don't know why you think so. This is awesome and we finally get some recognition," Sokka wondered, being less concerned.

"Maybe it's because the chief didn't seem take us entirely serious, despite us telling him of the upcoming danger?" Aang did remember how Chief Arnook seemed to have trouble believing their word because it came from teenagers. "I don't think he really gets the danger."

That moment everyone went silent when four people took their seats at the head table which up until now had been empty. One of them they recognized as Chief Arnook and the woman beside him had to be his wife. The third person to their surprise was the girl with white hair while the final person was a male teenager a bit older than them whose arrogant smirk told the story of someone who felt he had made it.

"It's her..." Sokka whispered, then frowned. "Who is that tool beside her?"

"No idea, but he gives me bad vibes. I know his kind," Suki whispered back.

Chief Arnook then spoke up. "I welcome everyone! Today is a great day! Not only can we greet the Avatar to our beautiful city of Anga Qel'a, but also his companions! Among them two siblings from our sister tribe we have long lost contact with!"

He clearly has no idea what our situation is, Katara thought bitterly, remembering how they had not gotten to that yet.

"For our guests, I introduce my wonderful wife, Yumi, my lovely daughter, Princess Yue, and her betrothed, Hahn," Arnook announced further.

"She is set to marry that guy?" Katara wondered openly, then spotting the barely visible engagement necklace around Yue's neck and the girl's unhappy expression. "She does not look happy with that fact."

"Seems neither does her father," Suki added, her sharp eyes having caught how the man had announced the last part with less enthusiasm.

The feast then started in earnest and to Katara's horror, she realized that she not only had to make sure that Sokka kept up his table manners - though Suki was a help - but also had to watch Toph eating messily with her hands. Any attempt to correct her was blocked off with the remark that she can't see the food and thus had to feel for it. That, and she was not ashamed to stuff her face.

After that people started to socialize and they had to do their best to fend off curious people, the attention feeling uneasy to them. To their surprise Yue was walking over to them and everyone else all of a sudden felt they had to be somewhere else.

"Oh, I hope they were not mobbing you too badly," Yue said, looking a bit uneasy how to address them.

"All the attention was making me nervous," Aang admitted, still uneasy with the fame being the Avatar got him. "Thanks for making them leave, Princess."

"Oh no, don't you start with that as well," Yue groaned. "Please just call me Yue. I already am called Princess by the tribe and sometimes it feels like they forget my name entirely."

"Ha, I like her already," Toph laughed. "She's not like those nobles who got a stick up their ass all the time."

They looked mortified Toph would talk like that in Yue's presence, but Yue only laughed it off. "You are not like the rumors say you are."

"No, let me guess. Rumor has it that I'm a shy and helpless cripple who is afraid of the world, right?" Toph made a guess.

"Close enough," Yue admitted.. "I know right now there is too much going on, but I really want to meet you properly. Perhaps we can meet once the festivities are over? I really want to learn more about all of you."

"Ehm, yes, why not? You have been nothing but nice." Sokka felt a bit tongue-tied in Yue's presence, though he saw Suki being a bit awkward as well for some reason. "Though I wonder how long these festivities will take?"

"That sounds good. And the main point will be the bending demonstrations." If anything, Yue sounded a bit awkward as well.

-wooong- That moment a gong told everyone to go back to their seats and Yue left them. Arnook then announced what was coming next. "And now, Master Pakku and his students will give us a presentation of their skill!"

"Pakku?!" Katara said with a gasp.

"Wait, isn't that the guy who was set to marry Gran-Gran?" Sokka wondered.

They saw an old man enter, followed by young men - and only young men. Katara took a closer look, her eyes narrowing. "He is the right age and most certainly carries himself like the man Gran-Gran described." She then made an effort to hide her necklace under her collar. "I don't want him to know about that yet."

The waterbenders under Pakku's strict orders then started to show off their skill and Katara, despite how far she had gotten through sheer determination, looked a bit intimidated at the skill they were displaying. It was the first time she was watching trained waterbenders and it showed how much she still had to learn. However, she would not back out now.

"Well, it is quite impressive," Suki said diplomatically, not wanting to hurt Katara's feelings.

"Yep, a great show they are putting on," Toph remarked sarcastically, then laughed. "Ha, at least I'm still getting you with it!"

It took a while before the show was over - most likely Arnook had given orders to show off to their guests. Arnook then came over with Pakku. "Master Pakku, this here is Avatar Aang. I entrust you with instructing him in the art of waterbending."

Pakku gave Aang a critical look. "Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment. "

"I can't wait to start training with you! After we relax for a couple of days," Aang, said, being a bit nervous under the critical eyes of the old master.

"If you want to relax, then I suggest visiting a tropical island. If not, I'll see you at sunrise. Good night." That said, Pakku left.

Chief Arnook looked a bit embarrassed. "You have to excuse him. He is a rather blunt person." He then left as well.

"Yeeez, what a nice chap," Toph snorted. "You are really sure you want to learn under him, Twinkle-Toes?"

Aang looked a bit unsure as well. "It's not like I have lots of choice in the matter."

"Well, I'll ask him if I can learn from him as well," Katara decided.

"Not that I want to be the one to tell you so, but you already know he'll tell you to know your place and reject you," Sokka reminded his sister.

"Of course I know that. But after what happened on that prison rig, I know better than to storm forward without an actually good plan," Katara admitted, still remembering the consequences of her actions. "I'll make what I want clear to him. But I know there is no chance that everyone here is happy with how things are. I'll listen to the girls after he's sent me away. Sokka, Suki, can I count on you to get to the warriors?"

"Oh, that will be fun. I already have seen the looks they are giving me, as if I am some sort of strange circus attraction. Maybe I can get them to have a shift of perspective," Suki said, actually looking forward to that.

Sokka knew what she was talking about. "Well, it worked with me, didn't it?"

"And what will we do?" Aang wondered.

"You act as the obedient student. Perhaps show off what I already showed you and keep an ear out among the benders," Katara said, then looked to Toph. "Ehm..."

Troph rolled her sightless eyes. "I know what I will do. I'll curl up into the furs. Just put some sort of rope there so I can find the bathroom without help."

After not even a day Toph had already learned to really hate the North Pole.

...at the same time...

"Rise and fight, Prince Zuko."

He was back at that horrible day which had changed his life forever. Once again his father stood at the other end of the arena and told him to fight. However, he saw his father like a looming shadow; a darkness which did not allow any light to enter.

"You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

Flames then swallowed everything up and suddenly he found himself back in his room.

A much younger Azula entered, looking way too cheerful. "Dad is going to kill you! Dad is going to kill you!" she chanted in a disturbingly happy sing-song, as if she couldn't wait for it.

Zuko blinked.

Now it was actually him sitting on the throne, Fire Lord at last. Yet, he felt uneasy, the throne feeling like a weight on his shoulders. Two small dragons appeared, one red and one blue, each resting on one of his shoulders. They then started to whisper words into his ears.

"You are now at the same place where your father used to be. What is it what you want, Zuko?" the red dragon whispered with the voice of his mother.

"See, you now finally understand what it takes? He did it to make you hard and fitting for this throne," the blue dragon whispered with Azula's voice.

"I can not tell you what to do, the choice is entirely yours. But ask yourself, do you truly want to be like the man who currently holds this throne?" the red dragon asked. "He did not want to help you. He was cruel to you because he wanted to and no other reason."

"Only the strong can hold onto power. No one would ever accept a weak Fire Lord. Your father shaped you to be strong," the blue dragon told him. "You need to honor him for how he shaped you."

"I tell you only this. Think of those how stood by your side and never asked for anything in return," the red dragon told him finally.

"Do not dishonor yourself," the blue dragon hissed.

He now knew, he had to make a choice - his path was at a moment of change.

This was the outcome of his entire journey ever since he had left the Fire Nation. He remembered all he had witnessed throughout the world. He remembered those close to him. He then contrasted that with his desires at the start of the journey as well as his experiences earlier in life.

The dream shifted.

Zuko now stood in the arena again, in the very middle to be precise. At one end of the arena stood his father, giving him a look of expectation and demand. At the other end stood Mai, his mother and his uncle, giving him a look that spelled out that this was his choice alone. The spectator ranks were filled with all the people he had met; with the Avatar and his companions, his old crew and he even spotted Azula and Ty Lee. They were all waiting for his decision.

Strangely, despite his emotional turmoil, he felt calm. He knew the journey ahead still would be long and full of challenges, but he felt hope and that was giving him strength. The hope gave him the strength to turn his back to his father and walk towards his true family.

The dream dissolved.

...

"Ah... what?" Zuko stammered, waking up in sleeping furs.

"Zuko?" That was Mai, sitting beside him. She must have woken up as well, "Did you have a good nap?" Mai was trying to be sarcastic, but her worry was clear as day, especially since both of them still looked like hell due to the explosion.

"I..." Zuko blinked. "I actually feel good. I finally understand."

"Well, good for you, but don't get all mysterious with me." However, there was no venom behind it. "You scared all of us; I thought you would not wake up." Finally, Mai sighed. "Ah, forget restraint!" Mai then planed a kiss on his lips, the tension finally leaving her. Zuko was surprised by her action but then surrendered into it.

The moment however was broken when they noticed they had an audience. "Am I interrupting something?" Ursa asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Mom, I..." Zuko stammered while his and Mai's faces turned the color of the setting sun.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed. Seeing both of you act like normal teenagers reassures me you have healed a lot." She then became a bit more serious. "Zuko, how do you feel?"

"Actually... surprisingly good. I don't feel tired or anything. Though..." Zuko wondered how to describe it. "I feel... lighter. I... I finally understand." Seeing Mai looking impatient, he know to be more clear. "I finally understand that I lied to myself, and... I'm no longer running from the truth."

Ursa took in his words. "I only wish it hadn't taken you almost getting killed."

"No, it took that to finally get through to me." Zuko knew his denial at the end had become absurd. He now saw that as clear as day. He then looked around. "Where are we? Uh, and what are you wearing?" He only now was noticing them wearing Water Tribe clothes.

"The Water Tribe picked us up in the morning. It's already night by now." Mai then grimaced. "And they gave us these clothes because they don't want anyone to attack us on the spot once we reach the North. They are ill-fitting, since they hadn't had anything for girls. At least these are not orange, or I would have stabbed my eyes out."

Minutes later Zuko stepped on deck, now wearing Water Tribe blue as well, though his were fitting way better. Only, he suddenly got hugged by Iroh. "You have no idea how much we worried!"

Zuko had a good idea about that while comparing how his mother had controlled herself to not embarrass him in front of Mai. Iroh didn't seem to worry about such things. "Uncle, while it's moving how much you care, it's not like I was dying," he protested weakly. "And please not in front of a ship full of men."

Iroh only now noticed the audience, and how the tribesmen looked more amused than anything else, and let go. "Oh, my bad."

Mai couldn't help but to smirk. "Take it, Zuko. He is showing you that he cares."

Hakoda watched all those interactions and couldn't help but to notice that despite those people being Fire Nation nobility - regardless is outcast or not - they were acting like any other family. It was such a stark contrast to all the previous interaction their tribe had had with the Fire Nation. He could see that the sheer normality of their interactions were confusing his men.

No wonder. After seeing the Fire Nation as nothing but evil for our whole lives, suddenly realizing it's made up of real people who are not just all evil monsters is difficult to accept, he thought.

He again looked to Ursa. All he had seen of her showed she was a good mother. Then there was Iroh, who was so unlike the picture of the heartless general everyone had in their minds. From the little he did know, Prince Zuko had suffered a lot and was not at all what you would expect a crown prince of an enemy nation to be. And while he had seen next to nothing of that girl Mai, seeing her now, she most certainly was not a snooty nobility girl.

The other side suddenly being human felt very confusing.

...the next day, in a healing hut...

Katara had known it would come to this - she had fully expected it. Yet, it still hurt.

Granted, the morning had started well enough when the four of them had met Yue first - Toph had made true on staying in bed since there was nothing for her to do - and had a further conversation with the girl. Yue indeed was nothing like one would imagine a princess to be - though considering the other royalty they had met were Bumi as well as Zuko and his close family, that stereotype didn't hold much water to them.

Granted, Yue's way of talking was refined and it seemed the girl was even a bit embarrassed that she was slipping into those speech patterns by accident, but there was no doubt she wanted to spend time with them out of true curiosity. She also admitted that due to her station she didn't have any friends her own age, which was a bit depressing.

Then, when Pakku had approached, Sokka and Suki had promised to keep Yue company.

And then Pakku... Yes, it had went right as Katara had imagined it would. His casual dismissal of her wish to learn all aspects of waterbending had infuriated her, but she had controlled herself and not given him the satisfaction of an outburst - spirits knew he probably then would have chalked it up to female hysteria - though all the cracks in the ice and a fountain crumbling were proof of how angry she truly was.

The way he looked at me... He must have equaled a full-blown female waterbender to something you see in a circus freak show, Katara thought, thanks to her travels knowing what that was.

And now here she was, learning the basics of healing with girls who were one or two years younger than her. Not to get her wrong, she knew healing was very important and she was eagerly learning all about it she could, but she wanted more than just that. And she would get it, since she had not wasted her time and just talking to the girls was eye-opening.

"He really didn't want to become a warrior?" Katara asked the girl while they followed the instructions of the healer.

"No, my brother is way more interested in the healing aspect of waterbending," the girl admitted. "Our parents forced him, however, saying they didn't raise a weakling. I'm showing him what I learned about healing in secret. He's really good at it."

Katara had a feeling this would not be the only thing she would hear.

Indeed, shortly later she was talking with a different girl. "Your older sister really did that?" Katara ask to make sure.

"Sure she did. She threw the necklace into the canal and told our parents they can disown her all they want, she still would not marry that arrogant jerk they had picked for her," the girl confirmed, actually looking proud of her sister.

Of course, not all of the girls shared such stories and didn't complain. Katara honestly did not want to dictate to them how to live their lives. Many also were perfectly content with using their powers for healing only, though there was a strong undercurrent of resentment that the choice had been made for them without any input of their own and a wish to at least know how to use their powers for basic defense.

Granted, after lessons were over - and Katara had gained a healthy respect for how complex the art of healing was - she had shown off a bit to the other girls, demonstrating that she was very capable of using her bending powers to defend herself. That had started lots of discussions among the other girls while they left the healing hut, though the teacher, an old woman named Yagoda, held back Katara.

"You caused quite a stir among my students," the old woman said with amusement. "I almost would think you want to start a small revolution."

"Oh no, I'm not wanting to topple things. I just want to show them there is more than what they were told they could amount to," Katara said, not wanting to create a bad impression.

"Oh, I won't stop you. You telling the girls you managed all of that on your own was very impressive. I admit I learned some things on my own outside of healing..." Yagoda gave Katara a knowing look. "Though I'm a bit surprised in your stance, considering you are wearing that."

Katara needed a moment before realizing that when getting up her necklace had slipped out from underneath her collar. "Oh no, I'm not engaged to anyone. This is a family heirloom. It belonged to my grandmother, she gave it to my mother and now I'm wearing it."

Yagoda did take a closer look. "Wait... I recognize this." Her eyes widened in realization. "I remember the day Kanna showed it to me, looking very distressed at wearing it. Kanna... Kanna is your grandmother?"

Katara knew it now was pointless to deny it. "Yes, she is."

"What happened with her? Shortly after showing the necklace to me, she vanished and no one ever heard of her again. We were good friends, the best, ever since we could remember. We grew up together as close as sisters in anything but blood. And then... gone." Yagoda looked truly hurt by the loss.

Seeing how hurt the old woman looked, Katara knew she needed the truth. "Gran-Gran felt deeply hurt how her future was decided for her and how it felt she was sold like a piece of meat. She could not accept that, so she left and traveled to the South Pole. There she met my grandfather... well, and the rest you can imagine. She still feels the pain of the loss, but doesn't regret leaving."

"What would I give to see her again..." Yagoda whispered.

"Please do not tell Pakku. The way he brushed me off made me understand why my grandmother didn't want to marry him," Katara implored Yagoda.

"I won't tell him. Pakku changed strangely after Kanna left. He became even more obsessed with everyone 'knowing their place'." Yagoda now understood. "I have an idea what you are planning, girl. You want to show him the folly of rejecting you on your own terms."

Katara put a hand over her necklace. "I do not want to pull my grandmother into it until after the fact. I want to show him how wrong he was about me before revealing that to him."

Yagoda actually chuckled. "Oh, then I won't stop you. Quite in the contrary. That grump really needs a small lesson in humility."

...at the same time at the waterbender practice yard...

"Again!" Pakku called, looking very unimpressed. "That was horrible. Do you think waving your hands around is enough?"

"My previous teacher was very pleased with how much progress I was making," Aang complained.

"Then your previous teacher had little idea about what he was doing," Pakku commented, looking offended.

Good thing Katara told me to keep my mouth shut about her teaching me, Aang thought.

Katara had implored to all of them to keep quiet to Pakku about her true level of waterbending as well as it being her who had given him a headstart in the matter. Alone the fact that Pakku couldn't imagine a girl could teach him about waterbending, and thus automatically assumed it must have been a man, showed to Aang that Katara had a point.

That, and right now learning from Pakku kind of sucked.

Katara was so much better at explaining things to him, that was for certain. Pakku on the other hand was spending their time telling him that all he had done before was wrong and to learn it all over again. Aang felt that went too far and reminded him of some teachers back at the temple who would get offended if a student had learned how to do something a certain way from a different teacher.

Aang honestly had a bad time due to his current teacher refusing to acknowledge what he had learned already, just because it wasn't learned in a certain way. Which honestly was dumb - after all, the fate of the world was at risk and the man made it all about his pride.

I learned way better with Katara as my teacher. She is so patient, so understanding, so helpful. She explains things in an understandable way. I... Aang stopped when he finally realized something.

-sploooosh- That however also caused his concentration to waver and the water he had held splashed all over him. "Oh man, no..."

Pakku raised an eyebrow. "I already see I have my work cut out for me."

Aang said nothing while going through the motions. The internal revelation was still stunning. Yes, he had known something like that before, but now it actually finally hit him for real what his feeling for Katara were about - and they most certainly were not about seeing her as his sister. Yes, he was rather young to think about something like that, but after being forced to grow up faster than others, could one blame him?

Starting his lesson once more, only now even more distracted, he hoped this was worth Katara's plan.

"Master Pakku!" a courier called while arriving in the yard. "There is a matter that does need your attention."

"Oh..." Pakku looked to Aang and his other students. "You do nothing while I'm away. I catch you bending when I return and there will be consequences." He then left to attend to whatever mess had happened.

As soon as he was gone the other waterbenders flocked to Aang. "Man, you have no idea how exciting this is! The Avatar is the stuff of legends," one student said in awe.

"Oh, please no!" Aang gasped, holding up his hands defensively. "Don't put me on a pedestal! I made some really bad experiences with that. I don't want special treatment."

Another student whistled in awe. "Wow, I wish everyone with so much power could be that humble. I really hope we can teach you things as well. Don't let Pakku discourage you, for a total beginner you are good."

"Oh, actually I'm not a complete beginner," Aang said, looking a bit embarrassed at the praise. "Katara taught me a lot on the journey. I only wish Master Pakku would accept that."

The boys were silent, looking confused. Then one of them asked the obvious question. "Katara? Isn't that the name of the southern girl in your group?"

"Oh yes, and she is awesome!" Aang said with excitement. "She is entirely self-taught, but she learned to kick ass with her waterbending!" Aang then sighed. "Though, Master Pakku disregarded her and she didn't like that. However, she promised she'll teach me all she learns about healing."

"Wait... you want to learn about healing?" one student asked, looking very surprised.

"Why shouldn't I? Healing is so incredibly useful! Always having first aid at hand is something I really want to have!" Aang felt a tiny bit bad how there was a little manipulation done by him, though he was honest about things. "Eh, you stay silent about all that, right?"

The boys looked a teach other. "Guys honor! Also, ratting out the Avatar would be really dumb of us."

This did did result in the boys finally talking and Aang learned a lot.

"I really wish I could learn I could learn how to heal. You wouldn't believe the ridicule I'm going through," one boy said, making no secret that he looked rather nerdy and ill-fitted for being a combat bender.

Another boy sighed. "My parents straight-out engaged my brother to a girl. They both don't want it and he is showing her waterbending tricks instead of being sweet with her. Boy, will her parents be in for a surprise."

"I honestly wish my father had known about healing. Then he wouldn't have lost three fingers while being out hunting," one boy revealed.

It was a bit disheartening for Aang to hear so many stories. Not from all of them, but enough of them to show how unhappy the young generation by now was and how some even showed great disdain for the 'old farts who are clinging tight onto power and don't want to let go of it'.

"Maybe I can show you some healing once I've learned it?" Aang offered, then saw how hopeful several of the boys looked.

Everyone fell silent when they heard Pakku return. Clearly, he was not that beloved by them, since they must have meant him with those less than flattering description of 'old fart' as well. Not that any of his students would ever tell his so to the face, of course.

"You followed my orders. Very good. Now back to work," Pakku told them.

Here we go again, Aang sighed mentally, really wishing Pakku's teaching style would be more like Katara's.

...meanwhile, the streets of the city...

Sokka and Suki were walking with Yue, being deep in conversation now while walking through the city streets.

It felt like their presence was a lifeline for Yue, since the girl was very eager to learn more about them in an animated conversation. She most certainly was not big on stiff formality, though she admitted that she could do the part of the princess by heart. No, she insisted they were all equals and insisted they treat her like any other teenage girl.

Yue being so insistent on getting no special treatment opened questions and there for sure was a story behind that, but they were polite enough to not ask - though Suki had to remind Sokka with a telling look. It was like the girl was starved for company from her own age group. That again created questions what her life truly was like.

"I'm still surprised we are talking to an actual princess," Sokka said in amazement.

"Oh, don't be," Yue waved it off. "It honestly is refreshing talking with someone who does not put me onto a pedestal due to who my parents are. I don't have many friends."

"Really? I thought you would be super popular," Sokka wondered.

"It's because of that I don't have many friends and none of my age. My station is a curse for any true relationships. Those who want to be close to me almost always do so because they think it will give them an advantage."

"That sounds lonely," Suki said, honestly unable to imagine she could live like that. "I don't want to sound intrusive Yue, but is that...?"

"Oh, I don't mind the question. Blunt honestly is something I truly appreciate." Yue then touched the engagement necklace. "My engagement to Hahn... is a purely political thing. With it, he is set to become the next chief and thus I'm obligated to marry him. I had no input in the decision and I'm expected to do my duty."

Sokka and Suki shared a look. "No offense, but that Hahn guy doesn't strike me as leader material," Sokka said. What they had seen yesterday already was telling.

"Yes. He acted more like one of those loudmouths we have to teach a lesson after they had too much at the drinking house," Suki added, also being less than impressed. "Why has your father selected him?"

"He didn't." Yue then saw the surprised looks they gave her. "Despite coming from a prominent family, Hahn was not considered by my father as his successor and my future husband. However, the elders overruled him. It was an unfriendly act and created significant tension in the tribe."

"Why did they insist on him?" The whole thing made no sense to Sokka.

"Whatever motive they have for selecting him, I have no idea what it could be," Yue admitted. "I know I will fulfill my duty... but I'm not looking forward to it."

"Regardless how beautiful this place is, some things here rub me the wrong way," Suki admitted. "You probably should talk to Toph about arranged marriages. Her parents tried to force her into one, so she decided to rather leave than have that done to her."

"Oh, how much I wish I could do the same," Yue sighed. "But the ties holding me here are simply too strong. I can't just run away from my duty."

"Hm, this place is truly impressive," Sokka remarked while looking around. "I honestly wonder if my home looked like this before it was all taken from us."

"Sokka, what do you mean with that?" Yue asked, worrying when seeing how sad he looked.

"Our tribe is a shattered shell. The Fire Nation... they attacked us relentlessly... to utterly wipe us off the face of the world." The anger darkened Sokka's expression. "They took from us until there was nothing left to take. Our benders... they murdered or took them away over the decades. I know it's unfair, but I feel angry how we were left to suffer while here..."

"Sokka..." Suki knew this was a painful topic for him and she held him closer.

The raw emotion surprised Yue. "I... I didn't know. Didn't you tell father?"

"We did tell him," Sokka said. "I guess he didn't believe us due to it coming from two teenagers. We probably have to wait until Dad is here that he finally believes it."

They walked in silence while Yue tried her best to imagine how bad conditions at the South Pole must have become. Her imagination failed her. She saw that after his outburst Sokka looked at the city less with wonder and more with... resentment. Yue could imagine that the idea was creeping in that his tribe was left to suffer so that her tribe could prosper. The idea disturbed Yue.

Thankfully, a distraction came when they reached the training fields, the warriors being busy with training.

"Sokka, maybe a little spar will make you feel better?" Suki suggested, though she also gave him a short, knowing look.

"If you think so." They both by now always were carrying their weapons around, so a little spar sounded just like what he would need. Though they would restrict it to battle fans for now.

"I honestly have never before seen a girl who could fight in battle," Yue admitted.

"You will be surprised what I'm capable of," Suki told her with a smirk.

Yue then watched in awe when the spar did start. That they were using actual weapons - and they had told Yue battle fans very much were weapons - spoke of a deep trust in each other that it wouldn't be taken too far. Yue had not lied, she had never before seen a girl being capable of actually using a weapon with skill. It honestly went against all notions of what a girl should be allowed to do. And... Yue couldn't help but to watch their movements closely... perhaps a little too close.

This looks more like a dance than a spar, Yue thought, not knowing they both were using the fans to also make it visually impressive.

It was only when Suki and Sokka decided to pause their spar that they noticed they had attracted an audience. Training in the field had come to a standstill, the men having gathered to watch the whole spectacle. Though, the silence didn't last for long.

"Man, what kind of weakling do you have to be that you barely can hold you own against a girl? Not to speak of using girly sticks?"

Sokka saw who that voice belonged to - Hahn. "Oh it's only you," he said dismissively.

"What do you mean, 'only'? I am chosen to marry Yue there and thus I am in line to become the next chief." Hahn clearly was not used to such a reaction.

"Well, it's not like Chief Arnook chose you, either. Makes me honestly wonder how that happened," Sokka said lightly, though he knew it was a major insult.

Hahn's smirk vanished. "You have no idea about our tribe, Southener! It's not your place to question the decisions of your betters!"

"What a charming personality," Suki commented to Yue.

Hahn had heard that and turned to Suki. "And what do we have here? A girl who thinks she can play the warrior, waving around her little toys. You should better know your place and go back to the kitchen." As Hahn said that, his closer cronies laughed condescendingly, though most of the men stayed silent and some even looked uncomfortable - especially the younger ones.

Sokka was harmless compared to this sexist prick, Suki thought. Inside she was seething, but she didn't show her emotions.

"Ah, really?" Suki opened out her battle fans. "You 'gentlemen' then want to prove you are more than just talk? I'll only use these 'toys' as you call them."

There again was laughter. "Really? Not even a sword?" Hahn said with such condescension one almost could grab it with hands.

"Oh, that will be easy," one of his cronies said, stepping forward. "Don't complain however once I give you a good spanking."

"This will be good," Sokka told Yue.

"Aren't you worried about what could happen?" Yue wondered, but then saw hat Sokka looked very much unconcerned, which spoke volumes how much trust he had in Suki's skill.

The fight - if it could be called that - merely lasted a few seconds and ended with Suki holding the bigmouth in a submission hold and she added insult to injury by then spanking him hard on the ass with one of her fans. The man looked utterly humiliated while stumbling back to his buddies.

"See, she has everything under control," Sokka told Yue.

"Is that the best you have to offer?" Suki asked with an arched eyebrow. "So, who is next?" The following challengers took the whole thing way more serious, though Suki still defeated them without too much of a problem. However, unlike with the first one, she did not go for humiliation; just straight defeat in the most efficient manner.

"How is she doing this?" Yue wondered while watching Suki going through her challengers. "They have gone through years of training and yet she comes out on top."

"Training is all good and well, but those guys seem to have trouble once it gets serious," Sokka observed. "Suki saw that from a mile away and she's ruthless at exploiting it. It's a bad habit she got out of me very early on."

"And you can use those fans as well?" Yue asked, looking at the weapons now secured to Sokka's belt.

"Yes. Of course not nearly as good as Suki, but I'm learning." Sokka had a far-away look. "They mean a lot to me, not the least due to Suki gifting them to me."

Several more of the cronies lost until finally Hahn himself stepped forward, now looking humiliated how his close circle was faring. "Enough! Looks like I have to do this myself! Time for a real man!"

"A real man?" Suki asked with an arched eyebrow. "Bold claim. My boyfriend Sokka is that. I did witness all of his positive qualities and it's not simply about brute strength."

Hahn did look to Sokka, being pissed that he was compared to a teenager who in his eyes was very much unremarkable and even looked a bit like a weed. "I won't stand for that!"

Watching the fight, Yue noticed right away that this was different. "She is doing everything to humiliate Hahn. She is making it look so easy."

"The guy pissed her off, so she'll make sure it stings," Sokka said with some amusement. "Don't get me wrong, the guy isn't bad, but the way he's moving, he's announcing each of his moves to the world."

Yue watched the whole thing, looking amazed at how Suki was toying with Hahn. Hahn really was telegraphing every single of his moves, making it too easy for Suki to give him humiliating hits and even a kick into the ass to add insult to injury. By the end she had him hog-tied on the ground. Looking around, Suki saw looks of astonishment and no small amount of respect.

"Oh, how embarrassing. And that right in front of Yue," Sokka commented with biting sarcasm.

"I won't forget this..." Hahn tried to sound threatening as soon as he was back up, but there was no doubt his reputation had taken a hit. Realizing it was better to cut his losses, he and his toadies then left quickly.

"Man, you really showed him," one young man finally commented, looking impressed. "About time someone gave him a little reality check."

Yue was surprised at that reaction. "I had the impression that Hahn is well-respected, considering the family he is part of."

The men looked at each other. "Well, Princess..." He stopped himself when seeing the look she was giving him. "...Yue, while his family most certainly is prominent and influential, Hahn is not well-loved among the ranks."

"Yes," another man chimed in. "His arrogance and unlikable personality have made him few friends. It only got worse ever since he was chosen to marry you. Since he got little skill for such a leadership position, it must be a political decision. We speculate it has something to do with the political stance of his family."

Yue's eyes widened a bit. "Ah... now that makes sense."

Suki meanwhile gave the men a look. "Well, does any of you have a problem with me?"

"After how you gave Hahn and his bullies that lesson? A number of the older men would balk, but we don't care what you've got between your legs. You have proven your mettle." It was a bit crude, but the message was clear.

"So you have nothing against us using your training field?" Sokka asked.

There was some chuckling. "You better prepare for the line of men who want to spar with both of you."

Some minutes later they were leaving and only then did Yue speak up. "It finally makes sense why the elders want me to marry Hahn."

Sokka was a bit surprised. "Really? I couldn't make any sense of it."

Yue knew why he couldn't see it. "You lack the context while I was educated in political matters. Hahn is not meant to be the leader of the tribe. Yes, he will hold the position, but he won't have any actual power. Others behind the scenes will make the decisions."

Hearing that, Suki understood. "You mean he is just meant to be a puppet chieftain? But who could want to do that?"

"Several influential families. This is only speculation from my side, but I think they don't like the changes happening in the tribe and thus want to ensure they have the power to bring back the 'good old times'." Yue shook her head at the idea. "It won't work; it will only cause more troubles. I think my father knows all of that but can't find a way out of that trap."

Sokka groaned. "You know, all of that underhanded stuff made me really dislike politics. Well, at least it made us meet you."

Yue couldn't help but to blush a little.

o

At least I don't need any help using the bathroom. THAT would have really made me long for being put out of my misery, Toph thought while following the rope back to the bed, before crawling under the warm furs.

In just a day she had learned to honestly despise the North Pole and she was dead certain this was a place she never again in her life would visit - and the same went for the South Pole. There was ice everywhere and whatever bare rock there was she couldn't feel due to the cold threatening to destroy her feet. She was truly blind in this place and she hated every second of it.

Yes, she did have ways to orient herself somewhat outside of her seismic sense, being born blind she had been forced to develop those. However, she did not want rely on that in such a hostile environment. Being surrounded by snow and ice felt very hostile to her. Once she was done here she knew she would never return.

Hearing something and the feeling something hop onto the furs, Toph knew it was her companion. "Ah, Momo." She scratched the lemur's head. "You must be as bored as I am."

Momo being present was little wonder. The lemur had heard how Aang was about to leave for waterbending training and had made a beeline for her. It seemed Momo held Aang's past waterbending lessons in bad memory and had no wish to suffer from them again. The sounds he had made when Aang asked him what was wrong spoke volumes as well.

Even worse, they said we would spend weeks here. Damn, I'm going to die from boredom! I swear I'm going to put Aang through the wringer as soon as I've got some earth under my feet and we start his training! she promised to herself.

Aang for his part all of a sudden felt a sudden shudder, causing him to get soaked once more.

...three days later...

"Don't understand me wrong, Katara, but I sincerely hope you know what you are doing. Challenging Master Pakku like that in public is not to be done lightly," Yue warned Katara while she was getting ready. "Should it go wrong he could be insulted enough to deny Aang his teachings."

"I know, but the bigger the audience, the better. We did all the preparations. Let's hope it works out as intended," Katara tried to reassure their new friend.

It was interesting how fast they had made friends with Yue - perhaps it was due to the girl simply being so likable. Hell, even Toph had crawled out of bed to have actual conversations with her, which meant something considering how much she had grown to despise the North Pole. Though, Yue clearly enjoyed being around Sokka and Suki the most. Hell, the Princess yesterday had even been encouraged to test how it feels to hold a training staff and wave it around.

Yes, Yue was a well-mannered girl, which had made Toph declare a promise that she would make Yue swear, and in public on top of that. She had even considered to give Yue the nickname of 'Highness' (due to 'Princess' already being reserved for Katara), but then decided it was not the right fit. It was as if something in Yue gave off a vibe of her being honest and trustworthy - perhaps a factor why they had told her what they were about to do.

"I only worry that such a public confrontation could not go the way you imagine it will go," Yue said carefully. "Should it go wrong, Master Pakku will refuse to teach Aang any longer."

"I think you worry a bit too much," Sokka said, though that perhaps was to hide the small doubt he held. "Everyone will be there. We told our groups about it, they spread the news, and now we are sure to have the biggest audience possible."

"You are coming along?" Aang meanwhile asked Toph, who was holding onto his shoulder.

"Considering I otherwise am bored to tears due to doing nothing, no way I miss some old fart being put into his place," Toph told Aang. She then felt Momo climb onto her shoulder. "Oh, you've kept me company those past days, so you are allowed to stay there."

Aang looked a little hurt by Momo choosing her, but the lemur and waterbending it seemed would not become friends.

They then were on their way.

Their destination was the practice area of the waterbenders, were they knew Pakku would soon be to prepare for another day of teaching his students. However, he would be in for a surprise due to the normally empty training plaza now being full instead of empty - full with warriors, waterbenders, healers and basically all kind of people from the tribe. It seemed word had spread really fast.

"Looks like word really got around," Aang remarked with some amazement while people parted to allow them to walk into the empty center of the plaza.

"Yes... I can even spot my parents over there," Yue said, looking a bit nervous. "From the looks they are giving me, they'll want answers from me soon."

"What is the meaning of this?" That was Pakku, who had just arrived and saw how packed it was. Then he saw who was standing at the center of it all, but addressed Yue instead of anyone else. "Princess, since you are at the center of this, do you know what this is about?"

"I do know of the reason, Master Pakku. However, it is not my place to speak for them," Yue told Pakku.

Pakku's eyes narrowed a bit, then he let out a sigh of annoyance, looking to Katara. "I told that once already, girl. You can't learn waterbending from me or any other man. Know your place and return to the healing hut."

Katara snorted when hearing that, but she kept a lid on her temper. "Oh really? Let's say Aang had been born a girl, would you have dumped her at the healing hut as well?"

"Of course. Avatar or not," Pakku answered automatically before realizing what he had just said.

Aang for his part was startled. "What? You mean had I been born with the other set of parts you would have refused to help and rather let the Fire Nation conquer the world?"

Now that caused whispering among everyone present while Pakku saw Arnook giving him concerned looks. Many of the younger tribesmen especially - male and female alike - looked riled up by that revelation. Lots of resentment over the state of things in the tribe was bubbling up in the wake of it. Thing about staying silent was the fact that the right situation could break the silence.

