Bent Glass: Book 1: Water -- An Avatar The Last Airbender Mirrorverse Fanfiction

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/24581737.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Relationship: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Character: Aang (Avatar), The Gaang (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Azula (Avatar), Ursa
(Avatar), Ozai (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Katara
(Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Long Feng,
Momo (Avatar), Appa (Avatar), Combustion Man (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar)
Additional Tags: Mirror Universe, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon
Divergence, Heroes to Villains, Villains to Heroes, Eventual Romance,
Non-Graphic Violence, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Lesbian Azula
(Avatar)
Stats: Published: 2020-06-07 Updated: 2020-07-08 Chapters: 10/? Words:
53333

Bent Glass: Book 1: Water -- An Avatar The Last Airbender

Mirrorverse Fanfiction
by Covok

Summary

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My uncle used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of
civility when the Avatar enforced balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire
Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Water Confederation attacked.
Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he had the power to stop the savage
waterbenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have
passed and the Water Confederation is nearing victory in the War. Two years ago, my
father and my uncle left on their most recent war campaigns. We haven’t heard from them
since. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that
the cycle is broken. But I am not so weak as to fall into despair. I still believe that
somehow, the Avatar will return and squash the Water Confederation.”
--- Azula

An Avatar: The Last Airbender mirroverse fanfiction. The series follows canon up to the
time of Kyoshi. Afterwards, the two timelines diverge politically. This ultimately creates a
world where the Water Tribe are the instigators of the 100 year war. Everyone is still the
same person as in canon. However, the changes to their upbringings greatly change them.

Notes

It's a little funny. Last year, I discovered Distorted Reality by Ogro

(https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3952155/1/Distorted-Reality). I found the series through the
comic by Rocket Axxnou which adapted excerpts of the series
(https://tapas.io/series/Avatar-Distorted-Reality/info). Brief aside, I didn't realize that
Rocket Axxnou and I had actually spoken on reddit about my design document for this
fanfiction until right now when I went to look up the comic's creator. Back on to point, I
liked the series very well. At the time, Distorted Reality was explicitly abandoned. The
creator had even posted a full chapter on how they would have ended it. Feeling unsatisfied,
I went to work on making this fanfiction.

Tossing it around in my head for a while. Writing up a design document with detailed
worldbuilding notes and altered character histories. Then, sitting on that for months.
Quarantine happens and I have free time. I write up the first three chapters.

Then, I find out that Ogro, due to the quarantine, had revived their fanfiction.

I just find it a hilarious coincidence. I felt like I had to bring it up. I know its nothing. A lot
of people worked on things because of the quarantine. The chances that they would revive a
decade dead fanfiction the same week I made my spiritual successor to it is hilarious.

All of that said, make no mistake, this story is not Distorted Reality and you do not need to
read that to understand this story. Distorted Reality had a very particular vision in mind.
One where Aang is a visitor from the canon world. Where characters were mystically their
opposite: Zuko couldn't bend, the Fire Nation was sexist, Azula was the only firebender in
her area, and the Avatar Kuruk was the previous Avatar. Also one where the timeline Aang
had left was a darkest timeline for the Avatar world. I, however, wanted something different
with this story.

I didn't want to retread what Orgo already did. Instead, I was interested in a world where the
situation had been reversed in the cannon timeline. Well, a divergent one at least. All of the
same rules apply. The cycle of the Avatar still works as in canon. Characters are very much
like their canon counterparts. The timeline and natural events are still roughly in line with
the canon timeline. However, situations changed to reverse the nature of the main plot.

It took some work to make it all fit together. The Rise of Kyoshi novel helped since it
actually gave me the divergence point. A seemingly irrelevant change in detail that spiraled
out until it effected the entire timeline. Afterwards, I spent quite a bit of time mapping
everything out to get it all to work.

One big thing is I did not want to just rewrite the TV episodes. I felt that would not be
interesting for the readers. I tried my best to consider how character's different natures
would lead to different outcomes. I also considered the complications and issues that would
plague the Water Tribe in their conflict alongside what assets they have on their side. I'll
say this right now: the Day of Black Sun and Sozin's Comet will feature, but their secret
weapon will come from somewhere else in Avatar canon.

I really hope you enjoy it. If nothing else, writing up this worldbuilding document gave me
a great alternate universe for my Fate RPG hack for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I want to thank Orgo for the idea. Rocket Axxon for introducing me to Orgo's work and
commenting on the document with me on Reddit. I also want to thank anyone who reads it.
I know there is a lot of work on here, including much better works like Another Brother,
and I thank you for giving this a try. I love feedback since I am constantly feel my work
could improve so feel free to leave comments.
The Boy In...The Volcano? Part 1
"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My uncle used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of civility when
the Avatar enforced balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air
Nomads. But that all changed when the Water Confederation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered
all four elements. Only he had the power to stop the savage waterbenders. But when the world
needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed and the Water Confederation is
nearing victory in the War. Two years ago, my father and my uncle left on their most recent war
campaigns. We haven’t heard from them since. Some people believe that the Avatar was never
reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle is broken. But I am not so weak as to fall into
despair. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return and squash the Water Confederation.”
--- Azula

A dry heat had been attacking the coastline for weeks. This was a bit unusual for the seaside
village. Traditionally, the village of Umbie had enjoyed temperate weather. The sea breeze had
always calmed the heat of the Fire Alliance. The great mountain, Hi, had changed that as of late.
Rumblings had started a month ago. The heat soon followed. Many were preparing to leave the
island, expecting an eruption.

The emigrants included a brother-sister pair. The pair had lived on the island almost all their lives,
but never considered it home. Their father had made it clear their real home was far from here.
Though, their mother, Ursa, had never agreed with that assessment.

“Zuko, have you finished packing?”, the older woman called out from the bottom of the stairs. A
moment passed, and she called again. Once again, no reply.

“What has gotten into that boy?,” the woman thought.

Going up the stairs, she wasn’t surprised to see her son sulking in his bed. His stuff was packed,
however. Ursa just wondered why he couldn’t let her know.

“Zuko, are you okay?” She said as if she didn’t already know the answer.

The boy just tossed to his left side, facing the wall.

Ursa walked over to the bed and sat next to Zuko. When she sat, her eyes were drawn to the large
burn on Zuko’s face. Whenever she saw that scar, she’d always wince inside.
“It’s been a hectic couple of weeks. Maybe you want to talk about it?” Ursa moved to put her hand
on her son’s face, but he brushed it away.

“I’m fine, mom” was Zuko’s response.

“You don’t look like you're fine.” Ursa tried to play it off as a humorous observation.

“I am.” Zuko mumbled back. “I’m just tired.”

Ursa put her hand on Zuko’s forehead. That just made Zuko push it away again. He started with a
bit more edge to his words. “I said I was fine.”

Ursa knew her son wasn’t fine. “If I push him any more, he’ll snap,” she debated in her head. “He
has his father’s temper.” Those last thoughts brought a shudder to her. Rising from the bed, she
reminded her son she was always available to speak. With that, she left to attend to other
preparations.

Not long after the boy’s mother left, Zuko could hear someone enter the room. He knew who it
was from the shadow. They were leaning on the doorframe. That was his sister’s favorite pose.

“Well, Zuzu, you’re seeming rather sunny today,” the young girl jokes. Zuko was no stranger to his
sister’s sarcasm.

“Get out of my room, Azula,” the boy’s words were barely audible. The sound of the town
preparing for their evacuation drowned out his words.

Azula turned to speak to her brother, but her eyes caught his scar. He was still lying with the burn
facing upwards. Azula looked away with a guilty expression for a second. Then, she walked
forward and plopped herself next to the boy on the bed.

“Alright, Zuzu, you can sit here and sulk all day like a child. Or, you can come with me and have a
little fun.”Azula paused before she finished. “Of course, I’m not really giving you a choice.”

Zuko knew his sister well enough to know what she meant. He hated that about her. “Either I get
up or she’ll drag me up,” he lamented in his mind. With a groan, he sat up. “Where are you even
going?”

Getting off the bed, Azula stood akimbo. “Zuzu, don’t you trust me?”

“No.”

“The mountain, dumb-dumb.”

For the first time today, something got a rise out of the young fire islander. “The mountain! It’s
going to explode!” Without realizing it, the young boy was on his feet.

“Keep your voice down,” his sister shot back. “Of course, I know the volcano is going to erupt, but
isn’t that a little off to you?”

“What are you talking about? Volcanoes erupt, Azula. Everyone knows that.”

“Yes, dumb-dumb, but Mount Hi hasn’t been active in centuries. And isn’t it a little suspicious
how the Prince of the Water Confederation just happened to stop by last week?”

Zuko smacked his palm to his forehead. “Is this because he said you were ‘cute when you were
angry?’”
Azula got in her brother’s face. “The sexist musings of that pig have nothing to do with this. And
need I remind you that he got a nice pair of burnt underwear for his comment?”

“Remind me!? I almost suffocated from holding my breath. If he hadn’t laughed it off, this village
wouldn’t be here, Azula.”

“That’s the point, dumb-dumb! We just assumed he took it as a joke. That the ‘gracious Prince
Sokka’ was not a stranger to ‘a fire islander taking his compliments the wrong way,’ or whatever
that attendant had said. But what if he took it more seriously?”

“How would he make Mount Hi erupt? That’s impossible!”

“Did you ever listen to father’s war stories or were you too busy having tea with Uncle? Or feeding
turtleducks with mother? Let me give you a history lesson, Zuzu: Admiral Zhao erupted a volcano
almost ten years ago to kill Queen Kya.”

“Yes, but he used a team of earthbenders. And it took months!”

“Too bad.” Azula smiled. “We’re still going.” She looked at her nails. “Besides, it’s not like you
were doing anything better in here.”

Zuko wanted to scream, but he let it pass. “I’ll get my swords.”

“Expecting trouble?” Azula said slyly.

“You’re the one saying the Water Confederation is behind it.”

“Exactly,” she said triumphantly.

It didn’t take long for the pair to reach the summit. Mount Hi was just outside of town. The
towering spire took up most of the island. There weren’t many who tried to stop the pair. People
were too preoccupied with their own preparations to worry about the two. Ursa, of course, being
the exception. However, Azula had long since mastered the art of hiding from her mother.

The two took the rarely trotted path up the mountain. The rain only ever came on the village’s side
of the island. The other side was a foreboding desert. There was never any reason to go along this
path to the other side. Not unless you loved sand and starvation.

The stone path was desolate. The village never put up any signs. The only creatures that lived up
here were firelizards and spiderscorpians. It took only a couple of hours for the elder boy to begin
complaining.

“We’ve been here for hours and found nothing.” The boy whined.

“Just a little longer, Zuzu. We’re not even halfway up. Maybe you can save the complaining for the
trip back?”

The boy groaned. “It’s midday. We need to be packed by tomorrow.”

“And you were done packing earlier. I was done as well. Mission accomplished.”

“Will you just admit there are no Confederates up, here!?” Zuko snapped. “Why are you so
obsessed with it?”

Azula turned back. “Obsessed? Did you forget what father taught us? Never trust the Confederates!
Those savages destroyed our family heritage, Zuko. They should have never let that ship into
port!”

“What was the elder supposed to do? Fight off a ship housing the Prince of the Southern Tribe?”

“No, but we didn’t have to roll out the welcome wagon for him or his entourage.”

“What’s the point of this?” Zuko shook his head. “Why would Prince Sokka go out of his way to
use a volcano?”

“It didn’t need to make sense!” Azula snapping back. “I just needed a reason to get you out of the
house! You haven’t been off your bed in two days!"

“You mean this was all just a lie!?”

“Oh, big surprise, I lied. Still, getting out made you feel better. Thank me.”

“I don’t feel better!” Zuko screams were accompanied with a rumbling from the mountain. “Going
outside doesn’t stop my house from melting down. Going up this stupid mountain didn’t bring
Uncle home. And spending time with you doesn’t get this scar off my face!”

His words lingered in the air. It took a moment for the boy to realize his sister wasn’t responding.
While her face was still fierce, he could see the look of sadness hidden behind her eyes. The tears
welling up in her left eye. Finally, it dawned on him what he had said.

Trying to move to a more neutral pose, the child tried to walk back his words. “Azula, I didn’t
mean that I still bl--”

However, before the boy could continue, the ground began to shake violently. The pair were
thrown out of their funk as they saw smoke billow out of the top. They could see steam bursting
around them.

“The Sage said it wouldn’t go off for another week,” the boy spoke in shock.

“The Sage also didn’t expect a dumb-dumb to firebend at the peak of the mountain.”

Zuko looked around him. He saw holes surrounding him. Steam vents that had sprung up just now.
There was a wetness on his legs and feet. He had lost control of himself during his argument. He
must have agitated the mountain.

“Azula, we have to get back to the village.”

“Ahead of you, Zuzu.” Azula was already sprinting back, grabbing her brother by the wrist and
pulling him along.

The pair raced down the summit as fast they could, but they knew they never could outrun the
coming plume. Zuko’s face was overrun with despair and guilt. However, his sister seemed to only
wear a look of blind determination.

“If I keep having to pull you, we’re never going to make it. Try running on your own!” Azula
scolded as she let go of his arm.

Zuko started to take control of his own stride, coming out of his daze. He tried his best to keep-up.
To his luck, he never got too far behind his sister. Though, he eventually could tell she was
slowing down for him.

“Don’t wait for me,” he screamed.

“Yes, leave the liability to fall behind and need rescuing? Great plan.”

The pair almost made it to the beginning of the summit. Hope started to work its way onto Zuko’s
face. Then, it was yanked away.

In front of Zuko, a section of wall blasted open. He could see his sister knocked aside from the
debris. In a panic, Zuko tried to reach for her. The debris knocked his hand away. He could feel his
hands bleed from the impact. When the rock settled, it stood like a barrier behind him and his
sister.

“Azula,” the boy cried out again and again. He tried his best to dig through the rock, but there was
too much. The shaking of the mountain kept bringing more debris in his path. It seemed hopeless.
The boy’s cries felt like they were going into a void. Tears welled in Zuko’s eyes.

With a sudden furry, the boy drew his swords. He kept smacking them pointlessly at the stone. His
groans and cries did as much good as this sorry display. He tried and he tried until he was left out
of breath. Putting his swords away, the young teen felt powerless.

Zuko looked at his hands. Touching his scar, his faced contorted with bloodymindedness. Getting
into stance, Zuko punched forward: he shot out a fireball. As he did, a second explosion came. It
was minor, compared to the first one. The rock and debris fell aside, clearing the path. On instinct,
Zuko looked over the side of the path. He thought his sister had gone with the debris.

“Zuzu!,” Zuko's face shot forward when he heard those words.

Azula was standing on the other side of the path. Blood came from the corner of her forehead. She
was covered in soot. Wobbling on her feet, it looked like her feet could go at any moment. She had
just come-to from the initial explosion. The second explosion jolted her awake.

“Azula!,” Zuko felt relieved. He rushed to his sister and helped her stay on her feet.

“The mountain stopped shaking,” Azula tried her best to sound lucid.

Zuko looked around like he just woke up from a dream. He was shocked to find things normal
again.

“Who's that?” Azula asked as she pushed her brother back. She wanted to stand on her own again.

“Who's what?” Zuko said, turning to his sister. With a jolt, he noticed the imposing lava stone
nestled in the wall. It was the size of a house. Even more peculiar, there was a boy inside of the
stone. “A boy in...a lava stone?”

Azula moved toward the stone. Her haggardness had faded away. Her hand lifted to touch the
stone.

“Wait,” Zuko snapped. “We don’t know who that is?”

“It’s not like he could be alive, dumb-dumb.” Azula didn’t even look back at her brother as she
spoke. Instead, she mused to herself about the boy. “He must have been here a long time.” Without
thinking, she let her hand touch the stone.

Suddenly, the boy’s eyes grew bright. The ground shook again. It was even more violent than
before. Steam shot out of the ground and the walls. The hot gas could be barely felt by two,
however, as the sudden onset of ocean water kept them cool. The ocean had grown violent behind
them. Waves began crashing at their shore. The water shot up and whipped at the backs of the two
teenagers.

“We gotta get out of here.” Zuko's voice strained as it tried to be heard over this chaos.

Before she could react to her brother, the lava stone burst. However, to their collective shock, the
debris bounced painlessly against their bodies. There was hardly any of it. They could feel air
escaping from the stone in a strong gust. The gem was hollow!

As the air emptied from the stone, the mountain stopped shaking. The waves that were so violent a
moment ago subsided. The steam vents died down.

Getting out of her defensive stance, Azula could see the boy walk from the lava stone. His eyes and
arrow tattoos were glowing an otherworldly white. The boy took two steps before the glow faded.
The boy fell forward. Azula rushed to grab the child.

“Who is he?” Zuko walked up to the pair cautiously. “What is he?”

Azula had a devilish grin on her face as she looked back at her brother. “Zuzu, it’s obvious. The
mountain shaking. The ocean. The steam. That gust of wind. Not to mention that glow.”

Zuko didn’t respond.

“Do I have to spell it out, dumb-dumb?” Azula didn’t give her brother a chance to respond. “He’s
the Avatar. He’s the weapon our army has been waiting for for the last 100 years.”
 The Boy In...The Volcano? Part 2
Chapter Notes

I didn't want to spoil it last chapter, but I do want to credit Orgo for the idea of the
Avatar being frozen in a lava gem. That is an idea borrowed from Distorted Reality.
A young monk found himself surrounded by his friends. They played in the courtyard. Laughter
filled the air as they played their ballgame. The young monk felt as light as air.

Arms came out of the walls and grabbed the boy. He struggled as the hands pulled him into a small
room. Four shadows loomed over him. The boy turned to the fifth figure, a kindly old man. The
young boy ran to the old man. He was afraid of the shadows.

However, the shadows pulled the old man away.

Tears welled up in the young monk’s eyes. He rushed to a large bison. Climbing on the saddle, he
took to the skies. The boy looked behind him. The shadows were gaining on him. He flew faster.
When he looked forward, a storm was overheard.

The storm raged. The wind and water attacked the boy’s bison. In a frantic panic, the boy saw a
light in the distance. Land. The boy moved the bison towards the light.

The bison dashed towards the light. As the pair got closer, the light got blurrier. The boy felt tired.
In a daze, he noticed he was surrounded by smoke. He looked closer at the light. It was a fire
raging at the top of the mountain. The boy wanted to turn around. He knew his bison did too.

But they were too tired.

The boy felt himself drift away as the bison began to fall.

A tattooed boy jolted awake with a quiet scream.

The world came into focus for the teenager. Looking around the room, the boy’s eyes focused on
the window. Beneath the night sky, he could see a small port town. The architecture felt familiar.
His mind went to a distant vacation from long ago.

“The Fire Nation,” the child muttered.

Rubbing his eyes, the boy sluggishly worked his way out of bed. Looking down, he could see his
tattoos were on full display. To his left, his clothes and staff were hanging from a rack. Walking
around in his underwear wasn’t going to win him any friends. He got dressed quickly and moved to
the door.

His energy was coming back and his head was clearing up. He couldn’t tell what time of night it
was, but he knew his rescuers could be asleep. He considered going back to bed until morning.
Then it came back to him: Appa, his flying skybison! Where was he? The last thing the monk
remembered was falling into a volca...the child’s mind immediately focused: he had to find Appa.

Quietly leaving the room, the monk snuck his way to the staircase.

“If you’re looking for your bison, he’s sleeping outside,” the woman’s voice made the lad scream
like a banshee.

“Keep it down,” Azula scolded as two doors burst open.

Her brother came out first with his swords at the ready. "Identify yourself!," he screamed at the
presumed intruder.

"Quiet down, Zuzu. It's just the Avatar waking up." Azula nonchalance falling on Zuko like a
brick.

Zuko scoffed, "Just the Avatar," as he put away his swords.

"How did you know that?," the boy jumped back in shock.

"I didn't know it for a fact, until just now." Azula gave the monk a smug grin.

Ursa, having just finished putting on her nightgown, began to tut-tut the situation. "Zuko, Azula,
this boy has been through a lot. Airbenders have been on the run for almost a century. Let him
rest."