Pakku clearly saw that his unthinking words had damaged his position. "Why you..."

Katara however would not let him take back control. "Now I have to be frank. Restricting women to only learn healing while forbidding the men from actually learning healing, if anything, has only hurt your tribe."

"Indeed!" That came from the crowd. It was a man who was missing the lower half of his right leg, a wooden peg in its place while had walked with a crutch. "You see this here?! I got that when being out with a hunting party. I could have kept my leg if there had been help right away, but of course none of the benders in our group had been taught healing. By the time they got me back, it was too late!"

The sight was shocking, as well as the knowledge that it happened due to none of the men ever having been taught healing.

"Oh yes, just look at me!" another man said, holding up his left hand which was missing three fingers. "I also was out with a group and my fingers caught frostbite. No problem if any of the benders with us had known healing, but they never were given the chance, and here is the end result."

It seemed that opened the floodgate for further grief over how things were currently run.

"Well, I wish my friend had known how to defend herself with her bending instead of being reduced to healing," one older teenage girl said with grief. "She would have been able to fend off that pervert on her own and she is still recovering from what was done to her."

"I have little talent for healing. I realized I'm far better at shaping water on a big scale, but I'm forbidden from actually learning it officially. I feel like all the power I have is going to waste," one girl complained.

"I really wanted to learn healing," one teenage boy said - and Aang recognized him as one of Pakku's students. "But my parents punished my horribly for even mentioning it, saying that it is girl's stuff and the only boys who would wish to learn it have to be gay faggots."

That one caused some outrage and clearly many knew who the boy's parents were.

"No fancy bending here, but I really wanted to make a difference," a rather muscular young woman said. "And then I was told girls are only good four the household and have children, while my wish to learn fighting was laughed at. Well, considering what I heard went down some days ago..."

Suki knew that meant her little demonstration.

Pakku for his part looked like he wanted to be somewhere else, but kept his cool. "And you think that you damaging the foundation of our tribe will convince me to accept you as a student?" he asked Katara.

"Of course not." Katara knw she had caught him off-guard with that. "That was to show that just because some things are old doesn't mean they are good. How 'we've always done it that way' is hurting the tribe as a whole and all those wronged by it. That was not for me."

"Really?" Pakku didn't want to show it, but that girl was reminding him of Kanna and that was disturbing him.

"Yes. To show you I'm not some damsel I'm challenging you to a water duel, right here and now!" Katara couldn't help it but feel her temper rise.

"Whoa... Katara is starting to get fired up. The last time she got really ticked off, she shattered an iceberg," Sokka whispered to Yue.

"She did?" Yue was impressed by such a feat by someone without any formal training. "I think we better give them some space."

"Too bad I can't see what happens next." Toph then elbowed Sokka . "You better give me running commentary, Snoozes."

"You insist? All right." Pakku knew he would win, since the decades of experience he held made that a foregone conclusion. Nonetheless he was unsure what to expect from Katara.

Everyone gave them a lot of space, knowing that water duels tended to get messy and no one wanted to end up as collateral damage. It took only moments before the duel did start and at first Pakku was not taking Katara entirely serious while both sides were drawing water from the wells that held the water for training.

Not taking her serious was proving to be an error due to Katara taking the whole thing dead serious and she was not holding back. Massive water snakes were being used as weapons, making everyone relieved they had given them space, especially when the water surrounded them like a ring-shaped and fast-moving wall for a moment.

What Katara was lacking in experience she tried to make up in sheer ferocity, ripping out parts of the icy ground and throwing said chunks around as projectiles. It was not exactly refined, but sometimes brute force was the correct answer.

"Man, those two are not holding back," Aang commented, in awe at the display of power, now really wanting to learn how to do that.

"No, Master Pakku is still holding back," Yue corrected him. "Not that it is doing him any good."

"Man, your description alone really makes me wish I could see it!" Toph said with excitement at Sokka's description of the duel, though all the noise she was hearing already was exciting.

Katara meanwhile got hit by a water blast, soaking her, which at such temperatures was not pleasant, but Katara had through experimentation learned enough to get the water out of her clothes and instead use it as ammo, sending several sharp icicles towards Pakku, who had to stop the projectiles.

How does that girl know so much without a proper teacher? Pakku knew that not taking Katara serious was an error. He then barely avoided a big ice chunk blasting into him. It's raw, unrefined. She is powered by sheer determination. I have to take this serious.

Pakku now took the whole thing serious and started to draw a concerning amount of water from the wells, causing Katara to realize that she would lose now, but she would sell herself as expensive as possible.

The spectators meanwhile couldn't help but to be impressed. This girl held no formal waterbending education, yet she made Pakku work for his victory. Even more impressive, in a tribe where girls didn't learn combat waterbending, seeing her go all out like that was downright inspiring. A number of girls actually imagined themselves in her position and they felt they wanted more.

Finally, Pakku made a finishing move. Bending water around Katara... -crrrrrc- He then caused the water to freeze, trapping Katara in an ice prison with everything below her shoulders being encased in ice. "I think this duel goes to me."

"Maybe." Katara's emotions were still raw, but she knew she was not done. Concentrating she used her breath alone to melt the ice while ensuring she wouldn't be soaked.

Pakku raised an eyebrow at that ability, not having expected that. "Using your breath to bend the water? Using the breath is more of a firebender move. Color me impressed."

"Oh, I picked up some interesting ideas." She would not say out aloud that she got the idea from Iroh, who had explained to her how proper breathing was the key to firebending. She had adopted the idea for something of her own. "I'm not naive and know you still won't teach me, but there is something else."

Pakku wondered what now, when he spotted it. Katara had made sure that her necklace was openly visible. At first Pakku had dismissed her as a hypocrite, preaching change while wearing that. Now however he was taking a closer look and to his shock recognized his own craftsmanship from all those years ago. That created questions which finally shattered his mask.

"That is the betrothal necklace I made for Kanna! Where did you get that?" Pakku asked, suddenly looking very much his years.

"Kanna is my grandmother." Katara saw how Pakku first looked surprised and then sad. "It belonged to her, she gave it to my mother and after my mother was killed, I came to wear it."

"Kanna. I always wondered..." Pakku seemed to relive old memories.

"Why she left right after you gave her no choice in the matter?" Seeing the look of pain, Katara knew that was it. "But I think you already know why she left. You just never wanted to face that truth."

"My feelings for her were genuine. I truly loved her and I knew she would have returned those feelings had I started courting her and proven myself worthy of her. But I was young, arrogant, impatient and full of myself. My friends were warning me not to do it, but I decided to take the easy and fast way and gave her no choice in the matter." Pakku looked pained at the arrogance of his youth.

Katara wanted to leave no doubt about the matter. "You deeply hurt her. It is little wonder she left."

Pakku didn't look surprised. "I knew it - I always knew it was my fault she had left. However, I didn't want to accept that simple turth, since it meant to accept I was at fault, so I doubled down. The traditions which had cost me her love were the only thing left for me; no other woman could ever take her place."

"I know my grandmother would tell you to finally break out of that vicious cycle. Change is scary, but it's either going along with it, or be swept away," Katara reminded him.

Pakku looked around and now understood why they had such a big audience - in order to make sure Pandora's box was opened wide and there was no way to undo what everyone had witnessed. "Clever like your grandmother... You think she could ever forgive me?"

That moment, Sokka moved closer. "Well... Gran-Gran is a very stubborn women. However, if you make a real effort and grovel a lot..." Sokka let that hang for a moment.

"...I need some time to think first..." Pakku honestly looked humbled now.

"Sokka..." Katara told her brother as soon as Pakku had left.

"What? You know that's exactly what Gran-Gran wants once they meet," Sokka told her, knowing their grandmother would not let Pakku off the hook easily.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Toph said while Suki led her over. "Granted, not much to see, but the running commentary was great."

-boooooo- -boooooo- -booooooo-

Hearing that horn echoing throughout the city, they stopped. Suki looked to Yue when seeing the mood shift, people all of a sudden looking towards the main canal that went to the docking facilities.. "Yue, what does that mean?"

"That means that our patrols are escorting visitors into the city. The same signal was given when you arrived." Yue had an idea what that could mean, then saw in the distance that the great gate was being opened. "Look at the main canal over there. We should see them soon."

They did and moments later were greeted with the sigt of the boats of the tribe escorting a small fleet of ships down the canal to the docking facilities. Sokka and Katara recognized those ships right away - after all they had witnessed them leaving the tribe two years prior. The sight filled both of them with hope, yet Katara's feelings also were more complicated.

"That's Dad's fleet. That's his ship leading them." Sokka only barely stopped himself from running to the docks. "They are really here."

After two long years, this for sure would be an interesting reunion.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Battle of the North, Part I - The Attack"

Chapter Text

Like with the arrival of the Avatar, the arrival of the fleet from the Southern Water Tribe was drawing a huge crowd of onlookers. After all, this was a tremendous moment in the history of their tribe. For many people this continued to be an exciting day after already having witnessed the confrontation between Katara and Pakku as well as the impending perforation of gender roles at least when it came to waterbending.

"They are really here!" Sokka said with excitement while they made their way toward the docks.

"Well, temper you enthusiasm, Snoozes, and better describe to me what exactly is going on," Toph reminded Sokka, latching onto his role as commentator.

"Oh, I know Bato likes me, but your father...?" Suki worried a bit, hoping Sokka's father wouldn't turn out to have something against a girl like her, who was not exactly fitting into traditional gender roles.

"Suki, relax. Our tribe is very different when it comes to that." Katara had a good guess that Suki was worried due to having experienced what their sister tribe was like in that regard. "And should he object, you can still demonstrate to him why you don't care."

"Well, I'm a bit nervous as well," Aang meanwhile admitted. "Do you think I should better keep quiet about almost flattening your village by accident when I lost it?"

"Better tell him now. He'll perhaps give you a stern lecture and then it's over. Should he learn from Gran-Gran only when returning home however I think he'll be a bit ticked off," Sokka told Aang.

"Oh, thanks for the words of encouragement," Aang sighed, knowing there was no way around it. He then looked to Momo on his shoulder. "Well, at least you don't have such worries."

Reaching the docks, they saw that a big crowd had already gathered, though the crowd parted to let them through. Watching the siblings, Suki noticed that Sokka looked more excited than Katara, as if something was tempering her happiness. She did not know what that meant, but had a guess that there was some sort of issue which was keeping Katara from fully giving into it like her brother did.

Then the ramp was lowered and one man walked it down.

Sokka no longer could hold back. "Dad!" Katara followed him, though looking a bit awkward.

"Sokka! Katara!" Hakoda had known the moment would come, but it still was overwhelming to again see his children after being absent for two long years. They had grown a lot in the meantime, though he still was big enough to pull both of them into a hug.

"I missed both of you so much! Two years... such a long time..." Hakoda then took a closer look at them. "Oh, and Bato was not hyperbole. Both of you have grown so much while I was away. Sokka, you have grown into young man, and Katara, you now more than ever look like your mother."

Sokka and Katara knew that was the highest praise, and yet, Katara in her heart couldn't find it to fully embrace how much it meant coming from her father. "We missed you so much! We constantly worried..." Sokka was not too proud to admit that.

Hakoda was moved, though again he noticed that Katara seemed a bit reluctant. "And now we have the chance to make up for the lost time."

When Hakoda finally let go of them, he saw the rest of their small group. "Now, I hope I don't get it wrong, but Bato had a lot to say about all of you. You are Suki, powerful Kyoshi warrior and Sokka's not-girlfriend?"

Suki chuckled a little nervously at the description. "Well, it now is actual girlfriend. It's a recent development."

Hakoda gave his son a knowing look to not mess it up, since he had a good feeling about that girl. He then looked to the next member of the group. "You are Toph, and from what I was told, you brag to be the greatest earthbender alive."

"You better believe it. However, considering it's all ice here and I have no wish to freeze my toes off, you have to take my word for it," Toph made clear, being annoyed she couldn't give a demonstration to underscore her claim.

"Oh, your word is enough." Hakoda then looked to the final member of the group. "Well, and you are Aang, the Avatar himself and the young shoulders on which the fate of the world is resting upon."

"Yes, that's me," Aang said a bit awkwardly. "It's not exactly that I enjoy that responsibility. It really is an awful lot..."

"It most certainly is," Hakoda agreed. "I know it must seem unfair to you that someone as young as you has the weight of the world put upon his shoulders. And it is our place to lighten that load for you."

Hakoda meant every word of that. He'd had time to think about all of it and he knew Aang truly needed every bit of support he could get, or the young boy was in true danger of breaking under the insane pressure he was under.

That private moment over, Hakoda looked up to see Arnook approach them, followed by his wife and Yue. All three of them held an expression that showed they currently were all business. "Chief Hakoda, I am Chief Arnook of the Northern Water tribe. I welcome you in Agna Quel'a. I extend the hospitality of my tribe to you and your men."

"I thank you for your tribe's hospitality. I only wish the first official contact between our tribes in decades would be under better circumstances," Hakoda said, feeling the shadow over this historical moment.

Arnook also knew what Hakoda meant. "You speak of the great comet which will allow the Fire Nation to win the war once and for all?" He honestly had not fully believed it to be the truth, but now seeing the grim look Hakoda gave him, Arnook felt foolish for being skeptical about it.

"That is the sword hanging over all of us; the threat that told me we have to stand united." Then however Hakoda looked even more troubled. "However, a new and immediate threat has arisen - a threat which is aimed at cutting the throat of your tribe."

Hakoda's frank words sent shockwaves through everyone, the idea of a sudden danger to the tribe causing fear and worry to bloom. "A threat to my tribe?" Arnook honestly had not expected such a sudden turn of events.

"On my ship are four refugees. They are under my protection and of no danger to your tribe. Without them we would be blind to this threat which threatens to destroy your tribe." Hakoda then looked back to the ship and one by one four people emerged from the ship. While wearing the blue of the Water Tribe it was clear the clothes were ill-fitting and it looked weird to see two females wearing men's clothes.

Aang gasped when seeing their faces. "Huh? What are you guys doing here? Why aren't you on your ship... Ah, what happened to you?" The last thing was added when seeing how beaten up Zuko and Mai looked.

"Trust me, that is a long story," Mai sighed. "A VERY long story."

"How long of a story are we talking about?" Sokka asked, dreading the answer.

"Long enough that you wish you could get some strong alcohol," Zuko told him. "Trust me, once we have told you..."

Arnook held back a strong reaction. "This is coming all of a sudden..."

It was Iroh who broke the silence. "I know that this all must be shocking to you. However, right at the moment there are more pressing concerns."

o

The mood was grim.

That was little wonder considering the revelations. First of course it was underscored big time that the threat of the comet was in fact very real and any attempt to dismiss it was utter foolishness. No way anyone could now claim they were not on a time limit. That however was for the long term. There was the problem of the impending invasion which really was the pressing issue at the moment.

It felt like the bottom was falling out when everyone was being told how Admiral Zhao was preparing for a full-scale invasion of the Norther Water Tribe to either force them under the heel of the Fire Nation or eradicate them entirely. Their decades of isolation were coming to an end with a bang and they were not prepared for it at all.

As if the tension was not bad enough, once everyone learned who the people under Hakoda's protection were, things got even more complicated. There were some voices instantly demanding them to be locked up - or worse. That was not very helpful and it took time to make it clear that no such thing would be done, especially since without those four, the tribe for sure would have been caught off-guard. Not to speak of the help they had given the Avatar on the journey north.

They actually had to explain how Zhao had tried to murder them and it was due to them wanting to warn the tribe that they had joined Hakoda and his ships on the way north. It was made clear they did that to prevent a disaster, and had they truly been evil they simply could have done nothing. It was a sobering realization to the tribe that they would have been caught unprepared without them.

Four people from the Fire Nation basically giving their tribe a fighting chance because they did have a conscience.

Several hours had passed by the point when finally the course of action for the time being was agreed upon.

"All right. We will assist in getting your tribe ready for the defense. That has the highest priority and any political talks can wait until the danger is over," Hakoda summarized.

"I again have to thank you. Our tribe had been in no real warfare for over 80 years. We are ill-prepared for battle, regardless how much it pains me to admit that," Arnook said.

"Decades of constantly having to defend against an unending onslaught taught us we don't want to abandon those who are ill-prepared." Hakoda couldn't help this hidden barb, feeling an underlying bitterness how the North had flourished while the South had been crushed. "Everyone has to pull their weight."

"Indeed." Pakku had joined the talks halfway through. The looks he was giving Hakoda however spoke of him really wanting to have a conversation with the son of Kanna. It was a conversation he knew would not be pleasant. "Me and the other teachers will have to push our students - and even adult benders - hard to prepare them. That goes double for you, young Avatar, and for your friend Katara."

Katara, while relieved that the man finally saw reason, still had to ask something. "Does that mean you no longer veto girls wanting to learn how to defend themselves properly with their bending?"

"Yes. Especially in such times... excluding them is a luxury we can not afford." Everyone knew this was a way for Pakku to save some face. "I already know of several of my students who want to learn healing as well."

Pakku again noticed the looks Hakoda was giving him. The things I do for Kanna... Talking with her son won't be a fun conversation.

"That means the two of us have to rain and help others as well," Suki told Sokka. "All hands on deck, as they would say at sea."

"Except for me, of course..." Troph grumbled. "Nothing against the people, but I personally have learned to detest the North Pole."

"Chief Arnook, do your warriors and benders even have an idea how to fight against firebenders?" Iroh then asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sadly, no," Arnook was forced to admit. "Our long isolation erased any knowledge how to fight against firebenders effectively."

"Then allow us to help. Learning now will save many lives later on." While he said that, Iroh was playing with a Pai Sho tile in his left hand. "The only thing I ask for is some time to play some Pai Sho with whoever will be willing to do so."

"Uncle, now is not the time to think about your most favorite game," Zuko groaned.

However, Pakku, who had noticed the tile Iroh was holding, spoke up. "I'm sure there is something that can be arranged in that regard. I know several men who like the game... myself included. Now, considering the offer... Chief, I sincerely suggest to accept. The best way to learn is from the source."

Zuko rolled his eyes when the motion was accepted. "Uncle and his fondness for Pai Sho. After that guru now some waterbender whose tribe lived in isolation. What is it with old men in the most unusual places being fond of that game?"

"Don't look at me. I've given up long ago trying to understand what's so great about that game," Mai told him, looking bored at the mere mention of that game. She never got it, while Ursa was fond of playing it.

"Never underestimate how fondness for a game can bring people together," Ursa reminded both teenagers. "I'm sure we can find our own way to help meanwhile."

"Let's see how they like training with someone who likes throwing sharp things," Mai said, making Zuko worry for the poor saps at the other end of said training.

"And I won't sit idle as well!"

That voice was unexpected, since it was Yue's. Yue looked to Sokka and Suki. "Sokka, Suiki, I want both of you to teach me."

There was some more silence and Yue's parents looked like they had just witnessed their daughter growing a third arm. Then Arnook finally found his voice. "Yue? Where... is this coming from? Your station..."

"I know, father. My station is to be a dignified lady. However, over the past days I realized several things and one of them is that I want to do more for my tribe. I know I won't be sent to the front lines, but it's about the principle of the issue," Yue explained her reasons.

"Ehm, Yue, are you sure about that? I remember my training and Suki gave me quite the collection of bruises," Sokka told her.

"Yes, I want this! I gladly accept bruises if it means both of you can help me to become more than just a helpless damsel," Yue told them.

"Yue..." It seemed her mother was a bit taken aback of that side of her daughter. "We had no idea you felt like that."

"No, you couldn't have known, since my role was written since birth." Some noticed the strange reaction from Yue's parents at that wording. "It's the only thing you have known. But after all the changes that happened today, I want to become more."

Yue then looked to everyone else in the room. "I'm very sorry, but..."

Everyone understood perfectly fine and after an agreement to meet again later to go over the details, the room started to empty, so that Yue and her parents could have a serious private conversation. No one - not even Pakku - wanted to be present for that.

"Wow, that was a side of Yue we had not seen yet," Suki remarked while they left as one big group. "It was... impressive how she stood her ground."

"Yes... and I admit the thought of us helping her..." Sokka added.

They were stopped when Toph snorted. "Are you guys getting weird now?" Hearing no reply, Toph knew she had made her point. "I'm way more interested in catching up with Sparky and his family. Also, I bet their father knows lots of embarrassing stories about Princess and Snoozes which I'm dying to hear."

"Toph!" Katara gasped in horror, then looked to her father. "Dad, don't you dare!"

Hakoda felt that this was finally easing the tension after all the heavy issues they had talked about today. "Oh don't worry. I will keep quiet about your worst sins, otherwise Mom will pull my ears off once I return home."

"Wow, Sokka and Katara told me so much about you, but to meet you in person really is something else," Aang said. "It makes it feel more real, you know?"

"Man, this is all sappy..." Mai said after the group from the Fire Nation had stayed silent the whole time. "However, I can't say I'm bored. Maybe Ursa can put in some embarrassing stories about Zuko. She must have a lot of those."

Seeing how horrified Zuko looked, Ursa decided not to torment him. "Only if I can reveal some of your embarrassing stories, too. I was around long enough to witness several of those."

Now Mai's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare... No, you would. All right, forget about that."

"You really have found interesting friends, Aang," Hakoda remarked to Aang. "Friends from all four nations, brought together by the wish to save the world. Remarkable that you already are hard at work."

"You really think so?" Aang honestly wanted to give Hakoda a good impression, since the man was Katara's father.

"Indeed, but now come. Everyone will be delighted to see both of you again and hear more from home..."

...some time later...

It was a long evening, indeed - and full of revelations, to boot. It had started joyful, with Hakoda relaying all kind of stories from the two years he was away, while Sokka and Katara in turn did speak of how things were at home and of their travels with Aang. It was moving to see them reconnect after their long separation, but most could see that Katara looked awkward. There had to be some kind of history.

However, once all of those stories got exchanged, things got more interesting when more personal histories got exchanged.

Toph of course had the least to say, stating outright how boring her life had been and that in the end traveling with Aang was to flee from being sold off as a child bride by her parents. Hearing her talk so bluntly about it never ceased to make it shocking all over again. Toph added that there was no way in hell she would ever return to that house as long as her parents didn't change their tune.

Suki spoke of growing up on Kyoshi Island and how despite not having what others might see as a normal childhood, she had been happy. She was happy to relay a bit about the philosophy of the Kyoshi warriors as well. However, she also relayed her feelings about the invasion of her home and how there would be a shadow on her as long as the island stayed occupied.

It took a little encouragement from Katara that talking about it would be helpful, but Aang then finally revealed all of his own backstory. Listening to it drove home once more how Aang was not some kind of messiah; he was a twelve-year old kid who was forced into a role he was not remotely ready for. Zuko especially understood Aang's feelings about the matter all too well.

The real surprise came when those from the Fire Nation talked about their own pasts. It was a show of trust that they revealed those things about themselves.

Surprisingly, it was Mai who spoke first, revealing details of her horrible childhood - something which made Toph give her lots of respect. Toph understood how Mai must have felt being under the thumb of parents who planned all your life - though where Toph's parents did it out of overprotectiveness, Mai's had always only seen her as a tool for their raise in the ranks.

Iroh spoke of being the perfect crown prince, until the loss of his son finally taught him a hard lesson and made him realize how his nation was in the wrong. He also revealed how he did a lot of soul-searching after said loss and thus became the man he was now.

Then however came Ursa's tale and the details of it were eye-opening. Alone how Ursa came to be part of the royal family was gut-wrenching, and how Ozai had treated her and Zuko was even worse. But it was the events surrounding the death of Fire Lord Azulon which really really cemented their opinion of Ursa. Other women would have fallen apart, but Ursa had been ready to go all the way to protect Zuko.

And then there was what happened to Zuko...

"Your own father did that to you?" Aang looked to Zuko's scar, being horrified at such a level of cruelty. He already knew Ozai was nasty, but that drove it home.

"You better believe he did." In a strange way, talking about it had helped Zuko. "In a messed-up way I blamed myself for it, thinking I provoked him to it. For some time I became obsessed with making it up to him. That was before... Before I realized how things truly are."

"That... wow, that is really heavy," Aang had to admit.

"Yes, your family is truly messed up," Sokka added, then noticed the look Suki was giving him. "Present company excluded of course. But honestly, your old man is a complete psycho, your sister loves to emulate him and your grandfather told your father to kill you - something he was all too eager to do. It makes me really relieved that Dad and Gran-Gran truly love us."

"And never doubt we do so," Hakoda added, though what he had heard disturbed him greatly. "Though you also are right. The behavior of the royal family does sound very disturbing."

"As much as it pains me, it is undeniable," Iroh admitted. "My grandfather, my father, my brother... my mother as well in her own way. Our family does not have a good history over the past century. It will be a great burden for Prince Zuko to repair what was broken."

"I know... You already told me that you are too old for the job; that our nation needs someone fresh and untainted." Zuko looked a bit scared. "That won't be easy. I'm honestly intimidated by how big of a task that will be."

"Better don't get cold feet," Mai reminded Zuko. "Also, let's worry about getting the war done first. Kind of dumb to worry about ruling when you first have to conquer the throne."

"I have to admit, you are very strong," Hakoda told Ursa. "I don't think many women would have shown the strength you did in your position."

"I only did what I had to do in order to protect my children. It was the right thing to do." However, a tiny blush crept onto Ursa's face. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

However, something else got noticed.

"Either my ears are playing tricks on me, or your father is acting weird around Ursa," Toph whispered to Katara.

"Weird how?" Katara wondered.

Toph grimaced a bit. "It reminded me a little of how my father sometimes sweet-talks my mother."

Katara looked first to her father and then to Ursa. She honestly couldn't see it - but then again she was an awkward teenager who was still quite confused about her own feelings; especially her confused feelings about a certain airbender.

Let's hope it's nothing. I'm already out of my depth with Aang, no need to pile me wondering about Dad on top of it., Katara thought.

However, she couldn't help but also feel uneasy with the idea that Hakoda could find new love after her mother Kya.

...two weeks later...

"The final inspection is completed, Admiral Zhao. All ships in the fleet are in the formation and ready to set sail," a seaman reported to Zhao, who was looking at the assembled fleet from a balcony on the command tower of his ship.

"Excellent. Relay the orders. The signal to the fleet for the start of its journey north is to be given in five minutes," Zhao ordered, looking pleased that they finally could start their journey.

"Yes, Sir!" the seaman saluted and then left.

"You look very pleased with yourself, Admiral, even though we are only about to start the journey north," Azula observed, being present as well, having observed the Admiral for some time.

"I'm just looking at the facts, Princess. This fleet consists of over 150 ships, is heavily armed and filled with army units ready for battle. Not to speak of several experimental weapons. Regardless what kind of resistance the Norther Water Tribe will put up, sheer force and numbers will crush them," Zhao said with confidence.

Azula hid what she thought of Zhao well, but her observations were clear. He's becoming more and more obsessed with gaining a victory for himself. He starts to become an actual liability.

Azula then looked at the assembled fleet, the armored ships giving off an aura of power. "You sound a bit overconfident, Admiral. After all, first there is a battle to be won."

Zaho knew that Azula was of the opinion that this whole invasion was premature and was diverting not a small amount of ships from other duties. He also knew the only reasons why the invasion was not called off was down to two factors. For one, the preparations had already come along far enough that calling it off would have been really expensive. Second, the Avatar was in the North as well and this would be a prime opportunity to finally eliminate that threat to the Fire Nation.

"I understand, Princess, but I have faith in the power of our nation. Some of the newest weapons and inventions are being used in this fleet after all," Zhao told her, hiding how he felt about her.

"The Fire Lord is only interested in results, not pipe dreams. I'll see for myself if you can pull this off. Your rise was fast, Admiral, but never forget that this was due to winning my father's favor since he saw a certain worth in you. Should you disappoint those expectations, then the fall can come just as fast," Azula reminded him.

"I understand, Princess." Zhao didn't say anything, but inside felt and intense dislike for Azula.

Your casual dismissal of my accomplishments and all your snide remarks. Under the title you only are a teenage brat drunk on power You are no better than your brother, Zhao thought. Just wait until I can make my big plan reality. Then you will have no choice but to acknowledge my greatness.

Others would see it as treason that he was keeping the crowning moment of this operation to himself, but he had learned early to never reveal all of your cards - not even to your rulers. He had done well to keep the planned knockout blow to the water tribes - and yes, all waterbenders of the world - secret from everyone. He only had to show some more patience before he would enter history books.

Azula on the other hand had different thoughts. That man is too eager to enter history books. He's starting to put his own gain before that of our nation. Once this is all done, our esteemed Admiral Zhao has to disappear discreetly.

Zhao had no idea how Azula was already planning to tell her father to make sure something would happen to Zhao.

-tuuuuuut- That was the signal. They both looked up and saw the correct signal flags being pulled up. The other ships answered the signal and black soot erupted from the exhausts when the engines roared to life.

They were off to write history.

On one ship at the back of the fleet Lt. Jee was observing the start of the whole thing, knowing there was no going back now.

He and all of the men from Zuko's ship had been dumped onto this ship - a supply ship with only minimal armament and soldiers - and they knew why that was. This ship and the rest of the crew was meant to contain them and keep them away from anything important. It spoke of the sheer mistrust Zhao gave them - and that perhaps rightfully so, since they saw Zhao as the enemy.

Having been kept isolated from the outside world, they had heard little in the form of news. Rumor was however, that something had happened to Prince Zuko, which had caused significant unrest among the old crew, with many of them feeling Zhao must have played a role in that. That was not helping the growing tensions between them and the loyalists on the ship.

Zhao had dismissed them, feeling that once being contained on this supply ship they no longer would cause him any trouble. Little did he know that keeping them all in one place had been a significant error on his part.

The whole plan to conquer the Northern Water Tribe was madness and Jee knew this all must have been grown on Zhao's hurt ego. The man was desperate to go down in history books and was willing to wade through a sea of blood for it. Zuko's old crew wanted no part of it. They would bide their time for the moment, but once the die was cast for real, they would act.

"It's beginning..." That was the helmsman... or better, former helmsman, since on this ship he was reduced to menial duties instead of doing what he was trained for. "How long do you think we should play along?"

Jee knew what the man was talking about. "We'll strike when the chaos is the greatest. They'll regret putting all of us into one place."

The worst part was the wait and playing along.

...at the same time, Anga Qel'a...

"Ow... Ow... Ow..." That was the only thing Yue could say at this moment.

"You say that every time we treat your bruises, Princess," Yagoda remarked while watching her older students do their job in healing Yue.

I won't complain. I got what I wanted. But why does it have to sting each time they treat a bruise? That, and I'm getting cold, Yue thought.

She indeed had worn down her parents and now actually was getting instructions from Sokka and Suki in how to actually fight, though of course they had started at the very beginning, since Yue was completely clueless about it. They were very patient with her, but her being their friend did not mean they were going to treat her like a delicate flower. Hell, she even had insisted on them not giving her special treatment.

She was starting to see first results, but each day left her bruised and she had to go to the healers to get the bruises treated and removed. And since those bruises at times were in rather private areas, she had to stand there naked while getting treated. Thankfully, Yagoda had a private room for her and only the older girls she did trust fully were doing the treatment. Still, she was again feeling cold!

"I don't complain about that, but I'm getting rather cold." Yue tried hard not to whine, but right now she didn't exactly look like a dignified princess.

"Hmmm, perhaps you also don't exactly like the girls seeing their princess in her birthday suit so often?" Yagoda mused, then saw Yue blush. "Oh, no need to be embarrassed, and they are just done."

Yue wasted no moment to almost run to her clothes and get dressed while the girls left the room. While dressing herself, Yue noticed another change - her hair. Her old hair style had proven to be rather impractical, so she had re-done her hair into a big braid like Katara did and even added hair loopies - white of course. Though, considering the volume of her hair, the two decorated smaller braids next to her ears were still being present. It honestly now saved her lots of time in the morning.

She then was done, but Yagoda wanted to talk.

"Yue, I've known you since the very moment you entered this world, assisted your mother when she pushed you out, and thus I can see something is bothering you," Yagoda told Yue, using her name to show this was being said in confidence.

"I knew someone would notice sooner or later," Yue sighed. "It's embarrassing. I... I developed a huge crush. I know I'm engaged to marry Hahn, but it simply happened."

Yagoda had expected it to be something like that. "Oh dear, that indeed is a problem. I have a good idea who the young man in question is, but you know he already is seeing someone, don't you?"

"I know, and don't want to be a homewrecker. But... it's not only him. ... It's both of them. It happened gradually, but when I dream now... it's always both of them." By now Yue was blushing so hot one could expect her white hair to turn red or combust.

Now, that was news to Yagoda. "I had no idea you were inclined that way."

"That's it, I'm not. Other girls all my life... nothing. But with Suki... Just like with Sokka my heart wants me to be close with her. Oh dear, my parents would be so disappointed with me. Not only did I develop feelings for two people at the same time, but one of them is a girl." Yue knew that would never fly in with the tribe outside of divine intervention.

"Matters of the heart are always the most difficult ones. Still, have hope that this will come to a good end. Are they returning your feelings?" Yagoda asked Yue.

"They said nothing, but I'm seeing their looks. They noticed and... they are giving me more special attention. This must be just as confusing to them as it is to me." Yue then shook her head. "I can only hope this will work out in some way. I can not abandon my duty to my tribe, regardless how much it hurts me."

I won't reveal how interesting my dreams have become as of late,Yue added silently.

Knowing Yue would talk no more about it, Yagoda walked out of the room with her and while walking through the healing hut they saw the changes that had happened since the day Katara had confronted Pakku. A number of boys had found their way into lessons, while in turn some girls had quit to instead learn how to use waterbending in other ways. It was interesting to see how under the pressure of possible doom things began to change quite fast.

"It warms my old heart to see this change." Yagoda then pointed at one teenage boy who was several years Yue's senior. "Take young Yakone here - a troubled youth to say the least, very unhappy with the role he was expected to fill. He jumped at the chance to learn healing and considering the great talent he's showing for this art, it was the right decision."

"He certainly looks much happier. Though, considering his family, that is little wonder." Yue didn't have to say it, since everyone knew Yakone's parents were nasty people, rumor being that they had done their best to literally beat out of their son any dream they deemed as foolish.

"Oh yes..." It seemed Yagoda knew that as well.

Saying her goodbyes, Yue left the healing hut and walked through the streets of the city, having something more to do right now.

Reaching the building where Aang and his companions were staying, she walked in . "Toph, are you in?"

"Where else am I supposed to be?" came the answer and following the voice, Yue found Toph in bed. "You'll excuse that I'm not getting out of bed."

Yue still was at times taken aback by the girl's disregard for manners, especially since she herself had been taught to not be rude. "I know you are unhappy and I won't pretend to claim I know how it feels to lose one sense entirely."

Toph laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, no shit. Nothing against you or your tribe, but I really learned to hate this place. I think I'm even starting to suffer from elemental withdrawal. Never thought that would happen to me."

Yue could feel the sheer frustration coming from the girl. "Well, then you'll like the surprise I have for you. Get dressed."

"Everything is better than getting bored to death in here. In a way it's worse than my parents' house." Toph said while putting on her clothes. She honestly didn't look forward to more weeks of this and her being unable to even participate in the defense of the tribe.

"You will like it, trust me," Yue told Toph while leading her through the streets of the city.

"Well, you are making it sound exciting, whatever it is." Toph honestly wondered what kind of surprise it was supposed to be.

Finally reaching a well-hidden and guarded door, Yue stepped through and Toph followed. Toph still wondered what this was about, when she felt it - the temperature was rising significantly. And then she also felt... Wanting to make sure, she pulled off her boots and her naked feet touched the ground.

"Earth? Earth! Oh, wonderful earth!" In a bout of happiness which very much showed her age, Toph got rid of her outer winter clothes and then rolled on the bare ground like greeting a long-lost friend while feeling around with her seismic sense. "Oh, I can't believe it! It's too long! How is this possible?"

"I saw how miserable you were and wanted to help. I needed to do a lot of convincing for my father to allow it, and even then there will be two guards present while you stay here during the day," Yue explained. "I felt... wha?!"

Toph suddenly hugging her threw Yue off. "Man, you really are the greatest, Moonlight!"

"Ehm, sorry?" Yue wondered about the name, feeling a tiny bit nervous.

"Everyone close to me gets a nickname. Well, and since Katara already occupies 'Princess'... I know the Moon is supposed to be up there in the sky, but I of course only know it from explanations. But since your people like the Moon so much, I felt it fits for you."

It fits more than you might imagine, Yue thought, though she would not say it aloud. "Just be careful, since this place is very much sacred to my people. That's also why the guards will stay - that and to escort you back when you need to leave. Please don't bend anything outside of this area."

Having become curious, Toph sensed around, but as soon as her sense reach the shrine with the pond, her sightless eyes widened. "Woah! That's really... trippy. It's like it warps and bends, is far bigger on the inside." Toph then held a hand before her mouth. "Just sensing it makes my head spin..."

Still, Toph would not complain. Her stay at this very moment had become a hell of a lot better.

...at the same time...

"To be honest, Chief Arnook, I had expected more problems with your tribe. Yet, no one is causing us trouble," Ursa wondered while walking with Iroh, Hakoda and Arnook down an armory. She felt comfortable, being back in her own red winter clothes.

"That perhaps is due the fact that everyone alive nowadays had never even met anyone from the Fire Nation - much less in battle - until you arrived. It is difficult to feel anger at something abstract," Arnook admitted, knowing of the looks Hakoda was surely giving him at that admission.

"Perhaps us lending so much help to you tribe also speaks in our favor," Iroh added. "It was kind of disturbing to see how ill- prepared your warriors and benders are at fighting actual firebenders."

Arnook knew that all too well, the demonstrations had been very clear and ever since then, Iroh and Zuko were in high demand for training.

"What I wonder is, why I was pulled from the healing hut. I'm way more useful there preparing for the inevitable," Ursa asked, remembering how she had been pulled out from helping the healers.

"Some of our lead warriors have come up with an idea, thus I need some input how valid it is." Arnook said while they arrived at several sets of old-looking Fire Nation uniforms. "The plan is to infiltrate the enemy and kill their leader so that the attack falls apart."

"While that might sound like a good idea, it sadly won't work," Iroh said, seeing the flaws in the plan. "Even if your men do manage to kill Zhao, it will only result in the next person down the chain of command to take over. Not to speak of the fact that my niece is most likely being present as well. I fear a decapitation strike will not work."

"Yes, Azula would simply take command and continue with the invasion." Ursa always was a bit sad when hearing about Azula. "But also... how old are these uniforms? I haven't seen uniforms with decorative spikes apart from in history pictures."

"They are from the last attack against our tribe over 80 years ago," Arnook had to admit.

"I have to be honest that these uniforms are of little worth. The last time I remember seeing these was when I was a young child." Considering Iroh's age, that said a lot. "Regulations have changed. All those spikes are gone and the uniforms look very different by now."

"It was worth a try," Arnook tried to save face.

"The idea itself was not bad," Hakoda admitted. "That it was doomed to fail is not due to an error from your side."

That looked like little consolation for Arnook.

While Arnook walked ahead, Hakoda shook his head. "I don't envy him. He's been thrust into a situation he's very much unprepared for. And as if that is not enough, he is constantly uneasy with what his daughter is doing now. He had even asked me for advice, but considering how stubborn Katara can be, I was of little help."

"You are an interesting man, Chief Hakoda, though to the Fire Nation you are a serious problem. You know there is high price on your head, right? You are described as dangerous, slippery and an enemy of the Fire Nation," Iroh explained to Hakoda.

"I see that as a badge of honor," Hakoda said outright, feeling that description was the highest praise coming from the enemy nation.

Indeed an interesting man, Ursa thought. Others in his place would have broken, but he didn't. Instead, seeing him interact with his children, I can see how good of a father he is.

What a strong woman, Hakoda meanwhile thought. I know she has not nearly revealed all she has went through, but if anything, it has made her stronger. And seeing how her son turned out, she is a good mother.

Iroh for his part said nothing, though he had a feeling that should they get through the attack, then things could become very interesting.

o

The training grounds for the waterbenders were buzzing with activity. Considering the impending invasion, all of the benders were working in overtime to get their skills as sharp as possible before the invasion would take place. Everyone had to be at their best. But even in the middle of the preparations, regular training of course didn't cease.

New however was, that the adult waterbenders also had actual firebenders to train with. Needless to say however, that without exception their first real taste of what it was to fight against a firebender was a massive wake-up call.

"Oh crap, no!" the waterbender yelped before a fire lance evaporated his water, the blast of steam knocking him back.

"You have to do better than that if you truly want to prevail against firebenders," Zuko reminded him, not being impressed with that one's skill.

"Wow, Zuko is really not kidding around," Aang said while being busy with his own lessons, the water obeying him much easier than before. "Kind of scares me once I start to learn firebending for real."

"Are you scared of fire? Not that I would blame you," Katara said while using multiple water whips at the same time.

"No, it's just... he looks so intense! Also, Zuko has changed; he now is so much calmer when using his bending. That's really what I want to be when bending fire, but someone bending fire while being calm or even happy looks utterly alien to me," Aang tried to explain it.

Katara took a closer look. "Well, he looks more like Iroh now when doing it. I have never seen Iroh being angry when bending fire."

"Less chatting and more training!" Pakku reminded them. "Anluq! You are next against her!"

Said Anluq didn't look all too eager to spar against Katara, but had little choice in the matter. Aang for his part watched the water duel. "Boy, Katara is learning really fast, like she had waited her whole life for this!"

"That is the difference between her and you," Pakku commented while never taking his eyes off the duel. "She is dedicating all of her time and energy to learning as much as she can about waterbending. I honestly am impressed with the sheer rate at which she is learning, though it is refreshing she admits that true mastery will take her years as well. You on the other hand struggle with a teaching environment, though you do have a good grasp of the basics."

"Well, Monk Gyatso also told me I'm more of a performer and less of a technician. That, and he always was on my case that I attend the lessons," Aang admitted, remembering some of his past slacking off when he got bored.

-splash!- That was Anluq getting thrown to the ground by a water stream coming from Katara. "Ah, looks like we have a winner. Impressive. Most impressive," Pakku remarked.

"Wow, that was awesome, Katara! I can't wait for you to show me how to do that!" Aang said with excitement.

"Oh, thank you, Aang..." Katara worked hard not to blush. She did not want questions in front of so many people.

"Considering you started from barely being able to shape water..." That was Zuko, being done with another bender and now walking over to them. "Don't try to deny it, I've seen you practice with that water bowl on the ship."

"Everyone has to start somewhere..." Katara grumbled, not wanting to be reminded how little she had been able to do with her bending at the start of their journey. "At least I'm not as arrogant to believe that several weeks of training already make me a master."

"And that is a good thing," Pakku added. "True mastery takes years of training, though your progress indeed is impressive."

"Gran-Gran is sure to be proud of me once she hears about it." Katara knew it was a bit petty, but seeing Pakku flinch a little she felt was worth it. After all, a gentle reminder once in a while of what would wait for him at the South Pole could not hurt.

"Now then, some final lessons. General Iroh did offer some games of Pai Sho this evening and I don't want to disappoint him," Pakku decided.

Zuko groaned at that. "I honestly wonder what it is with old people and Pai Sho? My uncle is a bit too obsessed with that game."

Pakku actually looked amused. "Ah, not very fond of the game? It is a very relaxing way to get the time to pass while making new friends."

"I never got what's so great about it, and my uncle tried for years to make me interested." Zuko knew that Mai was bored to tears by the game as well. Zuko then looked to Aang and Katara. "I'm still surprised both of you can play the game."

"Aang actually showed me how to play it," Katara defended herself, then realized it was a weird kind of defense. "I simply like playing it now and then."

"Oh, Monk Gyatso taught me how to play the game. Though I wish he hadn't used that white stone so often; always caught me on the wrong foot. He said it's a relaxing way to to calm myself. It worked... well, but only until I lost badly to him," Aang admitted.

Zuko knew it was a lost cause. "As I said; I'll never get the appeal."

o

"Wah!" "Woh!" "No real knives please!"

"Oh please, do you honestly think I'm incapable of missing on purpose?" Mai did feel a bit insulted at the implication. "Though, those are good reflexes you are showing."

The younger warriors honestly felt a little intimidated by Mai. The girl didn't look that threatening and at the beginning, almost two weeks ago, some had not taken her seriously. However, once the throwing knives had come out, that changed fast. Mai remembered one blowhard who had pissed himself when a knife had embedded itself into the ground only centimeters away from his most precious part.

Compared to those, these guys were outright nice, and thus she had decided to go easy on them. Picking up the blades to put them back into their holsters - after all, her supply was limited - Mai nodded to the warriors. "That surely was entertaining, boys. I'll be back later."

"That was entertaining?" one of them managed to get out.

"Yes, for me." Mai did not show it, but her fears that the North could be boring were all proven wrong. Granted, she hated the cold and how all the reflections from the ice hurt her eyes, but that was more than made up by other things.

"Well, better don't eat them alive. We still need them after all," Sokka joked while sharpening his sword for the upcoming sparring match with Suki.

"They are still in one piece, aren't they? That was only a warm-up after all," Mai asked blandly, then drew her own sword. "Perhaps make that a three-way match? I need more sword training anyway."

Suki looked up from inspecting her own blade. "You want to give them a little show?"

"I have found a sort of sadistic pleasure in repeatedly showing them that I'm no damsel," Mai told them.

"Considering some were still disliking girls on the training grounds..." Suki looked around and indeed did spot a few girls training. "And I thought them seeing us help Yue to learn how to fight would be an obvious sign of changing times."

"At least they no longer mistake my choker for a betrothal necklace," Mai said with a roll of her eyes, touching the leather chocker with blunt spikes she really had taken a liking to - the one she had won at a festival game.

Sokka had noticed that misunderstanding, too. "I wonder why? I doesn't look anything like one of those."

"I'm not wasting my brain power on some lesser expamples of the male species. Speaking of strange looks, I know of the looks you give Yue when you train her. I saw those clearly," Mai added dryly, not revealing how she thought about it.

Sokka shared a quick look with Suki "Ehhh, we have no idea what you are talking about," he then tried to deflect lamely.

"Oh please..." Mai rolled her eyes, since those two were horrible at hiding such things. "It's the same look Zuko gives me whenever I'm wearing my thin training clothes and am really sweaty. Try again."

They realized Mai was waiting for an honest answer, especially with her making such a crass remark.

Suki tried to explain it. "You see, it just... happened. At first we only thought of Yue as our friend. But over the weeks... things changed. Oh, this is so embarrassing, but we can't help it. Not only have we both developed a crush on Yue, but to imagine I feel like that for a girl... Kyoshi only got away with it due to being the Avatar."

Suki honestly wondered why her heart was doing this to her now of all times, after before she had felt no attraction to girls whatsoever. And it was to Yue of all people. Granted, it was Yue...

Mai sighed. "Well, this is quite the emotional mess you got yourselves into. Does she show signs she's returning those feelings?" She then saw both of them blush. "OK, she clearly does. Look, I won't give you any moral crap, but you better clear things between the three of you."

"We are planning to do so..." Sokka admitted.

"Of course, right now you are still chickening out. Better don't wait for too long." Mai then looked to the far end of the training ground. "Because I can see Hahn giving you dark looks."

Indeed, they did see Hahn looking incredibly pissed and they knew that he must have noticed things, though in his arrogance he probably only thought of Sokka as a possible homewrecker. Of course he had other reasons to dislike Suki and made no secret about it. Mai had met him multiple times, and his comments about her nationality - not to speak about his sheer misogyny - ensured she disliked him.

"Oh yeah, him as well." Sokka sounded more annoyed than anything. "He and his claim are another reason why this is so complicated. Why can't anything be easy?"

Mai rolled her eyes at that. "Don't be so melodramatic. Now about our spar?"

...several days later...

Appa was flying above the shoreline of the North Pole. While he was not flying particularly high, to Yue it still was incredible how different the world looked from up there. She had never dreamed that one day she would be this far above the ground. Man after all was not made to fly - though thankfully a sky bison could and was very helpful to achieve this dream.

"Everything looks so small from up here..." Yue said in awe, though looking directly down made her a bit dizzy and she very much didn't want to part with her lunch the wrong way, thank you.

"How did you get Aang to let you borrow Appa?" Suki wondered.

"Let's say I worked my irresistible charm. Well, that, and I reminded Aang how I covered for him when Katara was on the warpath after he'd blown his nose into one of her... girl hygiene products." Sokka honestly didn't want to think of his sister going through that.

"Ah, I remember that one." Suki remembered that little incident all too well. "I only wonder how Aang managed to confuse that with a handkerchief?"

Yue giggled a little when hearing that. "Oh dear... Though it should teach her to keep such private things in a safe place."

Moments later Appa landed near a cliff overlooking the icy sea. After helping Yue to disembark - since both of them knew without some practice one was prone to tumble down - they said nothing for some moments, before Yue grew more serious.

"As wonderful as this is, I know you brought me here for a reason. Is it...?" Yue started to blush, being a bit embarrassed. "Is it about us?"

"Ehm, yes. This is a really private thing, thus..." Sokka waved at the empty landscape surrounding them. "Nobody here to listen in on us."

"You noticed us, and we noticed you." Like Yue, Sokka and Suki now started to blush as well, since this was not an easy topic. Suki then continued "This is not easy for any of us."

"Yes, I was happy with Suki and then -bam- suddenly I start to feel like that for a second girl. I know other guys would see this as paradise, but I have to think of both your happiness." Sokka then looked uncomfortable. "Also, a man being with more than one girl is not exactly well-accepted anywhere."

"For me, and for you too, Yue, there is the additional complication that we are both girls. A boy liking a boy or a girl liking a girl that way is very much frowned upon." Suki knew at her home the whole situation would be seen as scandalous. "And... I was such a straight arrow, but with you..."

"I know. I also never felt anything like that for other girls, and then you came along. And that is not my only burden..." Yue touched a her betrothal necklace. "I'm promised to Hahn and there is nothing I can do about it. I'm torn between my duty to the tribe and what my heart is telling me. All of this is so much..."

"So, what do we do now?" Sokka wondered.

Yue sighed. "I can't break my engagement and I know soon enough you'll leave again. Our hearts are really cruel to do this to us."

"If we have to part, then at least without regrets," Suki told them.

"Emh, Suki, what do you mean with that?" Sokka asked, knowing that she tended to make snap decisions at times.

"I can't believe I'm suggesting this..." Suki said more to herself. "If we have to part, then we at least should first..." Suki then suddenly grabbed Sokka and pulled him in for a kiss. Sokka was surprised for a moment, but then quickly gave in.

Yue watched this with surprise and... excitement. Watching those two make out actually made her heart beat faster and she unconsciously started to rub her legs against each other. I... I actually enjoy watching them do that.

When those two finally parted, Suki looked to Yue and then to Sokka, her intent clear. "Yue, you don't have to this if you are uncomfortable..." Sokka told her, not wanting Yue to feel pressured.

Yue however held up a hand. "Please be gentle. This will be my first one."

That was the OK to go ahead, but Sokka would follow her wishes. Holding her close, he started slow, but after their lips touched, Yue felt her hesitation melt quickly. She now understood why pairs did so much kissing, since it felt like sparks were going off in her heart. Right at this moment this felt very right.

Watching them, Suki couldn't help but to look closely, feeling interesting reaction inside herself. I should feel jealous, but instead I enjoy watching them making out. I'm actually wanting to join in!

When the kiss finally came to an end, Yue was breathing heavily, her blush having become stronger due to how this was making her feel. Yue then looked to Suki with some hesitation. "Ehm... are you uncomfortable if we...? We are both girls after all."

"I know we both have the same parts. However..." Suki started to hold Yue. "I know this goes against a lot we were told and I never felt like this with any other girl..."

Yue understood her perfectly well. "I know, this is a big leap to take. But we won't know if we don't try."

Looking each other into the eyes, they inched closer and closer, staring to feel each other's warm breath - which also was visible due to the cold - until their lips met for the taboo lesbian kiss. Both girls at first felt a bit reluctant, their upbringing telling them this was not all right, but in the moment their reluctance started to melt. It didn't feel much different from Sokka's lips, maybe a bit softer, and soon enough both girls felt same as when they had kissed Sokka.

Sokka watching this, couldn't help but to be awed. Wow, this is so beautiful to watch. And, watching them kiss also is kind of hot. I had no idea that two girls making out could be this exciting.

When both girls parted, they were blushing heavily from what they had just done and how forbidden this felt. That both girls also felt a little bit damp between their legs spoke volumes that they had enjoyed it, too. There was an unspoken agreement between them that this was something they could not tell anyone. Then suddenly Sokka took hold of both of them and pulled them into a three-way hug.

"Regardless what comes next, no hard feelings between us?" Sokka asked.

Suki and Yue nodded and then all three of them silently enjoyed their shared closeness. They knew Yue could not leave and how her other duties would never allow her to test the waters if such a relationship could work out in some way. They knew reality was not so kind, but for the moment they enjoyed the closeness.

That lasted until suddenly something started to slowly fall from the sky. Looking up, Yue was confused. "Black snow? What is this?"

"Black snow?" Looking at it, Sokka felt his heart sink when realizing that indeed it was snowing soot. "Oh no, this is what I feared."

"Sokka, what do you mean?" Suki wondered, seeing how all of a sudden her boyfriend looked alarmed.

"Black snow is a sign of pain to my people. It's soot - soot from the boilers of Fire Nation ships. It always snowed black snow before the Fire Nation would attack my people. They are coming." Sokka then walked to the cliff and looked at a black cloud at the horizon. "And judging by that, I'd say there are a lot of them."

o

Out at sea meanwhile information was coming in constantly into Zhao's flagship - a coordinated attack after all had to be well-prepared. The war room directly next to the main bridge was a hive of activity, messages pouring in from the ships. In mere hours the attack would begin, thus everyone was very much stressed by last-minute preparations.

"Admiral Zhao!" one low-ranking officer reported to Zhao. "We do have a report from our scout ship. They had to retreat before being located, but have gathered vital information." A rough sketch was placed onto the table. "This is the estimated layout of the enemy city as well as the main fortifications."

Zhao looked closely at it. "Too bad that those new engines which almost entirely eliminate smoke emissions are not yet widely used. But for a scout that has to be undetected..."

"Sadly, Admiral, it means the tribe will be alerted to our approach by the massive smoke cloud our fleet is producing," one officer remarked.

"It can't be helped; not that being forewarned will save them." Zhao then looked at the sketch again. "Perfect, the structure is exactly like it was described in my source. That will make the conquest easier."

Azula, who up until this point had been content with watching everything, looked to Zhao. "What source are you talking about, Admiral? How did you gain information about the enemy?"

"I found it in scriptures describing the structure of the city and fortifications. I was suspecting that little would have changed even after decades, and I was right. The way those barbarians are clinging to their old ways and change very little will now be their downfall." Zhao sounded very sure of himself.

Azula arched an eyebrow. "You sound like you can't wait for the battle to begin."

"Princess, we are writing history. It's only natural to be excited," Zhao explained his eagerness.

"Ah yes..." Azula said little more about the matter, but it confirmed things she had observed about Zhao.

He is keeping things from me. He only revealed the source of his information once asked, and he still only revealed the minimum, Azula thought, drawing her own conclusions.

The fleet continued to move towards their target, the steel hulls smashing smaller ice chunks out of the way while legions of firebenders were busy with eliminating icebergs which were too big and stood in the way of the formation. The fleet was like a wave of steel, destroying everything in its path.

...a bit later...

The war drums echoed throughout Anga Qel'a, civilians were being evacuated to the rear of the city while warriors and benders alike prepared themselves for what was about to come. Meanwhile, more and more soot snowed down onto the city, the black stains sullying the once pristine ice buildings, looking like an ominous writing on the wall talking of a bleak future. The war, which the tribe had pushed out of their minds for decades, finally had arrived at their door, with death coming along and demanding a good harvest.

Arnook spoke to many gathered warriors meanwhile, the royal family and Pakku sitting behind him in front of an indoor waterfall in the great hall of the royal palace.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my tribe here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!"

Then Hakoda spoke next.

"I know I can only speak for my own men, but we will stand our ground here until the bitter end. Should the Northern Water Tribe fall, then all hope will be lost. We will stand firm!" He was keeping it short and to the point.

"Wow, Dad is really not mincing words." Despite her complicated feelings about her father, she couldn't help but be impressed with his conviction.

"Pfft, southern heathen."

Sokka knew that voice and he did spot Hahn nearby. "You have a problem?!" Sokka had little patience for the guy, having learned to dislike him (and not only due to the situation with Yue).

"Oh yes, I do have a problem. You southern heathens come here, start to destroy our ways and thanks to you the Fire Nation is now ready to attack us," Hahn accused them.

"Well, that's complete crap," Toph snorted.

"Oh yes, I know why you really say that. You thought you drew the big one; thought of Yue as the big prize that'll allow you to have a cushy life complete with a bedwarmer doubling as a baby maker." The look Suki was giving Hahn was very, very cold. "You feel threatened by Sokka since he is showing Yue there is more than sacrificing herself to someone like you for 'duty'."

"You..." Hahn hissed in anger, since Suki had cut to the core of his anger.

"Better don't..." Katara played with some water. "You don't want to have to explain why a 'weak girl' froze you to a wall, do you?"

"I hope your meddling brother dies in this battle!" Hahn gave them one last angry look before stomping off to get ready.

"Shithead..." Toph made no secret what she thought.

Aang sighed. "Guys, while I like how you defend Yue's honor, is this really the time for that?"

"There always is time to defend someone's honor," said Zuko, who up until this point had been silent, though Mai rolled her eyes at that. "Otherwise many will always claim not to do this or that at the moment."

"Only you would say that," Mai added, though there was no bite behind it. "Reminds me of when you defended Ursa's honor and defeated Zhao in a duel, humiliating him."

"Wow, you honestly didn't tell us that story. However, maybe later." Aang had realized that now was not the time for lengthy stories.

The worst part was the wait. They had prepared and the smoke cloud showed that the enemy was about to arrive.

"The stillness before battle is unbearable. I wonder why you are not down there with your men?" Arnook wondered, looking to Hakoda. Both men stood on a high terrace of the palace which overlooked the city and the barrier wall together with the icy ocean beyond it.

"There is little I can do in this phase of the battle. Today will mostly be about stopping the Fire Nation from shattering the outer wall. There is little which foot soldiers can do about that," Hakoda remarked.

"You speak from experience then. You are sure they will force their way into the city itself?" Arnook looked disturbed by the thought.

Hakoda gave Arnook a grim look. "We have to face the facts; with their superior numbers and firepower, they will do so. It will come down to a horrible battle of attrition." He then looked to the edge of the terrace, where Aang was looking to the ocean, talking with Yue. "I honestly don't want to be in his place."

Aang for his part was preparing himself for what would soon happen. "I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked my people. I'm going to make a difference this time."

"This must be difficult for you," Yue observed.

"It is. It's really insane how much is put onto my twelve-year old shoulders." Aang then sighed. "You know, I grew up in a pacifistic society. Learning I'm the Avatar it only hit me over time that as the Avatar I'm expected to make hard decisions... Even ones over life and death."

"How are you adapting to that?" Yue knew it must have been a deep cultural shock.

"Monk Gyatso was the most peaceful man I've ever known, yet when there was no other choice left, he fought to the bitter end. I got a taste of war when we defended the Northern Air Temple." Aang grimaced a bit at the memory. "People died on both sides. It felt horrible. But like Gyatso, sometimes you have no other choice."

Yue knew Aang didn't like it at all, but he was beginning to accept that fact, regardless of his personal feelings on the matter.

Down at the outer wall, Zuko was observing the ocean. "Those smoke columns coming from behind the horizon speak a clear language. They are almost here."

"You know, you really show courage by being down here with us," Suki remarked while looking to Zuko and Mai.

"Courage? Perhaps. But it's more that we want see this through now. No half-assed attempts," Mai told her blandly, but her nervousness expressed itself with her playing with one of her knives.

Sokka wanted to say something, but then froze. "Wait, you hear that?" -whhhhiiiii- Then he saw it - something flying towards the wall fast. "Crap, brace yourselves!"

-CRAAAACK!- It was a fireball launched by a ship of the Fire Nation, and on impact it blew out a big chunk of the wall. Parts of the wall even got pulverized and fell onto the defenders like a pile of snow. "Damn it... Katara!"

"On it!" Using her bending, Katara quickly shoved the snow off them. "I must reinforce the wall!"

-whhhiiii- two more fireballs flew over them. One impacted onto an empty area. The other one however shattered a bridge before falling into one of the canals of the city. And the insane part? This was just from one ship having opened fire onto the city.

Aang meanwhile made a run for Appa, jumping into the saddle. "Appa! Yip-yip!"

"I hope he knows what he is doing..." Yue said while watching Aang fly towards the battle zone.

Seeing Appa fly over the wall, Katara could only briefly look before she had to return to trying to reinforce the damaged wall. "I hope Aang won't get himself hurt..."

"Let's hope he knows what he is doing!" Sokka added while helping to evacuate some warriors who had gotten knocked out when crashing against a wall due to the pressure waves.

I know I hope what I'm doing... Aang thought, then saw more fireballs approach the wall. "Oh no, you don't!"

-WHAM- A hard swipe with airbending slammed the fireballs off course, causing them to instead impact into the tall cliffs, where they did little damage. Spotting the ship which already had come into sight - and therefore had started the first attacks - Aang knew he had to do this and that trying to avoid it, regardless how scared he felt, was no option.

"I'll take it from here, boy!" he called to Appa, opening his glider. "Keep your eyes open!"

Jumping off with his glider open, Aang took course directly towards the deck of the ship, where the trebuchets were being located. Of course the operators spotted him right away. "That's the Avatar!" "Quick, get him!"

"Woah!" Aang avoided several fire blasts, then used a boosted jump to land on one of the trebuchets. "Get me, if you can!" They did exactly that, but Aang had only waited for that. Jumping off at the last moment, he was treated to the sight of multiple fire blasts hitting the trebuchet, destroying it. "Thank you!" Aang mocked.

"Idiots, use your weapons!" the lead operator, a giant with a massive beard, shouted.

Aang however was not idle, either. Airbending could be surprisingly destructive when being used on a small area, as proven when two more of the trebuchets got ripped loose from from where they were fastened to their platforms, one getting blown overboard entirely while the other crashed hard into the railing. Then spotting the attacking operators, Aang was reminded this was no game.

Those men were bigger and stronger than him and surprisingly agile for their size, but they clearly were not used to fighting an airbender. The battle was really fast-paced, but Aang did manage to send them all to the deck, then was about to make a beeline for the final trebuchet, when... -clang!- That was the lead operator and Aang had barely avoided getting his head smashed in by a sledgehammer on a chain.

You've got to be kidding me! Aang thought when the huge man easily used two massive sledgehammers on chains like whips.

To Aang's horror, this style of fighting was frighteningly effective against an airbender. With little room to evade, Aang soon was backed up against to trebuchet. The lead operator gave him a savage grin. "Got you now, little pipsqueak!" But before he could bash in Aang's head...

"Gooooaaaar!" Appa swooped in, and a swipe from the massive sky bison's tail catapulted the lead operator away and over the railing into the ocean.

"Thanks, Appa!" Aang thanked his friend while wrecking the final trebuchet. Suddenly however a groaning sound erupted from beneath the ship. -ccccrrrrrrkkkkk- "Woah, let's leave!"

Jumping into the saddle, they took off again and saw that two waterbender boats had caught the ship in their powers, trapping it stranded on an iceberg. Aang knew those benders were risking their lives to come out like that, but their way of neutralizing a ship most certainly was effective. However, that victory was short-lived when seeing what had passed the horizon in the meantime.

"Argh, you've got to be kidding me!" Aang gasped when seeing that the main fleet of the Fire Nation had to be way in excess of a hundred ships - perhaps even 150. Then a hail of fireballs was let loose from the fleet. "Let's hope for the best..."

While Aang prepared to fight on, the bombardment now started for real.

Burning projectiles rained down onto Anga Qel'a like heralds of an impending apocalypse, the ice buildings of the city being no obstacle for them. Direct hits easily shattered entire buildings, even though Pakku was coordinating the defense, the benders under his command trying to intercept as many of the projectiles as possible.

"Three men over there! Protect the healing hut at all cost!" Then seeing a projectile coming close, Pakku blasted an equally big iceball towards it. -Booom- Both projectiles annihilated each other.

Though, that was not the only thing the Fire Nation was shooting at them.

Back at the wall, Sokka noticed something. "Huh, what are those? Those aren't fireballs."

Zuko took a look at the strange projectiles that were flying over them. "That looks like barrels. Are they throwing blasting jelly into the city?" Zuko was painfully reminded of when his ship had blown up.

"Why would they? The effect would be the same as a fireball." Mai honestly wondered what that was about.

In the city meanwhile, Pakku was observing the strange projectiles as well. Their use however quickly became apparent when the barrels shattered upon impact against the ice buildings or the ground, releasing a black, thick and sticky liquid. Considering the number of barrels, it could mean significant coverage.

This is a salt the earth approach, Pakku realized. "Men, we need to get rid of this!"

They tried to bend the liquid away, only to realize that whatever it was, it was not some kind of water and either it held no water at all, or there was so little in the mixture it was impossible to take hold of it. In turn however they witnessed a fireball explode near a spill of the black gunk and the flames set it ablaze, thick, black smoke emerging from the burning spill.

"This is a disaster," Pakku realized when seeing even more barrels spilling their contents all over the city.

On his flagship meanwhile Zhao was watching things through a big telescope. "Most excellent. The effect of the oil barrels is impressive. They can not use their fancy bending to remove that."

Azula meanwhile observed something else. "You should be more concerned with the fact, that the Avatar is attacking the fleet, Admiral," Azula reminded him while watching the big sky bison.

"Oh, I'm fully aware of his efforts. I'm even counting on it."Zhao then saw that Azula looked unimpressed. "The damage that boy can cause to the fleet will be modest at best. Avatar or not, he is on his own out here. Him exhausting himself will only be to our advantage."

"He however is quite effective working with waterbenders. The lost ships will be expensive to replace," Azula reminded him while observing another ship being stranded on an iceberg by waterbenders.

"Losses are merely a statistic, already factored in, only the end result counts. Your father will agree with me once I show him the results of my approach," Zhao waved it off.

"Ah yes." Azula said nothing more, but inside she was making her own conclusions.

o

The battle continued and time passed until the setting sun began to color everything in shades of orange.

The bombardment had went down in intensity. Katara was being busy with applying first aid to the wounded in a temporary shelter near the wall while other waterbenders were being busy with trying to patch up the gaping holes and craters in the wall. The wall had held, but another day of such punishment and it would fall.

Appa landed nearby and Aang almost fell out of the saddle, looking utterly exhausted. "There are too many of them."

"Aang, man, what happened?" Sokka might not be the most emphatic person, but he could see something was seriously wrong.

"There simply are too many of them. I helped knock out a dozen ships, but there are so many more of them that there's no chance we can knock out enough before they breach the walls," Aang admitted.

"Standard Fire Nation tactic. Stage an attack on enemy territory with overwhelming numbers so that even the best defense can't hope to inflict enough damage. I learned that in school," Zuko added. "Sounds simple, but it's very effective."

"You really know how to encourage someone," Aang groaned.

However, on Zhao's flagship Azula looked at the setting sun. "Admiral, you better stop the attack. Waterbenders take their strength from the Moon, and tonight is the night before full moon, when their power is at the greatest."

"Ah yes, the Moon. Well, it will be an inconvenience at best and the problem will be solved soon enough." Azula raised an eyebrow at the wording while Zhao gave a signal and a flag was pulled up. "This is a mere reprieve. Soon, the Northern Water Tribe will be crushed and the world will remember Zhao the Conqueror."

Zhao didn't notice the slight frown Azula showed at those words.

"They've stopped shooting. I see the ships dropping their anchors," Suki reported, observing everything from the top of the severely weakened wall. "Why have they stopped?"

"Because the power of waterbending comes from the Moon, and the night after this one is the full moon." That was Pakku, who had appeared. "They are not foolish enough to create a breach for a landing when we are at our strongest. Arnook wants to speak with all of you."

A little later, they had reached the command center, where everyone else was already waiting.

Arnook looked up from his discussion with Hakoda. "Pakku, how is the situation?"

Pakku knew to give a quick summary. "They have stopped their attacks - most likely until dawn. Benders are busy with trying to repair the wall, but many are exhausted. The wall won't be able to hold another such day. Severe damage to the city, and the spills from the black liquid are making everything worse."

Ursa then spoke up. "There are many injured... and dead. The healers are coming to their limits and even have to use the young students for the less serious cases. Also... there was one direct hit into one of the emergency first aid shelters. All healers and patients in it... were killed."

"I..." Aang went pale when hearing that, then ran behind a corner and they heard what was him vomiting.

Katara looked to be about to follow, but Ursa shook her head. "He doesn't want you to see him in his moment of weakness."

Moments later Aang returned, looking unsteady on his feet. "Why are they doing this?" he asked, very much unused to that level of violence.

Hakoda for his part shook his fist in impotent anger. "I've seen enough over the years to know what they'll do. First they'll beat onto us from afar until they are satisfied, then they'll invade."

"No, it has to be more than that." Everyone looked to Iroh, who looked very thoughtful. "You might not know it, but I know more about Zhao than I care to admit. I know he will want all of the glory for himself, and for that he needs a complete victory."

"Isn't crushing the tribe victory enough? I mean, he does have the needed forces." The whole thing made no sense to Mai.

"No, he will want something that makes him stand out. That's a dangerous notion," Iroh reminded everyone.

There was some silence, before Toph asked the obvious question. "So, what do we do about it? Sitting on our asses to wait until the mess starts up again tomorrow won't do us any good."

Zuko gave Mai a look and she understood.

They needed to get more information.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Battle of the North, Part II - Ocean and Moon"

Chapter Text

An uneasy silence had settled over the battlefield, the fleet and the city under siege each being busy to use the night to prepare for the next day. In the city the defenders were busy with preparing for the storm that was sure to erupt as soon as the sun was up, while in the fleet preparations were being made for the push through the walls to let the actual invasion begin.

Despite the almost full moon illuminating the polar night, no one in the fleet took a closer look at the cold dark waters, otherwise they might have noticed a small, flat boat with two people in it silently glide through the waters towards the broadside of Zhao's big command ship.

While an outside observer might have been alarmed at two dark-clothed people wearing theater masks starting to scale the smooth hull of the ship, Zuko and Mai felt it wasn't that weird. After all, they already had managed to infiltrate a fortress full of soldiers, so getting into a warship also full of soldiers was just more of the same. Though, despite some requests, this was not about killing anyone. Even if they killed Zhao or some of his top officers, the whole thing would just continue on.

No, this solely was about getting information.

There is no way Zhao doesn't have something planned, Zuko thought while they quietly scaled the hull, remembering Iroh's words.

Reaching the deck, they saw no one nearby and quickly made way to climb the command tower. They had just reached the middle of the tower when they stopped close to a partially open window - a strange idea considering the temperatures - because they did hear a voice from there which they knew all too well. It was Azula.

"He thinks he's smart, but I know he's seriously overestimating his own abilities."

Creeping closer to the window, a quick peek revealed she was alone and instead was thinking aloud - a holdover habit Zuko knew was from her younger childhood days when she felt sure she was alone. Azula was sitting at a desk while holding a brush to write something down. "Yes, father will get my honest opinion that our dear Admiral Zhao has outlived his usefulness. Our nation has little use for someone who is way more concerned about appearing in history books."

Zuko and Mai listened to all of it, finding what Azula was saying very interesting.

Azula continued to think aloud while writing. "Father's message was clear. As much as he thinks Zu-Zu was a failure, his death will be most useful as a millstone around Zhao's neck. ... Hm, in a way I miss him already."

Under his mask Zuko raised his still intact eyebrow. Azula would have never admitted to that to anyone.

"Well, this letter won't write itself. I must ask what father intends to do with Uncle Fatso and Mother..." Azula hesitated when thinking about Ursa, then went back to her writing and fell silent.

Realizing there was nothing more to hear, Zuko and Mai continued to quietly make their way up, hoping to hear something; anything important. At first they were in bad luck, nothing out of the ordinary. After all, it was not like they could stumble over something instantly. Finally however, they were in luck when they spotted two really high-ranking officers walking to what they knew had to be Zhao's quarters. Hiding in the shadows, they listened.

"I wonder what the Admiral wants to relay to us that can't wait?"

"Regardless what it is, it must be important for the attack tomorrow."

Realizing that it could be what they were looking for, they sneaked to the supply closet next to Zhao's room - which was full with stuff that of Zhao of all people would deem to have nearby in quantity - before they climbed up the shelf so that they could listen in through the ventilation grille, since there was another one leading to Zhao's quarters just on the opposite side of the shaft.