"We have!?," the boy exclaimed.

A confused look took Ursa. After a moment, she looked to her son. "He really was in a lava gem?"

"Oh look, mother didn't believe me and still looks to Zuko when I'm proven right." Azula let out in
a huff.

Ursa wanted to start, but couldn't find the words. Luckily, the monk broke the silence.

"My people have been on the run? For a century? But, I was just at the Southern Air Temple a
week ago." The monk seemed to never run out of breath.

"Airbenders stay away from Air Temples, last I heard," Zuko started, "Most of the Airbenders in
the Fire Islands live in the Boiling Rock for safety."

"Courtesy of Admiral Zhao and the Fire Alliance," Azula added.

"Fire Islands? Fire Alliance? This is the Fire Nation, isn't it?" The child had moved from shocked
to just confused. "My friend, Kuzon, said there were a lot of problems ever since the tsunami, but
the Water Confederation was helping the Fire Lord rebuild."

The family suddenly looked crestfallen. The quiet was deafening.

"Maybe we can start over." The monk started. "My name is Aang. I'm...the Avatar."

Ursa looked to her room. "Maybe we will talk about this in the morning." Her children silently
agreed. They both headed to bed.

Aang nodded. "Let me just check on Appa and I'll get back to sleep too."

Far from the island, a young man slept in an extravagant cabin. His ship was built from common
wood, but his chamber was full of jewels, gold, and trinkets. His loud snoring ebbed and flowed
with the gentle rocking of the water.

With a sudden thrust, the ship turned hard to its port sized, nearly capsizing. The boy was rocketed
from his bed onto the hardwood floor.

"What was that!?," the fine robbed teen exclaimed in fright. Rushing on instinct, he drew his
boomerang and club from the wall mount. "Are those Fire Islanders attacking!?"

The door opened like a shot. An older gentleman dressed in blue warrior garb ran in. "Prince
Sokka, are you okay!?"

"Yes!," the boy yelped before recognizing his station. Regaining his composure, he responded
"Yes" again in a more dignified manner. "Are we under attack, Commander Bato?"

"No, your highness." The officer was at attention. "There was a massive wave that rocked our boat.
It came from the direction of Umibe village."

"Where that spicy fire islander burnt my favorite underwear?"

"Yes, your highness." The soldier responded with the strongest poker face he could muster. "We
had reports of seeing smoke come from their mountain."

"The volcano. It must have erupted. There'll be survivors." The Prince started. "Turn the ship
around."

The Commander looked surprised. "That's very noble of you, your highness." However, inside his
mind, he added "That's so unlike you."

The prince turned to his dresser. "Relay the order, Commander. Double time."

With a "Yes, your highness," the soldier left to make preparations.

The boy began looking through his wardrobe for his best attire. He already wore a smug grin.
"Win some points with the Islanders, look like a good leader, and maybe even get that kiss I was
looking for last week; Sokka, you are a genius."

Aang had left the house as quietly as he could. His rescuers had a lot to fill him in on, but he knew
better than to pry now. "A lot must have happened while I was gone," he thought with a sullen
expression.
Looking around, he could tell that this family must have been better off than the rest of this village.
Everyone else had a single roof and simple exteriors. Humble accommodations that fit a fishing
village. Their house, however, stood two stories and bore twin flags of the Fire Nation.

"They must be nobles," Aang mumbled. Though, that did seem odd considering how humble this
abode was for a Fire Noble. Aang remembered larger homes for noblemen from his vacation to the
Fire Nation.

Aang turned his attention to the adjacent alley. In a makeshift bed of hay, a large bison slept. Aang
almost exploded with joy. Jumping on the sleeping bison's head, the beast slowly awoke.

Seeing its master, the creature let out a happy rumble. Its long tongue reaching up and licking the
child's head. Laughing, the monk let the bison know that he loved it too.

Not too long after, the pair settled down. Moving to lay on his back, Aang opened up to the bison.
He was talking about the strange things he already heard and how long they were gone. Aang got a
mild grumble from the beast in reply. Content, Aang padded his pet on the head. Turning to his
side, the child fell asleep on his bison. The beast of burden followed suit.

As the sun broke the sky, Prince Sokka came on deck with his finest silk robes. His men stood in
two lines stretching from the cabin door to the bow. At attention, they were like a fence guarding
his path forward.

Taking a moment to put on his wolfhead helmet, Sokka began to march. "Men, today we take a
mission, not for the glory of the Water Confederation, but the nobility of its spirit." Sokka
remembered his father opening a speech this way long ago. "The Fire Islanders once looked down
on our people, but, today, they will look up to us as saviors." Stole that line from his sister. "Let us
march off to new horizons." That one came from his late mother. It was from a budgetary meeting
that the then-child prince was allowed to attend.

His soldiers, sensing the end of the speech, let out a "hurrah." Dismissing them with a gesture, the
soldiers moved to their posts.

Commander Bato came to Sokka's side. "Good speech, your highness."

"Yes, it was quite good, wasn't it?" Sokka turned to the sunrise. His smile reflecting the sunlight.

"Yeah, it was great when I heard it from your father and your sister before," the Commander
scolded in his head, "I bet you stole that last part too." He wasn't daft enough to say that outloud,
however.

"We'll be approaching the village within the hour, your highness."

"Good, good," Sokka stroked his bare chin, "I'm sure the Islanders will be happy to see us. We did
leave a good impression, after all."

Commander Bato's mind wandered to the 'burnt underwear' incident.

Ursa set the table, trying her best to endure the ever worsening heat. "Zuko," she called, "Can you
get Aang? It's almost time for breakfast."

Zuko rolled out of bed without anything more than a grunt. Not seeing the Avatar in his room, the
teen began to worry. The teen thought the monk may had runoff in the night. Running to the toliet,
he found no one. Nor was the monk in any other room.

"The bison!," Zuko remembered as he ran down the stairs to the ally.

When he rounded the corner, he was relieved to see Aang sleeping on top of his bison. However,
his eyes darted to his sleeping sister, sitting at a right angle with the wall.

"She must have been keeping an eye on him," Zuko mused as he went to wake them up. Azula
snapped into a martial arts pose whereas the Avatar simply asked for more sleep. The two
frustrated Zuko in the complete opposite ways.

After a short, quiet breakfast of miso soup and white rice, the family decided it was time to address
the elephant in the room.

"Aang," Ursa started, "I know there is a lot you want to ask of us, but please understand that now is
not the time."

Aang, who was mostly silent, was taken aback by the lady's forwardness.

"What? I haven't even asked anything." The monk stopped putting aside buck chow for his bison.

"Yes, but you were clearly just waiting. For once, mother is right: getting to the point." Ursa gave
Azula an annoyed look.

"What my daughter means is that our village is expected to emigrate to Ishigaki today." Ursa tried
her best to sound unphased while giving such grim news. "Mtn. Hi has been acting up for the last
month. We were ordered by the Shobo-Shi militia to be ready by noon."

"It’s either that or they're leaving us to our fate." Azula chimed in.

"They said they wouldn't have enough ships to spare at first. But, they changed their mind when
Prince Sokka entered our waters." Zuko practically whispered.

"That chauvinist probably diverted enough vessels to our waters that they thought they might as
well rescue us while they're here." Aang was surprised how Azula said this as if it was the most
normal thing in the world.

Aang looked into his soup. For a second, he let a sullen look take over. But, it soon turned into a
smile. "Well, guess I better do my best to cheer them up," he thought.

"So, guess it's good Appa and I are already packed." Aang joked. The humor fell flat, however.

Sensing the dead room, Aang sprang up from the table. "The monks used to say that in times of
trouble, hope is something you give yourself." Aang moved like a showman to the door. "And
nothing gets one's spirit's up like a trip through the clouds. Luckily for you, I have my very own
flying skybison!"

The family seemed unmoved. "That's nice, Aang," Ursa tried to be polite, "But we really just want
to take some last moments with this place before we have to leave it." Ursa turned to her son. "We
were thinking of looking around town one last time."

"Well, why not do it from the air?" Aang pointed to the sky. "Bet you've never seen your town like
that before."

"That's the problem," Zuko dragged in, "My mother wants to see this place as she remembers it."
"Well, I never loved this commoner's hovel," Azula got up, "Aang, get the bison ready. My mother
would rather be with her favorite child anyway."

Ursa argued that she had no favorite child, but Azula ignored her as she dragged Aang out the door.

As the pair rounded the corner to Appa, Aang tried to speak up while he fed Appa. "Should I say
something? About that fight?"Aang tossed these thoughts around in his head. "They're is definitely
something going on with her and her mother."

With App fully and hearty, Aang helped Azula onto the saddle. "Maybe later," he thought. Saying
"Yip Yip", Appa took flight and burst into the sky.

Not far from Umbie, a familiar wooden ship approached. It's plain wood exterior had been adorned
with the flag of the Water Confederation.

The flag centered on an emblem that consisted of an ocean current flowing into a crescent moon.
The emblem was centered on a simple blue background. The outer lining of these particular flags
were adorned with silver trimmings. Jewels had been encrusted into the holes present in the
trimmings. A commoner of the Fire Islanders could eat for three years if they could sell a single
one of those jewels.

At the bow of the ship, Prince Sokka was in deep contemplation. "No ships in the harbor and the
island itself looks untouched," the teen prince mused.

Not long after, Commander Bato had appeared behind the prince. "Your highness, we see no signs
of volcanic eruption. Nor do we any lifeboats with evacuees."

The Prince stood back in thought. "At the end of the day, this was only a mild delay. A day's travel
wasted on a trip with no real destination. Perhaps I misjudged. I remember some rumblings from
the mountain last week. The elder islander told me it was nothing to worry about. That wave,
however. Something isn't right with these waters."

"I'll look like a fool, if I'm wrong." Sokka thoughts turned suddenly, "My noble gesture turns into
just another mistake in a long line of mistakes."

"Sir, what is that?" Sokka overheard one of his men exclaim to their superior. Snapped from his
daze, Sokka turned to Commander Bato, requesting a telescope.

Not long after, the prince saw something that gave him devilish delight. "Men, it appears an
airbender has strayed from the Boiling Rock. Let's give him some Water Confederation hospitality.
With luck, we might even get the Avatar today." Sokka spoke the last part with a hint of sarcasm.
After all, what were the chances this unlucky airbender was the real Avatar?

"At least this will make the whole trip seem worth it to the men," he reasoned.

Soaring above the clouds, Aang could feel the weight of the town fall beneath him. There were
kids walking to the port. Their parents carried their entire lives on their backs. Aang could see the
sorrow from even this high up.

Then, Aang would fly by overhead and their expressions would turn to laughter and play. Even
some of the adults joined in.

"Azula, are you okay if I do some tricks? Like a loop? Or maybe ten?"
Azula was grabbing on tightly to the saddle. Her face had turned a sickly green. Her cold, stern
demeanor had failed under the chaos of flight. With all her willpower, she tried to plead with Aang
to slowdown. The airbender did not hear her well over the wind.

Her screams of terror, however, he heard well. By the end of the third loop, Azula's throat had
practically gone red from yelling. Finally, Aang relented.

Leveling out, Aang tried his best to bury his laughter and ask his passenger how she was doing.

"Awful, you maniac!" was spat back at him with venom, "If you don't slow down, I'll usher in the
reign of the next Water Confederation Avatar myself!"

“Come on, you can’t tell me you ever had this much fun before.”

Azula let go of the saddle as Appa slowed down. Falling back in a daze, she tried her best to get her
malice across. “If this is your idea of ‘fun’, then perhaps the Water Confederation was right to hunt
you down all these years.”

“Wait, they’ve been hunting me?,” Aang turned back in shock.

“Ever since the last Great Comet Festival.” Azula turned back to her serious demeanor. “They
waited until the day right after we’d be at our strongest to start the war.” With a nonchalant shrug,
she continued. “Good tactic. Gave them a hundred years to entrench themselves against the next
one.”

“But what does that have to do with me?”

“You’re the Avatar. That alone is enough reason to hunt you. This war isn’t exactly 'balance,' is
it?” Her eyes narrowed. “Besides, you do remember that the Avatar reincarnates in the Water
Confederation next, haven’t you? You’d make the perfect countermeasure for the next Great
Comet.”

Aang shuddered. “They want to kill me so they can use the next me as a weapon?”

“Of course,” Azula seemed to have a habit of saying awful things like they were commonplace,
“It’s not too different from what I plan to do with you.”

Aang got quiet. “You plan to use me as a weapon?”

“Aang, you seem nice and all. I’m sure that is enough for some people. But my people have been
barely scraping by for a century.” Azula words felt like daggers. “While it must seem like seconds
to you, my people have lost our name, our unity, and our honor. We’re not even in the Fire Nation
anymore. It's gone. Broken into shards. This is Shobo-Shi, an insignificant ‘nation state’ of the Fire
Alliance.” Azula's face contorted in anger.

“I should be crown princess of the Fire Nation and my uncle should be Fire Lord. Instead, we’re a
joke. My grandfather spent all our riches failing to take back the capital. He died a pauper’s
death.” Her nails were digging into the saddle.

“Now, my father and uncle serve as generals to a cowardly warlord. My brother and I have nothing
to look forward to. We're either going to be soldiers in a hopeless war or political pawns for
warlords looking for legitimacy!"

Azula gripped her own shoulders. "My family is nothing now. We aren't royals. We're hardly
nobles. Thrown into a tiny, forgotten village for our 'safety.' And yet foreign princes can just enter
our waters and flirt with me like some commoner whenever they feel like 'gracing us with their
presence!'"

The end of her rant devolved into a scream. Aang could feel the heat rise in the air. Azula
struggled to capture her breath.

“She must have been holding that in for a while,” Aang mused. He wasn't sure what to say to her.
The monks had a few applicable lessons, but now did not seem the time.

Azula composed herself. "So, you know the situation. It's your duty to restore balance. You will
master all four elements by the comet's arrival and we will finally end this war." Her demeanor had
completely changed. What was once frustration had been replaced with blind aspiration.

Aang was taken aback. "Is that really your decision, though?"

"It doesn't matter. You're the Avatar. It's your duty."

Aang could feel a chill. "Yeah, but...maybe, this is a bit much. I mean, trying to learn all four
elements before this comet arrives. I'm not even sure why the comet is so special. Couldn't I take
my time with everything?"

Azula sneered. "Absolutely not. The Great Comet comes only once every one hundred year."

"And why is the comet so important?," Aang tried his best to follow along.

She turned her head to the horizon. "When it hits the sky, a firebender's power is unmatched."

"Then, wouldn't the Comet solve everything?"

"Hardly," Azula chided, "The Water Confederation learned of the comet's coming. My great
grandfather was convinced they spied on us. My father says my great grandfather used to scream
about how that was the real goal of their humanitarian aid, whenever my great grandfather had the
chance."

"You don't know that they did that. Maybe they really did just want to help? I knew people from all
over the world in my time including the Water Confederation. They aren't all bad people."

Azula gave a side-eye to the young Avatar. "Oh really? They weren't spying? They planned the war
around the comet: starting the war the day after its last coming. That gave them one hundred years
to prepare for the comet's return."

Azula pointed to the horizon. "Right now, their forces are too entrenched across the world for a
single assault to rout them all. All the Great Comet will do is help us take back some territory."
Her eyes darted to the water below. "The next full moon, the confederates will take any gains
back."

Focusing, Azula continued. "If we had you, however, you could use the Fire Alliance's advance as
a means to confront one of the confederacy's nukiliks and force a surrender. If even one of those
two surrendered, victory would be assured; The twin tribes can't win without each other. Divide
and conquer: classic Fire Nation military tactic."

Aang had moved into a contemplative posture. Deep in thought, he started slowly. "It seems a lot
has happened. But, is this war really the solution? The monks always taught me to seek peaceful
resolution to conflict. Maybe there is a way we can work things out between your people? Maybe I
could get the Earth King to mediate. And the Air Nomads would definitely be willing to send the
invitation."

Azula looked puzzled. Then she burst out laughing. Her laugh was uncomfortable for Aang. It
wasn't the mocking intent, but the strange sinisterness to it all. With her wits returning, she wiped
tears from her eyes.

"I thought Zuko was the dum-dum, but you?" Azula took a moment. "The Earth Kings," she placed
emphasis on the plurality of the last word, "won't mediate a war that they're fighting in. Least of all
while they're still fighting each other."

Aang could feel his mouth drop as Azula continued. "And the Air Nomads? They're hiding all over
the globe. Boiling Rock, Ba Singe Se, Omashu, whoever will protect them. The Water
Confederation wants to wipe you all out. All in the hopes one of you are the Avatar."

Aang could feel a deep guilt begin to form in his stomach.

"Listen, dum-dum, my mother was trying to be nice by sparing you from this earlier. Zuzu, was
too." Azula continued her ridicule. "I don't see the point. I suppose they don't have the stomach to
relive it on the same day they have to flee. Maybe she picked up how clueless you were last night.
Not sure what that accomplishes."

Aang, feeling an opening, interjected. "You know, you could be nicer to your mother. She seems
like a very nice lady."

There was a sudden dry heat in the air. Aang could tell he had crossed some line. Azula looked at
him with cold, striking eyes. As her mouth opened, however, Appa let out a howl. The pair
grabbed the beast tightly as it banked hard to the left.

Sokka was proud as he looked through his spyglass. "My men are happy. I will capture my first
airbender in two years. He might even be the Avatar!," his joke from earlier had morphed into
willful confidence, "Then, father will let me return home and claim the throne."

Sokka stroked his chin while he continued in his thoughts. "Yes, everything is coming together."

Above the teen prince, water tendrils had come from the ocean and grabbed the sky bison by its
feet. The beast rocked hard but could not break free. On the deck, four soldiers stood in a
waterbending stance. The soldiers looked like they were pulling back an imaginary rope. Their
fluid hand motions made the tendrils slowly come back to the sea, dragging the bison down with
them.

"Keep at it, men," Sokka exclaimed, "We almost have him."

Commander Bato, standing next to his charge, looked back at the young royal with contempt.
"Strong talk from a spoiled brat. When's the last time you ever worked for anything?" Bato cursed,
"A prince who can't bend? Just like his father. At least my friend had some leadership sense to
make up for it. How did Hakoda's house ever take power with such weak blood?" As usual, Bato
kept these thoughts to himself. "Hakoda, you better be glad your other child turned out so much
better, even if she is a woman. You'd never ask me to babysit her like this brat."

Aang and Azula tried their best to regain their sense. Questions about the situation were flying out
of Aang's mouth. Azula answered Aang's panicked questions with a simple phrase, " Confederate
hunting party."
Aang's demeanor changed. The face of the caring child had soured. Brandishing his staff like a
club, he jumped to the back of Appa. Smashing the staff downward, a gust of wind shot forward.
The tendrils dispersed into mist.

"Aang, we must move now!" Azula cried, but it was too late.

Sokka laughed. "Men, it looks like this airbender has a little spunk. Care to show him how the
Water Confederation deals with spunk?"

Bato rolled his eyes at the comment. Ordering the men wordless, Commander Bato knew what
tactic the prince alluded towards. The waterbender shot their hands out again and grabbed the
beast's legs with water tendrils. With a twist of their wrists, the water turned to solid ice.

Commander Bato nodded and his men wheeled up a ballista. "You may fire when ready,"
confidence dripping from Sokka's lips.

Aang tried to chip at the ice with his staff. He kept pleading for the ice to yield. It did not.

"I need to go down there and stop them." Aang screamed.

"You'll never make it in time," Azula pointed at the ballista, "You're an airbender. Let's glide out of
here with your staff."

Aang had murder in his eyes. "No!"

"We can't let them get the Avatar!," Azula fought back.

"I'll never abandon Appa!"

Frustration took Azula's features. Azula jumped forward onto Appa's tail, "Aang, hold my obi."
Azula gestured to her belt, now tied like a harness and rope.

With his support, Azula moved down to the ice itself and began holding a fire at each pillar. While
it began to melt, the thick icicles refused to yield.