"...I asked for you, since as my most trusted subordinates, I expect you to by capable of following my orders." That was Zhao.

"We feel honored, Sir. How can we serve you?"

"This is top secret. Tell no one, especially not the Princess. While our broad goal is to conquer those barbarians, I have found a way to make their defense collapse. For that I need to reach a certain place." Zhao sounded very sure of whatever information that was.

"We will follow any of your orders and keep silence."

"Good. While visiting an ancient library, I did find writings which described that the source of all waterbending is kept in the city itself. If I can get that under my control, the enemy will be helpless. Instructions will follow on the field, so make sure your best troops will be available to free my way," Zhao explained his plan.

What the...? Mai wondered if she had heard correctly.

They listened in a bit longer, but now it only was minute details which were of little use to them, before Zhao declared that he wanted to sleep so that he would be fit for the great day. Now staying would become more and more dangerous with little gain. Nonetheless, they had heard enough and quickly retreated back to their boat to return.

As soon as they were in safe waters, Mai took off her mask. "Zuko, you honestly think Zhao has found a way to... take away the source of waterbending?"

"That makes me wonder as well." Zuko looked up to the full moon. "According to the myth, it's the Moon which showed waterbenders how to use their powers. Considering how waterbenders are stonger under a full moon, there must be a connection, like firebenders gain their bending from the sun."

"Then how does he want to pull off whatever he is planning?" Mai for once was flabbergasted. "It's not like Zhao can take control of the Moon. It's not something you can put into your pocket."

That moment the waterbenders opened the small secret and temporary tunnel, allowing their boat to enter so that they could return into the city itself. Zuko held a flame in his palm to drive back the darkness while thinking about what they had heard.

"I honestly have no idea. Maybe Chief Arnook or Yue know what Zhao could be planning?" Zuko thought aloud, hoping there would be an answer.

...a little later...

"He wants to do what?" Katara looked highly disturbed and hoped she had misheard.

"He really said that the source of all waterbending is in the city and he plans to get it under his control," Zuko repeated. "Honestly, how does he plan to do that? The Moon is up there in the sky, not down here."

"No!" That gasp came from Yue, who looked outright scared. "How does he know?!"

"Yue..." Arnook looked like he wanted to tell her to stay silent.

Yue however ignored the implication. "Father, how could that man have read about the Spirit Oasis?! The secret has been kept inside the tribe for countless generations!"

"Yue, is there something we need to know?" Suki asked, being surprised at how emotional Yue had become about the matter.

Only now realizing what she had blabbed out, Yue shrunk a bit when her father gave her a look of high annoyance. Arnook then groaned, feeling this really was getting worse by the moment. "What my daughter has heavily hinted at is, that there indeed is a place in the city where the tribe does get into contact with the spirits of the Ocean and the Moon, La and Tui."

Yue looked to Toph. "It's the place where you now spend most of your days at."

"Wait, that weird place? Is that why it's warm there?" Toph then remembered something. "Has that something to do with the weirdness going on there? I almost had to hurl when trying to explore that shrine with my seismic sense."

Now everyone did remember Toph telling them about the weird place that's 'bigger than it has any right to be'. If a place freaked her out, it had to be something truly strange.

"Hm..." Iroh scratched his beard, looking thoughtful. "How exactly does contact with those spirits work?"

"It just does," Arnook said with a shrug. "The spirits told us to not question the workings of the Spirit Oasis and we never looked deeper. To imagine that man somehow discovered how to use it to control the Moon Spirit... That is a horrible sacrilege."

"Wait a moment!" Sokka held up his hands. "You want to tell me that there is one spirit keeping the entire Moon running?! How is that even supposed to work? After all, the Moon must have been already there long before, right?"

"That honestly is not important right now." Yue looked unnerved for some reason. "What is important is the fact that Tui the Moon Spirit is the connective tissue between the Moon and waterbenders all over the world. Disturb her work and waterbending ceases to function."

"That..." Katara failed to put her horror into words. "But... how does Zhao plan to get the Moon Spirit under his control?"

"He didn't mention that point," Mai said with a shrug. "And since that spirit didn't tell you anything about itself, we are still entirely in the dark."

"People, wouldn't it be better to warn those spirits about the danger?" Aang finally wondered.

Everyone looked to him.

A little further into the night the Spirit Oasis felt rather packed. This place, normally taboo for most of the time, suddenly had become rather important. Arnook had selected a number of warriors and benders to defend the only entrance with their lives - since it was dead certain that Zhao would attempt to force his way in somehow.

"Kind of bizarre. We are at the North Pole, yet it is warm and lots of vegetation is around," Sokka said while looking around.

Katara on the other hand looked amazed. "The whole place is soaked in waterbending energies. I can feel the presence of the Moon Spirit all over the place." She then spotted Momo eyeing the two koi in the central pond of the shrine. "Momo, do you want to risk making the spirits angry?"

The lemur looked up, now appearing scared, before seeking refuge on Aang's shoulder. Once again his intelligence, which was far above what a lemur should exhibit, made them wonder what exactly had happened to him, that he acted that way.

"So, how exactly do you plan to get into contact with the spirits? I remember the one time you went glowing on my ship," Zuko asked, scratching his head. "I... I'm not really good with all that spiritual stuff."

"To be honest, I'm not that great with it, either," Aang admitted. "I always found meditation rather boring and Monk Gyatso was always on my case about learning it properly."

"Wonderful..." Mai honestly hoped that Aang's lazy habits wouldn't come to bite them now.

"Look, I'll try my best, all right?" Aang offered, then sat next to the central pond.

"Let's hope he didn't skip too many of those lessons," Sokka said with a raised eyebrow.

"And he's truly trying to get into contact with the Spirit World?" Yue asked, being amazed at the concept.

Suki nodded. "Yes, though last time he went all glowy when it happened."

Yue looked a bit confused at the description. "I'm pretty sure it does look amazing when it happens, though I don't see any of that yet."

Annoyed by the chatter, Aang looked over his shoulder. "Well, it's difficult to concentrate with all that chatter. You mind giving me some more breathing room?"

Realizing how they perhaps truly were standing too close, everyone gave Aang more space. Breathing in relief, he again tried to get into the correct mood - though how to do so exactly was still eluding him. On a whim he looked at the two koi fish in the pond and the way how they circled around each other. It was... hypnotic and Aang quickly lost himself in the movement.

Everyone watched awe when Aang blinked and his eyes and tattoos started to emit a white glow. "So that's what you call glowy," Yue said, looking utterly mesmerized by the sight.

Hakoda for his part watched the glowing Aang with fascination, before looking to his children. "And what do we do now?"

Katara shrugged. "Aang told us he had to return to his body once he was done with his task the last time, meaning we can only wait until he returns."

Seeing that there was nothing that could be done, Hakoda looked to Arnook. "We better prepare for the morning. It's going to be a very nasty day."

Ursa for her part looked at Aang in fascination, noticing how Momo was gently poking him but got no reaction, only for the lemur to then close his eyes and sit still on his shoulder. "It's like no one is at home right now..." She then looked to Iroh. "I know that look. You know something."

Iroh looked at the scene with strange serenity. "It reminds me of the time when I got in contact with the Spirit World. It was an event that gave me perspective."

"I'm sure it's a fascinating tale, but save that for later," Zuko reminded his uncle. "I really doubt anyone can right now give it their full attention."

Yue again took a closer look, her blue eyes seeming to sparkle, though that perhaps could have been a trick of the light. "I wonder what he is seeing?"

o

"Woah, what a strange place! This is the Spirit World?" Aang gasped while trying to understand his surroundings.

Standing next to some sort of massive gate structure, an eerie and thick jungle stretched out in front of Aang, with a foul swampy smell emerging from it. Even without the sudden change in scenery, Aang knew this was no place in the real world, as proven by the alien sky and the spirit creatures he spotted between the plants. It was one of the Avatar's duties to regulate matters of the Spirit World, and Aang only now understood the scope of that.

Some kind of baboon spirit meditating nearby gave Aang a suffering and somewhat arrogant look. "Tourist animals... Whatever you do, don't annoy me."

"Not exactly what I expected." However, as fascinating as the sight was, it presented a problem. "Oh dear, where am I supposed to find information about those two spirits? It's literally a jungle out here."

"Don't worry, Aang, the answer will come to you soon enough."

"Gyatso?" Turning to his left, he indeed saw his late mentor standing there - and this time he appeared solid as well. Aang couldn't help but to hug him. "I really, really need help now, Monk Gyatso! I have no idea what I'm doing."

"One thing many forget is, that the path to enlightenment has as a foundation to realize when you need help and ask for it. And help is what you will get," Gyatso told his student.

"Indeed, you will." That was Roku stepping out of the shadows. "You already have come far, Aang. Our connection is growing steadily and soon me and the other Avatars can give you advice whenever you ask for it."

"Roku, man am I relieved to see you. Things are really bad right now. The Northern Water Tribe is under attack and we found out their Admiral somehow wants to harm the Moon Spirit," Aang tried to explain as fast as he could. "And... we are in a really bad spot. I'm downright ready to beg those two for help."

"Sadly, if you are here to warn the spirits of the moon and the ocean, you won't find them here," Roku told Aang. "They moved to the material world in ancient history for reasons unknown and their whereabouts are unknown."

"But... then how did Zhao learn where Tui can be found?" Aang gasped.

"Aang, you are learning that ancient wisdom has the frightening tendency to resurface when you least expect it," Gyatso reminded Aang. "Sadly, that means we are at a disadvantage here, since only few these days hold said knowledge." Gyatso then sighed. "Sadly, the one spirit with said knowledge we know about and who can be reached also is incredibly dangerous."

Aang gulped. "Who is that spirit?"

"It is no other than Koh the Face-Stealer." Roku looked grim. "Avatar Kuruk had a nasty experience with that particular spirit and Koh very much lives up to his name. Show emotion in his presence, and your face, and if you are unlucky, your soul are his to take."

"Oh-uh..." Aang honestly felt frightened. "But I know I have little other choice. I... ah!" Aang suddenly held his hands to his head.

"Aang, what is wrong?" Gyatso was concerned with this sudden shift.

Aang however didn't answer. His eyes were wide and yet looked at nothing. "No! No, not again!"

Before Aang's eyes the world seemed to melt, until making room for an apocalyptic scene he had wished to never see again. Aang was overlooking a ruined city, a strange yellow mist covering the ground, while above him the crumbled Moon and dim sun sat in the twilight sky. Lightning of different colors came down from the empty sky, causing bizarre effects like things disappearing or appearing.

But there was something else worse than that. Aang now felt it; a feeling like something fundamental got broken beyond any repair. It felt so incredibly wrong that Aang barely avoided having to hurl, despite not being in his body at the moment.

A voice then echoed everywhere. An angry voice at that. "You had no right to lock me up in here! You egoistical bitch!"

For some reason that voice shook something deep within Aang to the core.

"Aang!" Roku's call caused the horrific sight to disappear. Aang was back with both men. "Aang, what happened?"

"I... I saw it again. What Korra calls the Imbalance. The world... it felt completely broken; like something smashed so badly a repair is impossible," Aang tried to explain but was reluctant to mention the voice. "It was scary."

Both men knew that whatever Aang had seen, it had rattled him. "You think you can still go on your quest to Koh?" Gyatso asked carefully.

Aang needed a moment before looking up. "Everyone counts on me. I really have to do this!"

"Trust in yourself, Aang. But to make things easier on you, we've found someone to bring you to Koh's domain in short time." Roku then looked to the darkness, and from it a massive panda bear emerged. "This is Hei Bai the forest spirit. He recently learned a valuable lesson in communication and keeping his anger in check."

"Oh, hello?" Aang could have sworn the big panda spirit looked... embarrassed by whatever had happened. Seeing Hei Bai offering him a ride, Aang climbed on. "Thanks for the help. I wouldn't know where to go... Woah!" Aang had to hold on when Hei Bai sped into the jungle with impressive speed.

"You have raised him well, old friend," Roku commented while looking after them. "You must be proud of him."

"That I am. Despite the weight of the world on his shoulders, Aang does not fall to despair like others would have done." Gyatso didn't hide how pleased he was with Aang's progress. "It's been a long time since we last spoke. When I heard what happened to you..."

"I know. Sadly, fate had it in for me in form of a volcano and betrayal. Sozin has much to atone for, and he does know it." Roku again looked to the jungle "It will be a while before Aang is back. More than enough time for the two of us to catch up. Which makes me wonder... how are you even here?"

Gyatso gave his old friend a knowing look. "Oh, now that is a very interesting story. Let me tell you how I managed that particular feat..."

...meanwhile back in reality...

"I'm starting to worry. Aang has been gone for hours by now," Katara said, carefully observing Aang's still body, the glow still going strong, meaning he still was away.

"Yes, and the longer this takes..." Suki looked up into the sky, pointing at how it was changing color. "Daybreak will be soon, and with that the next attack wave. Even if the fighting lasts into the night, it will be a very uneven battle."

They knew Suki was right. Even though the waterbenders were at a big advantage during the full moon, the sheer numbers spoke against the defenders. Yes, the Fire Nation would suffer serious losses, but in the end they still would crush all opposition by sheer numbers. The unspoken hope was that either Aang would somehow turn the tide of battle or that he somehow could get the spirits to intervene.

No one had said a word about that, but all of them, including Aang himself, knew of that reality. The battle at the Northern Air Temple had been a lesson that only a big upset could allow them to win a battle against a foe who outnumbered you severely.

No wonder why the mood in the city was so grim.

"I wish we could be out there..." Sokka cursed. "The enemy is about to breach the walls and we are just sitting here."

"Snoozes, there is nothing we can do out there, which is literal in my case," Toph reminded Sokka. "All of you together would not make a difference."

That moment they saw Zuko return. "Doesn't look good out there. I know they are preparing to break through the walls and that will get ugly fast. I can feel how the sun is about to rise."

"Where are the others?" Sokka asked, having seen the Fire Nation group leave as a whole.

"Mom is with the healers; she knows things will get bad. Uncle said he has some important things to talk about with Pakku, but don't ask me, what. Mai should be about shortly." Zuko looked to the entrance. "Ah, and there she is."

"They've tried to patch up the wall as best as they could, but we know that's only a delay," Mai said as soon as she was in. "This is going to get ugly."

They watched the sky become brighter and brighter.

Out in the city meanwhile, Hakoda was giving final instructions. "It will come to a close battle in the city itself. Men, you know this will get bloody. I admit that I'm afraid some some of you won't return from this battle."

Bato, who was not yet back in fighting shape and thus would stay behind the lines, knew that Hakoda said such things not easily. "Hakoda, all of us know how much depends on this. All of us are ready to lay down our lives, though we will try our hardest not to let it come to that."

"I know, and I dread the first loss we'll suffer." Hakoda then saw the sun peek above the horizon. "It's about to start."

On his ship Zhao watched the sun rise. "Finally. Now we can write history. Give the signal to open fire again."

He waited and soon enough the signal was given and the ships started to again rain death onto the city and against the wall. He watched the renewed attacks with satisfaction, knowing that it now only was a matter of time. Soon enough all of the humiliations would be forgotten and he would be shown the proper respect.

"You are still not using the new weapons to break through the wall," Azula observed, questioning Zhao's tactics.

"All in its due time, Princess. First those barbarians have to be beaten down before we will break through the wall and start the landing," Zhao told her.

Azula didn't betray anything, but she knew this was foolish of Zhao. Delaying the landing will cause the fighting to spill into the night, raising our losses. He is planning something he can only accomplish at night.

Zhao meanwhile knew he would have to make sure Azula wouldn't catch wind of his plan until the die had already been cast.

At the same time as the fireballs started to fly, there was a small conspiracy going underway inside a different ship.

"Kind of weird that they don't even check what we are doing. Are they that overconfident?" the former stoker of Zuko's crew wondered while several of them had gathered in an unseen corner of the cargo hold.

"They are arrogant," Lt. Jee said, knowing it was the most likely explanation. "Too bad for them."

"So the plan is on?" the former helmsman asked.

"Yes, after nightfall, when the chaos clearly will be the greatest, we'll strike.," Jee confirmed. "We can easily overwhelm them and then take off with the ship. We very much are dead men walking anyway, so let's go all the way."

There was a round of agreement coming from the others. Come nightfall they would be prepared to go full traitor and continue what the late Prince Zuko had started. They all were men who had nothing to lose and now made the final step.

There would be no going back from that one.

...back in the Spirit World...

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Aang asked Hei Bai when noticing that the panda spirit had stopped in a rather creepy place.

The jungle around them had thinned out considerably and the plant life that was still around looked strangely sick or shriveled. Centerpiece of this place was a massive, dead tree which housed the entrance to a cave between its roots. Perhaps even worse was the silence in this place. Unlike the rest of the jungle, the area was deathly quiet.

Hei Bai gave Aang a grunt, then settled down, meaning Aang was to climb off him. Aang looked at the dark cave. "Doesn't look very inviting, you know?"

He then noticed that there was a monkey spirit sitting in a nearby tree. "Excuse me, can you tell me...? Ahhhh!" Aang screamed in fear when seeing that the spirit no longer had a face, only smooth skin where the face should have been. "What the...?!"

"Ah, I see you have just witnessed the handiwork of Koh."

Looking to his left, Aang saw a man emerge from between the trees. He was dressed like a warrior of the Water Tribe and also was armed like one. The man's grim expression also told a story. Aang did recognize him from his statue at his grave site, which he had visited. "You are Avatar Kuruk!"

"I see you know of me. Roku told me to wait for you here, considering my history with Koh." Kuruk then looked to the faceless spirit. "She won't be for much longer. Spirits also can't survive having their face removed like that. Another for Koh's collection..."

Aang found it a bit concerning that Kuruk seemed so familiar with that modus operandi. "Well, I don't know all the details, but I know you died young. You... you worked yourself to death."

"Oh yes, worked myself to death describes it nicely. Yangchen had her arrow so far up her ass that she left me a huge mess with the spirits. Of course, I myself was not that much better at first." Kuruk saw Aang look at him in surprise. "Look, some of the scorn was warranted. I was a terrible slacker and more of a hedonist in the first few years after I completed my training. That was, until I was taught a cruel lesson."

Aang again looked to the cave. "Koh...?" he asked carefully.

"Oh yes. Koh felt I needed to do my job. However, instead of just telling me so, he instead decided to 'teach me a lesson' and took the face and soul of my one love, Ummi, and held it over me for my remaining days. That's how I became the man who worked himself to death."

Seeing how bitter Kuruk looked, Aang knew this had to be a painful memory. Then he realized something. "Wait, does that mean he still has her?"

Now Kuruk looked downright pissed. "He refuses to let go of any of his twisted collection. I know where he is, in there, but I'm powerless to force him to release her. I'm so angry, he would steal my face the very moment I set foot into the cave."

"Oh, that's bad. And now I'm really afraid how he could steal my face." Aang looked to the faceless spirit again before having a bizarre thought. "You know... do you even still have a face?"

Kuruk snorted. "What do you think is in front of my head?"

"But is it your head? Your body is buried and has long lost its face," Aang told him with a logic only a twelve-year old can find. "I mean, he could steal mine because I'm alive, but you aren't. You are not even a spirit, you are part of me and I'm out here."

Having listened, Kuruk became more and more interested. "Wait a moment! I'm now part of the Avatar spirit, meaning should I confront Koh I technically wouldn't be there and even then I have no face he could steal..." Kuruk drew his weapons."Young Aang, I have to thank you!"

"Oh, really?" Aang then noticed Kuruk looking ready to get violent. "Eh, I still need to ask him about something."

"Don't worry, I won't kill him. Though he will wish I did so." That said, Kuruk let out a battle scream and charged into the cave.

"Kuruk, you fool, I'll... Why isn't it working?!"

"Surprise!"

What followed was a chaotic mess of fighting sounds, as well as Koh crying out whenever something unpleasant happened to him. Things like "Argh!", "That hurts!", "Don't stick it in there!" or "My legs!" showed that Koh, when being robbed of his best weapon, was suffering the wrath of an enraged Kuruk. He for sure didn't have a good time

Finally, Koh seemed to have suffered enough. "Stop! Stop! I surrender! I give her back to you! Just stop!"

There was an eerie silence following Koh's surrender before Kuruk reappeared, and he was not alone; a young woman, who had to be Ummi, was clinging onto Kuruk like she never wanted to let go of him again. It also seemed like Kuruk was sharing the sentiment while looking way more happy now.

"I can't thank you enough, Aang. Thanks to you I realized that Koh can not hurt me and I finally managed to free Ummi from his clutches," Kuruk thanked Aang.

"Oh... no problem. Ehm, but what now? I mean, you are part of me and Ummi is very much dead." Aang saw the problem there.

"Oh no! There is no way I'll ever part with Kuruk again! Nothing and no one will ever part us again!" Ummi said, though despite her determination the trauma of what had happened to her was shining through. "I will stay with him until the end of time!"

"You've heard her." He then looked Ummi deep into the eyes. "And I won't let go of her, either."

Aang blushed a little when those two then kissed with utter passion, not holding back at all. Then however he gasped when Kuruk and Ummi were surrounded by bright light, before dissolving into bright sparks that got sucked into him. For a moment he felt weird - weird in a way that for some moments he thought he had the anatomy of a girl - before the pressure eased. Yet inside him something had changed.

"Ehm, can you come out for a moment?" Aang asked.

A moment later both of them did reappear - both of them still kissing. When they finally separated, Ummi sounded very pleased. "I won't leave. Never ever. Call on Kuruk and I am always part of it."

"You have heard the lady." He held Ummi close. "I will make you happy countless times... Oh, don't worry, young Aang, we will be discreet. You won't notice." They both then vanished again.

Aang had an idea what that was about and hoped they truly would be discreet. Then he remembered why he was here. "Yohooo! Mr. Koh?" he called into the cave.

"What...?" came as an answer, sounding more like a pained groan.

"Just a question? Where can I find the spirits of the moon and the ocean?" Aang asked.

There was another pained groan. "In that damn Spirit Oasis... The two koi fish. The white one is Tui and the black one is La. Don't ask why they took such a vulnerable form." Koh then groaned again. "Now please leave."

"Thanks a lot! Wasn't that difficult, was it?" Aang then ran back to Hei Bai and they left to return Aang to the entrance.

Once he was sure they were gone, Koh let out a sigh of someone who was regretting his life choices. "Ow... maybe it's not too late to grovel to Mom?"

...at the same time, back in reality...

By this point it was after mid-day and yet the rain of projectiles had not ceased to rain down over Agna Qel'a, causing even more damage to the city. Everyone in the Norther Water Tribe was horrified when experiencing what real war was like - especially against an opponent who was utterly superior in numbers and equipment. Whatever illusions they had about themselves got shattered with each further impact.

And the worst part was that the Fire Nation had not even landed yet. The dirty and ugly urban fighting was yet to come. The bombardment though did have its casualties.

"Stop... Just make it stop..." the northern warrior whimpered while two healers were leading the shell-shocked man away, both women looking tired and worn down.

"That's the third in this area since this all started. Spirits only know how many broke like that all over the city," another warrior said, which held special weight since he had known the man for all his life. "It... Why are our men breaking so easily?"

"Because in all your lives you never faced any outside danger," a warrior from the South told him. "Everyone in your tribe never experienced war, conflict, loss. Now that it has come to your tribe, you are unable to deal with it."

"And you can?" Though the northern warrior put no venom into the question.

"I've lived through five brutal raids on our tribe and have fought in the war for two years," the southern warrior explained. "Don't get me wrong, I never stopped being horrified, but as perverse as it sounds, we did learn how to shrug it off and not let it turn us into gibbering wrecks."

The northern warrior only now realized how psychically scarred basically everyone in the South had to be.

Hakoda for his part was directing his men.

"Yes, set up position there. I have a feeling things are about to get truly serious." He then looked up. "The frequency of fireballs has slowed down significantly. They are planning something - most likely the landing."

"Hakoda, should the men dig down and wait?" Bato asked.

"No..." Hakoda then saw that the bombardment had stopped entirely. "There is no need to."

On his ship meanwhile, Zhao was getting new reports.

"Admiral, the experimental ship is in position!"

"Excellent." Zhao then looked to Azula. "Princess, you asked me why I'm not using the new experimental weapons? I was waiting for the right moment. Now those savages will feel the might of progress!"

Azula feigned a yawn. "Adimal, don't be so theatric. It's unbecoming of your station."

Zhao said nothing but was pissed at the disrespect. "Nonetheless, the landing ships are ready and now our true firepower will be revealed."

There was a special ship with the fleet which was very different from the others. For one thing, it was not producing the typical soot column due to running on the new engine which was powered by a liquid fuel. Also, the configuration was different, the long foredeck being dominated by the newest in weapon development in the Fire Nation: two massive, long-barreled guns mounted on a base that allowed to rotate and adjust them.

Progress also came in better ways to cause destruction, and the destruction was now being unleashed.

-broooooooommm- With a deafening roar both guns opened fire and the calculations of the operators proved to be right on target. -baaaoooomm- In a mighty explosion, a big section of the outer wall was utterly ripped apart.

"Wonderful," Zhao said with satisfaction. "Start the landing operation!"

Right away the landing ships surged forward, their sharp bows slamming into the icy shore, before opening their ramps to release the actual invasion force: soldiers, rhinos, tanks and other war equipment. With the outer wall being shattered, there was nothing stopping them from streaming into the city itself.

Having witnessed that from afar, Hakoda looked grim. "Now the bloody part is starting. It is time for me to join my men."

Arnook looked surprised. "You want to be down there?"

"I would set a horrible example, should I not share the danger with my men. Not that I will be reckless, but it is highly important that don't leave the actual fighting to others," Hakoda explained while picking up his weapons before he left.

Arnook looked after him. A true leader of his men. It makes mefeel wanting in a way that I don't follow his example.

They were not witnessing any of that in the Spirit Oasis, but the noise from the battle of course reached them.

"Fuck, that was loud!" Toph cursed, her sensitive ears still ringing.

Katara had no energy to tell Toph not to curse. "We all heard it."

"Considering how loud that was and that we heard an explosion shortly before that, I can harbor a guess that the Fire Nation broke through the wall," Sokka puzzled together the clues. "It means the fighting has now spilled into the city itself."

Yue looked horrified at the idea. "No..."

"Urgh..." That was Aang having returned to his body just at this moment. "That was really weird." He then stopped when hearing what came from the city proper. "Oh-uh, looks like I missed quite a bit?"

"Quite a bit? Sure, let's phrase it that way." Though right now Sokka's sarcasm was missing its bite. "Did you find something out?"

"Uhm, yes, and it'll sound really weird to you." Aang then looked down into the pond to the two koi fish. "Those two fish there? That's the spirits of the moon and the ocean."

"...what?" To Mai that sounded like the most stupid thing in the world. "You want to tell me that two of the most powerful spirits in the world... take the form of two entirely helpless fish?!"

"Well, now that I think about it, it's utterly dumb of them. However, I think we honestly don't get how the spirits think," Aang admitted how stupid that was. "I know it's stupid, but Zhao learned about that as well."

Katara honestly was baffled that waterbending staying with the world depended on a koi fish. "Wonderful, that means we have to defend the oasis..."

Sokka suddenly ran to the pond and knelt down. "Spirits! Good spirits! Can you do us a favor and help out? Even a bit to throw those jerks out who are trying to serious hurt you. Please?" he told the two fish, but got no reaction at all.

"Seems like they are not in a speaking mood," Aang commented when nothing happened.

"Which is utterly dumb. It's spelled out for them that they are in serious danger and either they don't care or are utterly oblivious," Toph said with a snort.

"I... we can't allow that Zhao to hurt Tui!" Yue then took some deep breaths. "Sorry. I have to be honest, my connection with the Moon Spirit goes deeper than just reverence. Have you ever wondered why all of my hair is as white as snow?"

"Her hair is white?" Toph asked, though everyone knew it was bait, since they had explained Yue's unusual appearance to her early on.

"To be honest, I wondered about that, but I thought it was a special case of albinism, though it still made little sense, since your skin and eyes still have color. I honestly felt it's not my place to ask," Zuko admitted, having for weeks wondered what caused Yue's hair to go white.

Seeing everyone else agree that they had said nothing out of respect, Yue felt touched how they respected her feelings. "There is more to it. When I was born, I was very sickly and the healers told my parents I would not survive my first few months. My parents were devastated and pleaded with Tui to help me. And she did listen to their pleas."

Yue looked to the pond. "I was held into the waters of the pond and Tui put a small part of herself into me. Strength flooded my baby body and I let out a healthy cry. At that moment all my hair turned white to show me being bound to the Moon."

Now they understood why this was such a personal thing for Yue.

"This is... wow. But maybe you can help me to get them to understand the danger they are in?" Aang asked Yue.

"I can try. Hopefully it works..." Yue hoped that would accomplish something.

Mai looked to the guards. "One of you better runs to Arnook and explain what we've found out. Zhao is dead sure to try and force his way in here soon enough."

o

If anything, over the hours the brutality of the fighting only intensified while the streets of Agna Qel'a had turned into a horrible battlefield. Corpses of both sides laid in the streets, their blood staining the ice red. Buildings crumpled from bombardment with firebending or from the small mobile artillery carried by the rhinos. Other buildings were flattened under the treads of tanks.

However, the battle was uneven. While the defenders showed incredible courage and willingness to even sacrifice themselves for their home and the waterbenders used all of their power against the enemy, the deck was stacked against them. The invaders simply had a numerical superiority and also had lots of war material and machines at hand.

It was a hard and brutal battle, but the invaders slowly advanced city block by city block.

"Admiral, the sun is starting to set," Azula reminded Zhao, looking to where the sun was about touch the horizon.

"Oh, I know, Princess," Zhao said with absolute confidence. "However, the attack won't stop. We've come so far, their waterbending tricks now won't save them, either."

"Bold claim, Admiral. Continuing the battle even when the enemy is at their strongest would be seen as arrogance," Azula warned Zhao.

"It's not arrogance when you can underscore it." Zhao's arrogance then took center stage. "However, I now prepare to enter the city itself for the decapitation strike. Of course, you probably prefer to stay here, where it is safe..."

"Nonsense. I want to see how you intend to deal with the matter." Azula kept her expression neutral, but she knew she now would not let Zhao out of her sight.

He would gladly abandon the goals of our nation if it means he'll get the fame he craves for, Azula thought.

"As you wish, Princess." Zhao was not too sad about that, since it means he could rub his triumph under her nose.

Azula looked to one of her bodyguards. "Prepare several of your best men." A short nod from her was message enough that she was not trusting Zhao.

Night settled over the battlefield and the balance shifted.

With the full moon out, waterbenders were at their strongest and it showed with the strength they were gaining. They fought back harder than ever before, but even that did not cause the advance of the invaders to stop. It slowed it down significantly, but the front was still slowly moving further into the city. In all this chaos a group of Fire Nation soldiers not seeking a direct confrontation was able to mostly slip by... as if they knew the city and its secrets.

"You are surprisingly well-informed, Admiral," Azula observed after having set ablaze a warrior with her blue flames before he could call for reinforcements.

"My information is very detailed," Zhao said, still not revealing more details.

Azula for her part knew that after this battle, Zhao would 'mysteriously' disappear and certain things about him would come to light.

Back at the Spirit Oasis, the atmosphere was tense.

Aang and Yue sat on opposite sides of the pond, desperately trying to find a way to actually convey the danger to the two spirits, but it was like their was a wall of disinterest that was frustrating them to no end. To make matters worse, they were getting updates on how the enemy was still advancing, despite waterbenders getting a boost from the Moon.

"How stubborn are those two?!" It was not like Yue to be this harsh, but her frustration was growing. "We want to help them, but they are ignoring us."

"I know, it's frustrating," Aang agreed.

"The spirits are frickle beings," Iroh agreed. He and Ursa - who had been sent away by the heals who had said quick first aid with bending took priority - had arrived at the Oasis and were watching the futile efforts to warn the spirits. "I can also hear the battle getting closer."

"Also, the healing stations are full with patients - and not only warriors and benders. Many women, children and elderly also got serious burn injuries from the bombardment," Ursa added. "We won't be able to hold up for much longer."

Katara looked up to the full moon. "I'm scared. This again is like the Northern Air Temple, only this time we are being denied having an advantage."

"Guys...?" Toph becoming alarmed was a bad sign right there. "I'm picking up really concerning vibrations from the direction of the entrance."

"Damn it... That must be Zhao," Sokka cursed, drawing his sword while Katara gathered water from the waterways surrounding the shrine island.

Then they heard it, the sound of fighting directly on the other side of the door. The guards were engaging whoever had come to force their way to the Oasis. The sound of weapons clashing and of fire was heard. Then however screams erupted, before silence. However, the peace didn't last long before suddenly the door was engulfed by blue flames, the sheer heat melting the ice around it, before the door was blown away, allowing the intruders entrance.

They did storm in, Zhao leading them. "Now, Princess, I can show you..." He stopped when seeing the Oasis was not empty. And he spotted someone he had thought dead. "WHAT?!"

"Reports about my death were premature," Zuko told Zhao, observing the man carefully. He then saw who was with Zhao. "Azula."

"That's Azula? The sister you told us of?" Aang said with a gulp, being unnerved about the looks she was giving them.

"Yep, that's her. Don't be fooled by how she looks; her bending powers are very dangerous," Zuko warned them.

"Oh, I'm flattered, Zu-Zu. I don't know how you survived, but seeing all four of you being cozy with the Avatar, it's clear all four of you have turned traitor." Azula betrayed no emotion.

Mai gave Azula a measured look. "No, we are doing what is right. Also, we can hardly be be blamed after Zhao tried to murder us and you clearly must have known about it."

"A flimsy defense at best." Azula would not admit it, but Mai even by her mere presence was getting under her skin. Thankfully, her mother was saying nothing, since otherwise Azula probably would have done something drastic.

"We can deal with the traitors later," Zhao said, trying to regain control. "What a collection. Traitors and teenagers trying to stop me from reaching final victory. You won't stop me from fulfilling my destiny."

"Your destiny?!" Katara looked downright outraged. "What you are planning is outright madness! We won't let you!"

Azula, having listened to the exchange, raised an eyebrow. "Admiral, what exactly are they talking about? What IS your plan?"

Zhao felt this was getting out of hand and he needed to act fast - not only to reach his goal, but also to reach it before Azula would mess everything up. "You'll see right away, Princess!"

With one hand Zhao without warning released an arc of fire. Zuko and Iroh reacted on instinct and stepped forward to dissipate it before it could hurt anyone. However, that short moment was enough to point his fists towards the ground and release two massive blasts which catapulted him into the air and over his enemies. To everyone's horror he did land right next to the pond of the spirits.

Zhao wasted no time. Pulling out a pouch, in one swift move he had trapped the white koi fish that was Tui in it and raised it in triumph.

That very moment all hell broke loose.

The moon in the sky all of a sudden changed its color to blood-red and red light also filled the sky. "Ahhhh!" Katara let out a pained gasp.

"Katara!" Aang gasped in worry, though he himself also felt like something was seriously wrong.

"No! No! My bending! Gone!" To her it felt like an integral part of herself was being brutally ripped out, leaving behind a void. The feeling utterly horrified her.

"What's going on? I'm getting some seriously messed up vibes!" Toph gasped. While she of course could not see the Moon, this place somehow conveyed to her something was seriously wrong.

At the same time in the battle zone and in the healing centers, the waterbenders all gasped in pain when the Moon and sky went red, their bending powers ceasing that very moment. They all felt that a terrible sacrilege had been done. The advancing troops took brutal advantage of the sudden weakness, not wasting a moment to press their advantage.

"Yes! Now feel my power!" Zhao gloated when seeing the Moon turn red and Katara's pained reaction.

"Zhao, stop that madness right now!" Iroh looked horrified at the sight. "You have no idea what you are doing there!"

"Oh, I have a very good idea!" Zhao said with utter contempt for Iroh. "I'm finally taking care of waterbending once and for all. Zhao the Great, who will go down in history. After Fire Lord Sozin destroyed the airbenders, Zhao will be known for destroying all waterbenders!"

Taking her sight off the red Moon, Azula looked to Zhao. "Admiral, explain yourself!"

"Very easy, Princess." Zhao snorted the final part. "I'm writing history. I learned how the spirits of the ocean and the moon took such weak forms and hid in this very place. In several moments, the Moon Spirit will be no more. No more Moon, no more waterbenders! Complete victory in the name of Zhao the Great."

"You are insane!" Yue shouted in horror, forgetting all of her restraint. "You madman would do something that horrible just for your own ego?!"

"The whole world needs the Moon, you maniac!" Ursa added, equally horrified at what she was witnessing. "Especially the Fire Nation! Did you even waste a thought on how destroying the Moon would devastate our nation, which entirely consists of islands?! Not to speak of the world!"

Azula was not a nice person - quite in the contrary - but her calculating mind realized that her mother's words, as much as she wanted to ignore them, were true. The Fire Nation needed the Moon very much. Alone the destruction brought forward should the tides stop altogether would be untold. Also, she now knew for sure that Zhao's days were numbered. No way Ozai would forgive such an egoistical betrayal.

"Let the spirit go, Admiral!" Azula told Zhao in no uncertain terms.

"Surrender?! In the moment of triumph?!" Zhao couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Now!" Azula's cold words held authority and to underscore how serious she was, she ignited blue fire in both hands.

Seeing even his own troops hesitate while his enemies surrounded him, Zhao growled with anger. "Fine..."

Zhao let go of the pouch and the koi that was Tui flopped out ot it once it hit the ground. The Moon was not back to normal, but Tui was flopping her way back to the nearby pond. However, Zhao decided at that very moment that he would not allow years of planning be destroyed at the last moment, petty spite winning.

"Yahh... ARRRGHHH!" Zhao tried to blast Tui with a fire lance to outright kill her, but it was not a direct hit... thanks to a throwing knife finding its way into his arm thanks to Mai having expected such foul play. The pain caused Zhao to miss... mostly. Some fire still hit Tui and the fish jerked in pain before falling into the pond.

Right away the Moon started to flicker, like a light that was dying but fought against that very fate.

"YOU MONSTER!" Yue cried out in horror and rage equally.

"Traitor!" Azula shouted at the same time.

Then complete chaos broke out.

Seeing what Zhao had done, they were done playing nice. Thanks to Toph the ground underneath the soldiers became their enemy while Zuko and Iroh wasted no time to attack them with their firebending. Sokka and Suki also drew their weapons and attacked, knowing it was now or never.

I have to get back to the troops, Azula thought, knowing that while she could win this fight, it would leave her in a dangerous position. Making her exit, two of her remaining personal guards followed her.

Zhao for his part also felt it better to make a hasty retreat in the chaos, but when he almost was out... -slap!- "Aaargh!"

Zhao cried out in pain when a feminine hand slapped him hard - a feminine hand coated in fire, that is. In a twist of irony, it was the left side of his face which now hurt and he knew it was injured. He also saw the culprit - it was Ursa, who looked furious and had her hands coated in fire, which came as a surprise to Zhao, who had thought she was a non-bender.

"You..." However, as much as he wanted to punish her for daring to try and disfigure him, he knew better than to stay.

"You coward!" Ursa shouted when Zhao ran away.

"We'll get him!" Zuko called to his mother while he and Mai ran to the exit in order to chase Zhao, now that the soldiers were taken care of.

"Yes, now we finally can settle the score." Mai made no secret of how much she despised Zhao and now wanted to get even with him.

Iroh meanwhile looked in grave concern at the injured Tui after the soldiers were being dealt with. "This is very, very bad. She is dying."

"No..." Yue was crying now. "This can't be happening."

"What... what has he done?!" Aang seemed strangely angry while walking closer to the pond, the black koi fish of La being highly agitated now. "They... they will all pay for this!"

"Aang?" Katara gasped when hearing his voice change while his eyes and tattoos lit up. It was not even like the voice of the Avatar but that of something else.

"No. It is the Spirit of the Ocean talking through him," Iroh realized. "It is enraged."

All of a sudden water from the surroundings moved towards Aang, even though waterbending was out. The water glowed with an unearthly bue glow. Aang was encased in the water, which more and more looked like a massive abomination. "Pay! They will pay what they did to Tui!" It seemed Aang was not at home right now, La using him as his tool of revenge.

"AANG!"

The giant stopped for a moment, the rage of La being overruled by Aang's worry when hearing Katara's pained cry. Looking down to her, La and Aang saw Katara looking in horror to them, tears running down her face. The sight of Katara's distress pushed Aang to the front. "K-Katara?"

"Aang, please!" Katara pleaded. "I know this is horrible, but don't let the rage win! Please, I don't want you to have so much blood on your hands!"

In their connection, Aang could feel how La was taken aback by this plea. La knew thanks to being connected to Aang that Katara had little love for the Fire Nation. That she of all people, who was harboring a great dislike or even hatred of the Fire Nation, was pleading to not kill them all drew La partially out of the rage he was in. La felt the horror Aang was feeling and the young Avatar fighting for some control.

"Katara... I try..." Then La spoke. "You want to spare them, even though you despise them..."

In the city meanwhile, Zhao was running like mad, hoping to reach the front lines so he would be safe.

Though, he knew he never would be safe again. Curse that brat of a princess! Without her I would have won, but she messed everything up! I know she now will make sure...

Zhao then felt a pain in his arm. And curse that brat and her knives! I now hate her just as much as Prince Zuko!

"Zhao!" As if summoned, that was Zuko's voice and Zhao barely missed getting pelted in the back by a fireball. "You tried to have us murdered!"

"And too bad it failed." Zhao's face now was a mask of rage. "However, there is still time to correct that error. Even if it means two against one."

"You are not scaring us. The only thing you deserve is disgust. You've just proven that." There was no sarcasm in Mai's voice. Not after she had witnessed how far Zhao would go. "I... What the...?"

Mai had seen what was emerging from the canals and it was as amazing as it was frightening. It was a giant made of water and in the middle of its head floated Aang. There was no clue what had happened to cause that, but the way this water giant was advancing towards the battlefield spelled it out that the battle very soon would be decided.

"You turn in battle, girl?! That's a mistake!" Zhao spat.

-wooosh- Mai barely managed to avoid being hit by a fire arc. Yet, it caused her to slip and slide down to a lower level. Idiot! IDIOT! Mai was furious with herself that she had allowed herself to get distracted in battle.

"Mai!" Zuko gasped, then evaded a fire blast.

"Don't care about her. Care about yourself. I at least will have the pleasure to remove you from my presence." Zhao no longer pretended anything. He now only wanted to kill Zuko while he still could.

Zuko really wanted to attack Zhao in a rage, but all the years of training under his uncle tamed the anger and made room for a cold determination. Zuko said nothing more while he started to attack Zhao. Zuko did as little movement as possible while putting weight on a good defense. He knew Zhao's temper was the thing that would decide the battle - and not in Zhao's favor.

Down on the battlefield meanwhile, the fighting had ceased.

When the water giant appeared, those from the Northern Water Tribe knelt down in reverence while those from the South looked equal parts confused and scared. Those from the Fire Nation on the other hand were frozen in terror, not having expected something like that to suddenly appear. Some very brave firebenders did open fire on the giant, but their fire simply fizzled out in the water.

"Begone!" the giant shouted, waving his hand.

Those that attacked him found themselves frozen to the floor or walls, others found themselves locked behind ice walls. Of course it was not a precise attack, and numerous soldiers perished. Another wave of the giant's hand and tanks got stranded half-frozen, causing their crews to jump out and flee in fear. Rhinos panicked and ran away from the huge thing, their riders feeling that the rhinos had the right idea.

The giant looked down onto the troops. "This is my only warning! Leave this place now or suffer the consequences!"

As if to underscore it, the giant attacked more soldiers, trapping or killing them. Now the panic truly hit. Official doctrine said that spirituality was something they had outgrown, but right now everyone saw proof to the contrary and in a naked panic soldiers started to flee back to the ships, causing a domino effect which in the end caused everyone to run.

In the middle of the chaos Azula tried to get back to the ships as well, cursing Zhao the entire time, especially after witnessing what was happening. "This is a disaster. Thanks to Zhao's arrogant actions the invasion is a failure and we didn't get the Avatar, either."

In all the chaos, Azula stumbled and fell. "Focus!" She turned around to get up, and froze in fear.

The... thing was right there! It did bend down so that its white-glowing face was a mere two meters from her and she even saw the Avatar inside that thing's head, giving her a hard look. Right at this moment Azula was not the composed princess. She was a teenage girl suffering from primal fear, a growing wet spot on her pants and a puddle underneath her revealing she had wet herself in terror.

"I have seen your heart, I have seen your dreams, I have seen your tears," the giant rumbled. "You told the evil one to let my mate go. I know you didn't do it out of goodness. Yet, there is still hope for you."

La then turned away from Azula. Azula didn't react when two of her bodyguards finally reached her and pulled her away towards the nearby ship so that she could get to safety. Azula for her part was shaken how this moment had shatted all of her self-control and she was fighting to get herself back into order.

Reaching the ships, La watched the soldiers flee into them, before the ships started to retreat, some without even closing their bow ramps first. On some ships some weapon operators were still brave or suicidal enough to attack the water giant. Yet again, their projectiles did little more than irritate La. His limbs were like massive sledge hammers, crushing weapons or smashing into the decks of ships.

It seemed they finally had gotten the message and all ships started to retreat. He then spotted one ship that was not retreating like the others.

On the deck of the ship, a small battle was taking place. Jee had told Zuko's old crew that this chaos was the moment and they had attacked the loyalist crew. It had quickly devolved into a brawl, since the loyalists of a supply ship were not the top of the crop. Jee himself had just managed to knock out that pig of a captain, who had constantly humiliated them during their stay on this ship.

"Was that all of them?!" Jee called to where other were already being busy with rounding up the captured loyalists.

"Should be!" the doctor said, throwing a tied-up man out of a hatch and onto the deck. "They really were surprised."

"Talked big, but when we got serious, they folded," one of the stokers snorted. Then however then man froze. "Oh shit..."

Jee saw what the stoker meant when the water giant looked down onto them, actually bending down so its face was close to them. "No. Just when we managed to get the ship under our control."

Inside of La Aang recognized those men. And while he had no idea how they had ended up here, he knew he had to stop La from hurting them. Stop! Those are friends! They helped us!

La saw into Aang's memories and understood.

Watching the giant seemingly lose interest in them and turning attention back towards the rest of the fleet, Jee let out a breath. "I have no idea what just happened, but the Avatar inside that thing's head perhaps saved our lives."

The helmsman looked a bit pale. "I honestly could live without such brushes with fate."

Jee then saw the giant create a wave to force the other ships further away, some ships scraping against each other with the ugly sound of protesting metal. "Let's just consider ourselves lucky and hope our luck won't run out."

Back at the Oasis, desperation was setting in.

"I have no idea how to heal a spirit fish, especially with my bending being unavailable!" Katara said in a panic while watching Tui's movements become slower.

Iroh looked in concern up to the Moon, seeing its flickering become more erratic. "This is a disaster. Without the Moon the world will suffer tremendously."

Yue, who had watched the whole drama with horror, felt a strange resolve in herself. "There is one way..." She walked towards the pond.

"Yue, what are you doing?" Suki had the bad feeling Yue was about to do something drastic.

"Tui gave me part of herself to give me health. And now I will use part of that to heal her." Yue did a poor job of hiding how scared she was of the possible price.

"Yue..." Sokka realized what that could mean. "What... What if you have to use too much?"

"I know. And I'm afraid... But I have to do it, or countless others will suffer. The needs of the many... they outweigh the needs of the few... Or the one." Yue gave them a look that conveyed perfectly how she honestly didn't want to do this, but they had run out of options.

"We... we are here for you," Suki finally said.

"Yes, we won't leave you alone;" Sokka agreed.

Understanding, Yue knelt by the pond and put her hand into the pond, touching the dying Tui.

Out at sea La watched the ships leave as fast as possible. Then he felt something and looked up. The Moon was stabilizing and had stopped flickering. It still was a bit paler than normal, but with a promise that it would heal. He right away made his way back to the city, since there was one person left he had to deal with.

That one he had left for last.

"Why don't you die?!" Zhao cursed. Whenever he tried to hit Zuko and try a crippling blow, Zuko countered, which was frustrating Zhao. That Zuko also was relying on simple and basic moves also felt like an insult to him. "Take me serious!"

Zuko felt intense disgust at Zhao, but Iroh's training helped to keep it at bay. "I am taking you serious the entire time." Zuko blocked another attack. "After all, who is keeping his ground?"

"Bastard!" Zhao's attack missed by a mile, instead ripping a hole into a nearby wall.

"Don't insult my mother." Zuko was done and now would get Zhao down. His attacks, while simple, quickly pushed the arrogant man into the defense. "After all, my mother made sure to give a lasting impression what she thinks of you."

Being reminded of how Ursa had slapped him while her hand was coated with fire - something that was bound to leave an ugly reminder - made Zhao see red. "Raaah!"

That was what Zuko had waited for, but before Zhao could throw massive amounts of fire at him, a throwing knife suddenly embedded itself in Zhao's hand, causing him to howl in pain. He had ignored the fact that Mai had returned to the battlefield and with one throw had disabled his main hand.

"I know you would have smoked him anyway, but why make it more complicated?" Mai said while approaching with her weapon drawn, giving Zhao a look as if to dare him to try something.

"Wow. That's one of the reasons I love you." Zuko honestly found that Mai doing such things made her look attractive.

"My hand! You..." Zhao cursed, then saw the Moon. "The Moon? Back to normal?!" Suddenly the water giant rose up from the nearby canal. "Oh no!" Zhao gasped.

Watery hands grabbed Zhao. "You are a horrible being; rotten to the core. I had planned to drag you to a fate worse than death for hurting my Tui. However, I saw into the Avatar and realized there is a better punishment for someone like you, which would hurt you constantly."

"What...?" The water began to glow. "Aaaahhhhhhrrrrghhhhh!" Zhao screamed, feeling that whatever La was doing to him hurt like there was no tomorrow.

Then La dropped Zhao onto the ground before releasing Aang next to Zuko and Mai. He looked rather exhausted from the whole experience. "The punishment is done." La then vanished into the waters to return to the pond.

"I'm not done yet!" Zhao barked, overcoming the shock. -pooof- However, instead of a powerful fire blast from his uninjured hand Zhao produced a pitiful little flame that quickly dissipated. "What...? No!" Zhao tried again and again, but nothing changed from the same pathetic result.

Finally, he understood what La had done - somehow crippling his bending. "MY BENDING! RAAAHHHHHHGHHHH!" Zhao screamed in impotent rage over now living a nightmare.

At the Oasis however, the victory's cost became apparent.

As soon as Yue had healed Tui, she had collapsed, lying in the arms of Sokka and Suki. The girl now looked weak, like she did not have the energy to continue living. No one else said a word while watching the drama unfold, knowing that Yue had used too much of Tui's energy to heal the spirit, and what was left was not enough to sustain her properly after years of being dependent on spirit energy.

"Yue..." Suki was not holding back her tears. Despite the short time, Yue had managed to come close to her heart.

"You knew this would happen..." Sokka was crying as well,

"I'm sorry..." Yue's voice was weak while tears streaked down her own face as well. "I really... wanted to stay with you." Yue's eyes then began to close and her breathing became so shallow that it very well could have stopped.

"Yue? YUE!" Sokka cried out when seeing her start to slip away.

"Please, no!" Suki had expected to see death on the journey, but this one was much closer than she had expected.

Katara watched the whole thing with a heavy heart. She remembered the times when she had accused her brother of essentially not properly feeling the loss of their mother. But now seeing the grief he and Suki were feeling, she realized how horrible that accusation had been. Seeing grief from the outside, she knew she never again would accuse Sokka of taking Kya's death lightly.

"You can't leave us now!" Sokka pleaded.

"Stay with us! Please stay with us!" Suki felt grief overwhelm her.

They had not noticed Tui becoming highly agitated, especially after some of their tears had fallen into the pond. The Moon, from its position in the sky, suddenly was brighter, bathing Sokka, Suki and Yue in silvery light. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, but then...

"Aaaaahhh!" Sokka and Suki screamed out, since for a split-second it felt like they got branded somewhere on their lower back, then their eyes rolled up and they collapsed against Yue.

Yue in turn suddenly arched her back and let out a loud gasp, before her lungs greedily started to suck in air in order to put much needed oxygen into her blood. The light then vanished and Katara didn't waste a moment to run to them and check their vital signs, again thanking her medical training.

"What just happened?" Toph wondered, due to her lack of sight having missed something crucial. "What am I missing? You know my sight is warped around that pond."

Ursa put her hand onto the girl's shoulder, being one of the few being allowed to do so. "The Moon has bathed all three of them in a strange light. Katara is checking on all three of them, but judging by her expression, she looks more relieved than anything."

"They are alive!" Katara called. "Alive! Even Yue! Her pulse is weak but steady and she is breathing normally. What did just happen? Yue was dying and now she is alive and all three of them are asleep."

"What we have just witnessed was a boon given by the Moon Spirit," Iroh guessed. "The spirits don't give boons easily."

Toph for her part snorted. "My guess is they realized it's their fault that Yue had to sacrifice herself. Had they not stubbornly ignored all and every warning, all of this would not have happened."

"Harsh, but very likely considering what happened." Ursa honestly felt that the girl had hit the meat of the matter.

...after the battle...

The battle was over and the Fire Nation had retreated.

However, it did not feel like a victory to the Northern Water Tribe. The death toll, the ones permanently injured or marked, the damage to the city itself... No that truly was not a victory. If not for La and the Avatar saving their necks, they would have been defeated in mere two days. If anything, these two days had shattered a lot of illusions about their own tribe and place in the world.

Even worse was when word did spread how Zhao had almost managed to kill Tui and make the Moon go dark forever. The thought alone was causing a deep crisis. The irony was, that it took another Fire Nation national to stop Zhao from outright killing Tui, causing very confused feelings within the tribe. Not to speak of their beloved Princess Yue almost giving her life to heal the Moon Spirit, causing great worry about her health.

When the sun rose above Agna Qel'a, the city still looked like the battlefield it had been, with eerie silence hanging over it. Only a single Fire Nation ship was left, but no one dared to do something about it, having seen La sparing them, meaning those people had to be special. News about them was spreading slowly at best.

In the city itself the grim task of collecting the dead from both sides had to be done. And then there was the considerable number of Fire Nation troops who had been immobilized by La, but spared, and who now were prisoners of war. Their presence also proved challenging since more than one warrior had decided a 'kill them all' approach was the best solution and caused even more bloodshed before being stopped. That even more went for Zhao himself, who was under constant guard now to prevent a revenge murder.

Despite the horrors of the previous days, the vast majority had no wish to act like what all the Fire Nation propaganda postulated - that the Water Tribes were filled with bloodthirsty barbarians.

All of that however was of little interest right now to those having gathered around three beds in a healing hut.

"What is wrong with them?" Aang worried, looking at where Sokka, Suki and Yue seemed to be in some kind of coma, not waking up from whatever had happened to them.

"I honestly don't know. Whatever Tui has done, it is helping Yue compensate for the spirit strength that she sacrificed to heal the Moon Spirit," Yagoda admitted, looking to be a bit out of her depth. "The works of the spirits are difficult to understand. Yue herself is the best example for that."

"But otherwise they are all right?" Katara added, looking in worry at her unresponsive brother.

Katara knew the only reason their father was not here was due to the aftermath of the whole battle being a mess that needed his attention, as much as he wated to watch over Sokka. The same went for Arnook, who would have been by Yue's bedside if not for the aftermath of the battle.

"Physically, yes. Yue's life signs were quite a bit weaker than normal, but she is improving. Whatever is happening has more to do with the spiritual side than physical health." Yagoda looked at all three teenagers. "However, there was one change I did notice when doing a full-body exam.

Katara blushed a little, remembering how Yagoda had asked her to leave the room, saying she most certainly had no wish to see her brother naked. "Is it something bad?"

"No... just another part of this strange puzzle." Yagoda admitted. "All three of them now have a mark shaped like a crescent moon lying sideways as big as a small coin directly... ahem... directly above where their butt cracks begin."

Katara, if anything, blushed even more. Aang on the other hand looked confused. "Strange place for such a mark."

"As I've said, the ways of the spirits can't be understood." Yagoda honestly didn't know why Tui had chosen such a place to mark all three of them.

"Let's not talk about their asses, all right?" Toph groaned. "Look, after all what went down, even my sarcasm has dried up for the moment. We all need some serious sleep. I for my part am only slowly processing all of this."

They knew Toph was right, all of them were exhausted. "By the way, where are...?" Aang had noticed earlier that their friends from the Fire Nation were missing.

"Don't worry about your friends." That was a very exhausted-looking Pakku, who had entered a bit earlier. "Arnook felt it best to have them stay inside the palace until emotions have calmed somewhat. There are enough people who feel that everyone from the Fire Nation is the same."

"That's so unfair! Without them, Zhao would have destroyed the Moon, and left us with no Yue to restore it." Aang saw the injustice.

"That may be, but hurt and angry people often are not fair," Yagoda reminded Aang.

No one said the aftermath of a messy battle would be easy.

o

"I said no one is to disturb me!" Azula said firmly through the closed door, making clear what her orders were. "I'll call for someone once that has changed. Now leave!" Hearing the seaman leave, Azula laid back on her bedding, trying to find her center while thinking about her current situation.

The remaining fleet was on its way back to port as fast as possible, not caring about formations in order to arrive faster. From there she would take a fast ship to return to the capital as fast as she could. Though of course messages about this disaster would be sent to the Fire Nation as well and arrive well before she would. Yet, she knew her father would demand a personal report from her before making his decision.

That report would be long and very telling.

Zhao had gone insane, there was no way around it. There was no other explanation why the man had honestly thought it to be a good idea to attempt to destroy the Moon. It was like he hadn't wasted a thought on the fact that the Fire Nation was located on islands and thus very much needed the Moon. Alone the tides were vital, not to speak of other things. However, Zhao had not cared about any of that.

No idea what happened to him, but if he's still alive, he'll now wish he were dead, Azula thought darkly, remembering how Zhao had disregarded her direct order when attempting to kill the Moon Spirit.

Of course there also were the consequences of Zhao's actions.

Azula still felt remnants of the primal fear when that... thing which had fused with the Avatar had looked to be only seconds away from killing her outright. Azula tried to forget her complete terror and wetting herself, but the impression simply had been too strong. Azula tried to think of that spirit running amok all being Zhao's fault, but the feeling of shame over how she had lost control and became pathetically weak was always there.

She felt it would be better to not tell her father about that detail, otherwise he would be deeply disappointed with her shameful weakness. Weakness was something not to be tolerated and Azula was furious with herself over still showing weakness.

No, she would focus on the other big development.

No idea how Zu-Zu and Mai did survive the explosion, but it doesn't matter. All four of them are traitors, Azula thought darkly.

She had expected it from her fat uncle, who always loved to spew highly suspect wisdom, and her mother, who always liked to play favorites, to turn traitor and help th Avatar. But it was something entirely else that Zuko and Mai were joining in on it. All four of them were traitors to the Fire Nation and had to be treated accordingly. She honestly had no idea how her father would react to those news.

Feeling tired, Azula looked to her mirror, and froze.

She blinked. For a moment she had thought she had seen her mother in the mirror, giving her a concerned look like that of a parent worrying about their child. But there was nothing but her own reflection in the mirror.

Azula shook her head. She most certainly did NOT want to think about her mother right now.

...in the time of Imbalance...

Korra waved her hand over the small pool and the pictures faded away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Her meddling with the time stream had already caused the connection to the past to become unstable, but now a massive change had happened which was starting to close the gate to the past. Korra knew what said change was.

Yue was not supposed to survive. She had been meant to give her life and become the new Spirit of the Moon. However, Tui had only gotten injured, thus Yue had only surrendered part of the gift to heal her. Korra had not seen what exactly had happened next, but Yue had survived. This massive change was sending shockwaves through the fabric of space and time.

"The die has been cast. My meddling has begun to destabilize the window back. You know what that means," Korra said.

"Yes, and it also means we are about to part ways. You know that this very well could kill you?" Raava reminded her.

"It's either trying, or sit back and wait until either I'm erased by the changes in time or the Imbalance gets me. That makes the choice easy." Korra knew it was hellishly dangerous for her to do so.

"I know I can't stop you and that I can't come with you. However, you know it also means all and any power I have given you will be gone, reducing you back to what you can do by nature," Raava reminded her.

Korra snorted. "I was a lousy Avatar, and just blaming the Imbalance for it would be cheap. Yes, my mind was clouded, but you have to admit I also was complete shit at it. I honestly can't be trusted with too much power."

She then again looked at her reflection in the water, knowing that there was little time to lose. "Let's start the process."

Raava said nothing, but knew Korra would rather take a small fighting chance than sit back and wait for her end. The young woman was better than she thought she was, but Raava knew the deck had been stacked against Korra well before her birth. And it all had been Raava's fault.

Raava felt what would come next would be a sort of atonement for her own actions which had led to this whole mess.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"The Story of Korra"

Chapter Text

How far the mighty had fallen.

Just two days ago Zhao had commanded a massive fleet which was about to crush the Northern Water Tribe, had managed to capture the Moon Spirit and was a powerful firebender. Now however he had none of those. His fleet had fled in defeat, the Moon Spirit was back to full power and - most humiliating - his firebending had been crippled on top of his other injuries. He'd had it all and now he had nothing, rotting inside a cold cell of those barbarians, his only companion being the pain in his injured hand.

He used to be Admiral Zhao and - in his mind - Zhao the Great, but now all that was left was an utterly humiliated man who was stewing in his own anger over how unfair the world had been to him. Even the other prisoners of war - before they had put him into a single cell - had hurled insults towards him for sending them into this cold hell and causing this disaster.

Now they feel brave enough to do so, but before they were cowards who wouldn't have thought of doing so, Zhao thought bitterly.

That moment the door to his prison cell was opened and he looked up. Two men entered, both of them looking important.

"Well, who gives me the honor of a visit? Here to gloat?" Zhao said bitterly, making no effort to even feign politeness.

"I'm Arnook, chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe. Beside me is Hakoda, chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe."

Zhao snorted. "What an honor. So you have banded together now? It still won't be enough to prevent the inevitable."

Arnook and Hakoda didn't look surprised at his hostility - it perhaps even was expected. Arnook then right away cut to the meat of the matter. "How did you know about the Moon Spirit and how to reach it?! That information was heavily restricted."

"Ha ha ha, obviously not as restricted as you expected," Zhao said with a humorless laugh. "But if you really need to know, I did find the information in a secret library which is run by some half-demented spirit. However, I won't tell you where to find it and I burned all the information about the Fire Nation it held, before making my exit."

"So that is it," Hakoda said, then looked Zhao into the eyes. "Do you even feel a shred of remorse over what you have done here? All of this just to satisfy your ego and go down in history?" Hakoda honestly had trouble imagining such a motivation.

"No. It simply is the law of the strongest. If not for you pulling that thing out of nowhere, your precious tribe would have been crushed easily." The scary part was, that Zhao was entirely convinced of that. "My actions just would have underscored that. Why should I feel remorse?"

Either he's insane, or he truly has no conscience, Hakoda thought, finally understanding what kind of man Zhao was.

"Then I hope you enjoy this cell. You'll stay here until your fate is decided after the war," Arnook told Zhao.

They left, hearing Zhao's humorless laughter. It seemed, Zhao thought that the end of the war would mean him being freed (ignoring that his own nation now also had a bone with him to pick).

"He's insane." Arnook was a bit shaken at being confronted with someone like Zhao.

"No, worse than insane." Hakoda then shook his head. "We have other problems now. Your tribe has suffered serious losses. And while I by a miracle didn't lose any of my men, a few can not continue and have to be sent home."

Arnook sighed. "My tribe has been shaken to the core. We became arrogant and felt safe in our isolation. We were taught a bitter lesson that we've made ourselves weak. Also... as a father I now worry so much..."

Hakoda knew Arnook was talking about Yue. The girl still had not awakened from whatever kind of slumber she was in. And he understood the worry, since his own son, Sokka, and his girlfriend had fallen under said affliction as well. It in the end left both men worried for their children - a common ground they would have liked to avoid.

Their guests from the Fire Nation waited for them outside of the cell block. "Well, what are your thoughts?" Ursa asked them.

"That man is monstrous." Arnook looked disturbed that someone like that existed. "He's entirely convinced that what he's done is the right thing."

"Zhao is a sociopath." Iroh minced no words. "He cares for no one but himself and would even gladly throw away the lives of all his soldiers as long as he gets what he wants. Not someone you want in a position of power."

"That, and he is an utter creep," Mai added, remembering all too well what Zhao had planned with Ursa.

"Well, where he's now he no longer can cause any damage." Zuko honestly didn't want to think about Zhao. "What is it with the one ship that is still anchoring close by?"

"There was a mutiny on that ship and La, for whatever reason, spared them and allowed them to stay. The Avatar is too busy, so we can't ask him. Therefore, we have discreetly brought the leader of that ship into the palace," Arnook explained.

"Ahh, you think we have a better chance at getting the truth from him?" Iroh guessed.

Hakoda snorted. "The man looks more nervous than anything. He must be afraid that his head ends up on a big iceicle if he says even one wrong word."

On the way Iroh made a discreet observation. Interesting, Hakoda and Ursa are acting a bit awkward around each other. Perhaps with time and some luck, something will blossom that heals both their hearts.

Shortly later they had reached a door. It opened, they walked in and then saw who was waiting for them. "Jee?" Zuko honestly had not expected to ever see that man again.

Indeed, it was Lt. Jee waiting for them. Hearing the voice he looked up and then looked astonished at what he was seeing. "Prince Zuko? But... word is that you died!"

"Zhao was too overconfident." Mai remembered the explosion all too well. She probably would never forget that terrifying moment.

It was only years of discipline that stopped Jee from doing something dumb - like trying to hug Zuko in relief. Instead, the man sank down into his seat, all the tension falling off him. "You are alive - all of you. The crew will be so relieved to hear that."

"The crew? You mean all of them?" Ursa had grown close to those men over the course of almost three years and after they had been drafted by Zhao, she had feared the worst.

"All of us. Zhao stuck us onto a supply ship, where he felt we wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. He thought we are weak and broken." Jee's hands closed into fists. "So we planned to mutiny once the opportunity was good. We subdued the loyalists, but then... What was that?"

"You know, there is a long story behind that." Ursa honestly was not looking forward to explaining that one. "So everyone is on that one ship left behind?"

"Yes. They will be overjoyed to see that all of you are in good health." Jee knew how hard the news of the supposed death of Zuko had hit the crew.

"Mhh, perhaps it would be wise to relocate onto the ship for the time being," Iroh thought aloud.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"Oh, it doesn't mean we isolate ourselves, but it most certainly would ease tensions if we move our sleeping quarters outside of the city," Iroh explained his reasoning.

"A good idea, since I've grown sick of staring at ice walls when I have some prive time and try to find sleep," Mai agreed with Iroh, the monotony of building materials having gotten to her.

Of course another reason was, that Mai had come to appreciate modern heating and her current quarters half of the time made her feel like she was freezing her ass off - not to speak of more sensitive body parts.

"Well, Mai has decided," Zuko said, knowing how sick Mai had grown of her current living arrangements.

Jee barely managed not to shake his head in amusement. Impressive how quick one agrees to something once your headstrong girlfriend made a decision.

...in the time of Imbalance...

"So, you are determined to do it," Raava remarked.

"You better believe I am," Korra told her while starting to take off her clothes, throwing them aside. "Though I still can't believe you told me if I try I have to go through this naked."

If not for how serious this was, Raava would have seen some humor in it. "You can't take anything with you. If you do it, it has to be your bare body going through it."

"Should I manage to get through this, I'll be a wonderful sight on the other side," Korra grumbled while getting more naked by the moment. "Feels strange that we are about to part ways now."

But we have to do it. After all, there can't be two Raavas in the same time period, or very bad things will happen," Raava reminded her.

Korra shuddered at the memory of Raava explaining to her what a paradoxon was. Essentially, it was reality getting a massive coughing fit due to a time-space impossibility, wiping out all of reality in a wide area which was way bigger than the world. And two Raavas existing at the same time would have been a massive paradoxon. Korra on the other hand, should she make the journey, would be safe, since she didn't exist in that time period.

On the other hand, what she was about to do had a good chance of killing her.

"You know, I still wonder how you managed to create all this here," Korra said.

Raava know Korra meant the very structure they were in right at the moment. "You would be surprised what someone is capable of when being in utter panic. Though, even if not for you slowly wasting away in here, it wouldn't have been a permanent solution. The Imbalance sooner or later would have broken it down."

"I know. I think I rather would have thrown myself outside than wait that long," Korra admitted while taking off her underwear before starting to undo her hair bands. "What will your past self be?"

"Utterly arrogant. She thinks she is holding the ultimate truth, but a world of pure Order is doomed to die. She won't have the massive humbling which I got." Raava held a dim view of her past self. Don't expect any cooperation from her until she gets lots of humble pie."

Finally, Korra was entirely naked and looked at her reflection in the water. Months of not being able to take much care of herself were showing. Her hair was long and wild, even the seldom wash couldn't make up for her looking filthy, her nails had grown long while her body hair had taken a firm hold. Well, the last one wasn't something she cared about, since in her culture shaving your body hair was an alien concept.

"Now we are parting ways? I remember last time, so please be gentle." Korra did remember that horrible moment all too clear.

"I try to."

Moments later Korra felt something appear inside herself and start to move up inside her neck, causing her to choke and gasp for air, feeling that it was blocked. Falling to her knees, Korra felt something creep up her throat and she opened her mouth on instinct. With a loud cough the shrunk-down form of Raava was forced out of her mouth, followed by some foul stomach juices.

"-cough- Damn..." Perhaps that had been even more unpleasant than last time.

"Sorry, but that was the least unpleasant way possible," Raava apologized while returning to her natural size. "Your other powers should be gone now. I can compensate for the destroyed Moon as long as you stay close to me."

Having recovered form the shock, Korra tried it. The other bending powers indeed were gone, nothing happened and she didn't even feel a connection. Then she tried the water and she found it easy to bend that. "You know, it always was stupid that I was bending fire first. Stupid Imbalance twisting reality. Guess I'm indeed a natural waterbender."

"There was nothing natural at all about you first bending fire. By then reality had become more of a caricature," Raava reminded her. "Your ring..."

Korra looked at the ring on her left hand. It was the last thing she had kept from Asami apart from her memories. Many people had been confused why a woman that rich had given Korra a simple silver ring, missing the fact that it had been due to her wealth that giving such a simple ring carried so much meaning. Korra most certainly didn't want to leave behind the ring.

"What about something that's inside my body?" Korra asked while slipping the ring off her finger.

"You mean...? That would work, as it would be entirely enclosed by your flesh," Raava admitted.

Opening her mouth, Korra carefully placed the ring onto her tongue, took a deep breath and... -gloob- In one swift move she did swallow down the ring and felt it travel down until the feeling vanished, the ring having fallen into her stomach. That done, she squatted down to look into the reflective surface of the small pool holding the very water which had kept her alive and allowed her to open the way to influence the past.

"One jump in and I'll never return. Korra hesitated. "This is not as easy as I thought."

"Then allow me to help you."

"What...? Wah!" -plof- Raava had pushed Korra and she fell head-first into the pool, vanishing from sight.

"Good luck on your journey, Korra," Raava said goodbye to her. "Now I can only wait and see if the Imbalance is prevented, and if it isn't, accept my fate."

RAAAAAAVA! Korra meanwhile cursed silently while the strange waters drew her deeper and deeper in.

It was not only water surrounding her, however. She was being pulled through bright constructs made of light and energy; a tunnel in which strong discharges blasted through the water. The powers in this place recognized her as something that didn't belong there. It started when it felt like someone kicked Korra hard into the gut, and she barely held onto the air in her lungs.

Then the powers attacked her for daring to try and leave her place in the fabric of space and time and travel to a different spot in it. Pain like she had never felt before inflamed every cell of her body - but it was more than just pain. Her body was suffering a massive attack to eradicate her and she felt she was losing body mass. A silent scream escaped Korra, the air being forced out of her lungs, when the torture peaked.

Then there was a bright light.

-sploooosh- Korra felt like she was being catapulted out of the water, then slammed onto grass, her lungs greedily sucking in air. She felt weak - so utterly weak. She thought she was hearing voices, but the ordeal had taken its toll on her and she slipped into darkness.

...a little bit later...

"I don't like seeing them being like that," Aang told Katara. "They are unnaturally still. Even someone asleep moves at least a little."

"I know, Aang, and nothing seems to wake them up. It's like whatever is affecting them first has to run its course." Katara felt helpless, looking at the three unconscious teenagers. "What has the Moon Spirit done with them? Yue was dying and suddenly... she was not."