Suddenly, the two could hear a "whizzing" sound. Azula's focused face turned to shock: she saw a
fireball coming for the attacking ship.

"The Shobo-Shi militia!," she exclaimed.

Aang turned to see a set of smaller wooden ships. They weren't the size of the battleship that
attacked them. They were smaller sailing boats that were roughly a third of the size. Each one
seemed crewed with about five men, less than a tenth of their attacker's force.

Azula screamed in panic, "Pull me up." Aang turned and saw another fireball coming for the ice
chains. In a frantic hurry, Aang yanked Azula to safety.

As harrowing as that was, Aang was relieved when their next shot destroyed the ice tethers.
Without a word, Aang returned to the driver's seat. As the Water Confederation turned its attention,
Aang used the chaos to escape back to the island.

"What are you doing?" Azula demanded an answer. "Why are you heading back to the village?"

"We should head back and evacuate who we can." Appa started their descent. "They're going to get
caught in the middle of this battle." Aang pointed to the smoking volcano. “And that mountain is
still going to blow any day now.”

Azula's face was sour. "The shobo-shi will handle it. That's why they came here. To evacuate us."

Gesturing to the saddle, "besides, this seat is only big enough for four people."

"Azula," Aang words were full of disappointment, "your family is still there."

Azula moved to speak but stopped herself. She didn't try to look Aang in the eye. After a short
while, she found her words. "Make it quick."

Sokka was knocked back on his rear. The shock of the fireball had knocked his ship back. As he
fell, a shrill scream escaped.

"Your orders, highness?" Commander Bato managed to avoid laughing.

Sokka scrambled to his feet. He wobbled as he returned to his full height. "We, uh, we attack them
with our…" Sokka looked around and spied his hip, "our boomerang."

Bato had had his fun. "Your highness, I think you're a bit dazed. Permission to assume command
for this attack?"

Sokka meekly nodded. Per Bato's recommendation, Sokka returned to his cabin.

Bato barked, "Benders, create a wave. Capsize their boats. Nonbenders, get your shield and spears.
Be prepared to fight off a boarding party."

In Umbie's center, there stood a statute of a regal old man. The old man appeared to be in combat,
but his opponent was not immortalized in stone alongside him.

The entire village seemed to huddle around the statute. There were furlong faces throughout the
crowd.

Ursa seemed lost in thought. Her son stood besides him, trying to hide his disinterest.

"Zuko, do you remember why they built this statute?"

Zuko tried his best to seem interested. "They built it because great grandfather died here."

"Yes, he died right here saving the village a hundred years ago." Ursa sounded almost whimsical.
"Fighting back a volcano itself. The same one taking us from our home."

Zuko stared at the statute. "Why?"

Ursa seemed confused by the question.

"You always tell me that story but why is it a good thing he died here? Shouldn't he have just fled
with everyone else? Why did he stay and fight? Were the buildings that important?"

Ursa seemed tense for a moment. "Zuko, Roku was someone...who felt bound by his duty to the
world. It wasn't just buildings he tried to save, but people who couldn't escape the carnage. He
could have run with everyone else, but then others would have died. People he could have saved.
He couldn’t allow that. A lot of this village’s ancestors are alive because of his sacrifice."
Ursa adjusted herself. "Though you are right. If there weren’t any people left to save, there isn't any
point in losing one's life over it."

Before Zuko could respond, a far-off explosion shook the crowd. There was panic as people
looked for the source. Some were screaming the volcano had erupted. Others cried of a Water
Confederation attack. Others tried to calm the crowd from hysteria.

The confusion was heightened when a strange creature came overhead. Some even screamed for
weapons. Zuko, recognizing the beast, yelled over the crowd. "It’s a skybison! My sister’s up
there!"

The crowd gathered around as Appa landed in the center square. Aang and Azula popped up from
their seats. Azula gave Aang a knowing look. The young airbender face grew grim.

As Azula had said, Appa could only seat a couple villagers. Four tops. Aang wasn't sure how to
move forward.

The silence broke when a villager asked what had happened. Aang, nervous, tried to speak. The
town center became a cacophony of questions. Azula seemed willing to leave Aang to his fate.

That's when Zuko jumped up. "Will everyone please shut up!?," he barked, "let the Avatar speak!"

The crowd immediately turned. There were murmurs and denials. People seemed stupefied while
others mocked.

"Yeah, him and everyone other airbender, bokkei!," one screamed.

Azula shot a fireball at the speaker's feet. "What did you call your prince?"

The speaker, who barely avoided losing his feet, was incredulous. "You're titles ain't worth spit!
There is no royal family anymore." Azula seemed ready to make the man eat his words.

Aang felt like the world was collapsing around him. "This is why I never wanted to be Avatar!,"
his thoughts spinned, "all these people, all these problems: they're all my fault."

The ringing sound of iron and brass stopped the cries. The group turned to see Ursa at Roku's
statue, banging an iron against the statute.

With their attention, she started. "Please, everyone, let's see what Aang has to say." She spoke regal
and calm despite the sounds of far-off fighting.

Zuko saw his mother, caring and kind. Aang saw someone reasonable, capable of getting people to
listen. Azula was confused: she saw herself in the woman's actions, capable of taking rash yet
logical action to get results.

Azula nudged Aang. Summoning his courage, he began.

"Listen up, right now the Water Confederation and the Shobo-Shi milita are fighting off the shore
of the island. We need to get everyone as far from the battle as possible."

Aang pointed to Appa. "Where is the village shelter? Or the closest island?"

There was murmur through the crowd.

"Aang," Zuko spoke up, "the closest island is Ishigaki. It's about a few hours away."
Aang looked at Appa's saddle before turning back to the hundred plus crowd. "Shelter?"

Azula chimed up this time. "Yes, in the mountain, that's going to erupt."

Aang looked at the crowd. Their faces were expectant. Whether they really thought he was the
Avatar or not, they needed him to be. Aang soft features grew stern. "The monks always said to
live life in service to others. That's why I am going to go out and try to convince them to cease fire
and continue with the rescue."

Azula was flummoxed. "You can't be serious, they'll kill you." Her words were drowned out by the
crowd chanting. Something about Aang's bravado had swayed them.

Zuko looked conflicted. "Sometimes, when lives are at stake, you have to put yourself in harm's
way. That's how great grandfather saved the town from the last eruption."

Azula shot her finger in her brother’s chest. "Great grandfather was a fool, losing his life for this
place. If he let this place burn, he could have stopped the Water Confederation's war at the start."
She gestured towards Aang. "Instead he saved this worthless pit and gave the Water Confederation
the opening they needed. Then his reincarnation vanishes for a hundred years and the world
drowns. Now, he's rushing off to die for the same lava pit?"

Aang was taken aback by the implications of her words. He was their great grandfather? His
previous life was, at least. What does that make them? But he had no time to consider them fully.
He moved towards Appa's head and grabbed the reins. Azula wanted to yell but let out a sigh of
resignation instead.

"Don't think I'll let you leave without me," Azula chided as she climbed onto the saddle. "Come,
Zuzu, you encouraged him."

Zuko looked back at his mom. Seeing her approval, he climbed aboard. The trio took off to return
to the battle.
 The Boy In...The Volcano? Part 3
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Sokka sat in his cabin. Swaying with the rocking of the boat. The sound of distant battle echoes
throughout the hall. Sullen and downtrodden, his mind drifted to a time long past.

"Sokka!," the old man screams, "You need to pay attention if you're going to become a man."

The old man is his dad, Nukilik of the Southern Water Tribe: Hakoda of the Snow Wolfdog House.
The pair were on a canoe in the waters of the south.

Sokka didn't listen. A boy of only thirteen winter nights, Sokka stood on the bow of the canoe
looking serious.

Hakoda shook his head. "If you put as much effort in being an adult like you do trying to look like
one, you wouldn't be the only thirteen year old in the tribe still practicing for his Ice Dodging."

Sokka's voice took on a deeper tone, like a child trying to sound like an adult. "Yes, but it's all
unnecessary. I'll pass it without any issues and be declared a man alongside the rest of them."

Hakoda sighed. "You haven't sailed once in your life before. You never even pay attention when I
try to teach you. If you keep on like this, you're going to fail."

Hakoda put his hand on his son's shoulder as his voice shifted to a softer tone. "You're too young to
understand it yet. You must think being the Nukilik's son is great. A time is going to come when
people will expect you to lead because of it."

The old Chieftain looked down at the symbol of the Water Confederation on his chest. "Our people
are flexible. We can adjust to a lot of change," he turned his gaze to the ice around them, "but we
can also stiff up and become like boulders. The tribe had to stomach much when a nonbender's
house took the throne." Hakoda turned back to his son. "But people realized I was a good leader
and the tensions faded."

"Your mother," the aging widow's eyes turned heavy, "she helped as well. Kya was a nonbender
too, but she was kind, caring, and always wanted the best for our people. And she would want you
to succeed, like I do."

Sokka felt a lump form in his throat. "Dad," was all he could say.

Wordlessly, the father returned to demonstrating sailing techniques to his son.

Sokka returned to the present. A fireball had hit the side of the ship in front of his cabin. He was
knocked back. Sokka got up and considered returning to the deck. However, the sound of water
dousing the fire stopped him.

"What would I even do?," he mumbled.

The trio flew towards the scene of the battle. Sounds of chaos assaulted their eyes. The light of
fireballs and the sparking reflection of water and ice besieged their vision.

Aang felt sick. He could feel a pit grow in his stomach. Zuko must have picked up on this as he
began to speak.

"Aang, my uncle once told me that fools make war, heroes look for peace."

Before the reassurance could set in, Azula snapped back, "Yes, and Uncle also tried to make Tea
Appreciation Day a national holiday. Sent a letter everyday for a year to the Shobo-shi Warlord
about it."

Zuko slumped back in the saddle. After a pause, he mumbled, "They did make it a holiday, you just
can't get off work for it."

As the trio fell into silence again, they arrived overhead. Beneath them, the Shobo-Shi kept their
distance from the confederate battleship. Their tactic appeared to be a defensive one. The Shobo-
Shi strafed the large boat from afar and pelted it with fireballs. The boats erratic movements
seemed to protect them from the waterbender's attempts to capesize them.

It wasn't a perfect defense, however. The shobo-shi had lost one boat already. The confederates
had made ice spikes in the intended path of the boat. The ship was run through before it could
change course. The survivors were trying to board the confederate vessel, but were being rebuffed
by nonbenders.

The chaos was uncomfortable for Aang. The young boy had never known battle before. The
sounds of agony clawed at his ears. The reflection of the ice and steel spears hurt his eyes. The
smell of burnt wood made him nauseous. This was war: no place for an airbender.

"What do we do to get their attention, Azula?," Zuko broke the silence.

"Why are you asking me? This was airhead's plan." Aang assumed that was now his nickname.

"You always have a plan," Zuko pleaded.

"And you always follow," Azula mocked, "Try taking charge, for once. Airhead seems too scared
to even talk."

"You know, I can still hear," Aang gave Azula a weary look. She was right though, Aang hated to
admit to himself: he was scared. Airbenders dodge and evade. Running into conflict felt wrong.

"Maybe we just land in between them?," Zuko’s suggestion felt more like a question.
Azula laughed at the insane idea. Aang, however, looked down at the battle. With a sudden turn,
he barreled towards the clearing between the ships.

"Are you completely out of your mind?," flew out of Azula's mouth.

Aang didn't respond. He has no other ideas. He couldn’t run. He couldn’t let people hurt each
other. He couldn’t think of any other way. This was the only way forward. This was what was
expected of the Avatar, no matter how terrified it made him.

With a gust of air, Appa landed in between the attacking ships. The shock temporarily stopping the
exchange of fire as the respective leaders sized up the noncombative entry. Bato, gave Aang a
steely look.

Airbenders were pacifists by nature. They would rarely fight back. They’d rather evade. However,
their selflessness was not unheard of either. Entering a battle to protect others fit well within their
nature, even if they kept nonlethal.

Airbenders were also peacemakers by nature. They would rather try to settle a conflict verbally.
The child was young enough to still fully believe in those ideals. Perhaps he was here to talk. Bato
admired the bravery, but admonished the foolishness.

There was a tense moment in the air. Azula eyed the two sides. The Shobo-shi were still moving in
formation, refusing to give the confederates a chance to strike. Smart. The Water Confederation
troops were sitting at the ready. They could return to combat at a moment’s notice. Smart. Azula
looked back at Aang to see a young boy standing in the middle of this powder keg. Not smart.

Zuko was sitting back in his saddle. The boy was impatient. He was quiet, but he couldn’t stop his
leg from bouncing. Any moment, everything could pop off. They would be in the center of it all.
Sweat went down the young swordsman’s forehead.

Aang stood on Appa’s head. The creature level with the opposing boats. That pit in Aang’s
stomach had grown. It felt like a burning fire in his stomach. It was too late to turn back, however.

“Everyone,” Aang boomed, “This island is on the brink of a volcanic explosion. The people need
to be evacuated. This battle has to stop.”

There was a silence. An older gentlemen in red armor stepped forth from one of the boats. The man
had a thin mustache and a stern face. “Get back to the Boiling Rock, airbender,” he screamed, “I’d
rather you didn’t get killed in the crossfire.”

Bato had already signal his men to stay at the ready before the Shobo-shi soldier had even spoken.
“Surrender yourself, airbender, and we will pull out our forces.”

“Aang, let’s go!,” Azula shot out.

Aang looked back at her before focusing on Bato.” If I do, you will keep your word?”

Azula didn’t let Bato respond. She wasn’t letting everything go to waste because of this airbender’s
kindness. She pounced, sending a fireball at Bato. A waterbender extinguished the flame before it
made contact. However, the return fire from a perched archer missed Azula and hit the shobo-shi
boat. Scrambling for retaliation, the shobo-shi lit an oiled rock. With a mounted catapult, they sent
it flying towards the confederates. Appa, spooked from the attack, used his tail to blow the strike
off-course with a powerful gust of wind.

Only Aang kept his eye on the fireball as it flew past the group and struck the island. That’s when
the shake started up again. They were so violent that the water became hostile as if in retaliation to
the land’s assault. The mountain top exploded. A plume of smoke and ash began plummeting
towards the village at high speeds.

Everyone looked on in horror. Aang mouthed a silent “no.”

Sokka went back to his bed. He couldn’t help out there. He looked down at his immaculate boots.
Their glamour seemed to mock him. He wasn't worthy of the outfit. He could remember his first
real failure from a long, long time ago.

Sokka was covered in freezing cold water. His father had dragged him from the depths. The
wreckage of his boat was sinking into the southern waters. Hakoda sat in the ice with his head in
his hands.

“They’ll find us within the hour,” Hakoda uttered. He let his face go free. He looked at the
wreckage before looking back at the boy prince. “We can’t say what happened.”

Sokka was too cold to talk. The shiver of his body forced his mother shut. The cold air tortured his
wet skin.

“Officially, you passed. That’s what we’ll tell them. Bato is the one who’ll find us. He can keep a
secret.” Hakoda sighed. “You will be a man.”

“B-but,” Sokka found his words, “I failed.”

Hakoda’s face showed a flash of anger. But it went away as fast as it came. “For the sake of our
house, you can’t fail.”

“It would be a l--” Sokka was cut-off by his father.

“And if they found out that my son failed his ice dodging, they will think the spirits have turned on
us!” Hakoda shouted, suddenly fierce. “We would lose everything! You and your sister will have
to live in exile!”

Sokka fought back tears. Hakoda relaxed as best he could. Frustration still warped his features.
“Sokka, my son,” he tried to get out, “my boy, we just can’t tell the truth. You’ll understand when
you’re older. We just can’t.”

That is the last thing the pair said before Bato found them. His father was right: Bato said nothing
of what really happened. They claimed Bato’s boat was the one Sokka sailed on. Hakoda had made
sure they were identical in the morning, as Sokka later found out. The wetness of their clothes
blamed away on some rough waters. Nothing that would disqualify one from their rite of passage.

Sokka spent the next few days in a daze. He remembered waking up one night to hear his father
and his sister talking.

“People have been talking,” Sokka could hear Hakoda through the walls, “Some of them think that
Sokka failed his test.”

“Didn’t he, though?” Sokka could hear his sister, Katara, respond.

“He did.” Hakoda relented. “How did you know?”

“Dad, I’ve practically had to be mom for this family after what Admiral Zhao did,” Sokka could
hear the contempt in his sister’s sweet voice, “I know when something is wrong with you two.”

“I never could hide things from your mother,” Hakoda joked through the stress, “But, we can’t let
people know.”

“They would turn on us.”

“We are so lucky you were born a bender,” Hakoda’s words struck at Sokka’s heart, “If we were
all nonbenders, I don’t think our family would endure these rumours. At least you give legitimacy
to our blood.”

“Then,” Katara grew stern, “make me the crown heir.”

Sokka froze in his bed. Could his sister really have just said that?

“Katara,” Hakoda started but Katara cut him off with a demand of no excuses.

“The north already calls us the ‘tribe of queens.’ You know what they think of us. Where we stand.
A woman can’t be nukilik. Our house wouldn’t just suffer, our tribe would.”

“Who's to say it needs to be official?” Katara's voice grew devious. “Sokka doesn’t want to lead.
Not in the ways that matter. He’s always been more obsessed with the glamour of it.”

Sokka could hear Katara rise from her seat. Her voice was full of impassioned fury. “He could go
out and do the silly things he likes. Give speeches, put on shows, hit on commoners. I can do what
really matters.”

There was a silence. Sokka could hear his heartbeat.

“A test,” his father finally said, “We’ll test this out. For both of you,” his tone turned cold with that
last phrase.

“Sokka will go out in search of the Avatar. If he captures the Avatar, or maybe just enough
airbenders, he can return. In the meantime, I will give you some of my responsibilities. Claim it is
to help out since I never remarried. We will see how you do.” Hakoda spoke like this was sports or
the weather, not the fate of Sokka’s future. “If Sokka can handle such a task on his own, he’ll have
proved himself. If you can handle my responsibilities, you will have proven yourself.”

“And all the while Sokka is away so people will stop talking?” Katara knew her father better than
anyone, Sokka thought.

With the sound of a far off explosion, Sokka was snapped to reality. The boat’s rumbling knocked
him from his bed. The cries and screams spooked the young prince.

With a yelp, he headed off to the deck to see what had happened.

Zuko was the first to speak up. “We need to get back. My mother…” He trailed off.

“The plume is going to rocket down that mountain. If we go now, we’re going to be trapped.”
Azula wasn’t her cool self. There was a hint of worry.

“Azula!,” Zuko reprimanded.

Azula looked back at Aang. “Can we get there in time? And get back?” Azula seemed lost. “We
can’t lose the Avatar. Not now. Not twice to this damn place.” She paused. “But, Ursa...Ursa is of
the royal line.” She tried her best to hide her real concerns.

Aang wasn’t sure. The plume was rocketing to the ground. There were people there. If the plume
consumed them, it’d be over.

“Aang,” Zuko yelled, “We got to go now!”

Aang snapped from the indecision. He told Appa to move and they blasted off to the town square.

As they left, Sokka arrived on deck to the scene of his men still in battle. While the sights and
sounds of the skirmish took him at first, he was shocked from the sight of the volcano in the
distance. Stunned, he walked through the battle to Commander Bato.

“Is that real?” Sokka was in disbelief.

Bato didn’t even bother looking at Sokka. “We’re in battle, Sokka. The shobo-shi aren’t letting up.
Try not to be distracted.” Bato paused. “Besides, we originally came here because of that damned
mountain.”

“I never realized how horrifying an eruption was.” Sokka felt guilty, his mind wandering back to
his true intentions.

“Consider this a crash course,” Bato told the archers to reposition towards the stern.

“There are people there.” Sokka practically whimpered.

“Yes, there are, but we can’t go help them as long as the Shobo-shi are firing on us.” Bato directed
two men to take down a fire that had started on the port side.

“And they can’t help them as long as we’re fighting them,” Sokka mumbled.

“Welcome to war,” Bato grimly mused.

Sokka looked around him. This was pointless. There were people dying. They both wanted to help
them, but they were too busy fighting each other. This had to stop.