"I can only tell you I get a weird feeling around them - like something changed. You know, nothing bad or anything, just different. You can say my Avatar senses are tingling." Aang honestly struggled to explain it. "Worrying about them at least distracts me from how La hijacked me. He at least could have asked first."

Katara honestly didn't want to unpack that can of worms. "You got nothing to add, Toph?"

"Nothing you haven't already heard," Toph waved it off. "I don't want to... Hey, guys, Something is happening out there. I can hear it getting chaotic."

Trusting Toph's good hearing, they opened the door and witnessed chaos.

"How did she come out of the Spirit Oasis?!" "No idea, she just was ejected; naked and looking like that!" "Whatever, she clearly is one of us, let's hope it's not too late."

It really was chaotic, at least a dozen people speaking over each other and an even bigger number of people were surrounding a stretcher with someone on it who was being brought into the healing hut - at least if not for all the people causing so much chaos. Yagoda, having appeared from a different door, didn't look amused by the chaos.

"ENOUGH!" It was impressive how at her age she still could raise her voice like that. "Everyone who is not helping with the situation - OUT!"

It seemed that no one wanted to piss off the old healer and in a matter of moments the only people left were those holding the stretcher. Curiosity overcame Aang and he did take a look at the person on it. It was a Water Tribe woman, but her age was difficult to guess due to the fact that she looked almost skeletal, as if something had depleted all of her fat reserves and a good part of her musculature.

However, despite the horrible state the woman was in, Aang did recognize her. "Korra?"

"You know who that is, young Avatar?" Yagoda asked Aang.

"Well, sort of... It's a long story, you know?" Aang honestly had no idea what no had happened that he was in the same room as the future Avatar.

"All right..." Yagoda decided to set priorities. "You two," she addressed the men carrying the stretcher, "you get her into the intensive care treatment room." She then looked to Aang. "And you better explain to both chieftains what that is about."

"That as well..." Aang knew that while they had already told them about the future and the Imbalance, the sudden appearance from Korra would suddenly make it all so much more real.

How would Arnook and Hakoda react?

Half an hour later the got their answer - both men expressed how utterly convoluted things were getting. Thing was, while Aang had mentioned Korra and the Imbalance - whatever that was - there had been way more pressing problems, so something about the far future had been shelved for the time being. Now however that no longer could be ignored and it opened a totally new can of worms.

"And you are sure it is her?" Arnook asked to make sure, having been knocked off-balance by what Aang had told them.

"Yes. It's her - though she is dangerously thin now." Aang couldn't help but shudder when remembering how skeletal Korra had looked.

"It matches the report I got from the guards. The pond of the Spirit Oasis had glowed with energy before that young woman got ejected, wearing nothing but her own skin. Considering that the pond isn't even an arm deep, it's an enigma." Arnook honestly had not believed the report until Aang had explained the identity of the ejected woman.

"Then what is she doing here? Shouldn't she be in her future?" Hakoda was not a very spiritual man. Daily survival had ensured a luxury such as spirituality had little place in the South.

Aang scratched his bald head. "No idea. The one time I met her she seemed a bit desperate, but that's it."

"Look, that all goes over my head as well, but it seems like that only Korra can give us the answers." Toph honestly didn't know what to think about all of this, but the idea of her possible own future made her nervous.

"And that's most certainly not today." That was Yagoda, who had just walked in. "My best healers are working on her, but it is like something tried to suck all life out of her. Her fat stores are next to nonexistent and her muscles show serious signs of being atrophied. Not to speak of the fact that she has clearly not eaten anything solid in a long time. The other healers are still working on her, and we don't dare to wake her up today."

Yagoda then walked to the beds occupied by Sokka, Suki and Yue and checked their life signs. "Good news here however. Their life signs are strong. Whatever is keeping them down, it shouldn't take much..." Yagoda stopped when Yue's hand took hold of her wrist. "Well, that is encouraging."

"Oh, thank the spirits!" Katara felt like a massive weight was off her shoulders when seeing all three of them start to wake up.

"Guys! Boy, you scared all of us! Are you all right?" Aang had regained his energy when seeing them finally being awake.

"Uh, we..." Sokka's eyes suddenly went wide. "...need a bathroom fast!"

Suki and Yue had made the same discovery, which was no wonder considering how long they been unconscious. All three of them made a dash for the bathroom of the healing hut, but Yue could run really fast when being properly motivated and slammed the door shut, shouting about princess privilege, forcing Suki and Sokka to do the age-old potty dance. To Sokka's bad luck, he was the last of the three, but at least the girls tried to be fast to not prolong his discomfort.

"I'm only hearing it, but that alone is utterly hilarious!" Toph laughed at the absurd scene taking place.

Finally, however, the emergency was over and they were in the proper mind to talk.

"Father, I'm not a baby," Yue complained to her father, being embarrassed how Arnook was asking her multiple times if she was well.

"Wait until you are a parent yourself, then you understand why I worry so much over you," Arnook reminded his daughter.

Hakoda then noticed the look Sokka was giving him. "No, son, I won't hover over you like that. Though expect us to later have a talk."

"I can't wait for it..." Sokka had no idea what to expect from that.

Katara for her part felt like a weight had come off her shoulders. "Thank the spirits you are awake. What happened? One moment Yue was slipping away, then suddenly there was that light and all three of you cried out and Yue all of a sudden got better. Can you tell us anything about what is going on?"

"Katara, believe me when I say it's complicated," Suki told the girl. "You see, while we were down, we actually met Tui."

"You've met the Moon Spirit?" Arnook looked awed at the honor.

"Eh, apart from the light she looked rather ordinary... well, if you ignore that she'd had a fish head at the beginning. Looked really strange until she noticed and swapped it with a human head." Sokka still felt it had been one of the weirdest things he'd ever seen.

"She apologized profusely that their inability to listen to our warnings had forced me to basically sacrifice myself to heal her. Though she also said that what she had given me had not been a permanent solution to the problem." Yue looked a bit disturbed at that revelation. "When Sokka and Suki cried for me, Tui knew she had to make it right."

"Spirit stuff goes over my head. What exactly did she do to make it right?" Toph honestly didn't like spirit issues much.

"To heal Yue's weakness for real, she bonded the three of us together." Suki noticed the looks. "I don't know the mechanics, but we are giving Yue strength so that her body can heal properly and in several years her health will be fine. However... Tui said her gift is for a lifetime."

"Gift for a lifetime?" Aang didn't get it.

Sokka sighed. "Look, it's not easy for us to say it, but she essentially saw our feelings and decided we fit together wonderfully. When we said bonded... ehm, it very much meant in that way as well."

"Feelings...?" Arnook looked to his daughter. "Yue? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Yue blushed so heavily that she looked like she could combust at any moment. "Father... I... it just happened. I developed feelings for two people at the same time. I was trying so hard to deny my heart... There was my duty to marry Hahn, the fact that Suki is a girl and that they would leave in due time. But now I can't any longer deny my heart."

"Please don't give her a hard time. All three of us tried very hard to understand what is growing between us. I know how it looks from the outside; three people together and two girls developing that kind of love for each other." Suki like Yue was blushing heavily.

Arnook knew where they were coming from. A three-way relationship was basically unheard of and homosexuality was very much frowned upon - though he was not naive and knew it still happened. And now Tui of all things had given her blessing that his only child, his daughter, was part of a three-person relationship and develop an intimate relationship with a boy and a girl at the same time.

"I... you know that you brought me into a difficult position. Yue, I won't stop loving you but I need time to come to terms with that change. Tui has spoken and the tribe needs to know." Arnook felt like needing some really strong spirits to calm down.

"Can you wait a bit before telling the tribe? Please." Sokka sounded outright diplomatic when saying that.

Arnook knew the tribe learning that Yue essentially would leave to travel with the Avatar and enter a three-way relationship - especially with one of her partners being a girl - would cause serious questions. Yue was well-beloved in the tribe and the news, especially how it all got the blessing of Tui, would hit like a shock.

"A few days. We all need them," Arnook agreed and then sighed. "Tui has spoken... There is no higher authority and everyone has to accept it."

"Wow, you mean Tui basically made it so that the three of you are destined to be together? Does it mean Yue is coming with us? Does..." Aang then stopped, the penny dropping. "Oh it means everything that comes with love as well?"

The three of them blushed a bit more. "We are most certainly not ready for any of that." Yue gulped hard. "It will be a massive change for all three of us. That bond... Tui said there are secrets we have to explore and that look she gave us..."

"Perhaps waiting some days before announcing it will indeed be better," Hakoda agreed, still trying to imagine how that would change the family dynamics, with two girls now destined to be with his son. "After all of the other excitement today..."

Suki gave Hakoda an inquisitive look. "Have we missed something?"

"Funny thing, you know?" Aang knew he sucked at giving news. "It's just down the hall..."

...three days later...

"She really is awake?" Aang asked Yagoda again.

"Yes, for several hours already, but we first wanted to make sure before we followed her wishes." What Yagoda wouldn't say was the fact, that she had also performed a highly intrusive procedure on Korra to get out the ring the young woman had swallowed.

"And she wants to talk to all of us?" Aang added, looking at the impressive group Beside himself, it consisted of Sokka, Katara, Toph, Suki, Yue, Zuko, Mai, Ursa, Iroh and Hakoda.

Yagoda felt a bit too old for having to deal with such an energetic mind. "Once I told her of all of you being here, yes. And she insisted that no one else be here - not even Chief Arnook. She was very specific in her wishes, it even includes me staying out."

"Strange that she asks for us in particular. I mean, if she is that far from the future..." Katara left unsaid that with Korra being Aang's successor it was very likely all of them had been dead by that point.

"Interesting indeed, especially when you consider the exclusion of Chief Arnook or Master Pakku," Iroh said in interest, stroking his beard, which had grown considerably over the past weeks.

"Hey, if she really is from the future, shouldn't she know bout us?" Toph wondered.

"Better be careful what you wish for. After all, you most likely won't like what you'll hear," Ursa reminded Toph, having a feeling that this Korra would not talk about roses and sunshine.

When they entered the room, a few of them gasped at how terrible Korra looked. Even after days of intensive care the young woman looked almost skeletal, the state she was in making her look almost sexless. Korra did look up when they entered, her sunken blue eyes watching them carefully but not with any kind of wariness.

"Oh, hello," Korra greeted them, her voice sounding weak. "You excuse that I don't get up to greet you, but I depleted next to all of my fat stores and my muscles have atrophied badly. It's already an improvement I can move my arms around and hold things... barely."

"Is she looking as bad as she sounds?" Toph asked, for once dreading the answer.

Katara saw Korra nod, so she decided to be honest. "If anything, she looks worse. She almost looks like nothing more than skin and bones. It's a wonder she's even alive."

"You would be surprised what the human body can endure. Still, will take me weeks before I'm functional again and perhaps a whole year to get back all the muscles and body fat I've lost. The healers basically told me once I can eat solid food again, I have to start to eat like a pig to get it all back." Korra then sighed. "But my health of course is not why I asked to speak with you."

Finally, Aang couldn't hold back anymore. "Yes how are you here? What about the future? You were really vague and after what I've seen, I really need to know what that Imbalance is which is doing all of that!"

"Maybe don't go full attack on her?" Mai suggested to Aang, sounding more like an annoyed older sister at that moment.

"I know there is a lot to unload and I'll do my best to explain everything. But in order for all of this to make sense, I have to start at the very beginning," Korra explained.

"Something tells me this is going to take a long time," Toph remarked.

Korra sighed while trying to make herself more comfortable. "I know it sounds stupid, but this whole mess did start before recorded history when a convergence happened. That's basically a moment in time when the physical and spirit worlds do touch. That normally is harmless since such events are short-lived, however, that time the gates did not close, they stayed open. While before only a few spirits who held genuine interest in the pysical world had crossed over, now any spirit could arrive as they pleased. That was an utter disaster for the world."

"I get the feeling those spirits were not coming in peace," Sokka guessed.

"You better believe it. All of the talk that all the spirits are benevolent is crap. The dominant culture there is that spirits are the superior lifeforms and that anyone else does not count. The spirits flooding into the world wasted no time to start a campaign of extermination so that they would claim the world as their own. They nearly managed to do so as well, but I spare you the details of the how, that's too complicated."

"...I had no idea that the spirits could be that murderous..." Iroh was bit shocked due to how different his visit to the Spirit World had felt to him. The Spirit World was seen as something mysterious and wonderful.

Korra looked like she was remembering something unpleasant. "And the whole mess? It was caused by two spirits getting into a massive pissing match. There are those two spirits, Raava and Vaatu, who represent Order and Chaos. They started to get into each others' hair in an argument who is superior and it resulted in an endless stalemate of a battle where neither of them could claim any advantage, but which resulted in the path to the spirit world staying open."

"Wow, the spirits of good and bad fighting against each other..." Aang thought aloud.

Korra however gave him a sour look. "There is it once again, that we assign morality to the concepts of Order and Chaos. Neither side is good or evil and the universe needs both so it can be in balance. Take three guesses what happens if said balance is disrupted."

Understanding dawned and Aang paled. "The Imbalance...?"

"I see you understand, but I'll come to that soon. One day a man named Wan stumbled upon them and like you, he thought it's a struggle between good and evil. Raava did little to correct him and instead hatched a plan. She could break the stalemate by merging with that man and thus ensure that Vaatu would no longer oppose her, thus causing Order to reign undisputed."

"Wait, didn't you say that's a bad thing?" Suki had a bad feeling where this was leading to.

"Oh yes, very bad. It resulted in Vaatu and thus Chaos being locked into the Tree of Time. Wan then reclaimed the world for mankind by forcing the spirits out before closing the portals shut tight. The world became Raava's playground, where Order would reign supreme and Wan became the very first in the line of the Avatar."

"Wait, you mean I...?" Aang all of a sudden looked paler.

"Don't freak out, I had Raava in me as well for years. It's not like she's observing your every move, either. She's dormant unless reached specifically." Korra had expected such a reaction. "But I think what's more important is the fact that it resulted in the Balance being disrupted. See, the universe is meant to be in balance, and disrupting that does have severe consequences. Not right away, the universe it a tough thing, but if the situation is left like that for too long..."

Korra's words made everyone realize how serious this was. "The universe not meant for complete Order or Chaos, it did fight back. Raava wants to make the world her perfect garden, where everything is planted in neat rows and nothing ever changes. Raava wants to put the world into a bottle, so that it's in a neverending cycle of neverending perfect Order. Of course it doesn't work that way and the universe did create chaos to counter it, yet the Imbalance is growing, and the first place it manifests is in the minds and hearts of people."

"Wait a moment! If the Avatar is supposed to keep the world in a stasis of Order, then why has the world changed so much?" Zuko asked, seeing how that didn't fit together.

"Oh, that's thanks to Avatar Kyoshi. She was of the opinion that she was irreplaceable as Avatar, which is really arrogant, and thus artificially made her life much longer with her powers... which was a really dumb thing to do. She did spend the final sixty years of her very long life as a senile wreck. The Avatar being unavailable for such a long time allowed for the world to breathe and change," Korra explained.

"Kyoshi..." It was difficult for Suki to hear how arrogant Kyoshi had been.

"Well, add to it the time until Roku was fully trained... Then the time during which Aang was absent..." Ursa was doing the math and realized how Raava's plans had been derailed.

"You make it sound like the Imbalance is making us into puppets with no will of our own." Mai honestly was disturbed by the idea.

"No, it doesn't - at least, not yet." That admission was horrifying in its implications. "The Imbalance whispers into the minds to nudge people into making decisions. Three anti-forces of Order manifest from the overabundance of Order, apathy, ruthlessness and prejudice. They prey on the hearts of people and manifest in bringing out the worst in them."

"The world... the Fire Nation." All of a sudden Iroh understood a lot of things. "In our nation many are prejudiced against those from the other nations, the war against them is utterly ruthless and many feel utter apathy towards the plight of the conquered people."

"As I said, it's not mind control, but with the Imbalance growing, the world in some years starts to become more and more illogical due to the rules of reality starting to fall apart. Utterly dumb and illogical behavior then suddenly will make perfect sense while reality gets twisted. I was born into a world already seriously twisted and didn't notice until reality broke entirely and the end was there."

Korra looked haunted at the memory. "It started small, like the temperature all over the world getting lower bit by bit. Slow enough that no one noticed. The wood of the trees started to become brittle while the leaves started to fall out in the middle of summer. The animals followed next. Birds started to die in increasing numbers while those animals that were peaceful like sky bisons or meek fell into a sleep from which they would not awaken again; a sleep of death."

Korra then looked grim. "And then, the end announced itself properly. The ground was splitting open and the lightning storms started. Lightning, which had the strangest properties of teleporting whatever it struck, or exchanging two objects, or of transmuting an object into something entirely different. And then... then came death."

Korra looked utterly devastated and they could only imagine how horrible it must have been for her to watch while being utterly helpless to do anything about it. There were things against which even all the courage in the world was pointless.

"People started to die... just like that. Their very existence fading away while they simply dissolved into dust. Snapped away... I had to helplessly hold the woman I loved in my arms when she crumbled away into dust, while I got a delay thanks to me holding Raava. This ring is the only thing left of her." Korra said looking at the ring on her finger, trying not to remember the thin water snake Yagoda had used to carefully extract the ring from her digestive tract.

"This..." Zuko was trying to find words while looking ready to hurl. "This is horrible."

"Wouldn't I know it?" Korra looked tired. "It was not only the material world; everything died in the Spirit World as well. No escape there. Raava freaked out. One moment I was grieving my lost love, the next moment I found myself in some sort of crystal chambers which Raava had created in a fit of hysterical strength. I was safe there but had to watch how then the world itself was next to die. I think Aang gave you a good description what that looked like."

"He most certainly did." Yue had been highly unnerved by the description, especially the crumbled Moon, since that had hit very close to home.

"I won't try to bore you with the how, but seeing how the universe was screwed with no chance to ever repair the damage, we saw the only chance in stopping the Imbalance before the damage would become irreversible. To say it bluntly, I gave the wheel of fate a strong kick in the hope I can somehow change things to stop it from ever happening. I knew sooner or later the Imbalance would get me as well, so I was willing to take the risk and leave my time. Then the choice was taken from me, when a massive change destabilized the window to the past. Yue... you survived."

Yue gasped when realizing the implications. "You mean... originally I died?"

"I my world's past Zhao outright killed Tui and you had to give your life to become the new Moon Spirit. I actually even met you once. Your survival... the ultimate proof that the future is not written in stone."

"But.. how do we stop it?" Katara finally asked. "How do you fight something that can't be seen, heard or touched? And how fast do we have to do it... before the world again starts to go insane and it's too late?"

"The Imbalance can only be stopped by freeing Vaatu and ensure that he and Raava finally do their job instead of thinking that there is only space for one of them. In my world, Vaatu was freed about 70 years from now, but by that time the growing Imbalance and his long imprisonment had driven him insane, causing him to think he's some kind of dark god. However, by this time he still should be sane."

"Eh, so that I see this correctly, we have to free Vaatu and then get him and Raava to get their act together? This does not sound easy. I mean, those two are really ancient spirits of incredible power, right?" Aang looked highly intimidated by the task.

"Well, it's more like you have to get them to see reason. Raava will be incredibly resistant to the very idea and Vaatu has become so angry during his imprisonment... And you have to do that before you actually free Vaatu. Thankfully, thanks to Raava bonding herself to the Avatar, she can hardly stop you from what you are doing, but making her see reason will be a bitch. Yet, I know you can do it."

Korra then leaned back, looking tired. "Look, I will explain all of that more in detail soon. For now I still have to process how weird this all is for me. Some of you I never met - before my time - and those of you whom I did meet now look so different... so young."

Those words reminded everyone that Korra was from the future and how weird this had to be for her. "Ah yes, you are from the future," Hakoda said, having stayed silent throughout the explanations. "I can aleady harbor a guess that I passed away way before your time."

"I never met you in person. However, I of course know of you. That statue that was erected in your honor also was really nice to look at. You after all were the chieftain who got our tribe through the end of the war and beyond." Korra for a moment thought of how old Katara had looked at said statue and made no secret how the loss was still difficult for her.

"Wait a moment!" Sokka suddenly realized something. "Doesn't that mean you also can tell us how we ended the war? It would make things so much easier!"

Korra let out a humorless laugh. "That would be a great idea, if not for the fact that I was a shitty student. Listen, the Imbalance had really messed me up. At age four I suddenly was able to perfectly bend three elements - which in itself was utterly insane nonsense and not how the Avatar works - and got arrogant to no end. I was unwilling to listen to lessons from 'old-timers' and now come to regret my youthful arrogance. I know you did manage to end the war, but don't ask me for details, since I never paid attention."

"Oh, wonderful," Sokka groaned. "So, what can you tell us instead?"

"Well, mostly personal stuff surrounding all of you, as well as things about our tribe. But be warned, remember how the Imbalance twisted everything. It made all your lives worse," Korra warned them. "However, there is one thing I do remember. Never anger a spirit named Wan Shi Tong."

"Who is that supposed to be?" Toph asked.

"Well, imagine a two meter big owl who is running a library which strives to hold all the knowledge of the world. That guy is not exactly right in the head and you guys somehow managed to piss him off severely and it's my head he wanted on a platter, since to him the Avatar always is the same person," Korra explained to them.

"Uh, since you are putting it that way, we should better do our best to not anger him, if we ever meet him," Katara said with a gulp, her imagination conjuring some rather gruesome pictures.

"Good, since that had not been fun." Korra then sipped some water, noticing that her description of the library had made Hakoda thoughtful, before she continued. "Chief Hakoda and Yue I already talked about. Little for me to share there. Ursa, you died from old age as well and I never met you. I heard a lot of good about you from Zuko, but you being here is such a big change..."

"You mean originally I was not here?" Ursa asked.

"Yes, some weird story about you changing your face and living with your first love. Zuko only found you after the war." Korra saw how thoughtful Ursa looked, clearly pondering the changes in her life compared to her original fate. "Iroh here on the other hand, I did meet."

"Dare I to ask how such a feat is possible considering my age?" Iroh asked Korra.

"You decided to exist forever inside the Spirit World - unaging there. Though, considering what I gathered from Zuko, he was rather unhappy with your decision. I think he felt like you were leaving him out in the rain by making your exit."

"Hmmm, a strange decision from my side. I wonder..." Iroh didn't say it aloud, but he honestly wondered if leaving everyone like that was an effect of the Imbalance on his mind.

"Sadly, you, Suki, also died way before my time," Korra then said.

Suki couldn't help but to grimace. "How early and what did me in?"

"A mere five years from this point and I learned about it from Katara. Ironically, it was fanatics from the Earth Kingdom who killed you. Sokka was never the same after that, never married since he could never forget you." Seeing Suki move closer to Sokka and Yue, Korra knew she had hit a nerve. "I also never met you, Mai. You also died way before my time and I heard about you from Zuko."

Mai tried not to show it, but she was unnerved. "No, let me guess, certain people were pissed about Zuko's rule and decided I'm the softer target?"

"Sadly, yes. Zuko was a changed man after that... harder, colder. It was worse because both of you wasted years before finally getting your acts together. Your time together was way too short and Zuko was left behind to raise your only kid." Korra saw Mai move closer to Zuko. "Sorry, but seeing both of you here together, maybe you won't let it happen."

"The rest of you, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko, I did meet. Though, it's still jarring to see all of you being so young, when my memories of you are of old people." Korra then shook her head. "Maybe let's start with you, Sokka. I only knew you for a rather short time before your passing."

"You know it's unnerving to hear you tell us that?" Sokka reminded Korra.

"It's the way of the world. However, you died before your time. After you lost Suki, Katara told me, you threw yourself into your work - you even made it to chieftain and were fondly remembered. Though, not having children of your own, you became the most awesome uncle to Katara's children." Korra then sighed. "You became sick, but it was like the losses you had suffered had robbed you of the will to fight for your life, so we could only grieve for you."

"Let's hope it won't come to that again..." Yue said with a gasp, holding onto Sokka and Suki, causing Korra to raise an eyebrow.

"I'll ask later what that is about. Now let's move on to Katara. Master waterbender, mother to several children. However, your marriage fell apart when your husband felt his duties are more important than you and you went into utter denial about it, not wanting to admit how it had fallen apart. Also, there was little left of the woman who challenged things. You became passive and mostly just felt that things can't be changed anymore by your own hand."

"Why would I think that? Also, I sound like..." Katara was trying to find words.

"Yes, you became a victim of the Imbalance. Your mind was altered and you didn't even notice." Korra let the implications hang in the air, everyone finally starting to understand what the Imbalance was doing to the mind. "Then Zuko. You know, I also need to get used to see you clean-shaven. I had always known you having a badass beard."

"Me growing a beard?" Zuko thought about it and remembered all the pictures of his ancestors and also looked to Hakoda and Iroh. "It could look good."

"Yes, but better wait until you are twenty before you let it grow out, otherwise it would just look ridiculous," Mai added, playing at the fact that Zuko was still too young to seriously think about growing a beard.

"Not much to say about you that don't already know due to Mai. However, you refused to be Fire Lord until your death and stepped down when you felt it's time. You still had that scar even in old age." Korra then looked to Toph. "But Toph... Oh boy, where to start? You got really messed up."

Right now Toph's confident behavior was absent. "I'm afraid what you'll be telling me."

Korra hesitated for a moment. "I'll try to keep it short. For some reason you thought it to be a good idea to fuck around, which got you pregnant two times, and you told both girls to the face you have no idea who their fathers are and that you don't care. You then felt the need to compensate for your upbringing by doing the exact opposite and you basically didn't bother actually raising them, leaving them to their own devices, thinking of it as 'freedom'."

"This... this..." Toph tried to find words. Yes, she was very much set against doing what her parents had done should she ever have children of her own, but as cynical as she had become, hearing it laid out like that horrified her.

"Parenting is not easy," Ursa said, putting a hand on Toph's shoulder. She was one of the few people Toph allowed to do so. "Going from one extreme to the other is no solution. Though I can imagine it was not only your decisions which caused that."

"Look, in retrospect it's obvious you were twisted really badly by the Imbalance long before it became obvious all around the world," Korra told Toph, knowing the girl had to be shocked. "One of the girls decided to hate you for being a deadbeat mother, the other came to the conclusion that all is allowed and become a criminal. Once that blew up in your face, you ran away into some swamp where you became a bitter old hermit who decided it's her divine right to be an utter asshole to everyone."

"This is complete crap!" it finally burst out of Toph. "I don't care how much she got twisted, I never want to be her! Never ever!"

Korra gave Toph an impressed look. "Wow... you are really different from that miserable old toad. Alone how she always was bragging about inventing metalbending..."

"Metalbending?" Toph's sightless eyes stared at Korra. "I heard that!"

"Oh, wonderful." Korra knew she had just opened Pandora's box. "Look, it's possible, but I never learned it myself. Can we talk about that later?"

"I'll hold you to that!" Toph made no secret of how she was not taking a no as an answer.

"That leaves me, I guess?" Aang finally said, since he was the only one Korra had no talked about yet.

"Well, I only met you in person through the Avatar spirit, but the effects of your actions were felt." Korra took a breath. "You became fanatical about reviving the Air Nomads, even though you only had a child's understanding of your culture. You've had three children and when your youngest turned out to be an airbender, you basically left the two older ones with their mother and put all your attention into him. Thing is, over time you stopped seeing him as a person and just as your way to revive your culture."

"I really did that? It makes me sound like a real scumbag." Aang honestly didn't like the person he had become.

"I now know you normally wouldn't have done that, but you were altered a lot worse than others. The stupid thing is, it in the end was all for nothing, since as it turns out, people with Air Nomad ancestry carry the potential to become airbenders, it just needs the initial spark. Just like the sky bisons, they are out there, so don't give in to becoming desperate." Korra looked a bit unwell when revealing those things to everyone.

"Though, nothing can top how much of a crappy Avatar I was. I even lost my connection to all past Avatars due to how dumb I was." Korra saw the shocked looks. "Long story... And now I'm again only a waterbender. Just as it is a long story when I believed all spirits are misunderstood and kept the connection between worlds wide open, despite knowing what happened last time."

"Hearing it, that indeed sounds incredibly dumb," Mai said dryly, though it lacked the normal bite after what had been revealed.

"And Aang... you died early because you never got the medical treatment you needed after a century in that iceberg. You always pushed it into the future, saying there is too much to do, until everyone could only grieve for you." Korra gave him a deep look. "You won't make that mistake again, right?"

"No... no way," Aang stammered, feeling numb when realizing something was wrong with him.

"I'll make sure that he won't try to put it off," Katara said, making it sound like a final decision. "Even if I have to drag him to Yagoda by myself to have them find out what's wrong with him."

Wow, Katara sounding so determined is awesome, Aang thought.

Korra hid it well, but gave those two a knowing look, before she groaned. "Damn, I'm already starting to get tired. I guess we'll talk more later, but first I really have to ask... did you already start negotiations between tribes?"

Hakoda knew that was his call. "No, not yet. We first had to deal with the invasion and its aftermath. Arnook said official talks start later this day."

"Good, then maybe we can stop all of that crap from happening again." Korra leaned back in her bed. "Look, they'll offer you help to rebuild the South, and a lot of it is genuine, but it'll also plant the seed of something nasty if not handled properly. In my world, they felt like the sophisticated North who had to bring culture to the southern hicks. They showed no respect for our customs and culture and tried to paste the North over all of it. Katara told me how they turned Wolf Cove into a copy of Agna Qel'a , complete with a palace. And that was only the beginning."

Hakoda looked disturbed by what Korra was telling him. "To be honest, I don't like where that is going."

Korra snorted. "And with good reason. There was constant backlash against that cultural colonialism, untiil in my time it ended with the North invading and force the South under their control. They were thrown out, but after that there was nothing but hostility."

Yue looked disturbed. "My tribe wouldn't..." Then she thought about it. "No, they are capable of doing that. We are very proud people, and sadly that comes with its share of arrogance, even after what happened days ago."

"Sorry to be blunt about it, but to stop that from happening again, the South has to stay independent, especially since it's rich in natural resources," Korra explained.

"Rich in natural resources? How big are we talking about?" Hakoda asked.

"Big enough that had the Fire Nation known during the war, they would have taken over as soon as possible. So much, that it would make our tribe very wealthy, if used wisely. The North can't know about it, or there would be those deciding that our tribe doesn't deserve those riches." Korra looked bitter when saying that.

Hakoda understood. Even after being displaced in time, Korra showed a deep loyalty to their tribe. Hakoda then looked to Yue and saw her nod - the princess clearly knew Korra's wish for secrecy was well-founded. "I don't know how to thank you for looking out for the South."

Korra chuckled. "Don't worry, after how humbled I became, seeing things improve will be enough for me."

"Uhm, and what about you?" Aang asked.

"Well, as soon as I'm no longer a living skeleton and everything is ready, I go to the South as well. I want to help reconstruct it properly this time." Korra then again looked at her ring. "She would have wanted me to find new love. Maybe some young man runs into me one day."

...the following day...

After the battle, the tribe was in dire need of positive news. All the lives lost and all the damage done had shattered the long-held belief that they were perfectly safe. Add to it the frightening ease with which the Fire Nation had almost conquered them and that it only was La deciding to do something - not their own strength - which had saved them, and it was obvious why the tribe was in the middle of a serious mental breakdown.

They had honestly thought they could lock the world out and do business as usual, only that they world gave them a very harsh reminded that the real world didn't work that way. Being suddenly forced to adapt to a new reality on top of the grief over all the the death they had suffered, and it was little wonder why many were desperate for any good news in these days.

So when Arnook had let the word spread that he would make an announcement, many came, hoping it would be something to lift their spirits. They did relax when seeing Yue stand next to Arnook, everyone having worried about her health and now being relieved that she must have recovered.

However, Arnook first started with asking everyone to remember those who had lost their lives and for a moment of silence to honor the dead. That was sobering. Arnook then spoke about how what had happened was a severe warning that they could no longer hide themselves and that in long discussions with Chief Hakoda and an agreement had been made to contribute to the war effort.

Arnook then spoke about the Southern Water Tribe specifically. "...and thus a decision was being made to send a relief effort to the South and volunteers are welcome for this task. However, Chief Hakoda has made certain conditions clear..."

That also was due to what Korra had revealed, though Arnook of course had no idea about that.

Considering what Korra had revealed about the long-term effects of the northern 'help', which basically had entailed plastering all kind of northern stuff over the South until the inevitable counterreaction had set in, finally ending in outright war and occupation, Hakoda was very eager to make sure that while true help still arrived, any kind of cultural colonialism had to be stopped right from the start. They also had kept to themselves that the South was rich in natural resources, otherwise it would attract the wrong attention.

That caused lots of discussion in the crowd and several, mainly young people already looked interested in joining the effort.

Arnook then held up his hand. "However, the final announcement is of a very personal nature. It is regarding my daughter, Princess Yue. However, it would be disrespectful of me to not let her explain in her own words."

People gave their whole attention to Yue when she stepped forward. It was very seldom that she spoke in public, many speculating she was a bit shy.

"People of the tribe, I stand before you since a great change has taken place in my life. All of you know the leader of the invading army injured the Moon Spirit and how I gave part of myself to heal her," Yue explained, seeing how everyone was listeneing to her. "After I made my sacrifice, Tui felt great guilt, feeling that not taking my warnings serious was what caused me to make my sacrifice and then slipping away."

Everyone listened to this tale, and since Yue was standing there before them, they eagery waited to listen to the solution.

"She looked into my heart and that of two others grieving for me and she saw something we had only discovered ourselves recently. Feeling responsible for my tragedy and the grief of those who felt for me, she bonded thre three of us together, so they give me the strength to live and finally heal what is broken in me."

Pausing, Yue saw that everyone, if anything, was even more in awe at her.

"However, it does not end with the bond healing me. It is a bond for life - a bond of the feelings that are growing in our hearts. Tui gave her blessing for the three of us to have a future together... in the romantic sense." While Yue said that, Sokka and Suki had walked up to her, standing at her sides and each holding one of her hands. "And thus it is my place is to be with them and travel with the Avatar."

"I won't accept that!"

That shout destroyed the silence. It was Hahn, who had stormed to the front and now looked at Yue's tellingly empty neck, the betrothal necklace he had given to her (though not made, since he didn't have the needed skills) being gone from where it had been mere days ago. Hahn was red with anger and humiliation at what Yue had announced.

"I worked hard to gain Yue, and now I'm dropped for that travesty?! Not only a southern heathen but also doing it with another girl?!" It seemed Hahn was losing his mind it the mere idea.

Everyone was shocked at that outburst and Hahn's parents were desperately trying to tell their son to shut up, but he ignored them.

"I'll put both of you into your place and take back what's rightfully mine!" It seemed Hahn was ready for violence right there and then.

"Shut up you disgraceful little snot!"

That shout came from a man who looked rather worse for wear, bandages covering almost half of his body and his right arm missing below the elbow. All of it looked really fresh, meaning he must have gotten those injuries during the defense of the tribe. He gave Hahn a furious look like wanting to beat out his lights right there and then.

"I remember you all too well. You talked big and annoyed the other warriors, but as soon as the enemy breached the walls you showed your true colors and ran away while we defended our home. You hid like the coward you are!" the man spat.

"Yes, coward! I saw you shivering with fear while hiding!" called a woman wearing the colors of a healer who had suffered terrible burn injuries which had burnt away most of her hair. "You are useless and only got moved into position to marry Princess Yue due to your scheming family!"

Sokka and Suki looked ready to give Hahn the lesson he deserved so much, but Yue held them back. "No, I will deal with him my way." Yue then took a step forward. "Hahn."

The name was spoken softly, but it was more than enough to silence Hahn.

"It was not my place to say anything while we were betrothed. But now that Tui has spoken, I'm no longer bound by my duty to stay silent. It is an open secret that you only got into position to marry me due to the schemes of your family for more power."

Yue pulled Hahn's engagement necklace out of her pocket. "I was ready to do my duty, but now that I'm no longer bound to you I can tell the tribe that you were a poor candidate for being my husband and for being the next chieftain. The flaws in your character have been laid bare to everyone and thus not only will you not become my husband but my father will decide who will succeed him."

That said, Yue threw the necklace at Hahn's feet, underscoring how she felt about him. She then turned her back on Hahn to no longer give him any of her attention Hahn for his part looked like he wished to be anywhere else, especially when noticing the furious looks his parents were giving him for his outburst making everything worse.