Sokka rushed to the side of the ship and screamed out, “Everyone stop!”

Bato rushed to grab the boy. The old commander had promised Hakoda he’d keep the boy safe.
Sokka pushed him back. When the ships fired a fireball at him, Sokka threw his robe into the blast
to take the hit. Holding its charred remains, he began to flail it about like a flag. Screaming “Cease
fire, Cease fire,” as loud as he could.

Bato, wrestling with the boy, noticed that the sounds of battle had stopped. Letting Sokka go, the
old commander was surprised to see the old fire nation solider waiting expectantly. Did the boy
really do it?

Sokka had noticed as well. “Please, we have to stop this. Right now, there are innocent people in
that town. People I shared food and dinner with only a week ago. They are your people too.” Sokka
hit his exposed chest. “I am Sokka of House Snow Wolfdog, crown prince of the Southern Water
Tribe, and I vow on my life that I will give your people safe passage on my ship to your closest
city. I only ask for a cease fire and aid in evacuating.”

There was silence for a moment. The old fire national combatant seemed lost in thought. His eyes
turned back to the island. Then back to Sokka. “We were sent here to capture the prince,” the old
soldier mused, “but we were also sent to save those people. I’ll be damned if I let Roku Village
burn twice.”

With a relieved smile, Sokka began to direct his men. He called for them to reorganize their vessels
towards the island on a mercy mission. Bato was floored. A strange sense of pride took over him.

Appa howled as it moved through the sky. The citizens were already running to the port.

“We got to find mom,” Zuko let out as they were overhead. He had perched his head out, looking
over the crowd. She wasn’t there. He looked towards the city center and then, to his horror, he
found her.

She was helping some of the elders move. The plume coming hot right behind them. Azula moved
to speak, but couldn’t. She was out of her element. Her plan had fallen. She was in between two
situations and couldn't reconcile what to do.

Aang didn’t wait. He had a voice in his head. It was an old man. It was screaming at him to move.
Pulling out his glider, he flew forward on his own toward Ursa and the elders. “Take care of the
rest.”

Azula found her senses. “What are we supposed to do?” She paused. “Zuzu, go down and keep
these people from trampolining each other. I’ll direct people from the air where to go.” Zuko
nodded as he hopped off.

Azula moved to the head of the skybison and began moving it above the crowd. “Follow my lead,”
she bellowed, “I’m heading to shore.”

Aang closed in on Ursa. Landing in front of them, he took some of them by their shoulder and said,
“I can help carry them.”

Ura gave him a nod. The two kept moving as best they could, but Aang could hear the plume get
closer and closer. Aang kept looking back. It was gaining on them.

“I’ll buy us time,” Aang shouted. He let the elder go and handed them off to Ursa.

Ursa looked like she was going to speak, but she stopped herself. She focused on the path in front
of her.

Aang rushed to plume. Staff in hand, he threw forward the strongest gust of air he could muster.

Nothing.

The plume flew forward and engulfed Aang.

Ursa looked back at the worst time. The second it happened, she closed her eyes. She tried her best
to drive the thought deep down.

Suddenly, there was an earthquake. The ground below Ursa turned into a slide, carrying the elders
and herself to the port at double speed. As she turned back, she could see two glowing eyes in the
center of a tornado.

She wasn’t the only one.

Sokka’s men and the shobo-shi milita reached the shore at the same time. Opening their cargo
holds, they huddled as many people as they could into the holds. Overhead, Sokka could see the
skybison circling in the distance. He noticed something on the creature that looked familiar. It was
the girl from last week! Azulon. No, Azula! Sokka laughed a bit. He partly came back to hit on her.
How stupid was that?

Sokka didn’t have time to dwell on that thought. No one did. The plum in the distance had turned
into a rancorous tornado. The black soot spiraling into the heavens and dispersing into a black
snowfall.

“What is that?” Sokka was amazed.

“The avatar,” Bato said sternly, “no ordinary airbender could perform that.”

Bato gave Sokka a look. Were they going to go after him?

Sokka shook his head. “I can prove I’m worthy of my crown some other day,” Sokka sighed,
“Today, we have more important things.”

Bato smirked. Wise choice.

When the last of the men and women were on board, Sokka called out asking if anyone else was
coming.

Zuko in a frantic hurry scream, “Where’s mom? Where’s Aang?”

“Don’t worry, Zuzu,” Azula seemed to joke, “Mommy’s coming.”

Before Zuko could react, he was knocked aside by the parade of elders, led by Ursa. Their slide
formed unexpectedly along the cobblestone road.

Zuko didn’t care. As he got up, he hugged his mom. Azula tried not to gag. Though, she did smile a
bit at the scene. Just for a moment.

Then she remembered.

“What about Aang?” Azula shot at his family. “Did he escape?”

Ursa shook her head. “I saw a tornado, but I didn’t see him leave it.”

Azula spat. “I could see the tornado from here.” Getting herself firm in the seat, she said “move it
furball, save your airhead master already.”

While Appa growled, it shot off to the volcano.

Ursa moved to board the ship. Zuko went to follow her, but he was hesitant. “It’s okay if you want
to help your sister, Zuko.”

“I need to make sure you’re safe too.”

“I am safe,” Ursa joked, “now, go keep an eye on her. We both know she’s capable, but she’s too
much like me.” Zuko was shocked. Azula and mom were nothing alike. “She likes taking risks and
will sacrifice everything for her goals. Just like great grandfather.”

Zuko got the secondary meaning. With a nod, he ran off after her.
As Appa got closer, the winds of the tornado whipped at Azula. She could barely keep her seating.
“How did Aang stay on this without a strap?,” she complained. Looking down at Appa, “don’t let
up now, beast, I don’t plan to lose everything this close to my prize.”

Appa just growled.

Fighting their way to the edge of the tornado, Azula could see the outline of Aang. Really she
could only see his glowing eyes and tattoos. The rest was speculation. The winds lashed at the pair.
Pushing them ever further back.

“Aang,” Azula started, “let’s get out of here airhead.”

The words hung in the air, but no response. Aang was moving, judging from the glow, but he
wasn’t moving towards her. The movement suggests some kind of airbending form. A circular
pattern of movement around a fixed point. What was he even doing? The place was safe. The
plume was almost completely gone. The people were out. All that was left were buildings.

“Airhead, listen to me! If you keep on like this, you’re going to die like a fool!”

No response.

Azula could feel her bloodboil. Was this how great grandfather was? She wasn’t dumb. She knew
something had taken over him and left him this mess. Some kind of Avatar state.

“I can’t get through to him,” she muttered. She considered fleeing, but what would be the point?
Without Aang, the war was over. They lost.

“Aang,” she looked down to see Zuko screaming, “You can stop! Everyone is safe! Don’t waste
your life on some buildings! You did your job, now let’s get out of here!”

“Zuzu, it’s pointless,” Azula chided. However, she noticed the air began to die down. Looking
back at Aang, the glow was fading.

“Zuko, get ready to jump.” Azula yelled. Appa dived down. Azula grabbed Zuko’s arm and threw
him on Appa’s back. “Get ready to grab Aang!” She instructed her brother.

With Aang’s ceased movement, the tornado was unraveling. The plume was burning hot. If they
didn’t get to him at the right moment, it was going to collapse and destroy him.

The soot and ash burned their eyes as they got close. Her eyes watered. Her nose and throat burned
with every breath. Her skin felt like it was being pelted with hot coals. Through the haze, she could
see him.

“Zuzu!,” she cried.

Zuko got the message. He leaned out. The second he felt cloth, he grabbed on tight. Pulling up, he
got Aang on board.

“Get us out of here, beast!” Azula cried as she turned Appa around.

With a pain cried, Appa flew up and out of the plume. High in the sky, the trio could take the
moment to breathe. The soot and ash had left them hacking and coughing. No matter how hard
they tried, their eyes wouldn’t stop burning. Appa was in pain alongside them. After a good ten
minutes, things cleared up.
Looking down, the siblings could see the lava engulfing their home. Once again, the island was
gone in a single eruption. Hearing Aang cough and rustle, Azula felt good knowing that, at least
this time, the Avatar lived.

Sokka and his men had left port a long time ago. Their vessel sailed alongside the shobo-shi to
Ishigaki. Sokka himself was resting on the bow of the ship, looking at the sky. It was past midday
and the orange of nightfall had begun.

Bato came up besides Sokka. “Everyone has been fed,” he started, “The Shobo-shi have promised
to replenish our supplies in town, however. It won’t impact the trip.”

“Isn’t that something?” Sokka laughed, “We’re at war and yet they’re giving us supplies.”

“They felt honor-bound. We had saved their people when we could have captured the Avatar. The
old captain seems to be quite impressed with you, actually.” Bato laughed. “Keep this up and
maybe they’ll just surrender and make you the new warlord of these islands.”

Sokka laughed back. “Yeah, if only dad saw things that way.”

Bato leaned on the railing. He looked out in the ocean. “Your father loves you, Sokka.”

“He doesn’t trust I can be king.”

“Yes, but only because you never tried to be one before. You were just focused on your status.”
Bato put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Today, you acted like a king. I’m sure he’ll be happy
when he gets my messenger puffowl.”

Bato patted the boy’s shoulder and went back to the cabin.

Sokka turned back to sea. A smile on his face beaming.

Aang had come to after some time. He had acquired a bit of a raspy cough, but they expected it
gone by morning. Overall, none of their injuries were severe, despite the lingering pain.

“You don’t remember any of that?” Azula was quizzing the young Avatar, “Making a tornado?
Saving the village?”

“I remember trying to stop the plume with my airbending. And the cloud taking me. Then, blank.”

Zuko was half paying attention. He was focused on the horizon. “So, where to next?” Are we
going to meet up with mom at Ishigaki?”

“No,” Azula dismissed, “we know the confederation is going to be there now.”

Zuko looked annoyed, but let it go.

“If Aang is going to end this war, he’s going to need to master all four elements. Our next step is to
find him a firebending teacher.”

Aang and Zuko both looked like they wanted to speak up. Zuko beat Aang to it. “The Avatar is
supposed to learn all four elements in a certain order. Air, Water, Earth, Fire, right? We can’t start
with fire.” Aang nodded in agreement.

“Yes, and how do you plan on Aang learning waterbending?”

 “But they say bad things happen to Avatars who learn elements out of order,” Aang whined back.

Azula sighed and said again, “Yes, and how do you plan on learning waterbending?”

The other two grew quiet.

“Good,” Azula felt victorious, “It’s off to Shu Jing village. Father mentioned that General Jeong
Jeong of the Akatatsu had retired there some time back.” Azula gave a sly look to her brother.
“And maybe Master Piandao will finally teach Zuko how to use those swords.”

With that, the trio set off to the far-off island.

Chapter End Notes

Thus ends the first story arc. I hope the future ones can be a bit more episodic. I got
into a groove with this one arc. It was actually supposed to be one chapter, but a 41
page chapter is just too much.

I found I had trouble getting them off of this island. I focused a lot on getting the world
setup. I was afraid that people's familiarity with canon would be an issue so I tried to
get as many nods to how things were different as possible. I also wanted to give some
nods to interesting implications of this new dynamic.

I hope everyone enjoyed it. Please, if you had an issues, comments, feedback, etc. feel
free to leave it. I greatly appreciate it.
 The Beach
Chapter Notes

I decided to take a stab at shipping this chapter. I mentioned in the comments that my
ships for the fic changed after writing. I thought I'd play around with some ships and
see which ones would fit. As such, I decided to take this chapter as a moment to do so.
I was originally going to do a different Azula-centric story that would have gotten
more into her history with Ozai, but I moved it. I plan next story to be a Zuko-centric
story. Then that Azula-centric one, which will co-star Aang. Then, an Aang-centered
story. Aang probably get shafted a bit with spotlight in Book 1 because stories
centering on him will likely drive the main plot forward. I need to keep that in time
with the plot for Sokka.

I also decided to change the name for the fic. I always thought this should be divided
into three books like the television series. Archive of your Own is actually great for
that. It required me to rename this fic to fit, however.

I made an edit to a map so that people can get an idea of what the Fire Alliance looked
like.

Edit: After writing the entire chapter and having it posted for a couple hours, I just
noticed a huge error. Last week, I skimmed my map and went "oh wow, Ember Island
is on the way to Shu Jing village from Roku Island. I should do a story there." I
thought nothing of it. I worked on the thing all week. Even did two read throughs to
make sure everything made sense. Just now, I read the map again and I realize what I
thought was Ember Island was Hot Spring Cove. I even remember being slightly
confused by that last week but accepting it since it was labeled as the setting for the
"The Beach." I forgot that was where Team Avatar was in that episode, Team Zuko
was far away.

That's a little embarrassing. It's too late to change the chapter in my mind. I wrote the
whole thing and posted it already. Honestly, this kind of "zipping" around the map
happened a lot in Season 1. They lamp-shaded it twice. First with Aang saying he had
a lot of places he wanted to visit. Second with Zuko thinking Aang was a tactical
genius with misdirection when the Gaang had actually lost their map. I think I'll do a
similar thing next chapter and say they got twisted around because of the volcanic ash.
It's not ideal, but, in my mind, it's too late to change it.

I made an edit to imply they were in Ember instead to keep internal consistency. It is
what it is.

My bad. I'll be more careful in the future.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The waters were a beautiful orange as the sun rose. Near the shore, a small makeshift camp had
been made. Its occupants, Aang, Azula, Zuko, and Appa, were still fast asleep. The prior day's
adventure was so severe that their tired frames did not wake from the sounds of people
approaching.

"What are these kids doing here?," an older man barked, “We are supposed to have this set up by
tonight."

“Bums,” a young man complained, “I thought the Ember guard kept them off the beach.”

The old man just shook his head. “I remember my grandfather talking about this place. It used to be
where the nobles of the Fire Nation would come to blow off some steam. Really ritz place.” The
old man gestured to the sleeping teens. “Now, it’s just a place for runaways to space out.”

Placing his toolbox down, the old man searched for the right tool for the job. “Only one thing to do
in times like this,” the old man found his prize, “and it ain’t pretty.” Pulling out a hammer and iron
plate, the elderly man proceeded to smash the two objects together. The resulting sound was so
loud and obnoxious that the old fellow’s younger cohort had to cover his ears.

The trio jumped at the sound. Startled and dazed, they groaned as they ran from their sleeping
bags. Appa took it the worst. The skybison bellowed so loud that the resulting air blast floored the
two men.

Azula seemed to have a similar idea. A flame came to light in her hands as she yelled “Who in the
world dares to wake me up in such a manner!?”

Aang was shocked at Azula's quick snap to violence. Zuko, who was more used to his sister's
temper, pushed his sister’s arm down with a disapproving nod. Azula huffed.

The men got to their feet best they could. The older fellow needed his co-worker’s support.

“We’re here for the flipping Cirus, girlie,” the old man gestured to the crew of workers unloading
supplies from komodo rhinos.

“Girlie?” Azula questioned coldly.

Aang’s delight, however, led him to take over the conversation. “The circus?,” Aang practically
sang, “with the trapeze, the elephant lions, and the clowns?”

“The very same one, kid” the old man dismissed, “Now, if you kids could be so kind and beat it!”

Zuko had already finished rolling up their sleeping bags by then. While Azula flashed an orange
flame at the man, she otherwise let it go. Aang, however, was busy pestering the man with
questions. “When does it open?”, “Where do we get tickets?”, etc.

“Should we stop him?” Zuko was leading Appa away from the future building site.

Azula shook her head no. She liked how much the young Avatar was frustrating the old man.

“Azula? Is that you?” A girl’s voice cried out. The voice was familiar to Azula. When she heard it,
she stiffed up. Sweat formed on her forehead. It was accompanied by a cold, clammy feeling. It
couldn’t be her, could it?

Azula turned slowly to see a girl of about her own age. Dressed in pink and sporting a large
ponytail, this fire islander wore a sweet smile. Practically skipping, the girl rushed over to the
nervous Azula.

Zuko crossed his arms, “Isn’t that Ty Lee? That cheary girl who would never leave you alone.”

"Azula it is you," Ty Lee exclaimed. She stood inches from Azula. Leaning her face close to
Azula's face, Ty Lee grabbed Azula's hand. "It’s been so long, Azula. How have you been? I bet so
much has happened."

"Well, you know, just the usual." Azula was trying to maintain her cold demeanor. However, there
were small cracks here and there. Over emphasizing random words, stuttering at random points,
and even the occasional slight voice crack. "My family and I were just l-living in Umbie. Until the
volcano erupted. We got out. Helped that we managed to find the Avatar."

"You found the Avatar!?" Ty Lee exclaimed, leaning even closer in.

Azula told Ty Lee the story of their adventure on Roku Island. Azula was doing her best to smile.
She thought Ty Lee would like a smile. The grin was too wide and too teethy. Her eyebrows were
curved down with nerves. Ty Lee didn't seem to notice, she was enraptured with Azula's story.

Zuko was starting to get scared. He had never seen his sister like this before. That face was the
stuff of nightmares. What was going on?

"That is so cool," Ty Lee lifted up both of Azula's hands, "I wish I could go on an adventure like
that!"

Azula made a nervous laugh and looked to Zuko. Zuko seemed unnerved by the sight of his sister's
face. There was a wordless exchange between the siblings: should we? Can we? It dawned on
Zuko what was happening. Azula was too afraid to make the decision. The young fire islander had
never known his sister to be indecisive.

Finally, Zuko cracked. "Maybe you could come with us?"

Ty Lee squeed. Jumping up and down, she took Azula's hands with her, flailing the firebender's
arms up and down. Zuko expected Azula to snap her hands back, but Azula didn’t move. Her face
locked in the scary grin.

"I can't wait," Ty Lee beamed, "But I got to do my show tonight. It's the last show of the season."

"The last show of the season?," Zuko was confused, "but the spring is just starting."

"It's too hot in the summer, silly," Ty Lee giggled, "It's not like we perform in the Earth Kingdoms.
Can you imagine getting a bunch of people together in a big top tent in that heat? We use so much
fire in our performances people would pass out."

Ty Lee had taken the tone of a big sister teaching a younger sibling. "Everyone would rather be at
a lake or a beach. The winter and fall are perfect, though. Still warm but not too much."

"Well, isn't that unfortunate. Better luck next Avatar cycle." Azula spoke fast like she was trying to
end this quickly.

Ty Lee groaned at first, but her demeanor swung back. "I know! Why don't you stay the night and
come to our show? It's just one night. I can even get you free tickets! Then, afterwards, I would be
free to join you!"

"We really couldn't. We're on a very tight schedule," Azula had gone back to her old cold attitude,
as if she felt safe.

Aang rushed over so quickly that a small sandstorm formed. The airborne sand landed in clumps
all over Azula. She wasn’t amused.

"You can get us into the circus?" Aang was as giddy as a child.

"Aang, we have a schedule to keep," Azula was doing her best to get the sand off her.

Zuko stepped up. "We can spare one day for a show," Zuko seemed happier than usual, "I haven't
seen the Akatatsu Circus since Uncle took us to the last Alliance Gathering."

Ty Lee let out a "oooh." "Wasn't that the last time we met?"

"I think it was," Zuko rubbed his chin, "You were with your sisters and Mai had tagged along."

"She really wanted to sit next to you too, Zuzu," Azula's voice was mocking and fierce. She was
prodding him. Trying to make a point to her brother. "You were so embarrassed when she held
your hand." She put emphasis on the last part of the statement. Trying as hard she could to cue her
brother into her real meaning.

Zuko just shrugged. Azula's attempt to get through to him had fallen on its face.

"It's settled!," Ty Lee declared with glee, "I'll get your seats reserved."

Azula nodded with a "great" as the young girl scampered off.

A moment passed before Azula turned to her brother in fury. "Why did you suggest she could
come along!?"

"What was I supposed to say?" Zuko shot back, "Besides, I thought you wanted her to come
along."

"Come along?" Azula was in disbelief, "Yes, I want that 'girly girl' with us. So she can waste our
time with foolish endeavors. Like making her nails look that perfect. Or getting her hair done that
immaculate. Or finding that amazing peach perfume she was wearing."

Zuko shrugged, "She's been traveling with a circus. I'm sure she can handle things." Zuko sniffed.
"I didn't notice any peach smell."

Azula got red. "You didn't have her obnoxiously in your face the whole time. It was impossible not
to smell."
Aang, however, ignored the sibling's squabble. Putting his arms around both of them, he started
"Come on, we deserve a little time to ourselves. Besides, the monks took me to the circus the last
time I visited the Fire Nation. If it's anything like last time, this will be amazing." Aang beamed
with excitement.

Not too far away, a familiar convoy was close to their destination. Sokka's ship was trailing behind
the shobo-shi vessels, despite carrying the lion's share of refugees. The young prince was out on
deck in his finest robes.

Bato could see the tensed shoulders and rigid stance of the young prince.

"What's eating your seal blubber today?" Bato sipped his morning tea.

Sokka was surprised, "aren't you worried?"

"About what?," the old commander wiped his brow. The heat of the Fire Islands was unforgiving
to the arctic resident.

"The send-off." Sokka looked towards the looming island. "Ishigaki belongs to both the Shobo-shi
and the Southern Earth Kingdom. Things could get rocky."

Bato rolled his eyes. He hoped that wasn't meant to be a pun. If Hakoda had rubbed off on the boy,
then it most certainly was one. "The Dai Li will speak with the Fire Captain. If the man is good on
his word, we will be given permission to dock."

"And if he isn't?"

"The Dai Li were made to guard Ba Singe Se. King Kuei has stretched them thin guarding his new
kingdom. He tried to turn a police force into an army." Bato smirked. "They have no chance of
capturing this boat."

Sokka wasn't reassured. The child remained stiff.

"Leading is partly about appearance," Bato tried to keep quiet, "Normally, you have that part down.
It's the other stuff you generally struggle with."

"Thanks." Sokka mocked.

"We've been lucky these last two years. No one has given us trouble in these waters. It's easy to
look the part when things are easy" Bato pointed to the island, "but your mercy mission has us
sailing into danger."

Bato poked the boy's chest. "This is when it's hard to look like a leader. It's also when it's the most
important." The naval Commander set his arms apart, trying to mimic the width of the ship and the
size of the crew. "These men follow you. If you look scared, they'll be scared. You're the one
who's supposed to have the plan, after all."

Sokka took a moment before nodding in agreement.

"Good," Bato smiled, "Now, go be the captain they need."

Swallowing his fear, the teen prince tried his best to be himself. He may have done it too well.

Confidently striding across the deck, the boy stiffly asked soldiers how they were and greeted them
in an overly formal, royal manner.
Bato smacked his forehead. "Or you can overdo it and let everyone know something is wrong."

Zuko led Appa to a clearing just outside of town. The skybison took refuge under the cooling
shadows of the nearby forest trees. As Zuko began to put down their supplies, his stomach growled.

Putting down his bag, he rummaged around for some food. "I guess we could have the miso for
breakfast." Eyeing the stone box containing the miso paste. "We should make this last. Don't know
where we might run short."

Zuko was surprised to see his sister pacing the clearing. She was mumbling to herself. Stuff about
her clothes, her hair, what to bring with her, and other odd topics.

Aang walked up next to Zuko. Zuko could tell Aang was equally confused by the display.

"Has she ever done this before?" Aang took a seat. Dropping some wood for the breakfast fire.

Zuko absentmindedly got the spark rocks from his bag. "Never," he let the words fall out.

"Should we say something?" Aang made the stand for the stone pot.

"Usually my sister prefers to handle things on her own."

Zuko lifted a stone pot from his bag. "I'll go to the river and get some fresh water."

With Zuko gone, Aang listened to Azula’s rantings. It sounded like Azula was going off on a battle
strategy.

"I only have one outfit. I didn’t prepare for this fight. No makeup. Money is tight. I can't waste it.
However, I can't expect to succeed without some preparations. My plan of attack needs to be good
too. What stratagem works in this situation? Direct? Indirect? Feint?"

Azula screamed when Aang suddenly appeared before her.

"Are you okay?" Aang was genuinely worried.

Azula needed a moment to catch her breath. With a huff and puff, she grabbed Aang by the collar.
“Do that again, airhead, and we won’t need to worry about the Water Confederation catching you
anymore.”

Pushing back against the flustered Azula, Aang pleaded, "It just seemed like something was
bothering you.”

“Nothing is bothering me,” Azula was getting back her control, “I am planning our next moves.
We are staying here for the day. It sets us greatly off schedule.”

Azula’s demeanor was perfect. Her poker face was stone. However, Aang found a chip. “I don’t
know. Zuko said he had never seen you act like this before.”

“We didn’t have the fate of the world on our shoulders before yesterday, Aang.” Azula moved to
the soon-to-be campfire. She began to gather rocks to enclose the firepit.

“You didn’t act this way before you met that girl, Ty Lee.” Aang wouldn’t let up.

“Aang, do you really think girlie girl got under my skin?” Azula took a seat, “She might have great
skin and a refreshing personality, but that girl is more of an airhead than you. It’s not like she could
get to me.”

Aang sat across from Azula and gave an intense stare. “No, there is something going on.” Aang put
his finger on his chin, “do you like her, Azula?”

Azula’s poker face cracked with fear. She quickly recomposed herself, but that moment of sincerity
told Aang everything he needed to know. Still, she tried to fall back on her oldest trick: lying.

“I don’t like her, Aang,” Azula tried to show as much disinterest as possible by examining her
nails, “She’s an obnoxious dope. Has been since we were kids. Why would someone like me be
interested in her? You know, we are both girls, Aang?” Azula's eyes darted to the left. “Besides,
why would someone like her be interested in me?”

Aang sat back. “I don’t know. Not sure what you both being girls would have to do with it. The
monks didn’t really talk about this stuff much. People just kind of loved whoever they felt like
loving, from what I could see. Not sure why people liked who they liked. Some of them even liked
more than one person at a time.” Aang shrugged.

“Sounds dreadful,” Azula mocked, “We don’t really do that kind of thing in the fire islands. My
great grandfather was pretty stern on that during his reign as Fire Lord.”

“But, didn’t you say that the Fire Nation broke apart? And that there is no real Fire Lord?”

Azula sighed. “The Fire Nation did fall apart, but my uncle is technically the Fire Lord. It’s more
for politics.” Azula looked away as she got back to the point, “I don’t know what he thinks of it.
Knowing him, he’d be fine with it as long as it wasn’t me doing it. I expect the same from mom."

Azula wrapped her arms around her legs. “Doesn’t really matter what they think. Any of my
Uncle's edicts aren't even suggestions for the warlords. No one would listen even if his words had
some weight. Most people have issues with that kind of ‘love’ around here.”

Before Aang could respond, Zuko had returned with the water. When he saw Azula looking
forlorn, he stopped in his tracks.

“Is everything okay?,” he placed the stone pot on the stand.

Azula looked to Aang. Aang took a moment before he started. “Azula and I,” he paused, “we were
talking about how we were going to make up our lost time. She was just a little worried that
General Jeong Jeong might not be there when we got there. I do have a lot to learn before the Great
Comet arrives. Can’t lose too much time learning my first element” Azula gave a weak smile to
Aang as she recomposed herself.

Zuko looked at Aang. Then over to Azula. Zuko sighed. With the spark rocks, he lit the fire and
began to prepare the miso soup.

After an awkward morning of greeting everyone he saw and asking questions about their families,
Sokka strangely felt relieved when the ships finally arrived at Ishigaki.

As they got close, the Shobo-Shi vessels got ahead of the Water Confederation battleship. The
captain had already mentioned their intentions to land first and get approval.

After a short while, the shobo-shi returned and gave their approval to dock. Sokka had a sigh of
relief. One that he quickly tried to cover up.
Following the Shobo-Shi, Sokka's ship docked in a harbor built into the mountain itself. From the
smoothness of the cave, it was clearly manmade. The work of the allied Southern Earth Kingdom,
no doubt.

Once docking was complete, Sokka signaled his men to let the refugees go. Their number came
out of the hold in an orderly line. A Shobo-Shi bureaucrat stood next to one wearing the uniform of
the Southern Earth Kingdom. The pair seemed to file out their own separate application for each
refugee.

"It seems inefficient," Sokka mused, "We'll be here for days at this rate."

Bato shrugged, "the land belongs to both countries. They must require dual citizenship to live
here."

"Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Ishigaki has been a prize for our forces here for a reason. With two armies protecting it and the
natural defense of its cave, we just can’t get a foothold in it." Bato eyed their vessel, "Even if we
launched a sneak attack now, they'd just drop the roof on us and end it."

Bato gestured towards the two bureaucrats, "but an alliance like this is shaky. The second one
group can have citizens here without the permission of the other, that group is going to claim
ownership."

"But this is the Shobo-Shi's land," Sokka interjected.

"Originally, yes, but Warlord Ukano gave King Kuei a right to these lands to get him to build a
base here," Bato stroked his chin, "Can't say it hasn't worked out for him. Safe in his bunker, that
coward is untouchable."

Bato adjusted his shoulders, "only a matter of time until King Kuei pushes his weight on that
coward, if he hasn't already. I expect they'll end up in a skirmish and our people will claim this
place as a reward. This alliance isn't built to last."

Sokka stood upright, "never took you for a political analyst.

"It’s really Hakoda," Bato jokes, "he's always been the better half of our friendship."

They were interrupted by the arrival of one of Sokka’s soldiers. “Your highness, your presence was
requested by Governor Ukano. He sent a representative to retrieve you.”

Sokka looked to Bato, “is it a trap?”

“Not necessarily,” Bato responded, “You did have the captain’s respect.”

“I don’t know, this seems off.” Sokka withdrew into himself.

Bato turned the boy around, away from the soldier. He leaned in closely and spoke softly, “it’s
definitely a trap, but we’ve never gotten any intel on this place before. Make a show of going in
alone and we’ll have someone tail you to keep you safe.”

Bato could tell the child was worried from his look. “We’ll be ready to leave at a moment’s notice
here and we won’t leave without you,” he reassured, “I’ll have someone trail you. He’ll get you out
if something goes wrong.”
Sokka sloshed the idea around in his mouth. Finally, he made his decision: he’ll do it.

Turning back to the soldier, “alright, I will see Governor Ukano.”

After leaving with the man, Bato wore a prideful grin. He left to make arrangements for the young
prince.

The gang were moving about the local town. Some buildings were new and pristine, befitting the
history of the area as a nobleman's getaway. Others had signs of damage. Abandoned buildings
were scattered about. Their frames were dented with cuts and impacts one would expect from
waterbending strikes.

Aang and Azula were quiet. Azula was stone faced. Anyone who knew her less would assume she
was simply bored. Zuko knew the girl her whole life. Aang was nervous, like a child with a secret.
Zuko didn't need to know him at all to notice.

Zuko could feel a splash of anger. His features tightened. He tried to let it pass. After a few more
steps, he couldn't anymore.

"Will you two just spit it out already?" Zuko fired out.

While Aang jumped, Azula kept her cool demeanor. Without responding, she turned to Aang.
"Come on, airhead, I'm thinking of getting something for tonight."

Zuko growled, "Don't just run off."

While Aang tried to ask questions from Azula and justify things to Zuko in a frantic word-torrent,
Azula just dragged him off into town. Zuko let out a growl of frustration before walking off.

"Was that okay?," Aang felt guilty.

"Zuzu can handle it," she grew a sinister grin, "though, he doesn't have mother to cry to right now.
Might be a little tougher than usual."

Sensing Aang’s apprehension, she continued, “it’s a sibling thing, Aang. He’s fine.”

After a short while, the pair found themselves near the markets of the town. The place was lively.
There seemed to be a decent number of people milling about. There was excitement in the air.

Azula set to work looking through the stalls. She ignored the shopkeeps trying to get her attention.
Her eyes never met theirs. She refused to respond to their greetings. She never broke her stoney
face as she went from stall to stall.

Aang tried to keep up with her. He decided to stay quiet at first and figure out what she was
thinking. A fruit stand? A clothing stall? A jewelry vendor? It didn’t take too long for the monk to
figure things out.

Aang decided to just go out and say it, “Do you know what she likes?”

Azula didn’t move as she acknowledged Aang. She was on the hunt. She was only to give him the
bare minimum of attention. “This is important. Ty Lee is a simple girl. She may like flowers.
However, that is a tad cliche. Improving my attire will do little. It’s the mid-spring. My beauty
comes in the excess of clothes, not the absence.”

“What do you remember about her from when you were kids?,” Aang stopped her, “I don’t really
know a lot about these things, but the last time you met you were kids.”

Azula closed her eyes. Her mind drifted to a long time ago.

Her uncle, Iroh, had invited his brother’s family to come with him to the annual Alliance meeting.
They were to be guests of the Governor of Ryujin, their family’s then-current hosts. Her father,
Ozai, was looking forward to the meeting. He had fire in his eyes. Azula felt Ursa was cold as
always. She was futzing with Zuko’s appearance. She talked about how much Lu Ten had grown.

“She only spoke to me to scold me.”

When they arrived at the Boiling Rock, she remembered Zuko being amazed at the airbenders
flying about. Admiral Zhao’s father was still in command at the time. The royal family were
shuffled onto one of the beasts to cross the boiling lake.

“Apparently, The waters are the perfect defense against the water confederation. Any attempt to
water bend them would turn to steam and be useless. Wooden boats can’t make it across because
they would catch on fire. Besides, it would be impossible to get boats to the top of the peak
regardless. Without the airbenders on their side, the Water Confederation could never reach the
compound at the center of Boiling Rock.”

Azula met Ty Lee when she shuffled off of the skybison.

Azula was annoyed at the beast of burden. It’s hair had gotten all over her during the trip. As she
struggled off of the beast, she made sure it knew her discomfort. “Dumb beast,” she muttered
under her breathe, “cover someone else in your fur.” She made sure to kick the bison slightly as
she got off. The bison, in turn, bucked her. While the adults and Zuko were secure, Azula was
knocked forward onto the stone.

Ursa rushed to her aid, “Are you okay, Azula?”

Azula pushed the woman’s hand aside. “I can get up on my own, mother!,” she barked. Ursa
ignored it and continued checking the young Azula for injuries.

Uncle Iroh laughed at the young girl’s words. “A feisty one, she is,” he elbowed his younger
brother.

Ozai had a proud yet chilling look. “Yes, Azula is a strong one,” Ozai bragged as he told an oft
repeated joke of his, “She was born lucky and I was lucky she was born.”

“I don’t think anyone born into our family can rightfully call themselves lucky these days,” Iroh
mused, a hint of humour under a layer of heavy observation.

“Only a matter of perspective and time, brother.” Ozai oozed back.

Azula was embarrassed. “Mom! Dad and uncle are talking about me! It’s because you keep
treating me like a kid!”

“You are a kid, Azuzu,” Ursa stood up, satisfied Azula was unhurt.

Azula humphed, “Stop calling me that.”

That’s when she noticed the laughter. It wasn’t her Uncle this time. The voice was too high pitched
and youthful.
Azula turned to see a group of seven identical girls. All of them were laughing, but one in pink was
coming forward. As she came, she jumped into the air and rolled forward. Like a spring, she
unloaded herself in a triumphant flair.

Azula stared back unamused. Of course, Zuko had to mention how cool he thought the maneuver
was.

The adults had turned back to their business. Discussing with the airbending guide their living
arrangement. They left the children to play for now.

“I’m Ty Lee,” the girl exclaimed out of nowhere, “and these are my sisters, Ty Lin, Ty Lat, Ty
Lao, Ty Liu, Ty Lum, and Ty Woo.”

“I’m Zuko,” the amused boy started, “and this is my younger sister, Azula.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Ty Lee winked. Turning to Azula, she said “so, how about you?”

Azula was confused at the question. “What?”

“Well, I saw you do that awesome move so I thought I’d show you what I had been practicing with
my sisters,” Ty Lee spoke with childlike pride, “I’m going to be an acrobat when I grow up.”

“Wonderful, a circus freak, high admirations,” Azula joked. Zuko was quick to scold her for her
comment, earning himself a dirty look.

“I know, right?” Ty Lee seemed a little oblivious to Azula’s comment, “My sisters think its dumb,
but it’s nice that they’re helping me out with it.”

“That’s just because you stole the idea from me!,” one of the sisters yelled back.

“After you stole it from me!,” another screamed back.

Ty Lee was slumped forward in frustration at the display. Losing focus on her new friends.

“Zuko, aren’t you glad you only have one, perfect little sister and not that,” Azula gestured to the
rancorous family.

“Perfect is a strong word,” Zuko pouted.

Azula chuckled. “Well, Ty Lee, it seems you have your hands quite full today. I think Zuko and I
will go meet our parents.”

Ty Lee’s demeanor turned on a dime. She waved goodbye to her new friends. Then, like a drop of a
hat, she turned back to set the record straight on how acrobatics was her idea first.

“Aang, that’s it,” Azula snapped back to the moment.

“What is?” Aang was a bit confused.

Azula grabbed Aang’s hand again and dragged off the bewildered airbender.

Sokka was led off of his ship. Rounding the docks, he saw a figure standing to greet him. She was
a girl of about Sokka’s age. She had porcelain skin, likely due to living underground. What really
caught the prince’s eye was the strange contrast between her elaborate pigtails and her soldier’s
outfit.
Even more perplexing was the outfit itself. He recognized most of the design from war meetings
on the Dai Li. However, the girl wore a mantle of a fire islander noble on top of it.

“Are you the prince?,” an annoyed voice welcomed Sokka.

“The name’s Sokka, Prince Sokka,” Sokka’s voice was dripping with status, a cover for his fear,
“And who might you be?”

The girl went “ugh” at his flirtatious speech. “Just follow me.”

Sokka followed the girl as she began her trip deeper into Ishigaki. To calm his nerves, he looked
around. The area was definitely a military institution. There were civilians, but they all seemed to
be families of soldiers. No stands or stalls were present. There were no markets or commerce.
Ishigaki must pool their resources, Sokka thought to himself as he traveled.

“Have you been a member of the Dai Li long?”

The girl groaned, “I’m not a member of the Dai Li.” Her voice was flat and unemotive.

“Then what about your uniform?” Sokka gestured.

“Everyone in Ishigaki has to show their commitment to the Earth Kingdom,” her tone mocked the
very notion.

“The Southern Earth Kingdom?” Sokka asked for clarification.

“There is only one Earth Kingdom,” she replied, “One Kingdom, One People, One Voice.”

“But isn’t this the fire islands?,” Sokka gestured to their surroundings, “I know the warlo--
governor gave the Sout--Earth Kingdom rights to the land, but I didn’t hear about this place
seceding to the South---Earth Kingdom.”

The girl stopped and turned to Sokka. She looked around her and leaned in. “Shut up,” she
whispered, “Long Feng has ears everywhere.”

She turned back and acted as if nothing happened.

Enduring silence for the rest of the trip, Sokka was brought to a great hall. The stone structure
appeared to be built out of the mountain wall itself.

“Come on, my father is waiting for you,” she gestured inside.

As they reached the door, Sokka could overhear an argument.

“The new curriculum is outrageous,” an older gentlemen started, “it completely erases any studies
of Fire Nation history.”

A stone voice replied, “King Kuei has fashioned this curriculum himself to ensure prosperity
between our people.”

“Prosperity?,” the older man replied, “this is just another attempt to erase our history! Our
identities! Our way of--”

“The King has made arrangements for you at Omashu,” the stone voice interjected.

There was a pause in the argument. The older voice began again. It was devoid of emotion, cold
and robotic. “Yes, we can make concessions.”

Sokka wasn’t sure what he just overheard, but something about it seemed off. It left a pit in his
stomach.

The girl was unphased. She knocked on the door. The older voice spoke up again, “Who is it? I’m
in a meeting.”

“It’s me, dad,” the girl started, “You asked me to get the prince for you.”

“Mai, yes, please bring him in,” Sokka could hear the older man getting up from his chair.

When Sokka entered the room, there was only one man. Whoever the other voice belonged to had
vanished. Sokka took a moment to soak up the room.