"She is stronger than many would think. You better hold onto her tightly," Hakoda told Sokka and Suki while Yue walked back to them.

Wow, she never raised her voice, and yet she completely demolished that jerk, Sokka thought, impressed with Yue showing where her strengths lay.

Suki for her part also was impressed. She just gave us another reason why we are crushing on her so much.

...several days later...

"Damn, another failure!"

"She's kind of obsessed with that," Mai observed while they walked past the cabin in which Toph was staying, having heard the shout of frustration.

"Little wonder. Ever since Korra let it slip how metalbending is possible and that she originally invented it, she really wants to recreate it." Zuko still wondered about the strange mechanics that Toph knew about it because she did it in the future.

"Though, sounds like she again didn't get it. Hopefully it stays that way for a while. I don't want her to rip out the walls." Mai honestly could imagine the girl going overboard like that.

"Maybe hearing hearing that originally her fate was to become an old biddy living in a cave who is a jerk to everyone and has an utterly broken family did shake her up more than she wants to admit," Zuko guessed, playing at what Korra had revealed about Toph's original future.

As soon as the ship had become available, Toph had quickly relocated there. Not only was the ship heated, meaning she could walk around with bare feet, but she also had no trouble to sense her surroundings through the metal of the ship. Being given the opportunity, she no longer wanted to stay in surroundings which crippled her outright.

Of course ever since Korra had accidentally revealed that metalbending was indeed possible, Toph had become kind of obsessed in trying to find out how it would be possible - Korra herself had never learned it and thus was little help in that regard. All of her experiments up until now however had been utter failures - just as witnessed right now. However, if anything Toph was persistent even if it would take her months to find out how exactly to do it.

Of course metalbending was not the only thing Toph was being busy with.

Ursa had taken it upon herself to do some experiments with ink and things written with it. Toph at first had been dismissive of the very idea that there was a way for her to use her bending to read despite her blindness. However, Ursa telling her that there were earthern products in ink which she should be able to sense if being very gentle with her bending had made her curious.

At first hovering her palm close to the written-on paper had done nothing. However, concentrating hard and using her bending in an unusual way, before her mind's eye strange symbols started to appear. Once she had described them, Ursa had told the girl that she just had found a unique way to use earthbending to read. Though it did create the problem that Toph of course was wholly illiterate.

It became very interesting to watch Toph, who normally gave a crap on being cultured, now being very eager to accept Ursa's help in trying to learn how to read. Perhaps a whole new world opening up to her, one which before had been out of her reach, was making her swallow her pride and accept the role of the attentive student.

That, or she was annoyed that reading was something many were capable of and she wasn't, something she was very eager to remedy.

Aang meanwhile was being confined to the healing hut.

Yagoda had freaked out when taking a closer look and realizing what exactly was wrong was Aang after a century in the iceberg. She had said bluntly that he needed treatment now, or he would find himself in an early grave. It was at least a week of intense treatment, and it seemed the boredom that came with it was seriously testing Aang. Though, up until now he had managed to keep it together.

Walking further, they had reached the cabin where Iroh was staying. "Uncle we are here," Zuko announced them.

Iroh opened the door. "Please come in both of you."

Entering, they saw that Ursa was already waiting for them. Iroh and Ursa had been rather secretive; something which meant that this was about a serious topic. Ever since they had relocated onto the ship, those two looked like they were waiting for something, and after Korra's revelations that had only intensified. Now it seemed they were about to reveal whatever it was.

"So, what is this about? Must be serious if you make such a production of it," Mai remarked.

"Oh, it indeed is very important," Ursa said. "Better sit down, because it is something we haven't told you yet. We were waiting for the right moment to do so."

"Uncle...?" Zuko looked to Iroh, clearly wanting to ask why he had sworn his mother to secrecy.

"I did not force Ursa into anything, Prince Zuko," Iroh explained to his nephew. "We came to an agreement that you were not ready for certain facts, and that we would tell you once you are ready."

"And now is that time?" Mai honestly wondered what could be so important to justify all this secrecy. "After all the revealtions about the future that now isn't, what could be so shocking?"

"It is very important for Zuko." Ursa then sighed. "I told you about my past and how I was forced to marry into the royal family. However, what we left out was the exact reason why the sages determined my importance and why Azulon felt it being so pressing to force me to marry Ozai."

Zuko thought about it for a moment. "Now that you say it... You were a bit vague on that point."

"I said it's because of my ancestry - my grandfather. I told you that he was a powerful firebender. However, there is more to it and why Azulon was so set on getting me under his thumb like that." Ursa then took a deep breath. "Zuko, my grandfather, your great-grandfather, is Avatar Roku."

Zuko looked shocked at that revelation.

Mai looked very surprised as well. "All right, I didn't expect that." She then looked to Zuko. "Zuko?"

"Why...? How...?" Zuko was searching for words.

"They did it because they were determined to hijack Roku's bloodline and use it for their own gain. In a perverse way it's like ostrich horse breeding, only used on humans, with me as the selected brood mare." Ursa honestly had little illusion what her designated role had been.

Mai now looked sickened. "I had known before that it was a sick breeding experiment, but with that new context it's even worse."

"Does... does that make me different? Does it make Mom different?" Zuko was trying to understand the ramifications.

"Prince Zuko, it does not make neither you nor your mother a different person from the one who woke up this morning," Iroh told Zuko. "It however is part of your legacy, being the descendant of the two men whose conflict was the beginning of the upheaval the world has been in for well over a century. You perhaps may not believe in fate, but while the Avatar's role is to end this bloody conflict, you are destined to heal the world. You are in a unique position to do so."

"Heal the world." Zuko tried to process all of that. "Roku and Sozin... You know you are not making it easy by putting all those expectations onto my shoulders."

"We didn't say you would do it without lots of help." Ursa know that Zuko, knowing it had to be a bit overwhelming for Zuko.

"Wait a moment..." Mai realized something. "Isn't Azula also descended from Sozin and Roku?"

"Yes, but sadly brother of course knows that as well. He made very sure that Azula would not even think about going against him. Destiny is weeping over the lost opportunity with her." Iroh felt saddened, knowing that with better circumstances during childhood Azula could have become of powerful defender of goodness and justice.

"And what do I do with that now?" Zuko honestly felt a bit lost.

"For now? Nothing. Knowing where you come from and the deeds you do are two different things. "Try to let it settle and don't brood over it."

Iroh however gave everyone a look of caution. "Your inner conflict may be over, Prince Zuko, but there are still those who will try to lead you astray - you and young Mai. Both of you have to watch out. It will be seductive; the fast and easy way. However, we all know that taking shortcuts is a sure way to turn good intentions into something quite contrary. Sozin is a good example where that does lead to."

That the normally laid-back Iroh looked so serious when telling them that did underscore how important that warning was.

...meanwhile, at the coast...

At the coast, Hakoda's ship sat secured so that it wouldn't drift away while final preparations were being made.

Hakoda had been absent when his children had become old enough for him to take them to ice dodging as their rite of passage - another reminder how much he had missed of their lives. However, now was the perfact opportunity to make up for at least this part and he as their father would take them on this important trip.

So much was clear, but the surprise was when he had insisted on Suki and Yue being part of the rite as well. Both girls were rather surprised by the request and expressed their bafflement to Hakoda on the ship while Sokka and Katara were going through final preparations for the rite, which included navigating through a field of icebergs and tricky currents.

"Don't get me wrong, I understand why you take Sokka and Katara to fulfill your duty as their father to get them through this rite of passage, but why the two of us as well?" Suki asked, glancing to an equally puzzled Yue.

"Uhm, yes. We are not related to you." After recent events, Yue still felt like being a bit adrift after her future got changed so drastically.

"Oh, there are two reasons for my decision," Hakoda explained while getting his ship ready with the help of his children. "For one, even though I know little of how the spirits work, I know that both of you young ladies are now set to spend your lives together with Sokka. In my eyes that makes you part of the family already."

Hakoda was amused when seeing both girls blush and he knew his son must have heard him as well. "As for my other reason, both of you have shown loyalty and bravery beyond doubt. You have more than earned this right."

"The most I was at sea was on fishing boats," Suki reminded the man. "And I don't think Yue has any experience at all."

Yue suddenly found herself being rather lacking. "I never even set foot onto a real ship until today," she admitted.

"Don't worry, you won't need to know much for your designated roles. It will of course be explained to you what you have to do." That said, they knew there was no way to say no - at least not without looking ungrateful.

"You know how to operate a ship?" Suki asked Katara later after their tasks had been explained.

"I do. Everyone in our tribe knows, regardless if man or woman. Originally it was pragmatism, but over the past century it became crucial that everyone knows how to operate a ship and get out at sea," Katara explained.

Suki understood the deeper implications. Their low population means they see keeping such knowledge from girls as utterly foolish. Everyone needs to put in their work.

Once the ship left the shore Yue looked a bit unsteady. "This is my first time on an actual ship."

Sokka had a good idea what this was about. "If you feel if come up, just hang your head over the side of the ship and let it out. There is no shame if you do that."

I hope not! Yue honestly didn't want to imagine herself vomiting into the sea.

"All right, we are nearing a good spot," Hakoda called when spotting a place that was ideal for the trial. "Do all of you know what you have to do? Good, then I step back and you have the ship."

Ice dodging turned out to be rather nerve-wrecking for Suki and Yue, though Sokka and Katara seemed rather calm about it, perhaps already knowing what it entailed made them much less afraid of it. Also, the way Hakoda was watching them, he would step in should things go dangerously wrong. However, the way he was giving all of them approving nods showed that he approved of what he was seeing.

Urgh, this is half insane! Suki thought while doing her designated job as best as she could - which meant feeling like her arms were slowly being pulled out of their sockets from pulling and holding those ropes.

Oh, not good! Yue realized, feeling that her stomach didn't like at all how the ship was being thrown left and right during the trial.

Sokka and Katara meanwhile had the time of their lives - and Katara even forgot her brooding about her father for a moment. Sokka was at the helm while Katara was taking care of the main sail, both of them being most integral in steering the ship with the right speed. Suki and Yue saw in astonishment that those two, who normally had at least some kind of friction, worked together like a unity.

The ship did make its course through the treacherous ice fields until Hakoda raised his hand to show that the trail was a success, thus they quickly brought the ship to safe waters.

"You did really well, even those of you who have no experience on a ship," Hakoda praised them.

"It's over?" Yue ran to the side of the ship and then promptly started to sacrifice to the sea.

"Oh, that she managed to hold it down until the trial is over speaks for her," Hakoda remarked, being a bit amused at the sight.

"You need some water to wash the taste out?" Katara asked Yue, knowing the taste of vomit was no fun. She had started to always carry a waterskin around in case she needed her bending for something.

"Thanks..." Turning to Katara after being done, Yue saw a hovering small water globe and rolled her eyes before catching it with her mouth, spitting it into the sea after being done. "There is a time for that..."

"Considering how often we will be out on sea, I hope Yue gets her sea legs fast," Sokka commented to Suki.

Suki know Sokka was right, that things otherwise would be highly unpleasant for Yue. "At least she doesn't get airsick. She has ridden on Appa several times and nothing has ever happened."

Soon enough the ship was back at the shore and Hakoda looked at all four teenagers with pride.

"All of you have worked together and mastered the task with no problem." He took a small container with finger paint. "For the final part, let me give you the marks that reflect your role in passing the trial."

Seeing Hakoda start to draw the mark on Katara's forehead, Suki looked a tiny bit concerned. "Is that easily removable? I know it's an honor, but I don't want to walk around with that."

"You only have to keep it on for the ceremony, then you easily can wipe it off," Sokka reassured Suki. He then looked to Yue. "Eh, but better watch out none of it gets into your hair. I don't think it easily comes out of white hair."

"Oh dear..." Yue sighed, knowing she had to watch out that her two smaller side braids wouldn't get smeared with the paint.

...at the evening, on the metal ship...

Mai acted rather secretive... Zuko thought while walking to the door of Mai's cabin.

Ever since they had re-located onto the 'acquired' ship in order to ease tension with the tribe after the attack, Zuko was still astonished how much he had gotten used to ice walls. The metal walls of the ship were something he had needed a bit of time to again see as normal surroundings.

Not that they would stay on this ship for a long time. It was already decided that Mai and himself would travel with the Avatar group - a group which now also included Yue - after the departure from the Northern Water Tribe. While that wouldn't be for weeks - after all Aang first needed treatment and then waterbending training had to resume - Zuko couldn't help but to wonder what kind of adventures would wait for them in the Earth Kingdom.

He also had to think about what Iroh and Ursa had revealed.

It was a strange irony that two of his great-grandfathers were the two men who were at the beginning of the whole conflict. It made the whole thing rather personal for him. Though, Mai had told him to the face that just knowing that Avatar Roku was one of his great-grandfathers didn't make him a different person all of a sudden. Mai really had a way to not let him spiral - a trait of his he honestly he tried hard to reduce.

And now Mai wanted to have a word with him in her cabin.

He knocked on the door. "Mai? It's me."

"Come in and lock the door behind yourself."

Zuko did enter and after locking the door, looked around the cabin. It was bare-bones due to being a recent development. However, in the dampened light he could see Mai stand next to her bedding, wearing a robe that was tied with a simple fabric belt. All of a sudden Zuko had an idea what this could be about and he became nervous.

"Ehm, Mai?" Zuko tried to ask.

Mai sighed. "Zuko, you know what this is about. Should I have waited for you naked instead to make it more clear?"

Yes, Mai tried to sound normal, but to someone who knew her, it was obvious how nervous she was. "Eh, not that I complain, but why now?"

"Are you kidding?" Mai snarked. "First there was a battle, then the Moon almost died and finally we get a woman from the future who has dumped a huge load about a shitty future we are now trying to avoid at our feet."

Zuko then finally understood. "You worry what Korra told about us."

Mai finally allowed the worry to show. "She told us how the two of us lost a lot of time by messing around, and then our time together was cut short." She then firmed her features. "I don't want to waste anymore time."

That said Mai untied her belt and in one move slid the robe from her shoulders.

The robe fell to the floor and Mai was wearing nothing underneath it. Zuko gaped at the sight of Mai standing there in her birthday suit, since she always had averted actually showing the more private parts. Granted, she was a teenage girl and would probably never fill out like some women he'd seen, but to Zuko that didn't matter. To him she was the most beautiful girl in the world and she showed how much she trusted him by being so vulnerable in front of him.

Yes, her breasts were not the biggest, but that didn't stop Zuko from wanting to feel them up. Her hips were not the widest, but that didn't stop Zuko from wishing he could gently trace their curves. That Mai was working out regularly was presented openly - she was no weak flower. Zuko also couldn't help but look at the well-groomed dark bush between her legs, which blocked his view of her most valuable treasure.

"You like what you see?" Despite Mai trying to sound casual, as if this was nothing special, her blush betrayed how big of a step this was for her.

"I... yes. Wow." That was all Zuko managed to get out. "I really, really want you, Mai."

"Well, I would have been disappointed if you didn't." That was outright playful of her.

Mai then stretched, her arms held high. The way she did that made her breasts even more prominent and Zuko realized that she was teasing him, showing an unexpected side of hers. Mai also was not ashamed to show that way that she - unlike with her arms and legs - was not shaving her armpit hair. Zuko of course already knew due to her wearing sleeveless tops during training. When he'd noticed, Mai had explained not shaving there was a little statement against the prim and proper girls in the capital.

"Now, Zuko, you are overdressed. I'll lie down on my bedding and hope you join me as soon as you are ready." Turning around, she presented her butt to Zuko, even wiggling it a little, before lying down on her bedding.

Mai being playful really is way more dangerous than her knives! Zuko thought while stripping as fast as he could. It didn't help that Mai was watching, licking her lips to show that she liked what she saw.

Finally being done with that, Zuko joined Mai.

And then... then nature took its course. Of course it was nothing like those trashy or sappy romance novels many noble teenage girls liked to read. This very much was about slow exploration and getting a feel for each other. The audience of said novels would have found it boring, but for Zuko and Mai this was something very intimate.

Were they clumsy about it? No doubt. Did they both make mistakes but honestly apologized and tried to do better? Very much so. It was two teenagers exploring. They were just at the start of the journey and things would get a lot more fun with time. Not that those two cared at the moment, since in the end they both still found satisfaction.

...at the same time, Royal Palace of the Fire Nation...

The flames surrounding the throne flared up, an indicator of Ozai's mood while listening to Azula reporting all that she knew about the fiasco at the North Pole. Granted, Ozai already knew most of it due to reports, but some things he was only learning now from Azula, and it angered him quite a lot.

"...and that was the last we saw before the horizon covered it," Azula ended her report while kneeling in front of the flames.

Azula had reported all of it - how she had went along with Zhao's scheme to eliminate Zuko, Zhao's strange and suspicious behavior during the attack, Zhao's way too big ambitions, not only discovering that Zuko and Mai were live, but that them together with Ursa and Iroh had become traitors by helping the Avatar, Zhao's insane plan to destroy the Moon and him actually violating her direct orders, and then the chaos that broke out and the huge water giant who cause the failure of the entire operation.

I won't tell him how I reacted when being confronted with that thing, Azula thought. Not only was Azula angry at her weakness, but also felt ashamed and humiliated at becoming so afraid she had wet herself.

"Complete failure." Ozai sounded quite displeased, though not at Azula. "And Zhao; he went against me. Should he still be alive, he now should wish he were dead. However, he will become famous... though not in the way he envisioned."

"Father?" Azula wondered She wondered what her father had in mind.

"He wanted to be remembered in history books as Zhao the Great, but instead he will be remembered as Zhao the Fool. Fully disgraced and everyone knowing that he turned his back on our nation to satisfy his own egoistical greed," Ozai explained to Azula.

Azula couldn't help but to smirk. For someone like Zhao, whose ego was beyond imagination, such a pubic shaming and humiliation would be a horrific punishment indeed. The man deserved every bit of it, since he essentially had been willing to sacrifice the Fire Nation to satisfy his greed for fame. The man had tried to act like he had the power of a god and now would pay the price.

"Now, as for our little family..." Ozai said, sounding not amused.

"Iroh, Ursa, Zuko and that stupid girl are all traitors. They've chosen their side and now they shall suffer the consequences. They are now enemies of the Fire Nation." The flames flared up again, though it seemed for dramatic effect. "I have a task for you."

Azula had a good idea what her task would be and she knew she would enjoy it.

to be continued...

End of Book II

Next Episode:

"Return to the Earth Kingdom"

Chapter Text

Book III: Treachery on the Earth

Several weeks had passed since the battle at the North Pole, and those weeks had been busy for everyone due to the sheer amount of things to do.

Of course the was the rebuilding of the severely damaged city of Agna Qel'a, as well as laying all of the dead to rest. There was no shortage of people who wanted to dump the copses of the invaders into the sea, but in the end cooler heads prevailed and they allowed the prisoners to burn their dead on several large funeral pyres, as per Fire Nation custom. Zuko actually had gotten some respect by conducting the somber ceremony - though with some help from Iroh - showing that he did care, unlike what Zhao would have done.

For Aang and Katara the weeks had meant much more intensified waterbending training, in order to compress the lessons of months into weeks. It was hard on both of them, driving them to exhaustion, but the very good results did speak for themselves. Though, Aang again was shown that Katara, with her focus on waterbending, simply was so far ahead of him that he had no chance to keep up with her except when it came to raw power.

Toph also had been busy. On one hand it was downright baffling to see her being a diligent and well-behaved student, but it became more understandable when realizing that not only couldn't Toph get herself to be even a little obnoxious to Ursa due to liking her so much, but Toph also had been embarrassed that reading, something even dimwitted people could learn, had been impossible for her until discovering her new ability thanks to Ursa. She had hidden her embarrassment with sarcasm, but now that a new world was opening up to her, she saw being a good student as a worthwile sacrifice.

Too bad that her attempts at discovering the secret of metalbending still had gotten nowhere. That was very frustrating for her due to knowing it indeed was possible. Toph honestly wondered by now if there was something obvious she was missing.

As for Sokka, Suki and Yue, those three had come to an agreement to put overly romantic things on hold until they had a better grip on the bond that had been put onto them. Granted, there were kisses here and there and standing closer than mere friends would, but the whole arrangement would need more time to feel natural. It wasn't like the bond would suddenly make them crazy for each other - that only happened in bad stories. Though, all three of them had had some interesting dreams they were unsure if they were a shared experience.

They were trying to keep busy in order to now dwell on some aspects of the bond too much. Besides continuing to teach Yue how to defend herself, they also were attempting to prepare Yue for life on the road. Not an easy task due to Yue very much being a city girl and Yue more than once had felt she would be a burden once they would travel again.

As for Zuko and Mai...

"Zuko, stop watching your mother like a hawk," Mai reminded Zuko. "Ever since we started the journey back south, you are acting like Hakoda is about to do something dishonorable to her."

"I can't help it," Zuko admitted, looking down from the command tower to the activity on the vast deck. "She is my mother and I feel like I have to look out for her after all what was done to her."

"I think she has learned how to react properly to unwanted attention. Just look at what she did to Zhao," Mai reminded him. "Also, better get used to the idea of Hakoda being around her. You've known for days the plan is to split up."

Zuko groaned. "Don't remind me of that fact, please."

The plan indeed had been decided upon in consensus. After reaching a certain point in their journey, they would split up.

The Northern fleet under Pakku would sail south and go to the South Pole for the relief effort. That not only included the people from the North, but also three Southern warriors who got injured enough during the defense of the North that they had to be sent home. And, surprising for some, Korra would go to the South as well.

Hakoda's fleet, which included this very ship and its crew now, would set course for the waters of the southern Earth Kingdom. Due to the time limit they now were on, they had to intensify efforts to gather allies and material for whatever kind of final confrontation there would be when Aang would confront the Fire Lord.

Meanwhile, the group of the Avatar, which now included Yue, would enter the Earth Kingdom itself for Aang's earthbending lessons and to rally further support. Besides training, their goals were vague and they didn't yet know how to accomplish much besides Aang's teachings.

However, it meant the Fire Nation group was splitting up as well. Iroh was planning on taking on a mission into the Earth Kingdom, which in the end would bring him to Ba-Sing-Se. Mai had commented Iroh was getting too old to be a secret agent. Ursa had decided to stay with the fleet - and thus to Zuko's discomfort with Hakoda - wanting to pull her own weight in this conflict. Zuko and Mai meanwhile would travel with the Avatar group.

We made that decision together, but it doesn't mean I have to like parts of it, Zuko thought.

"Ahem, Prince Zuko?" That was Lt. Jee, who looked more amused to have watched Zuko and Mai interacting. "General Iroh asks for your presence on the foredeck. He says he has something interesting to share."

"Interesting can mean lots of things with Iroh. As long as it's not a boring lecture..." As much as Mai liked Iroh, when he started his lectures on something, Mai quickly became bored.

"Let's see what this is about." Zuko by now knew better than to blow off his uncle's lectures.

Watching them leave, Jee thought about the change in those two. They've said nothing, but it's so blatantly obvious those two have become a LOT closer. Damn, we all are going to miss having them around.

Walking down to the foredeck, Zuko and Mai saw that Iroh had gathered a considerable group near the napping Appa. Besides everyone form the Avatar group, Ursa, Korra, and, for some some reason, Hakoda and Pakku were being present as well. To his dismay, Zuko again noticed the tension between Hakoda and Ursa - and it was not the kind of tension that was negative.

I honestly wish I were never made aware of this, Zuko thought, still feeling bothered by the idea.

"Ah, there you are," Iroh greeted them. "Now everyone is gathered."

"Not to be rude, but what is this about?" Korra asked.

Korra looked much better than when she first entered this time - meaning no longer like skin and bones - but she still looked far from healthy. That would need much more time. Perhaps by the end of the war she would have regained all the fat and muscle she had lost. No chance she could participate in the war effort and thus would go to the South instead.

Korra had told them a lot of stuff about the future that was no more in general terms, but refused to reveal other things, citing that she did not want to interfere in some things, whatever that meant. Not that it was too much to them now, but one never knew...

"Ah, a good question. As you all know, we will part ways tomorrow. I won't bore you with the details of our journeys, since it's something we all have heard many times. Instead I want to share some wisdom regarding the nations and their bending," Iroh explained, rolling out a scroll showing the symbols of all four nations.

"Uncle, if this is about two days ago..." Zuko did remember what happened then.

...

"Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire; it is precise and deadly. To perform the technique requires peace of mind," Iroh explained.

"I honestly don't associate my father with such," Zuko remarked, knowing that peace of mind was not what Ozai represented.

Iroh seemed to have expected that point. "Peace of mind does not mean being a good or peaceful person. It means to be capable of shoving all other concerns away to solely concentrate on this one task without outside influences. That is the difficulty of it."

"Ah... so when he does it, he just thinks about where the bolt is to go, but doesn't waste a thought on why he's doing it. Interesting," Mai snarked, seeing it as killing without a care.

"There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning. Let me demonstrate." Iroh then did create lightning and shot it out into the sky.

"I have to admit, that is impressive," Mai admitted, not having thought the peaceful Iroh would have such a powerful technique at hand. Even she had forgotten who Iroh used to be before the siege of Ba-Sing-Se.

"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko said eagerly.

"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first," Iroh instructed Zuko.

Zuko did try it, and he indeed could feel the energy, but then something went wrong and an explosion threw Zuko to the deck of the ship.

"Something tells me this is going to become a theme..." Mai sighed, not concerned since Zuko was not hurt, especially considering how he was cursing.

...

"I admit, the lesson is for your current inability to create lightning as well," Iroh admitted, remembering a dozen failures before Zuko had given up for the time being, realizing he currently was not capable of the mental feat. Though it perhaps more was Mai telling him to stop trying to blow himself up. "But it will be helpful for others, as it is about understanding."

"Funny thing about lightning. It should be difficult, but in my twisted world suddenly many could do it without problem for the industry. Looking back at it, it made little sense," Korra admitted.

Iroh then pointed at the scroll. "I have to explain the people of the world first. Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. Sadly, if misdirected, that incredible drive can also be destructive."

"You all know how that drive can be twisted, the war is a big warning right there," Ursa added. "However, if directed in other ways, it can be very constructive, as the rapid advances outside of the military show."

"Earth is the element of substance," Iroh then continued. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring, though that can also mean stagnant and unwilling to move even if that would be the smarter choice."

"Sounds like a certain someone in our middle," Yue joked.

"And you better believe it!" Toph was not ashamed of those attributes. "Just wait until your training starts, Twinkle-Toes..." Toph could hear Aang being nervous.

"Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!" Iroh added to last part when looking to Aang.

Aang for his part had fond memories there. "Well, not all of them, but Monk Gyatso most certainly did. Always knew how to liven up a dull day."

"And finally, water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything," Iroh finished his presentation of the nations and their attributes.

"This really explained the core of our tribes so well," Katara had to admit and Pakku nodded as well, seeing the wisdom in those words.

"Of course, in the current world, many things are mixing together, and this is where my lesson does come in." Iroh then looked to Katara. "It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole."

"Like your technique where you use your breath to melt ice," Pakku remarked to Katara, remembering his surprise at witnessing it.

"I admit, I was intrigued when Iroh explained how firebending comes from the breath," Katara admitted. "He gave me some help, since if we waterbenders can freeze things into ice with our breath, can't we also melt the ice?"

"You know, hearing it, this all sounds like Avatar stuff," Aang realized. "After all, aren't I supposed to put together all the traits of the nations to become really awesome?"

"Well observed, young Aang," Iroh admitted. "It's what gives you the strength of the Avatar. It however also is a lesson to not discard ideas from other places, regardless how proud you are."

"Yeah, yeah, I know this was aimed at me, but I'm not ashamed of my pride over what I've achieved," Toph snorted, knowing where this was coming from. "Not that I have much choice when it comes to my bending."

Sokka gave Toph an interesting look. "Hey, it may sound stupid, but did you ever try to control mud in a bigger way? You know, like causing a mud avalanche? That would be like using waterbender stuff as well."

"Sokka, please don't give her any ideas!" Suki gasped at the potential havoc Toph could cause, especially when seeing her honestly considering the idea.

"Now, I have some more interesting lessons regarding this, but now I can answer my nephew's question. It indeed is to help with your current inability to control lightning," Iroh started to explain. "Sadly, it won't solve your problem. However, I can instead teach you how to redirect lightning. It is a technique I developed by taking hints from waterbending."

"Really? That would be really powerful stuff!" Zuko looked really excited to have something at hand which Ozai and Azula had no idea about.

"Oh, Zuko..." The calm way Mai said this was a big warning sign that he better not ignore her. "I remember how you blew yourself up over a dozen times trying to learn how to use lightning. I swear, should you even try to ask your uncle to shoot lightning at you for training, I will tie you up."

Mai is perfect for preventing my son's more dangerous tendencies by reminding him how stupid it would be, Ursa though with amusement while watching Zuko assure Mai he of course would not do such a thing.

...at the evening...

The Moon hung in the sky above the sea. However, even though Katara looked at it, she didn't see it. Instead, her thoughts were somewhere entirely else, dwelling on conflicted emotions that were warring inside herself. Ever since their father had re-entered their lives, he had done his best to live up to actually being their father.

Thing was however, that in the two years of his absence Katara had grown angry at him for leaving them to go to war. While intellectually she knew it was irrational, in her heart it had felt like abandonment and it had festered into a silent resentment. Thus seeing him do his best with them as soon as he was back had not fit at all with her anger and caused a conflict within herself which still was not resolved.

If he doesn't care, why is he now caring so much? That thought had festered inside Katara for weeks to no end.

"Katara?"

Katara froze for a second, since that was the voice of her father. Turning around she saw him approach and tried to hide that she was brooding. "Oh, Dad. You couldn't sleep?"

"The same as you; there is too much on my mind to find sleep yet." Hakoda stood beside her at the railing. "I remember how you liked watching the sky as a young girl, especially the Moon. That was one of the first signs of your gift."

Katara looked up to the Moon again. "I felt a strange pull. Like the Moon wanted to tell me something important."

"For a long time I tried to find someone to nurture your gift, but to no avail. The Fire Nation had done a good job at destroying our benders. And then, one day, a traitor reported there is a waterbender in our village, and..." Hakoda closed his eyes, the pain openly visible when he remembered that day.

That was news to Katara. "You tried to find me a waterbending teacher?"

"I never told you because I didn't want to get up your hopes only for it to end in disappointment. Seeing how far you have come while I was away took me by surprise," Hakoda admitted.

Katara honestly had not known about that, since no one had ever told her. Perhaps after what happened with Kya Hakoda didn't want to make her feel like it was her fault that her mother had chosen to die in Katara's place. If anything, that only caused her conflicted emotions to grow.

Katara gripped the railing hard while looking aimlessly out at sea at the other ships. "I hate this whole war. Everything is now only about the war. No one wastes a thought on what it is costing us. There is so much egoism now, leaving behind everyone else for..."

Hakoda knew Katara was about to finally spill what she had kept down all the time. "You are angry at me, aren't you? You mean me specifically."

Finally, it did burst out of Katara. "How could you leave us, Dad?!" Tears started sliding down her face, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. "I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you!"

Hakoda knew this had festered inside his daughter for a long time and it now needed to get out. Right now she needed him more than ever ans thus he pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Katara."

"I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I'm so sad and angry and hurt!" Katara honestly didn't understand herself at the time. "I don't want to feel like this, I want to be happy that you are again in our lives, but the hurt is still there."

"I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache." Hakoda held Katara close. "Let it all out; all the hurt that you are feeling."

And it did spill out of Katara.

From a distace, Aang had watched everything. He had been out brushing Appa, since with the slowly upcoming spring Appa was slowly starting to shed and he felt it better to start take care of the bison's fur now. He had not wanted to intrude on such a private moment, yet he had heard everything. It was a side of Katara he wasn't seeing often.

Good reminder that she can't be strong all the time. Though Aang knew that he should follow the same wisdom.

"Aang..." Aang's eyes widened before a hand pulled him at the ear and he was forced to go behind Appa. There he was confronted with Sokka. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I was only brushing Appa's fur. No need to pull my ear so hard," Aang complained.

Sokka wasn't fooled for a moment. "Oh, really? Looked more to me like you were watching Katara," Sokka snorted. "Listen, I know she can take care of herself, and I know you are a good guy, but when it comes to my sister..."

Aang had a feeling that he would see this protective side of Sokka more often. "What would she say if she sees you now?"

Sokka deflated a bit. "Oh, well, she would tell me to mind my own business. Katara doesn't like me butting in."

"What are you doing out here?" Aang then asked, knowing that was a good question.

"Listen, don't spread that around, but the girls and me, we are still figuring out how exactly our relationship works now, with that bond and all of that. I needed some air to think. We have no idea how that will go once we travel on Appa." Sokka looked a bit lost for the moment. "It at first sounded so easy..."

"You know, I once heard love always finds a way," Aang told Sokka.

"Honestly, sometimes there is something as too much positivity." That said, Sokka left Aang alone.

I honestly have no idea how being with two girls is supposed to work, Aang thought while looking after the leaving Sokka.

Truth to be told, his own feelings were confusing enough, so no need to burden himself with Sokka's troubles as well.

...the next day...

The day had come - the day when they would part ways for the time being.

For Zuko this felt strange. For three long years first his uncle and then his mother had been a constant in his life, thus them now being separated felt very unnatural to Zuko. "And you are sure...?" he again asked Ursa, sounding unsure.

Ursa for her part was not offended. "I'm moved how much you care, but you don't have to worry. I'm capable of looking after myself. Also, it's not like I'm going to be alone." When she said that she looked over to the gathered crew.

Zuko knew the crew would defend his mother with their lives. "I know, but I can't help it." Ursa then gave her son one final hug, not caring she did it in front of the entire crew. Once that was done, Zuko looked to Jee. "Jee, I'm putting my trust into you that no harm will come to her."

"You have my word, Prince Zuko. We have gone through so much together, there is no chance we will take any chances when it comes to her safety," Lt. Jee confirmed.

Zuko glanced over to where Hakoda was busy with saying goodbye to his own children. "It's not only danger... You know, I have no idea what the future will be like, but your sheer loyalty to me..."

"I understand what you want to tell me. Our lives were over when our journey started, and now we again have a purpose. True loyalty is something not gained easily. Me and the crew, we are now down and ready to go through the fire for you."

Zuko then looked to Iroh. "Uncle, you are really sure?"

"Prince Zuko, I might not be in my youth anymore, but I think I'm more than capable," Iroh reminded Zuko.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." Zuko mumbled.

"And you are sure you don't want to come with us?" Yue asked Korra meanwhile.

"Do I look like I'm in any condition for an extended adventure?" Korra asked. While her health had improved significantly, it would be a long time before she would be back to normal. "No, I'm better off making sure that everything goes right in the South."

Korra, as much as she was revealing, also was frustrating in how vague she was on other things. It almost was like she didn't want to influence certain things, if that made any sense. Korra herself had only said when asked directly, that some things should be left alone, without going into detail.

"I honestly wonder what home will look like when we return," Sokka thought aloud and Pakku heard it.

"Most certainly not what some of my students had planned.." Pakku did remember some of the enthusiastic men discussing a recreation of buildings in the North - something he had nipped in the bud right away. He then looked a little uneasy. "I'm more concerned with how Kanna will react to me."

Hakoda gave the man a telling look, which said all about what he thought of him ever since learning of his past with Kanna. "Oh, my mother can be hard on those that wronged her. However, if you show you are serious about it..."

"You are in bad luck there, Pakku." That was Yagoda, who had decided to actually be part of the relief effort, though it also was due to wanting to reunite with her old friend. "I remember Kanna could be vicious. Let's hope age has mellowed her."

Pakku was not reassured by that and turned to Katara. "Katara, I want you to have this." He then held up a small flask connected to a necklace. "This amulet contains water from the Spirit Oasis. The water has unique properties. It's said to heal even the worst of injuries. Don't lose it."

Katara had seen first hand some of things the Spirit Oasis did, and believed it. "I'll keep it safe! Promised!"

Pakku then turned to Aang. "I have continued to give both of you lessons even while being on board. I'm not too proud to admit that Katara has proven a number of my previous beliefs wrong in her success. You on the other hand are a more difficult student."

Aang scratched his head. "I was never doing well in a classroom environment..."

"Well, since you clearly are listening to Katara when it comes to lessons, I gave her the needed scrolls to continue your training." Pakku enjoyed watching Aang blush when being called out that he liked having Katara as his teacher.