One would mistake it for the office of a mid-level Earth Kingdom bureaucrat. There were various
Earth Kingdom flourishes. A portrait of King Kuei held high behind Ukano's seat. The flag of the
shobo-shi hung lower than the Southern Earth Kingdom’s banner. Even Governor Ukano was
wearing a Dai Li outfit.

Sokka realized Bato was wrong. Ishigaki wasn't some loose alliance doomed to fail. Not two
nations trying to own a single island. This was something else. Something sinister. Something
Sokka had never seen before.

“Prince Sokka, welcome to Ishigaki,” the man started, “You’re the first in the Water Confederation
to do so.”

“I am the trailblazer,” Sokka reverted to his prideful persona, “it’s the job of a royal: make new
bonds.”

“Indeed,” the governor started, “We’re quite impressed how you helped out Roku’s Village.
Umbie is a strong symbol for our people. Shobo-shi is lucky to have it in our waters.” Ukano
sighed, “the resting place of the last Avatar.”

“You don’t believe he reincarnated?,” Sokka questioned.

“With everything that has passed? Yes. It’s hard to imagine the Avatar would let things go as they
are without intervening.”

Ukano took a moment before continuing, “Enough of that talk.” He moved around and took a seat
at his desk, “we are grateful for the new recruits you have brought us. Umbie was always too far
off to properly train.”

“You mean the refugees? They’re civilians, not soldiers.” Sokka was confused.

“Everyone’s a soldier in Ishigaki,” Mai flat tone hid her sarcastic intentions.

“Indeed,” Ukano mused, “they’ll be sorted. Those who can fight will be trained for the Dai Li.
Those who can’t, will supply us with materials for the war.”

“You can’t just make people soldiers,” Sokka protested.

“You’ll be surprised what we can do here,” Ukano had a sinister tone.

The two locked eyes, but the moment faded.

“Onto the matter for which I called you here,” Ukano acted like nothing had happened, “the royal
family was on Umbie. We were holding them in honor after the Akatatsu had thrown them out.”

Sokka was surprised. He didn’t notice anyone who looked regal on the island. There were many
defined elders, but they all seemed to have lived a common life. The closest was the family of the
girl who burnt his underwear. But no princess could be so mean.

“Only one of them was reported among the recruits,” Ukano grew stern, “what have you done with
the rest?”

“I didn’t even know they were on the island,” Sokka pleaded.

Ukano paused. He moved his head back to the wall. He waited a moment then leaned back
forward. “You’re lying. I’ll ask again: where is the royal family?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sokka fought, “I brought all the refugees as I promised.”

Ukano gave a look to Mai. In an instance, Mai had Sokka by the neck, a dagger to his throat.

“Last chance, Prince.”

“Bato!,” the boy screamed, “Whoever you sent! Please! Now! Sneak attack!”

Nothing happened.

Governor Ukano moved his head back until it touched the wall. Waited. Then moved forward.
“You’re looking for your friend.”

A section of the wall slid open. Behind the new opening, a Dai Li agent held the unconscious body
of one of Sokka’s men. They were beaten, but alive.

“The Dai Li caught him sneaking about earlier,” Ukano was cold, “Now that we understand each
other: where is the royal family?”

“I really don’t know! I promise!” Sokka was on the verge of tears.

Ukano looked at the Dai Li. “Mai, let him go.” Without a sound, the knife was removed from
Sokka’s neck.

“Thank you,” Sokka caught his breath, “I’m glad you could see reason.”

In a flurry, two stone hands shot forward and bound Sokka’s hands and feet. Sokka fell forward.
Ukano stared at the collapsed teen.

“We will just have to substitute one hostage for another,” Ukano spoke grimly, “The prince of the
Water Confederation is more useful anyway.”

Night had come slowly. The days were getting longer as summer approaches. The beach had
become a hive of activity. A big top tent was surrounded by stalls and stands. People from across
the village came to be in attendance.

The gang had left Appa in the pasture with food for the night. They were looking forward to some
spectacle after their daring escape the prior day. Azula in particular seemed rather eager to see the
show.
Zuko wasn’t oblivious. While they were getting ready, Zuko took the chance to take Aang aside.
“Do you know what’s been going on with my sister?,” Zuko whispered, “She seems so happy.
Earlier today, she was acting like everything was falling apart.”

“I-I probably shouldn’t say,” Aang stuttered back.

“Aang, she’s my sister. Let me know if something’s wrong.”

“This is something she should tell you,” Aang tried to leave. Zuko stepped in front of him.

“I’m serious.” Aang could tell Zuko’s passion was coming from a place of love, but he was smart
enough to know how bad it would be to say something.

Luckily, Aang was an airbender. He moved into Zuko and slipped right behind him, running off
afterwards to meet-up with Azula. Zuko growled when he realized he’d been outsmarted, but let it
go to enjoy the show.

The show itself went off without a hitch. There were liontiger tamers, dancing platypus bears,
clowns: the entire circus experience. The highlight was Ty Lee’s performance. Her feats got a rise
out of Azula. Zuk was shocked when Azula actually clapped at the performance. After the
performance of the komodorhino riders, the ringleader brought the show to a close.

With the performance over, people began to head back to their homes. Their night of thrills over.

Aang turned to see a nervous Azula. Zuko was the first to say something. “So, uh, do you want to
go see Ty Lee? Or maybe talk about what’s been worrying you?”

“Yes, let’s go see Ty Lee.” Azula got up. Zuko sighed. Aang just readied himself.

Ty Lee was resting in her tent after the performance. There were flowers and little trinkets from her
co-workers. Gifts they gave her after she announced she’d be spending the off-season with the
Avatar and her old friends. Normally, there would be some minor meetups to hone their skills and
audition new acts, but Ty Lee had already requested an absence from them.

Ty Lee herself was pretty exhausted. The summer was creeping in. The big top tent was already
becoming a bit of an oven. Ty Lee was sweating even before the firebenders did their dance. Or the
magician used his firebending to “summon a dragon.” Good performances, of course, but
expecting people and animals to stomach that heat was a lot. Especially when your act relies on
physical coordination.

When she heard a rap at her tent, she took a quick opportunity to clean herself off with her towel.
“Come in,” she said.

As the gang entered, Ty Lee perked up. “Hey guys, I thought I’d see you in the morning.”

“Yes, well, I thought I’d come and speak with you a bit before we began,” Azula started. Zuko
looked a little nervous. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he had a feeling it wasn’t good.

“I was thinking back about our first meeting,” Azula started.

“When the skybison threw you off for kicking it?” Ty Lee was a bit confused.

“That bison had it coming! And where did it get off attacking a princess?” Azula shot out before
recomposing herself, “Yes, that.”
“I remembered your family tried to take credit for getting you into acrobatics. You weren’t a fan.
Seemed you had issues standing out from them.” Azula moved to her hair and began to undo it. “I
thought long and hard on what I was going to say to you. Strategized on it with the Avatar himself.”

“She mostly just stood around and thought, but I guess I helped.”

Azula took off her crown. “I read once that Fire Lord Sozin gave his crown to Avatar Roku as a
gift. As the child of both Sozin and Roku, I give you mine.”

Zuko leaned his head in confusion. “Isn’t this a little much? She’s just an old friend.” Azula subtly
jabbed Zuko in the side, causing the boy to hunch over.

Ty Lee seemed even more confused as she took the crown. “Thanks,” Ty Lee wasn’t sure what to
make of the gift.

Azula seemed proud of herself. "With that crown, you'll always out shine your sisters."

“I’m not sure how to wear it with my hair, though.”

Azula laughed, “don’t be naive. Did you think I wouldn't plan for this? I spent the last three hours
devising a perfect way of merging the crown with your hairstyle.” Azula moved around and guided
Ty Lee’s hands. She showed her how to place the crown in front of the ponytail and how to lock it
in place.

“Now then, you are officially part of our group. I’m sure you're jubilant. We expect to see you at
dawn tomorrow. Don’t be late.” Azula gave a flirtatious smile. Ty Lee continued her wide-eyed
stare.

Without another word, Azula turned and left the confused onlookers.

Zuko waited a moment. “So, now are you going to tell me what’s wrong with my sister?,” Zuko
was pleading more than demanding. Even Ty Lee leaned in with interest to Aang’s potential
explanation. The airbender just waved them off with a nervous smile and uncomfortable laugh.

The Dai Li had long since taken Sokka out of Ukano’s office, leaving the father and daughter to
decompress. Ukano, despite his previous bluster, was hyperventilating.

“I hate when the Dai Li makes me do that,” he let out, “It’s horrifying.”

Mai said nothing.

“I know they need me to put on a strong face, but it is all a bit much sometimes.” Ukano leaned
back in the chair.

“Are you sure it was the interrogation?,” Mai’s voice was dead.

“What else could it be?” Ukano exhaled. “Though, I have been tired lately. Memory has been
getting a little hazy. I might be getting sick. Could be lack of Sleep. King Kuei has been pushing in
a lot of strange reform recently. They've been touching more and more things. Sometimes, it feels
like the only thing they haven't touched is our military's uniforms.”

Mai closed her eyes. “It didn’t sound like you liked his reforms earlier.”

“The new curriculum?” Ukano asked, “You must have overheard. I had my issues with it, but the
King has his reasons.” Ukano seemed oddly proud. “The King’s advisor said Ishigaki is the model
 of the future. We're the test of how King Kuei will bring order to the rest of the Earth Kingdom.
Long Feng doesn’t say words like that lightly.”

Mai didn’t look at her father.

“Not that we’re part of the Earth Kingdom,” Ukano seemed to remember himself, “But as long as
we have their support, we are the strongest force in the Fire Alliance. Long Feng once told me he
hoped that Shobo-shi would reunite the Fire Islands under proper leadership. We’re lucky Long
Feng could see I was better suited to lead Shobo-shi than my predecessor.”

Mai sighed.

Ukano misread the gesture for a call for attention. “Good work bringing him earlier. The Dai Li
said you managed to keep his eyes off anything sensitive,” Ukano got up, “the Dai Li said it’d be
best if you got him. I remember having issues with that plan.” Ukano seemed lost in thought. “No,
wait, I didn’t. Did I?"

Mai furrowed her brow.

“I think I’ll head in for the night.” Ukano headed for the door, “Your mother is waiting for us.”

Mai looked at the wall for a few moments. She followed her father home.

On the other side of the wall, Sokka struggled against his captors. The stones kept his hand and
feet bound. Try as he might, he couldn’t break himself free. His captors dragged him like a
captured hen.

“I’m going to get out of here,” Sokka threatened, “You’re going to regret it when my friends
arrive.”

The Dai Li agent stopped and paused.

“Your ship left a long time ago.” The man let the words sit in the air.

Sokka was stunned. Did Bato really leave without him? Or was Dai Li just trying to get to him?
Feeling betrayed, Sokka could feel himself deflating. Without a word, he let the Dai Li continue to
drag him along the rocky floor.

Chapter End Notes

Thanks for reading! I love feedback so feel free to comment!

 Zuko's Master
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The wind brushed against the faces of the four teenagers as they shot through the sky. Aang was
uncharacteristically in the saddle with Zuko and Ty Lee. Despite being the most experienced flyer,
he clung to the saddle with his compatriots. Appa was moving at twice his normal speed. His
heavy breathes were telling of his exhaustion. Azula was in the driver seat.

The story of how she got into the driver seat wasn’t much to tell. Aang tried to go for the driver
seat as usual. Azula simply pulled him down by his mantle and told him to get in back. She was
driving.

“Can’t we slow down,” Aang pleaded, “Appa is going to be tired for a week if we keep going like
this.”

“No, Aang,” Azula shot back, “we have to be in Shu Jing Village. That’s on the other side of the
Fire Islands! How we got twisted around and ended up on Ember Island, I have no idea!”

“It was probably the smoke,” Zuko sad between nervous breaths, “The volcanic ash must have
twisted us around.”

“Great observation, Zuzu,” Azula laughed, “If you had said that days ago, Aang would have
mastered his first element by now.”

Ty Lee was terrified in the back seat. “Azula,” she cried, “ Can we slow down? Please? Pretty
please?”

With a sudden lurk, Appa could finally take a bit of a break. Ty Lee was lucky. She was prone.
Holding onto the saddle by crossing an arm through a hole in the guard. The other two boys were
just grabbing the guards. They were thrown forward onto the floor with a strong thud.

Appa himself was panting. This slowdown being the first break the beast had gotten all day.

“I suppose we can move a little slower,” Azula mused as if she was still making the decision, “if
all of you are going to be crybabies about it.”
Ty Lee and Aang recovered pretty quickly. The acrobats were used to a rough ride. Zuko stayed on
the floor. He was muttering about Azula. Azula couldn’t hear his insults over the sound of the
wind. Probably for the best, Aang thought, or else she might just speed up again.

Deep in the catacombs of Ishigaki, Sokka sat in a tiny cell. The dripping of water caused Sokka to
assume the prison was built underwater. Perhaps it was intentional, Sokka has mused. The endless
dripping had been an endless source of annoyance. The teen prince couldn’t sleep the first night he
was down here.

The walls were etched with markings counting the passing of the days. Sokka had begun to enter a
daze. The bowl of rice he received a day was not enough to keep him full, just alive. However, the
thick metal doors did not block all sound. Sokka kept his mind sharp by listening to the
conversations outside. Something in particular got his attention today.

“We received a reply from Long Feng,” a Dai Li agent spoke, “he’s rejected our proposal to
process the prince.”

“Should we just continue to hold him then?”, another agent spoke back.

“No, Long Feng worries Ishigaki isn’t secure enough. The prince’s vessel escaped. Long Feng
feels they will send people after him. We are to send the prince to Omashu.”

Sokka felt dread rise. It was fought with conflicting hope. Omasu was deep in-land for the Earth
Kingdom. Ishigaki was an island. They would have to bring him far from the prison to get there.
There was a chance to escape. However, if he couldn’t get away, no one would know where he
was. There would be no hope of rescue.

Sokka needed to be ready. His eyes darted around the room for something to use. The rocks were
smooth all along the cell. Earthbending ensured each stone was perfect. A feat no non-bender
could perform with simple tools. The water, however, gave Sokka hope. If it ate away at the rock
long enough, it would give him something to use.

Hours of searching later, Sokka found a section of rock loose enough to pull out. It wasn’t much,
but he had a shard of rock. Water Confederation always made their weapons out of bones to protect
themselves from Earthbenders. They weren’t alone.

The Fire Islands used flames to melt iron ore to make weapons. No Earthbender could bend metal.
Air Nomads relied on the simplicity of wood. Brittle but an effective complement to their bending.
Air Nomad's spiritual purity ensures there were no non-benders in their ranks. Each one had the
wind on their side in battle.

Sokka was in an Earth Kingdom prison. No one could claim Ishigaki belonged to the Fire Islands
anymore. He was to be transported on an Earth Kingdom ship to the Earth Kingdom mainland. His
only chance for escape was to get overboard in the middle of the sea. He wasn’t a waterbender so
he couldn’t ski on the surface. All he had was a rock.

Sokka fell back against the wall. What was even the point? He couldn’t see any way out. Why did
he even bother getting this weapon? It wasn’t a threat to the Dai Li.

A voice in Sokka’s mind drew him back to a time long ago.

“Sis, you’re going to regret dropping out of the healer courses,” Sokka readied his club to
punctuate his taunt, “I’m gonna knock you on the ice!” Sokka swung his club like a baseball bat at
Katara’s legs.
“You sexiest pig!”, Katara screamed out. She swung her arms in an upward motion. A torrent of
water swept Sokka off his feet. He landed face first in the snow. From the edge of the ring, Hakoda
and Bato looked on and laughed.

“That’s what you get for underestimating your sister,” Hakoda’s laugh was slightly mocking.
There was pride in there as well. It was not a cruel laugh nor a truly scolding one. It was the laugh
of a father who loved his children, but also one who felt one had gotten their comeuppance.

Bato’s laugh was perhaps a tad crueler, however. “Are you sure this is your boy, Hakoda?”

“Now, Bato, don’t be hard on Sokka.” Hakoda tried to calm Bato down. “Sokka had good instinct.
Waterbending is a fluid style and requires constant movement. The legs are a good place to strike.
Catch them in mid-movement and,” Hakoda made a whacking motion, “you can get them on the
ground. Hit hard enough and you can even take them out of the fight all together.”

Watching Sokka wipe snow off his face, Hakoda continued. “The problem is that his execution
wasn’t subtle. Telling your opponent what you’re going to do beforehand is a poor choice.” Sokka
sighed at his father’s words.

“Not the best idea to imply women have no place on a battlefield, either. Could get some female
opponents off-guard, but it might just make them go all out. Bad idea when fighting a stronger
opponent”

Sokka groaned, “stronger?”

Katara stuck her tongue out at her brother’s comment.

Hakoda chuckled. “Besides, you remember you still got to live with your sister, right?”

“Hey, I could have won if you didn’t use your water magic,” Sokka seemed to not hear his father’s
last words.

“It’s not magic, it’s bending!”

“Could of, should of, would’ve of,” Bato got stern, “your life will be built on those if you only ever
make excuses. When you’re in a fight, you have to win. Your opponent may not always let you
walk away afterwards.”

Bato bent down and picked up a clump of snow. “Water isn’t just about being fluid.” Bato shook
the snow off the clump to reveal a chunk of ice. “When put in extreme conditions, water becomes
hard. It might break if it's small.” Bato broke the clump in his hand.

“But when it stands tall,” Bato gestured to a nearby glacier, “it’s unbreakable.”

Bato pointed to Sokka, “Be like a glacier, your highness, or you’ll get sloshed around and
shattered.”

Sokka came back to the moment. He was alone in an Earth Kingdom prison. If he acted like a little
brat, he was going to be shattered. He had to be a big boy now. He had to be ready. All he had was
his clothes and a sharp rock.

Closing his eyes, he began to formulate a plan.

Gone to Jang Hui Village on a fishing trip.

Be back in four days.

-General Jeong Jeong

Azula nearly burnt the note on the door. Zuko had to hold her back when the orange light flared up.
After a bit of struggle, she gave in and extinguished her flame.

“Will you stop it!?”, Zuko let out, “You could burn the place down!”

Azula pushed Zuko off. Without a word, she pulls out a map from their camping supplies. "Jang
Hui is a day's trip from here. App could get us there in a couple hours."

Aang whines, "but we just got here."

"And there is no firebending teacher here." Azula spoke coldly. Jumping back onto Appa's head.

With a buck, Azula found herself back on the ground, facefirst in the dirt. As Azula rose in angier,
Appa plopped down on the ground. The creature taunted Azula. It was going to rest here whether
she liked it or not.

Azula stared the beast down to no avail. "Fine!," she shouted, "we will move on foot. If we leave
now, we'll make it by morning."

Zuko pleaded, "this is crazy. We can wait for Appa to rest."

"The Great Comet still comes on the same day, Zuzu." Azula spoke with fire in her voice. "Need I
remind you what happens a month before?"

Zuko leaned back in resignation. Aang was confused: he had no idea what they were talking about.
Before he could ask, Zuko started, "At least let me stay behind. Master Piandou might still be in
the area."

Azula seemed to like the idea. "Good, you could use the training. And someone needs to watch that
lazy beast."

Aang cried out in protest, defending Appa. Appa bellowed out an angry growl. The torrent blasted
Azula's hair, making it look like it was licked back.

Azula growled, but let it go. "Aang, Ty Lee, we're moving out."

"Actually, I was thinking of staying with Zuko." Ty Lee spoke like a nervous child talking to a
parent.

Azula was surprised and demanded to know why.

"Flying was a little scary. I think I just need some time to breathe and relax in town." Ty Lee
stretched her limbs. "A big hike would destroy me right now."

Azula looked disappointed but her voice was as cold and disinterested as ever. "Fine, rest here if
you must. Just try not to let my brother sulk you to death."

Azula grabbed her supplies. Heading towards the road to Jang Hui, she grabbed Aang by the collar.
"Come along, airhead."

"Don't I get a say in this?," Aang pleaded.

"No," was Azula's flat reply.

After a short while, the pair were out of sight. Once Azula was out of earshot, Ty Lee exhaled and
slouched.

"Tired?" Zuko asked.

"I don't mean to be rude," Ty Lee stated, " but Azula has been making my aura grey all week." Ty
Lee began to stretch. "The circus never had us travel so rough."

Zuko shrugged. "She hasn't been the same since you showed up."

"Was it something I said?" Ty Lee looked nervous. "Oh no, I must have done something to tick her
off."

"This isn't Azula angry," Zuko joked, "Azula angry is her trying to burn down General Jeong
Jeong's house."

Zuko grabbed his chin. "You? I don't know." Zuko took a moment. "If anything, she just seems
worried."

Ty Lee did a cartwheel forward. "Maybe I am just overthinking it. She is traveling with the Avatar
after all. That could be making her aura all red."

"Maybe," Zuko entered a deep thought, "but why did she give you her crown? I never wear mine,
but she loves her’s."

"It’s like she said: she thinks I'm a great friend," Ty Lee rubbed her chin, "though I don't know if I
really get it. The thing barely wants to stay in my hair." She adjusted her crown after the cartwheel
set it out of place. "Makes it a little hard to practice."

Zuko decided to drop the matter. He had more important things to attend to. “Master Piandao,”
Zuko mumbled.

Aang was keeping his distance after Azula. The angry firebender was tearing a path down the road.
The first few minutes of their journey was spent with her fixing her hair. Muttering angry
comments about “beasts” and “layabouts.” The next few were spent in silence.

Until Aang spoke, “You know, we could just wait in town. We don’t have to camp out in the forest
tonight.”

“We’re behind schedule,” Azula sighed, “We just went over this.”

“About the schedule,” Aang looked around nervously, “you said something to Zuko. About
something happening before the Great Comet.”

“Aang,” Azula wasn’t her normal cold, she was stern and guarded, “I can’t trust you with that
information. Only the royal family is allowed to know the darkest secret of the Fire Nation.”

“Darkest secret?,” Aang was curious.

“I told you it was a dark secret so you would know not to pester me about it,” Azula shot back, “I
have no reading on your ability to hold secrets. You could blab about it to the first person we
meet.”
Aang began to plead like a child, “Please let me know! The suspense is killing me.”

Azula didn’t respond.

“How can I know why we need to get things done ‘on schedule’ if I don’t know this ‘darkest
secret?’”

Azula cut down some bramble.

“If you think about it, not telling me the darkest secret is really putting us all at a disadvantage.”

“Aang!,” Azula snapped.

Aang flinched.

“This knowledge has been entrusted to every one of the royal line. Our people’s secrets are our
greatest advantage in this fight. And our greatest weakness,” Azula was spitting fire, “When the
Water Confederation learned of the Great Comet, they built their war around it. And the ‘Great
Comet’ was public knowledge. Can you imagine how dangerous our secrets are?”

Azula let her words hang in the air. Satisfied she made her impact she turned back to the path.

However, it only took a moment before Aang started again. “If I’m really your grandfather’s
reincarnation, then technically I am in the royal line. So, telling me royal secrets would just make
sense then.” He punctuated his words with a big smile.

It took all of Azula’s restraint not to hit the young monk.

Zuko and Ty Lee found themselves in front of a large manor. The townsfolk had directed them to
the building as the home of Master Piandao. However, Zuko couldn’t help but notice the derision
with which they gave those directions.

“It’s like they’ve seen this a million times before,” Ty Lee had observed.

It didn’t matter. Zuko was here now. He was going to see the master. He just needed to knock on
the door.

But did he deserve to? No one had ever trained him to use his swords before. His father refused to
help Zuko with Zuko's "little rebellion." Zuko's uncle was not a swordsman and could only give
Zuko moral support. The men his uncle encouraged to help would all quit due to Ozai's fury.

That reminded him of his scar. He was bokkei. Would Master Piandao reject him on sight?

The sullen prince's thoughts were shaken at the loud knocking sound. Ty Lee seemed to have
completely ignored Zuko's dilemma and started knocking at the door.

Zuko was shocked, but Ty Lee wrote off his surprise with her own confusion. "But you were going
to knock anyway, right?"

Before Zuko could burst out how that isn't the point, the door opened. An older gentleman
answered. Judging from his attire, Zuko reasoned the man must be the Master's butler.

The man took a quick look at the two. "Master Piandao sent in his donation to the school
yesterday. If they sent you two to ask him to send even more, I'll have to warn you that Master
Piandao is quite skilled at withstanding sob stories."
Ty Lee spoke first out of habit, "School? My parents had me home schooled. They always said
school was for commoners."

Zuko interjected, "Ty Lee!" Catching himself, he calmed his voice as best he could. "I am Zuko. I
have come to seek the master's teachings."

The butler was unamused. "Even worse," he muttered, "I have no trouble showing you to the
Master but I must warn you he turns away all students."

"Not much of a master if he doesn't have any students," Ty Lee mused.

The butler eyed the girl. "As a bit of free advice, I suggest your friend take a stop in town for your
meeting. It will help your chances, low as they are."

"That's a good idea." Zuko turned to Ty Lee, "we could use some more supplies. Can you take my
wallet and get us some more food? Focus on foods with long lives like miso paste, rice, honey and
beans."

Ty Lee mumbled about how none of those foods were sweet enough but headed off for town
without further fuss.

"Now then," the butler started, "what did you bring to prove your worth?"

Zuko hadn't anticipated this requirement. Almost everything he owned was lost with Umbie. They
only took the essentials.

That's when Zuko remembered his crown. It had been saved from Roku's remains. Zuko's mother
was not going to let the same volcano try to claim it twice. He had it in his bag.

When Zuko went for the crown, however, his scar flared. The crown came from his father. It
wasn't of use to him.

"I brought nothing," Zuko declared sternly.

The butler rolled his eyes. "No offerings and a criminal."

Zuko tried his best not to wince at the butler's last word.

Led to a chamber, Zuko found the venerable master. The master faced his back at Zuko. The
swordsman seemed preoccupied with a painting he was working on.

Zuko could tell he was to speak. "I am Zuko and I wish to be trained in the art of the sword." Zuko
took seiza on the floor.

"Zuko, that's a familiar name," the master started.

"There are many Zukos," the young Fire Islander covered, "there were two other 'Zuko's in
Umbie."

"Umbie? Small village. Let me guess, you were the best 'Zuko' in your village and you think that
entitles you to train under me?" Master Piandao spoke as if this visit was a frustrating interruption.

"Actually, I was not that good at sword fighting. No one would teach me," Zuko looked at the
floor.

"Not doing a very good job selling yourself.," the master swordsman seemed to joke, "I am the
best in the Fire Alliance. Why would I teach someone untrained?"

"I need to prove my father wrong," Zuko's words were like gravel.

Master Piandao put down his brush. "Filial piety is a virtue on these islands."

"The five relationships rely on mutual respect." Zuko was calm but his words were burning.

"An outdated philosophy from a foreign land. Only royals still discuss those beliefs," Master
Piandao mused. Before Zuko could speak, the master cut him off. "You haven't spoke about why
you're trying to prove your father wrong? Or even how?"

Zuko balled his fists into his legs. "My father," he paused, "he's hurt everyone in my family. My
mother, my sister...me. We're vagabonds because of him." The young swordsman paused again.
"My scar is because of him."

"Your bokkei?"

"There wasn't a trial. We weren't even in Ryujin at the time. My father simply wanted me marked
as a traitor." Zuko spat the words out.

The master made a disapproving sigh. "What was your crime?"

At those words, Zuko found his mind racing back to a long time ago.

It was three years ago. Zuko and Azula had just begun to grow into adults. Their Uncle had left on
a political voyage to the Northern Earth Kingdom to curry favor from King Bumi.

Iroh was considered the perfect diplomat for tough negotiators. Ozai was the reason the royal
family had been kicked out of so many nations in the Alliance. The Shobo-shi asked that he stay
home. Ozai didn't take kindly to this news.

Ozai was always worse when his brother wasn't around. Zuko didn't know if it was some sibling
bond or if Ozai feared his brother’s power. Ozai's anger was cooled when Uncle Iroh was home.
When Ozai was alone, however...

"What is this slop?," Ozai poked at his stew.

"It's nikujaga," Ursa nervously replied.

Ozai tossed the soup aside. "I am a royal and you feed me commoner cuisine!?," Ozai screamed at
his wife.

"It’s what I could afford today," Ursa was withdrawn.

Ozai huffed. "Are you calling me poor?"

Zuko interjected, "Dad, you're taking this too far! It's just dinner!"

Ozai turned to the boy in disgust. "Shut up, you ingrate!," Ozai shot back, "You're my first born. Be
lucky that I haven't revoked your right to the throne, you weakling. "

Zuko wanted to fight. Ursa's calming look and Azula's stern warning held him back.

"Good," Ozai proudly spoke, "now, clean this mess and get me another bowl of that slop."
Zuko did as he was told.

"There may be hope for you yet," Ozai mocked. Beginning his meal, his demeanor changed. "You
and Azula are behind on your training. Both of you are to follow me to the training grounds
tonight."

"Yes, father," Azula announced proudly. Zuko simply nodded.

After dinner, the pair were led near Mount. Hi. With a respectful bow, they began to go through
their katas. Ozai barked his observations.

"Your leg is too low, Zuko."

"Your breath is too weak, Zuko."

"Your punch is too slow, Zuko."

"Good kick, Azula"

"Exemplary power, Azula."

"Fast punch, Azula."

Zuko was at his wit's end. "Can you say one nice thing about me? All you ever do is yell and
complain!" Zuko was like a raging inferno. "You always act like you're so perfect. You treat me
like dirt.

Zuko let it all out. His voice rose with every word. "Our family is not the royal line it used to be!
Grandfather ran us broke! You destroyed every ally Uncle made! Stop clinging to the past! Stop
acting like I have to be ready to inherit some throne our people lost a hundred years ago.

Azula was dumbfounded. There was fear in her eyes. She turned in terror to await her father's next
move.

Ozai said nothing at first. Then, he sternly spoke a command. "Zuko, if you are so interested in my
respect, defeat your sister in an Agni Kai."

"My sister?"

"Do you accept!?," he barked.

Zuko looked to Azula. She gave a weak nod.

"I do."

"Azula!?"

"Yes, father."

Ozai created a ring of fire around the pair. He ordered them into position. Taking a stance on
opposite sides, Ozai gave a quick countdown. On 3, he screamed for the pair to fight.

Zuko started with a swift motion. He summoned a small stream of flame. Azula moved her hands
in a circle and dispersed the flame. In the same movement, she stepped back. As she did, she
brought up her foot and slammed it down like an axe.
A torrent of flame shot out and came for Zuko's head. Zuko was forced to dodge the blast,
incapable of dispersing such a thick column.

He was given no rest. As Zuko readied to fire another punch, he was pushed onto the defensive by
twin flame strikes. He deflected the first one but the second singed his shoulder. The wound would
heal fine, but the pain caused the young firebender to cradle his arm.

"Weak," Ozai screamed.

Azula seized the advantage. She focused her strikes on Zuko's bad arm. Zuko didn't have a chance
to strike. He was too busy guarding his wounded side with his free arm. Walking backwards, he
tripped and fell prone. Azula appeared over him, hands ready to strike.

"Looks like I won, Zuzu," Azula was playful, trying to lessen the tension of the scene.

"What are you waiting for? Strike!" Ozai commanded.

The pair were shocked. "He lost, father. We can end this sparring match here."

"Did I say this was a sparring match?", Ozai foamed at the mouth, "this is an Agni Kai: burn his
face! He will wear a mark for his shame."

Azula continued to plead. "That tradition died even before great grandfather Sozin. People will
think it's a Ryujin bokkei. They'll think he's a traitor to our people."

"Did he not insult the crown prince of our fair nation? Did he not insult our divine right to rule?"
Ozai was relentless. "He spoke treason. The punishment fits."

"Father," Azula whimpered. She looked down at her scared brother.

"Azula, do you want to be the next Ursa? The next Zuko? I have treated you with privilege because
you were strong." Ozai had no love in his voice. "Prove you're weak and I will show no mercy."

Azula's face was pained. Zuko looked up at her and mouthed "It's okay." She let loose. Zuko
howled in agony.

Master Piandao had listened intently. While Zuko had kept details that would reveal his lineage
hidden, the vast majority of his tale was related to the swordsman.

"Tragic," the Master spoke matter-of-factly, "but you still haven't told me where swords factor in."

"I never want to firebend again." Zuko blurted out.

The master turned to Zuko, "firebending is a gift. I was cast out of my family for lacking that
natural ability. And you plan to forsake it?"

"Firebending was his gift," Zuko words were laced with poison, "I never wish to use it. My mother
was a non-bender. She was kind and fair to me. To Azula. Even to Ozai. I plan to live like her."

"Denying your firebending is like denying you have arms. You deny yourself a great asset, one that
has been a part of you since you were born," Master Piandao tested the child.

Zuko rose, "I will learn to live without that destructive power, with or without you."

As Zuko turned to leave, he was stopped by the swordsman's words. "Who said I wasn't going to
train you?"

Zuko spun around. A smile breaking his scowl. "We start immediately," the Master rose in
excitement.

Zuko stood in a courtyard. He felt lighter than usual. Like a weight was taken off his shoulders. On
his back, he wore his dual dao swords. On his face, he wore an eager expression.

Master Piandao stood across from him. “The first thing you need to learn about a sword is that it's
an extension of yourself.” The swordsman drew his sword. He performed a few simple exercises
with the blade. “Think of it like another arm.” After his demonstration, he gestured for Zuko to
follow suit.

Zuko drew his blades. He held them in each hand. The young teen tried to mimic the movements,
but he had trouble with the dual blades. As he tried to mimic the movements, he found the other
blade fighting him. He growled when he almost nicked himself. As he failed, he tried harder to
correct himself. He overreached, overcommitted, and overworked himself in this sorry display.

Master Piandao was observing carefully, “you’re acting like you’re holding two separate blades.”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing?,” Zuko let some of his frustration slip out of his voice.

“No,” the master was stern, “you are holding one blade.” The swordsman put down his jian,
“please, let me borrow those dao swords.”

Zuko complied. Swiftly, the swordsman moved gracefully with the blades. The two swords
seemed to flow like water. Piandao seemed to have no issues tracking each blade. They kept pace
with each other. Returning to rest, the master spoke as if he was delivering the most simple truth.

“People assume that since I am the greatest swordsman in the isles, that my knowledge comes only
from the Fire Alliance,” Master Piandao chuckled, “but the art of the sword belongs to no nation.
Take this as your second lesson: to truly master these swords, you must stop trying to brute force
them like a firebender. Instead, you must be fluid like a waterbender.”

Zuko examined these swords, “if that’s the case, why did my Uncle give me swords that only a
waterbender could master?”

“Not only a waterbender,” the old swordsman chided, “just someone who can learn from them.”

“As for your uncle, he either was trying to teach you something,” the master shrugged, “or he just
knew nothing about swords.”

The master presented the blades for Zuko. “I could get you a jian. They work better with your
more aggressive style.”

“No,” Zuko took back the blades, “if Uncle chose these for me, he must have had a reason.”

The master nodded his approval. With a gesture of the hand, he asked his pupil to try the kata
again.

The pair of master and student found themselves traveling along a mountain pass. The greenery
was a surprise to Zuko. On Roku Island, Mount Hi was the most barren place on the island. The
beauty of this pass seemed almost alien.
The master stopped at an outcropping. Across a chasm, a waterfall could be observed. It was a
serene and tranquil scene.

“Why are we out here, Master Piandao,” Zuko inquired.

The swordsman placed an easel on the ground. To its side, he laid a series of paints and brushes.

“Take a moment and absorb the scene,” the master spoke softly.

Zuko was unsure as to the wisdom of this teaching, but he wasn’t ready to question the master just
yet. The young swordsman turned to the chasm and observed the waterfall's beauty. Zuko
understood that it was beautiful, but he didn’t know how this related to sword fighting.

Zuko felt Master Piandao grab him and sit him in front of the easel. The shift was so quick and
effortless, Zuko was left dizzy from the ordeal.

“Now, paint what you saw.”

“What?,” Zuko complained, “but I barely saw it.”

“A warrior only has seconds to memorize a battlefield.”

Zuko turned to look at his master, but stopped as he felt his master grab his head and turn it back.

“No peeking.”

Zuko tried to focus on the painting. He just didn’t get a good look, however. Try as he might, he
couldn’t remember how the place looked exactly. He got frustrated. The waterfall was off. He
knew it. He began to furiously cross out the drawing and start over.

But, there was no other easel. He just ruined everything. Zuko just felt himself getting angrier. In a
fit, he pushed the easel over, spilling the paint on the grass.

“Are you a child,” the master scolded, “clean it up.”

“What does a painting have to do with swordsmanship?” Zuko turned to look at his teacher.

His master sighed and rolled his eyes. Without a word, his master began to walk away.

“Where are you going?,” Zuko was worried. He tried to follow his master.

Without turning, Piandao flicked a rock up with the back of his shoe. It hit Zuko at the base of his
foot. The sudden jolt of pain caused the islander to step back, leaning the base of his heel into a
divot. Falling backwards, Zuko landed into his paint supplies. The sullen teen looked like a post
modernist piece.

The master snickered as Zuko tried to rub the paint off.

Zuko was in training gear. He stood across from Paindao’s butler, who was dressed similarly. The
islander was given two wooden dao blades while his opponent wielded a wooden jian. The two
were engaged in light sparring. Zuko was aggressive and focused. However, his hits were being
easily blocked and evaded by the butler. No matter how hard Zuko struck, the butler nimbly
dodged or countered. It was perplexing for the teen: how could such a large man be so nimble?

“Zuko!” Master Piandao blasted.

Zuko turned to his Master. The butler took the moment to strike Zuko’s chest and knock him down.

“Don’t let yourself get distracted,” the master sent a cheeky smile to his pupil. Zuko punched the
ground and flailed.

Master Paindao led Zuko to a small grotto. The area was well manicured. The butler must have
done a careful job of maintaining this area.

“Fat has gotten ill,” Master Piandao sounded unconcerned, “I think it was a bad bit of fish from
lunch. I want you to help him out and tend to his garden while he recovers.”

“Gardening? What about my training?”

“We can continue when you’re done with this.” Master Piandao turned to leave, “it’s important you
take time to smell the roses.”

“But we’ve hardly trained at all,” Zuko flared up. But the old master ignored the tantrum.

Zuko turned to get to work. He wasn’t a gardener. Their homes rarely had gardens. When they did,
their hosts would have servants for these tasks. He was at a loss. The area was mostly barren sans
the small garden in the corner.

The islander picked up a nearby broom and started sweeping. The process was taking too long. He
tried to move the rocks into place, but they kept rolling away. He tried to cut the grass, but he cut it
too close. Everything he did, he failed. He could feel his blood boiling.

That’s when he heard Fat scream out in shock. The butler was not pleased by Zuko’s sad attempt at
gardening. He wasn’t sick either. Master had lied. Zuko couldn’t help but wonder why.

Zuko stood in the arena across from Fat. They were in their training garb again. Master had kept
his promise of further training after Zuko’s gardening work.

Fat seemed a bit angier than before. It seems he hadn’t taken kindly to Zuko’s lack of a green
thumb. The butler was on the offense. Zuko felt himself pushed back. The strikes were less
graceful. There was force and power behind each strike. The man was using his superior weight to
push into the teen.

Zuko found himself pushed back. At first, he fought as usual. Strong blocks to counter the strong
strikes. However, Zuko could feel his arm tire. The teen was using too much of his energy in every
block. He’d run out of energy before he ever got the opening to attack back. He could feel angier
rise up in him. His chi was starting to grow. He felt like he was going to burst.

But, even that felt like too much effort. His angier subsided to the tiredness of his body. He
weakened his muscles. His tired mind fell back as if into a pool of water. His body started to move
on its own. Zuko’s swords began to move rhythmically as if they were waves in the ocean.