"As for healing, Katara is a natural in it," Yagoda added. "Don't be disheartened that your skill in healing is advancing slowly, young Avatar. Everyone learns at their own pace and everyone also has something they struggle with."

"Eh, yeah..." Aang felt a bit stupid that he had such difficulties with healing, though he at least could now do some first aid with it. He then glanced to Toph. "I feel there will be some real struggle ahead."

"You better believe it!" Toph said loudly. "I can't wait until we start our first lesson. I will make an earthbender out of you!"

"Good, but remember to keep up your own lessons as well," Ursa reminded the girl. "Show Yue the same respect as me when she's continuing your lessons."

That was another development. Ursa of course hadn't had enough time to teach Toph how to read and write properly - there simply were way too many ideographs in their language - thus she had given the task of Toph's continued education to Yue. Katara and Toph were rubbing each other the wrong way in that regard for her to do so, but Toph was respecting Yue. Also, Yue had shown a talent for it, perhaps a result of her educated upbringing.

"Now, remember what I told you. There was the message from General Fong that he wants to help finding Aang an earthbending teacher at his base," Hakoda reminded everyone, the message having arrived a few days prior.

"And what am I? Chopped liver? If he thinks I can't do the job, he has something else coming," Toph snorted, feeling insulted.

Yue sighed while adjusting the the staff strapped to her back. "Toph, please. Maybe we can solve that without someone getting hurt?"

Toph honestly couldn't get herself to give Yue an angry reply. "Well, all right, I won't slap them around. At least not too much."

Some more goodbyes were exchanged, before the ways parted.

Appa flew off and the northern ship took course for the South Pole.

"I can't help but to worry, even though I know they have learned how to take care of themselves," Ursa admitted while looking after the departing Appa.

"You worrying shows that you are a good parent. We always worry, regardless how skilled our children have become," Hakoda admitted.

...at the same time, Azula's ship...

"And again!" the old woman said, observing Azula closely.

Azula didn't say a word and instead solely concentrated on her forms. She was striving for perfection and nothing less would be acceptable. Her firebending forms were perfect, deadly blue flames being thrown dead-on accuracy. The grand finale was however the best part. Focusing her mind on one and only one task, lightning shot out of the fingers of her right hand and into the sky.

"Good, almost perfect execution. However..." the old woman said.

"Yes, one hair is out of place," another old woman, who looked identical to the first one, added.

Azula looked at the offending heir which had escaped her top knot. As much as she was annoyed that her perfect execution was marred by this one detail, she also felt annoyed that those two seemed to have looked for anything they could criticize her for, even something as insignificant as a hair.

Lo and Li had been assigned by her father to not only act as her personal advisors but also to ensure that her firebending forms would be without flaw, but it honestly felt a bit insulting to Azula that he had tasked two really old women with the job - both of whom were not even firebenders. Those two also were tasked with preparing her for once she would ascend to the throne years in the future.

"My enemies won''t care about that when they lie dead at my feet," Azula brushed it off while nonetheless putting the offending hair back into place.

"Nonetheless, your father tasked us to ensure that your forms are perfect," Lo said.

"And ensure it we will," Li finished.

Watching them leave, Azula heard a snort from the side. "Miserable old bats. They seem to think they know better than you. They are not even firebenders."

That was Astria, Mai's 'replacement'. The girl couldn't be more different from Mai. Where Mai was slender, gracious and always held a serious expression, Astria looked disturbingly masculine for a girl, considering how packed with muscles she was, and always seemed to smile. However, that smile was only outside appearance and hid something nasty inside. Also, while Mai's hair was long, Astria's was short, only reinforcing the masculine vibes.

The contrast also was driven home by the clothing choices. While Mai preferred dark colors or black, Astria's clothes were a bright red and orange, which once again was not indicative of the vicious personality lurking under the surface. Astria loved violence and followed all of her orders without question - qualities Azula appreciated. The girl was not the sharpest tool in the shed but that didn't make her any less useful.

"Father's orders are law, you know that," Azula reminded Astria.

"I know, and the Fire Lord does have his reason, but doesn't change the fact that they are not especially useful for you." Astria made no secret of what she thought of those two old women.

Azula remembered how she had drafted Astria for this mission.

...

The palace gardens had changed little over the years, and it seemed the turtleducks were remembering her as well, fleeing to the far side of the pond when spotting Azula sitting nearby. Azula for her part held no interest in the beauty of the gardens - they did remind her too much of her mother and instead was waiting for the girl she had summoned.

Finally, she did appear. "You've summoned me, Princess?" Astria asked.

That was another thing Azula liked with Astria. That girl never used her name and always her title. After Mai, Azula had wanted to make sure to not replace Mai with someone who would mistake the position with personal closeness. Astria understood that perfectly well and there was no confusion about the power dynamics. Not that Astria minded; the girl seemed to thrive in her role.

"Yes. First off, Astria, how is your training going?" Azula asked her.

"Oh, very good, though I need new training partners, since broken bones need so long to heal." It was disturbing how Astria said that with a smile, though observing her eyes one could see what really was going on in her head.

Azula liked that aspect. Astria was a girl who would approach you with a smile... before then shanking you with a concealed knife.

"Good. My father, the Fire Lord, has given new orders to me. He is tasking me with catching our traitorous family. My traitor of a mother, my fat uncle, my useless brother and also your predecessor. You are to come with me and help ensure those traitors won't escape." Azula didn't word it as a choice.

Astria however didn't mind. "Wonderful. I can't wait to meet the girl that I replaced." Again, she said that with a smile, but Azula knew what Astria really thought about Mai.

Azula again saw how she had made a good choice in Astria.

...

"Useful or not, we don't have to suffer their presence for much longer. We'll mostly travel by land anyway," Azula ended that conversation. "First we will gather clues concerning what my traitorous relatives are up to and then we can bag them. Considering how clumsy Zuko is, it shouldn't be too difficult to find more than enough clues."

"Can I have some fun with that girl when we've got her?" Astria asked, still keeping on that disturbing smile.

Azula knew exactly what Astria meant. "Father is only interested in getting my mother, uncle and brother in one piece. Sure you can have some fun with Mai as long as you don't do too much damage. Father said no permanent damage."

"Oh, I can have lots of non-permanent fun then!" If anything, Astria now beaming with seeming joy made her look even more frightening.

"Princess." That was the Captain. "We are about to reach the colony harbor in an hour. Then we only have to wait for the tide to be higher for a smooth entry."

Azula's expression shifted to displeased. "Captain, I'm interested in keeping our timetable and not in the tides. You will find a way to allow the ship to get into port in time; and no more excuses."

Having heard of Azula's displeasure, the Captain paled a little. "We shall double our efforts to be on time!"

"I hope so for your sake." Watching him leave, Azula let out a dramatic sigh. "Good crew members are so hard to find these days..."

...the following day, near the base of General Fong...

"We should be there soon, the base should be behind those hills over there," Sokka said, looking at the map, then noticed Yue's expression. "Yue, are you still concerned about yesterday? I can live with some less seal jerky."

I should remember this day. My brother not complaining about wasted meat, Katara thought.

"I'm a disaster when it comes to cooking." It seemed Yue still was remembering the incident from yesterday evening. "I really tried to use what all of you showed me, but then that happened."

"Though, you have to admit, the jerky going up in flames without Zuko's involvement was spectacular. That stuff burns really well." Mai made no secret of her low opinion on seal jerky, having come to despise the stuff.

"Not helping," Suki told Mai, before putting her hand over Yue's. "We know it's not your fault. You never had to learn before how to cook anything, so it must be difficult."

Fact of the matter was, apart from Toph - which was for understandable reasons - everyone in the group had at least some cooking knowledge. Granted, Sokka's experience mostly was about preparing and grilling meat properly, while also being able to make a really tasty jerky. It came as little surprise, considering how to Sokka meat was serious business.

Ursa meanwhile had only managed to get enough knowledge into Zuko and Mai that they could take care of themselves by making and preparing basic, simple meals. Mai at first had balked at such a stereotypically feminine skill, but had relented when realizing not learning at least basic cooking skills would mean bland, boring food should she be on her own one day.

Considering all of this, it all made Yue feel a bit lacking.

"It's hard to get used to traveling life. I'm a bit too used to the amenities of civilization," Yue admitted.

"Oh, I don't doubt that city life does have its advantages and I gladly take them, but there are way too many rules for my taste," Toph commented from where she was lazing around, scratching the soles of her feet. "By the way, Twinkle-Toes, after we've told that general guy you don't need to find a teacher anymore, we have to talk about starting your training."

"Oh, eh, yes..." Aang tried not to look to Toph, even though she wouldn't see his expression.

Toph wasn't fooled in the slightest. "You could show more enthusiasm, you know? After all, it's only the best earthbender on the world teaching you."

"You are radiating humility, you know?" Zuko commented, getting a nod from Mai that his sarcasm was improving.

"Uh, I think Bumi will dispute your title. After what I witnessed from him, he'll make you ground your teeth together." Aang saw that as a good way to distract from the topic of earthbending training.

"Hah!" Toph said loudly, causing Sokka to almost lose his map. "While we are on the way anyway, I say we visit the old coot! Then I can finally show him who's the best!"

"Oh, great idea!" Aang didn't voice that between Toph's ego and Bumi being Bumi, he feared the sheer destruction such a duel could cause. "Oh, look, we are there!"

Indeed, they had passed the hills and they now saw Fong's base. It was not particularly big, downright modest in comparison, but that was understandable. Fong's base was very close to the border with the colonies, though in past years there had been no fighting here, since the Fire Nation army was not expanding from this direction yet. The massive construction also was not indicative, since earthbenders could dismantle it fast.

It also appeared like they were being expected. Soldiers had lined up in the courtyard and the lone man standing at the head of the formation had to be General Fong. "Hm, they are trying to impress you," Zuko observed, what he had learned about military now being helpful.

"Well, they can impress him as much as they want, as long as he makes it clear he already got me and doesn't need some soldier to help him out with earthbending," Toph said, wanting this to be over as fast as possible.

Appa then landed and the General stepped forward even while they were still disembarking. "Ahhh, Avatar! Welcome to my base, we've already been expecting you! Word about your victory in the north has reached us!" the General greeted them overly friendly.

"Eh, no, I didn't do that much. The tribe did the fighting." Aang most certainly didn't want to get that kind of false fame.

"Oh, and modest at that - a true role model." It was like the General was not picking up on Aang's mood. "News about your immense power has reached us and gave new hope. With such power, you can crush our enemies."

That had escalated fast and Aang didn't like where that was going. "General, eh, that mostly was the Ocean Spirit and even then... I can't yet use my really powerful state yet. Could you please drop it?"

The General looked a bit disappointed. "Well, alright. I invited you anyway in order to help out in starting your earthbending lessons..."

"Oh, that's it!" Toph finally had enough of the babbling man. "Listen up, I'm his earthbending teacher, so he needs nothing what you can offer him!"

Fong gave Toph a look and then laughed. "Very funny, little girl!"

Big error. If there was one thing Toph hated right after being treated like a helpless cripple, it was others making fun of the fact that she was shorter than other girls her age. Add to it that Fong thought her bending powers were a joke, and Toph was pissed. Slamming one foot onto the ground, she decided to give him a sample of her skills.

-crrraaaack- "Ah!" Fong gasped when all of a sudden spikes shot out of the ground (though, hitting no one of course), stone blocks flew out of the walls and stacked up into a small tower in the courtyard and as a nice artistic touch, a massive Earth Kingdom symbol formed on the floor of the courtyard.

"Something to add?" Toph asked, showing her arrogant side.

Suddenly being confronted with that indisputable fact, Fong deflated. "No... nothing."

"Listen, I understand you meant well, but as you can see, there is no need..." Aang tried to say so that they could make their exit, however, he couldn't finish when a soldier ran to Fong with a rolled-up paper.

"General!" The soldier gave Fong the paper and pointed at Zuko.

I don't like the looks of that, Zuko thought.

The General's face turned serious. "Avatar, the enemy has infiltrated your ranks! Those two are from the Fire Nation and one of the is Prince Zuko!"

Seeing how the soldiers pulled out their weapons, it dawned on them that things could turn ugly now. "Hey, cut that out! We've known perfectly well right from the start who they are. They are on our side." Suki was very tempted to draw her own weapn, feeling threatened.

"Stop, stop that! They are our friends!" Aang gasped, not liking where this was going.

"Oh dear, they really have fooled you. They obviously have planned that right from the start to backstab you at the worst moment." Fong now sounded outright condescending. "You'll thank me for this."

Then all hell broke lose. Earthbenders tried to pull up walls to separate the rest of the group from Zuko and Mai while soldiers ran forward to arrest those two. What they had not expected was a unified defense by the whole group.

Toph wasted no time to crumble the walls erected by the earthbenders, while at the same time throwing stone projectiles at the benders - though even now she tried very hard not to make it lethal, still remembering when that had happened. Katara had pulled out her water, whipping soldiers hard with it while freezing others into place. Sokka and Suki had drawn their battle fans, fighting off the attackers, though also taking care to not cause serious injuries with their strikes. Yue had drawn her staff but mainly was guarding Zuko and Mai, who stayed passive since they knew that fighting back would only make them them look guilty.

"No! This can't be happening!" While Aang knew his friends had every right to defend Zuko and Mai, he had not imagined things deteriorating so fast. "Stop it! Stop it!"

However, the soldiers showed no wish to stop and Aang felt himself starting to panic All this violence just because Fong was unwilling to listen. The Aang saw Katara getting knocked over by a stone getting flung into her gut, letting out a cry of pain. "Katara! No!... How... How dare they?!"

His anger overcame Aang and he lost himself in the power. Eyes and tattoos lit up with white light while a cyclone of wind surrounded him and the ground started to crack. Rage bubbling up, Aang threw the soldiers against the walls of the base like ragdolls, uncaring that they broke many bones and would be bedridden for a long time. Fong, realizing he had unleashed something terrible, tried to flee, but the ground crumbled underneath his feet, causing him to sink waist-deep into the floor.

"No! Please no!" Fong gasped when the enraged Avatar slowly approached him. "Mercy!"

"Aang, he's a jerk but he doesn't deserve having his head taken off!" Sokka called.

"Please, don't do something you regret later!" Suki added, but like Sokka, it fell on deaf ears.

Behind the glowing eyes however, something else went on in Aang's head.

"Wah...?" Aang suddenly found himself in a clearing and he was still confused what was happening. Then he saw someone waiting for them. "Roku! And... oh, you are Kyoshi?"

Indeed, the two most previous Avatars were waiting for Aang. "Oh, I see you must have learned a lot about me from my warrior who is traveling with you."

"Suki speaks highly of you..." Aang then looked around. "Where am I?"

"Aang, we pulled you here because you slipped into the Avatar state, and you need to learn more about it," Roku explained. "Thankfully, thanks to Korra, it is getting much easier to contact you."

"You mean when I glow and lose control? I'm told I'm really powerful then, but I have serious memory gaps. What is the Avatar state?" Aang wondered, finally needing answers to that.

Roku started to explain. "The Avatar state is a defense mechanism, designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars. The glow is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body. In the Avatar state, you are at your most powerful."

Aang then saw a memory of Roku effortlessly blasting apart an entire throne room. Even more powerful, he saw Kyoshi actually create Kyoshi Island, separating it from the mainland. Each time their eyes were glowing, and yet they looked like they were fully in control of themselves and knew exactly what they were doing - unlike Aang. It gave Aang the impression he had a lot to learn.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Kyoshi said. "I'm here together with Roku to impress on you, that not only how destructive it can be without control training, but also that you are being very vulnerable in it." Kyoshi then grimaced. "If you are killed while being in it, it will destroy the Avatar cycle. You do remember what Korra told you, don't you?"

Aang knew they knew because he knew. "She experienced that. While she regained Raava, all her past lives were gone. Me dying in the Avatar state would sever Raava from us?"

"Sadly, yes. You need to take heed therefore," Roku finished, then sighed. "This time we pull you out of it before more bad things happen."

Aang blinked. He was back in reality.

"Aang!" That was Katara suddenly hugging him. "Thank all goodness! You were about to cut his head off." Aang didn't say anything, Katara holding him was all that was important right now.

Yue meanwhile looked around, seeing the destruction and the injured soldiers. She then looked to Fong, holding an expression of disappointment. "This is all the result of your impulsive actions. You disregarded our word, and see where it got you. Zuko and Mai are our friends and allies. I sincerely hope you spread the truth about what happened, so that there will be no repeat."

Yue then looked around, noticing certain things, as well as details on the uniforms. "Also, I couldn't help but to notice that despite showing the insignia of the Earth Kingdom, your local lord seems to prepare to become more autonomous. The signs are everywhere."

Fong gulped, since while Yue was soft-spoken, it was like she had a hidden power to make him feel small. He said nothing while watching the Avatar group get back onto Appa and fly off, leaving him and his shattered base behind.

...two days later, at a crossroads...

Two days after the near-disaster with Aang's Avatar state and them getting out of that place as fast as they could before that general would get even more dumb ideas, the group had landed next to what appeared to be a roadside kiosk pasted with all kind of posters. Since they had no set goal in mind for the time being, aside from Aang training, even Sokka was a bit directionless for the time being. This, when the chance came to gather some information, he was all for it, especially since the kiosk was of Fire Nation design due to a nearby colony.

"I don't know why you complain, Mai, I think those colors fit well with you," Zuko remarked when seeing Mai giving her new clothes - which they had bought after what happened at Fong's base - another look.

"I could wear a potato sack and you still would compliment me, so that doesn't say much. Urgh, I understand concealing our nationality, but why does the Earth Kingdom have such a drab color palette to chose from?" Mai said, pointing at her clothes, which were in the colors green and dark blue.

"Oh, I think Earth Kingdom colors look wonderful," Toph added, then laughed after a few seconds when everyone realized she could hardly be a judge about it. "That never gets old."

"Well, you could always exchange the dark blue parts for yellow or brown," Zuko offered, though he knew what Mai's answer would be.

"Are you kidding?!" Mai looked outright offended. "At least there is no orange in it. Oh, how do I hate that color."

"Ehm, is there any reason why you hate the color orange? After mostly seeing shades of blue surrounding me all my life, orange is new and exciting." Yue had gotten used to Mai's quirks, but there always was something new to discover.

"It's just too bright. I originally hated the color red, but that one is so omnipresent in the Fire Nation, I had to switch to the much less common but even more offensive orange to preserve my sanity." Mai still remembered Ty Lee's orange dress, which had looked like the dawn sun had vomited all over it.

"Well, if you can put aside fashion discussions for a moment, then look at that. Looks like we are famous - though for the wrong reasons," Sokka called while pointing at a big wanted poster.

The poster indeed was concerning. Aang was very prominent on it, though mugshots of Sokka, Katara, Suki and Toph were right next to his picture. The text made all sort of claims of crimes against the Fire Nation while promising a fat reward. Right next to it, only being a bit smaller, was a wanted poster for the four from the Fire Nation, the biggest charge against them being treason.

"Damn, they even included our masks," Zuko thought aloud when seeing that right next to the mugshots of Mai and himself, their masks were being depicted.

Aang took a closer look at his picture. "Eeeh? Who did draw me? I look more like a girl!"

"Well, buddy, maybe they wanted to accentuate your feminine side?" Sokka joked, though Aang didn't find it funny, especially when hearing Katara giggle a little.

"I can see that Yue is not being present on it," Suki observed with a critical eye, though she was not surprised by the omission.

Yue for her part needed a second before she understood. "Ah yes, I only was sort of there when Zhao invaded the Spirit Oasis. Seems that Azula simply didn't see me as someone interesting. Perhaps she also has no idea I'm travelling with you."

"But I'm included? Let me see!" Toph then hovered her palm close over the poster to 'see' with her new ability what her own mugshot looked like. "What, that's supposed to be me?! That can't be right!"

"Well, I think it's a good likeness," Suki remarked, not being sarcastic about it. "They really captured your vicious side."

Aang then looked to Momo, who was making sounds that could be his version of laughter. "Oh no, don't you start with that as well!" Aang told the lemur, who gave him a look of innocence in return.

"At least we know it's not actually drawn by Azula's own hand," Mai remarked, then saw to looks Zuko was giving her. "You didn't know about it, but when your mother was still in the palace, Azula tried to draw me and Ty Lee. The result was so bad, she burned it and never spoke of it again. She couldn't live with the idea there is something she has no talent for."

"Hey guys, any idea who that is?" Aang asked, pointing at another wanted poster.

Zuko took a closer look and saw the name. "Ah yes, I remember that one. Uncle Iroh talked about him a few times. Jeong Jeong used to be a really famous admiral. Then for some reason he deserted from his post and hasn't been seen since. According to this, there's a high price on his head. The Fire Nation really dislikes deserters."

"Looks kind of grumpy," Katara remarked. "There isn't much detail. It can't just be his rank why there's such a high bounty for him."

"He really is a great man."

That was not one of their voices! Almost on instinct Sokka and Suki drew their weapons and in one swift move pointed those at the source of the voice. The source turned out to be a man who looked to be a bit simple-minded. It seemed he only was was realizing his error and held uo his hands in surrender. "Hey, no weapons! I'm not your enemy!"

"Who are you?!" Sokka wanted to leave nothing to chance and dind't lower his weapon.

"Chey... Chey's the name. I'm not your enemy, I'm with Jeong Jeong! Really!" said Chey defended himself. "I'm like him, I deserted. Used to blow up stuff for the army; I'm a real expert on it. But now I'm no longer doing that. He's the first man who deserted from the army and lived to tell the tale. I'm the second one, though I didn't get famous for it."

"I think he's telling the truth," Katara finally said. Seeing Sokka give her a look, she added "He's too simple-minded that he can convincingly lie to us."

Chey at the that moment took a closer look at Zuko. "Hey, not only the Avatar guy, but you are that Prince they are looking for! I heard Jeong Jeong talk about both of you often. I think you might want to see him. I can get you to him!"

They looked at each other. "What are the chances that we run into a guy who can lead us to the very man the Fire Nation is looking for? You guys think there is some invisible power pulling the strings?" Aang wondered.

After a few seconds Toph snorted. "Nah, more likely this is all just a really big and dumb coincidence. Seems we do attract those."

Mai for her part held back a snort. Honestly, and extraordinary coincidence. Though, I really doubt that simpleton there can lead us to someone infamous as Jeong Jeong.

o

Mai now felt like an idiot when Chey was leading them towards a hidden settlement in the swamps. At least I didn't say something stupid like I'm going to eat a broom if he said the truth, she thought while looking around. There was not much to see and she really didn't want to get too close to the foul water.

"How exactly do you know Jeong Jeong?" Zuko meanwhile asked Chey, wondering what kind of story there was.

"That's a long and awesome story! When I saw the big bison, I knew it has to be the Avatar, so I took the risk to get you to him. He would be an awesome teacher!" Chey sounded quite enthusiastic.

"An awesome story? Can you tell us?" Aang wondered what kind of adventures Chey had been on.

"Really awesome, better believe it. It started..." However, Chey could not continue.

"No, it's not an awesome story!"

Other people walked out of the bushes, spears drawn. Chey now didn't look as enthusiastic. "Eh, Lin Yee, I can explain..."

The man snorted, cutting Chey off. "Spare me. Jeong Jeong took you in out of pity, since he feared you otherwise would get yourself killed due to how much of a dolt you are. You were told to lead no one to the camp, not even the Avatar."

"Eh, does that mean we have to leave now?" Aang asked.

Lin Yee rolled his eyes. "Of course not. The damage is done and Jeong Jeong will have some serious words with all of you to make sure you don't cause us trouble."

Seeing as there was no other choice, they were being escorted toward the settlement deeper in the swamps-

Granted, the presence of a huge sky bison already was causing lots of attention, though Chey seemed kind of oblivious of the looks he was getting from the other inhabitants of the settlement. It underscored that he indeed was a bit of a simpleton. Chey stopped at the sight of someone waiting for them. It was Jeong Jeong in person, and he looked displeased at them having unannounced visitors.

"Oh, eh... Sir, I though the Avatar and..." Chey tried to explain himself.

Jeong Jeong however gave him no chance to finish. "Go. We shall talk later about your punishment for your foolish actions." Chey left, knowing there would be a punishment forthcoming, and Jeong Jeong looked to the group. "You should no be here."

"Yeah, no shit." Mai didn't bother with softening her sarcasm.

Jeong Jeong looked to Aang. "You are here to learn firebending, aren't you?"

"No, I..." Aang honestly hadn't had that intention.

"Don't lie to me, I know how eager those your age are to learn destruction. You are a fool if you seek what inevitably will destroy you. Also, to master the bending disciplines, you must first master discipline itself. But you have no interest in this, so I have no interest in you. Before learning firebending you must learn water and earth. Water is cool and soothing, earth is steady and stable, but fire, fire is alive! It breathes, it grows. Without the bender, a rock will not throw itself! But fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it! That is its destiny!"

Having listened to that entire tirade, Aang shrank back from the man, being intimidated.

"I will deal with all of you later." That said, Jeong Jeong left.

"What the hell is his problem?!" Toph spat. "He was jerking off over how great the other elements are, but pissed all over his own."

"Toph!" Katara looked utterly mortified at the other girl's filthy language.

"Uncle Iroh had not mentioned any of that..." Zuko said more to himself, still a bit shocked how fast that had gone south.

"Oh, really? And I thought he was inviting us for tea." Mai then took a closer look at Zuko. "Zuko, you look like you are about to do something abou this."

Zuko knew that Mai knew him all too well. "You better believe I will. I won't stand for such treatment."

"Eh, won't you stop him?" Yue asked Mai when Zuko started to follow Jeong Jeong. "He could make things worse for us."

"I could, but I won't. Once Zuko is determined about something, he's all flame for it. I could stop him, but that old jerk was asking for it," Mai waved it off. "Don't get all worried about it. It's not like Zuko is in any danger, he's only about to tell an old windbag his opinion."

Suki meanwhile took a look at Aang. "Aang, I know that look. You are thinking about something you shouldn't think about."

Sometimes was still surprised how well everyone learned to read him - though none as well as Katara did. "I know I need to keep the correct order and Iroh made it clear I'm not ready for fire yet..."

"Stop that right away!" Toph barked, looking pissed. "You are still putting off starting your lessons with me, but now you think you can play around with some fire because you think that's awesome?"

Thing was, despite Iroh and Zuko both having told him that fire was dangerous and that he was not ready for it, Aang like anyone his age had a habit of not listening to someone telling you not to do something. Despite him being well aware of the seriousness of the situation, inside he was justifying the idea with speeding things along.

While assuring Toph he would start his lessons soon, Aang's thoughts went somewhere else. It can't hurt to try. We after all are under a time crunch.

Momo, as if being able to read Aang's thoughts, jumped off his shoulder and to the safety of Appa.

Zuko meanwhile had followed Jeong Jeong to a shabby hovel. The guards outside tried to stop him, but one furious look from Zuko made them back off.

"I said I do not want to be disturbed," Jeong Jeong barked when seeing someone enter.

"Well, and I don't care," Zuko told him. "The way you acted was nothing but shameful."

"What do you know, Prince Zuko?!" Jeong Jeong snorted. "Oh yes, I know who you are. You should know best about the curse of fire, since it's visible in your face."

Zuko was about to snap at the man after that comment about his scar, but then controlled himself, remembering what Iroh and Ursa had told him."Real mature of you to blame my father's cruelty on our element."

"It may be your element, but not mine. Fire is a curse only meant for destruction. The water of your friend brings healing and life. But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart." It seemed Jeong Jeong really believed that.

Zuko could only shake his head, remembering everything Iroh and Ursa had told him. "If you think fire is nothing but destruction, then you are a massive hypocrite."

"What do you know?!" It seemed Jeong Jeong hadn't expected Zuko to go that way.

"You sit here enjoying the warmth of the candles all around you and the light they give you. You probably will eat a dinner that was prepared over a fire and just looking around I see several things that were made in a forge. If you insist that fire is only destruction, then you really are a massive hypocrite." Zuko was done with being nice, that man really was annoying him.

"You know nothing about me and my life." Jeong Jeong now sounded rather defensive.

"Perhaps not, but I know enough to see that you are bitter your life didn't turn out how you expected it to lament the corrupted form of firebending, but do nothing about it and instead hide in a hole and claim that all fire is evil and destructive. So don't color me impressed." Zuko was surprised how viciously he was tearing into the man.

"What would a youngling like you know about fire?" the man countered.

"More than you know. My Uncle Iroh, you probably have heard about him, fuels his flame through the joy of life and when he doesn't have to defend himself, he mostly uses it to heat his tea. My mother Ursa fuels her fire with the warmth of love and is one of the nicest people you can meet. I myself did cast off the anger and now feel much better using my fire without it. You are probably bitter since the only way you found to fuel your own fire is hating yourself."

Jeong Jeong being silent was answer enough to Zuko. The man was bitter that he'd never found a way out of the corrupted firebending and thus blamed all fire for his own misery.

"Iiiiiiiouuuuuch!"

"Aang! What has he done now?!" Zuko gasped when hearing the scream of pain.

Running out of the hovel, Zuko quickly found the young Avatar, Katara being busy with using her healing powers on Aang's hands. Even though Katara looked frantic, it couldn't have been that serious when he also saw Sokka and Suki facepalm, while Mai and Yue just shook their heads. Toph for her part looked furious.

"All right, what happened now?" Zuko asked, though he had a good idea about that.

Sokka groaned like he couldn't believe it. "Aang thought it to be a good idea to try and firebend, cobbling together all he heard about it."

Suki for her part snorted. "He disregarded all and any warning your uncle and yourself have given him about it and when he managed to create fire in his hands, he was more fascinated with how great it was. Well, and then this happened."

"It looked like a good idea at the moment," Aang tried to defend himself, though he knew he deserved every bit of the incoming lectures.

Toph give Aang a furious look. "All right, that's it. I'll make you start your lessons with me before you do something else stupid. Even if it means dragging you to it."

"That is why I won't teach you." Jeong Jeong had appeared, looking highly unimpressed. "You probably thought of firebending as something great which makes you special, not respecting the flame. You disregarded the danger and the needed discipline. I've seen too many fall to that lure, especially my former student."

"Ouch..." Aang grimaced while Katara was healing his burn injuries. "You.. had a student?"

"Yes, he had no interest in learning discipline. He was only concerned with the power of fire - how he could use it to destroy his opponents and wipe out the obstacles in his path. I'm pretty sure he has self-destructed by now," Jeong Jeong said, looking displeased at the memory.

"Sounds like quite the character. Does that former student have a name?" Mai asked out of morbid curiosity.

"Yes, his name is Zhao. He probably has risen far in the ranks considering his aggression," Jeong Jeong said with disgust.

"I'm only traveling with you for a short time, but this is a really strange coincidence," Yue told the others. She then looked to Jeong Jeong. "Do you remember a night mere weeks ago when the Moon became red?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Yes, and then it started to flicker. What is this about?"

"Let's say Zhao tried to harm the spirit of the Moon and paid dearly for it. The spirit of the ocean punished him by crippling his bending. The most he can now do is light some candles." Zuko felt that living like that was a horrifying punishment for someone like Zhao.

"There is no better punishment for him - a raging inferno being reduced to a flickering flame. Could it be...?" Jeong Jeong was pondering something, then looked to Aang. "I hope for your sake that this taught you to stop that foolishness until you have learned better discipline."

As abrasive as Jeong Jeong was, Aang knew he had no one to blame but himself. "I swear, I won't try again until I'm ready!"

"Let's hope so. I want all of you to leave as soon as possible. But first..." Jeong Jeong looked around. "I have no good Pai Sho players here. I need an opponent who can challenge me."

Mai rolled her eyes when hearing that while Zuko didn't hold back a groan. "What is it with old people and Pai Sho? Even without Uncle Iroh being around, we run into them!"

...the following day, near the campsite...

The day after meeting Jeong Jeong and Aang getting a painful lesson about firebending, the group was just done with their morning routines when Toph walked up to Aang, looking quite determined. The mere sight made Aang gulp, having an idea what that could be about, since Toph had been quite vocal about it the past several days.

"All right, Twinkle-Toes, you have put it off for long enough and yesterday was the final straw! I joined our little gang so that I teach you how to properly earthbend, and guess what? That time has finally come!" Toph announced loudly so that everyone could hear and Aang could not weasel out of it.

"Oh, already?" Aang asked, trying to sound surprised.

Toph looked a bit offened. "You could show a little more enthusiasm, you know?"

"Ehm, Toph, I think he's a bit nervous after watching some of the rather brutal stuff you've done with your bending. Remember, he's from a culture that dislikes violence," Katara reminded the other girl.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard that often enough," Toph complained. "But earthbending is an entirely different beast. You have to get down and dirty for it and stand your ground to get it right. The way you zip around with your airbending, you are not exactly grounded and steadfast you are constantly evading."

"Eh, look, that's how the monks taught me," Aang tried to explain.

Toph didn't let him finish. "Not important. I will get you to understand and used to how we earthbenders are thinking. Oh, trust me, I will make you get it!"

"Toph, you are not going to intentionally hurt him during the training, do you?" Katara was concerned due to knowing how rough Toph could become when using her bending.

"Oh, don't worry, nothing you can't fix in a few seconds with your healing!" Hearing that from Toph, Aang knew that those first lessons were going to suck big time.

Watching Toph start to drag Aang away by his collar, Katara grabbed her waterskin. "I think I better be at hand when Toph overdoes it!"

Momo for his part hesitated for a moment, remembering his bad experiences with Aang when he was training waterbending, but then felt that maybe this time nothing would go wrong and thus followed them to where Aang would train.

Seeing Katara run after them, Mai snorted. "Was she always that motherly, hovering over others just to make sure?"

Sokka knew the question was aimed at him. "She always was a bit of a mother hen, though, with Aang she's taking it onto a new level." Sokka couldn't help but feel a strange unease.

"Have you thought about what to do once it comes to firebending? Jeong Jeong made a good point it has to come last, but he didn't exactly advertise himself to become Aang's teacher." Zuko did remember how abrasive Jeong Jeong had been, not to speak of his bitterness and screwed-up worldview in which he thought fire was evil by nature.

"Oh no, anyone but him!" Yue gasped, then saw the looks she was getting. "I'm not in the habit of judging people after such a short time, but that man has some real issues. It is very... taxing to be around him."

Well, that's a way to put it, Zuko thought, but wouldn't say so aloud. He had not exactly been impressed with Jeong Jeong and his fatalistic outlook.

"I guess Aang's little accident makes it even more urgent to get him a competent teacher once the time has come. Well, what are our alternatives? Iroh?" Suki wondered.

"Well, he IS a good teacher, but I wonder if we do find him in time once we do need him." Zuko did remember his uncle going onto some sort of secret mission. "Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well, it just so happens that you are probably going to be the only firebender available when the time comes," Sokka said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Hey, wait a minute! I'm not that good of a firebender! Damn, I only recently got my full power back!" Zuko protested.

"You say that now, Zuko." Mai knew from experience that just some words would not make Zuko reconsider his stance.

-whom!- "Waaaaaaah!"

They could only watch in astonishment when Aang was blasted from where he was training, though at least the landing was soft when slamming into Appa. The huge sky bison grunted loudly, then gave his partner a look which screamed 'don't do such stuff'. Momo, who had held onto Aang for his dear life, let go as soon as he could and let out sounds which made everything think he was cursing, before slipping under Appa's fur.

"Oh no, what happened now?" Yue gasped, worrying for Aang.

Katara came running only moments later. "Oh dear, oh dear!" She then checked on Aang, who however only seemed a bit dazed thanks to the soft impact.

"Twinkle-Toes, what were you thinking?!" Toph complained when she appeared.

"Do I even dare to ask what happened now?" Suki asked.

Toph snorted. "I told him all about a firm stance and how we earthbenders are grounded, but when he tried to bend a rock, he blasted it with air instead and catapulted himself away." She honestly didn't sound impressed.

"I don't know what went wrong," Aang groaned while getting up. "I really tried, but only air came out. It was kind of a reflex."

If anything, that only made Toph look more determined. "Looks like this won't be easy. Good!"

"Good? Don't get me wrong, but shouldn't you be pissed that it makes your job more difficult?" Sokka asked her.

"Nah!" Toph waved it off. "I honestly would have been bored were it too easy. Him not yet getting it means I have to make him get it for real. After all, you know how it goes, no pain - no gain!"

Aang gulped hard when he saw how excited Toph looked when saying that. All of a sudden I have a feeling only one of us is going to enjoy this, and it won't be me.

to be continued...

Next Episode:

"Blood, Sweat and Tears"