Less and less energy was needed for every strike. Slowly, Zuko could feel himself speed up.
Giving into the motion of his body, the swordsman moved into a daze. He could tell he was
pushing back against Fat. The butler was on the defensive.

Seeing the man walk back, Zuko remembered a tile in the floor that jutted upwards. Zuko shifted
his weight with an easy pivot. Fat didn’t even notice he was being moved in a different direction.
The butler was too focused on defense. Stepping back, the butler’s back foot smacked against the
uneven stone, causing him to fall backwards.

Left defenseless on the ground, Zuko pointed his sword down at his foe in triumph. Only then did
Zuko’s mind uncloud. He had won?

A small applause had started from above. “I’m impressed. I was worried I wouldn't reach you for a
moment.” The Master smiled.

“Reach me?,” Zuko was incredulous, “all you’ve done is a single lecture and two sparring sessions.
And your butler did the sparring.”

Master Piandao rose. He took the steps down to Zuko as he talked. “Normally, I would be more
forward with the goal of my exercises,” the old swordsman started, “but I felt I needed to be more
subtle with you.”

Zuko started to think back on all the chores Piandao had asked him to do.

“When I saw how aggressive you were with the sword, I wanted to teach you to relax and take in
the environment,” the Master started, “but I needed to gauge your temper as well.”

“The painting,” Zuko mused.

“Judging from Fat’s trip, you learned to keep your environment in mind during battle,” the Master
smiled, “that will save your life one day.”

The master began to pace. “After your temper exploded, I needed to remind you of how much you
had to learn. Fat has studied under me to keep himself healthy. I asked him to adopt a waterbending
style. Perfect to counter your aggression, your natural opposite.”

“I could tell, however, you were still stuck in your old way of fighting. I suspect your father still
has a hold on you: a voice pushing you to fight like he taught you. You couldn’t just be talked out
of it,” the swordsman mused, “I needed to tire you out first.

“The gardening,” it all started coming together for Zuko.

“With you sufficiently exhausted, I asked Fat to adopt your firebending style: aggressive.
Aggression versus aggression is won by the most violent. Fat had been resting before your match.
Even with youth on your side, you couldn’t match him in such a tired state.”

“So that I would adopt a waterbending style to counter it,” Zuko exclaimed. It finally all came
together.

“Precisely,” Master Piandao spoke with pride, “When you finally stopped trying to fight like
you’ve always done and just let the flow of battle take you, you began to use those dao swords
properly. You even managed to internalize some of my other teachings.”

“Like when you tripped me on the mountain,” Zuko felt like he just solved a puzzle.

“No, actually,” Master Piandao cut back, “I was just annoyed you knocked over my painting
supplies."

Zuko shot a look at his teacher.

“Paint’s expensive,” the swordsman jokes.

The master and pupil sat across from each other in the chamber where they first met. The Master
looked fondly at his pupil.

“For your first day, you’ve come very far,” the master started, “you still have much to learn, but
I’m confident that you will grow in the coming days.”

“Thank you, Master,” Zuko bowed. Guilt took over his features. Looking back to his master, he
started with a weak voice. “There is something I should tell you. Something I lied about.”

The Master seemed curious.

“I’m not just any ‘Zuko,’” Zuko sighed, “I am Prince Zuko. Son of crown prince Ozai.”

The master looked serious for a moment.

“Please don’t treat me differently,” Zuko started up, “I wanted to do this on my own. Not because
of my family name, but my own merit.”

“Zuko, I knew from the second you walked in here,” the master seemed to think it was never a
secret.

“Then you only trained me because of my blood,” Zuko's voice rang with defeat.

The master laughed, “I would have trained you even if you were a street urchin begging for
scraps.”

Zuko looked up in surprise.

“I know what it’s like to have a bad upbringing. I wasn’t exaggerating about my parents
abandoning me for being a non-bender." The old master put his hand to his chin.

"I was barely a boy when they left me at an orphanage.” The swordsman was cheerful despite the
weight of his story. “That was why I wanted to make you my student: I could see myself in you.”

Zuko felt a tear escape his eye. He bowed again to his master, thanking him for taking him in.

Master Piandao bowed back.

Water rocked the boat carrying the boy prince. The water in his cell sloshed with the rolling waves.
Drips coming from a tiny hole in his wall, mostly plugged with a cork. His knees were pruned from
the water that lined the floor.

The prince waited for the guards to chatter. Under the cover of their idle conversation, he drew the
rock from his sleeve. Ripping off a small cloth, he pricked his scabbed thumb and drenched the
rag.

He turned to the hole he dug out earlier and unplugged it. Quickly, he stuffed the rag through. The
prince resealed the breach with the cork from his luncheon meal.

As quickly as he acted, the prince returned to rest. As if on cue, the guards looked through the
peep-hole again to examine the sudden sounds of water.

Sokka could overhear the Dai Li mock him from outside his door. “Should we move him to a
different cell? He might get sick with that leak.”
“Move him? He’s a water savage. I’m sure he feels at home in that sludge,” the other Dai Li officer
laughed.

Sokka ignored their jokes. His plan was already in motion. He needed to just wait for the signal.

“Did you hear about that fog?”

Sokka perked up.

“No, what about a fog?,” the other agent half-heartedly answered.

“Captain was complaining about it. They’re worried the fog may slow down our trip. It’s been
following us for the last few hours.”

Sokka knew it was time. He eyed the rock in his hand and steeled himself for what he had to do
next.

Guard duty was boring. Always has been. When King Kuei announced that the military was to
modernize and organize under the leadership of the Dai Li, everyone thought it meant work would
be more exciting. Less boring posts, more covert action and espionage.

The rigorous training led many to expect an exciting future. New techniques, new fighting styles,
new tactics: soldiers were drooling at the mouth to get into the field.

Now, these two were in the field. It wasn’t much different from when the army was under King
Bumi. King Kuei may have been stable, but Long Feng was unhinged in a different way from King
Bumi. Not that it even mattered: his orders still led you to the same boring jobs at the same boring
outposts.

You’d think guarding a captured prince would be fun. These guards would rather be anywhere else
right now. Shooting dice, having a meal in the mess hall, or even something as boring as a game of
Pai Sho. Literally, anything else.

Their boredom was shattered when a painful groan echoed from the prince’s cell.

The older guard opened the peep hole on the door. Inside, he saw the prince still sitting in the knee
high water as he was before. The guard had noticed the leak some hours ago, but refused to do
anything about it. However, what was once clear ocean water was now stained red with blood.

“He took his life!,” the guard exclaimed. He gestured madly for the other guard to give him the
key.

The guard’s hand shook as they opened the door. What would Long Feng do if he found out they
let the prince kill himself? Would they process them? Execute them?

“Come on,” the younger guard exclaimed, “maybe he’s still alive!”

The pair rushed to the body. As the older one inched towards it, the boy suddenly sprung to life.
Within moments, both guards felt a sharp rock pierce their respective legs. Surprised by the sudden
pain, they were easily pushed back. The boy rushed past them. Quickly locking the cell door with
his stolen key.

Sokka tried to catch his breath. His plan had gone off without a hitch so far, but the worst was still
to come. He shrugged his left arm. The stab wound he made was sore. The prince would need to be
sure to have a healer look at it.

He turned his attention to the door across from his home. Taking his key, he quickly opened the
cell. The prince already heard the guards getting back on their feet. Inside the other cell was the
guard Bato had sent to protect the prince. The man was badly wounded. The Dai Li didn’t seem
kind to their prisoners: his wounds were still untreated.

“Come on,” Sokka lifted the man into a fireman’s carry, “we’re getting out of here.”

The man tried to plead to be left behind, but Sokka didn’t even humour him. The boy was to be the
Southern Nukilik. He wasn’t going to leave a man behind.

The prince’s movement was slowed by the weight of the other man, but it didn’t matter. He just
had to get overboard. As he rushed towards the stairs, he saw some of his belongings in a heap on
the floor. The Dai Li must have given them out as gifts to their ranks. Sokka was quick to pick-up
his boomerang. It would serve him better than the club with only one hand.

Moving as fast as he could, the prince rounded the corner just as the Dai Li broke out of the cell.

“Sound the alarm,” they cried. Sokka got a glance of them as he got to the stairs. Their limps meant
they couldn’t follow him. The alarm, however, was going to be a problem.

A claxon came over the ship just as Sokka reached the deck. In an instant, Dai Li agents
surrounded the pair.

Sokka knew he had just one chance. He reached for his boomerang with his other hand. The Dai Li
were posed to strike. He had to make this count.

With a simple thrust, he threw the boomerang into the air. The Dai Li didn’t flinch. Some of the
less disciplined men even laughed at the prince’s believed blunder.

Just as the men moved to apprehend the unarmed escapees, the ship rocked violently. Sokka and
his soldier were thrown overboard in the resulting chaos. As Sokka helped the man stay afloat,
they caught a glimpse of their savior: a ballista bolt fired into the side of the Dai Li ship.

On their other side, the fog dispersed. Sokka’s ship emerged from its absence. The waterbenders
on the deck were manipulating the water in the air. With a forward thrust, the fog moved forward
and hid Sokka and the other man.

“Get to the prince,” Sokka could hear Bato cry, “We need to get out quick!”

Sokka moved towards the ship. Overhead, he could hear the ballista fire again on the Dai Li ship.
The Earth Kingdom were boulders on the sea. Sokka knew they stood no chance.

Sokka and the other man lay in a heap on the ship’s deck. Their bodies soaked through from the
ocean’s current.

Bato was directing a woman towards them. Hovering over the pair, she laid her hands upon them.
The water on Sokka glowed. He could feel the pain slip away.

“Focus on him,” Sokka gestured to his wounded compatriot, “he’s more badly hurt.”

“I was asked to focus on you, your highness,” the woman was focused on her work.
“And I’m giving you an order as your prince to focus on him,” Sokka shot back, “I’ll be fine.”

The healer was reluctant, but she did as her prince commanded.

Sokka used this opportunity to rise. With a limp, he walked towards Bato. The commander turned
as he heard of his prince’s arrival.

“Sokka, you’re okay,” Bato sounded genuinely warm. He lifted a torn cloth, "Not sure how you got
these overboard, but the eelshark's packs were grouped too close together to not be suspicious.
Clever trick."

“Why did you leave!?,” Sokka snapped without acknowledging the commander's words, “You left
me and him behind!”

Bato sighed. Guilt was in his eyes. “We tried to wait, but the Dai Li boarded our ship. I thought
we’d have the advantage in port.” Bato gestured to the battered deck. “My theory on them dropping
the ceiling on us was correct.”

“Then why did you send me in!?” Sokka fingered Bato’s chest, “why did you send him in?”

“Because I made a mistake!,” Bato yelled.

Sokka was taken back, but regained his aggressive stance.

Bato lowered his voice, “I made a mistake.”

With a gesture, he asked Sokka to follow him into the cabin. Sokka, despite his weariness, obliged.

“Hakoda has been trying to take Ishigaki for months,” Bato started as soon as they got in, “The
North has been making fun of him for failing.”

Sokka took his seat, unamused.

“I just thought you could pull it off,” Bato sat across from the prince, “After Umbie, I started to let
things get to my head. I thought we could pull it off: take Ishigaki.”

“Why does this matter to you so much,” Sokka’s aggression was slipping away.

“Because it matters so much to Hakoda,” Bato sighed, “I thought it would make him so proud to
know his son finally took Ishigaki.”

Sokka still didn’t fully believe the commander, “I know you’re friends, but I’m not buying it. You
were trying to pull something.”

Bato leaned back. “Hakoda and I are more than just friends. We’ve been together for years.” Bato
looked away, “When Kya passed, Hakoda asked me to help out when I could.”

Sokka stared through the commander’s words.

“I’m not going to pretend I never doubted him or you, for that matter, but I’ve always wanted to see
Hakoda succeed,” Bato’s words felt like they hurt to say, as if he was holding back on something
deeper.

The prince sighed, “for now, I can accept it. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about.”

Bato was surprised by the prince’s words. What had he uncovered in Ishigaki?
 “What’s going on in Ishigaki,” Sokka shook his heads, “it’s awful. The Southern Earth Kingdom
wants to destroy the Fire Island.”

“But they’re allies,” Bato didn’t understand the prince’s words.

“On paper, yeah, but the Southern Earth Kingdom has been doing everything under the sun to take
over that town. I heard them banning the teaching of fire nation history in their own schools,”
Sokka voice was firing with passion, “I don’t think the North has similar plans. It sounds like a
Long Feng person is behind it.”

“Long Feng,” Bato thought hard on the name, “our informants know him as a powerful advisor in
the kingdom but nothing more.”

“He’s more than an advisor,” Sokka almost laughed, “the warlord’s daughter was afraid of him
listening in on our conversation. He’s got some game planned, whether the king knows it or not.”

“We can’t assault Ishigaki,” Bato was preemptively trying to stop the Prince. Their vessel would
need some time to repair.

“No,” Sokka waved off the thought, “that’s down the line. Right now, I need to get my claim to
the throne secured.”

Bato raised his eyebrow.

“If I become nukilik, I can lead the south and set it on the right path,” Sokka confidence rose with
every word, “I’ll conquer the islands and the two kingdoms. I’ll set everything right.”

Sokka rose, “but first, I have to capture the Avatar!”

Chapter End Notes

This is the first chapter where a friend from college did some test reading for me. He
caught some typos and grammar errors in the entire fic that I am going to take the time
and fix.

He also made the good point that Ty Lee and Aang have not been fully fleshed out. I
already had planned for Aang to get more spotlight in the next two chapters. This one
actually existed mainly to give Zuko some sorely needed development and spotlight. I
hope the next two accomplish the same for Aang.

I am pretty curious what everyone feels so far about the story. I know it deviates from
cannon pretty hard with the sequence of events. That's actually intentional. I read a lot
of Avatar The Last Airbender fanfics before I put fingers to the word processor. I
wanted to see what other people were doing to help my own fic. One issue I saw with
some works -- which I still loved -- was that they followed the exact same plot
development as the original. Which sounds fine on paper, but seem to lead to the
problem where the focus was put solely on the twist. I still loved the story, but I felt I
should avoid the issue in my work. My mind went more to one story where, by
focusing completely on the villain's actions, they never had to worry about stepping
over and reiterating events in canon: they were always showing a different perspective
or something novel completely.
I don't think my work is as good as some of the works I read when researching. I feel
my sentences are too short. The world is perhaps too much of a divergence from
canon. I don't know if the relationships seem believable. I worry about the pacing.
However, I do feel confident in my decision to deviate hard from canon, something my
test reader also enjoyed. However, I am curious what everyone thinks about how far I
have been deviating. This chapter and the next few will adapt some episodes from
canon, but I do expect them to be significantly different from their name sake. I do so
in the hopes of providing a novel experience with familiar characters, but I am curious
what my readers think on that.

Also, I hope to keep up the weekly schedule. Quarantine helps. I write a little bit every
day after work. By Thursday, I usually have a complete story. This might change as
things open up or as my full-time job ramps up.
 The Painted Lady Part 1
Chapter Notes

I found this one the most difficult to write so far. This is another case where one
chapter is getting split into two chapters. It comes down to how many subplots that I
am running. In this case, there is one for almost everyone of the main cast. It balloons
the chapter I find. Hopefully, the split makes it easier to digest, keeps the pacing, and
makes it an easier digest.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone reading! It's great that all of you are so
interested in the story.

I want to also thank my test reader. He has been a big help and really helped fix some
major stumbling blocks in this chapter.

Also, I made another shoddy map lol. They're really more for me to keep track of
things. Maybe you will find them useful.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Aang was the first to wake at camp. He shivered in the morning chill. He was depressed not to feel
Appa’s fur. Aang had exclusively slept on Appa’s body since he had awoken in this new time. The
young monk had become accustomed to the bison’s warmth. He felt cold and alone traveling with
Azula.

Azula herself arose not too long after the rise of the sun. Aang remembered an old saying
“waterbenders rise with the moon, firebenders rise with the sun.” What did that mean for
earthbenders and airbenders? Aang had always wondered about that.

They didn’t speak too much over breakfast. Azula was probably still trying to keep a tight lip after
Aang had prodded her yesterday over the “Darkest Secret” of the Fire Nation. Aang could keep
bugging the young royal, but the fun died out after she set a bush on fire yesterday. She had her
secrets and a temper: Aang had learned to stop playing with fire.

As they continued their walk, Aang couldn’t help but muse on the girl in front of him. The only
thing she seemed to have in common with her brother was her temper. He had considered writing it
off as a trait of her people, but Aang remembered how the monks had taught him not to think so
small. Besides, Aang’s Fire Nation companion from his own time, Kuzon, was a level-headed and
serious man. The fire siblings were just quick to anger.

Perhaps they were most like their element. At least one aspect of it. They burned brightly and
strong when ignited. When Aang had last traveled to the Fire Nation, it was before he knew he was
the Avatar. He was just a nomadic monk amongst their people. He listened to cursory lectures on
their ways, but he did not pry deeply. He knew little of the Fire Nation and its bending arts. And
yet the pair were seeking a Firebending Master, breaking the cycle of the elements for the Avatar.

Aang knew little of fire outside of the obvious. It seemed on the surface that Azula used the art
with careful precision. Aang had trouble understanding that need for control on a fundamental
level. Air was about freedom. One had to put effort in to hurt someone with air. You could safely
bend air with reckless abandon. Fire, however, was dangerous in any state. Aang had a pit in his
stomach ever since Azula said they were going to seek out a firebending master first.

The monk had led himself to believe he was afraid of losing control of the element. Last night,
however, he felt the fear could come from somewhere else. In the loneliness of the Fire Island sky,
the Avatar felt this journey made everything real. Even if he went to hide among the airbenders,
even if he abandoned his quest, he was going to learn another element and cement himself as the
Avatar.

Yet still, there was a youthful part of Aang that craved the knowledge. It would be a chance to
grow his skills, expand his horizons, and, above all else, find some fun. With the Water
Confederation running amok, he had to accept being the Avatar, regardless. He had to restore
balance to this world. It was his duty.

The monk did find himself pausing in these thoughts, however. Was the Water Confederation that
bad? They attacked him, sure. They were going to kill Appa, which was unforgivable. But, could
Aang reasonably say that they did anything he didn’t expect the Fire Navy or the Earth Army to do
in their position? Perhaps the Water Confederation wasn’t so bad. Azula was nice, but she just
wanted to return to power. Would it be so bad if Aang just ran away to Boiling Rock and lived in
peace with his people?

Azula’s words cut Aang from his chain of thought. “The river has run dry,” she gestured to the
arroyo to her left.

Aang shrugged. “It’s the summer. Maybe this place dries up during those months.”
The royal placed her hands to her chin, “Perhaps.” After a short pause, she continued, “But if Jeong
Jeong lives here, he would have known about that by now. He wouldn’t have come here to go
fishing.”

The monk readied his staff, realizing the implications of Azula’s words. “Do you think they’re
here?”

Azula bent down. When she arose, she turned to show Aang a dried fire lily. “They were definitely
here at some point.”

“What does the flower have to do with it?,” Aang raised his brow.

“Father once told me about a waterbending tactic. It was for inland fighting.” Azula gestured to the
dried grass and dehydrated flowers. “If they’re separated from their water supply, they drain what
they can from plants, trees, and other flora. Their war with the Earth Kingdoms would have ended
long ago without this trick.”

Aang took a closer look at the grass. In the temple, all the monks were required to help tend to the
gardens. The boy could tell these plants had died some time ago. Whenever this battle took place,
it was at least three days ago.

“They are probably long gone,” Aang said with a bit of pep, “no reason to get worried.” Aang
punctuated his words with a smile.

Azula rolled her eyes, “I wasn’t worried, airhead.” She turned back to the road. Playing with her
nails, she continued. “If anything, I was looking forward to something to end my boredom.”

Shu Jing Village was a sleepy town, like many island villages. The central piece was always
Piandao’s looming castle. Though, there were a myriad of shops and houses in the city center.
Despite the large river to their south, water confederates rarely traveled down it. The rock wall put
them at a disadvantage.

For such a sleepy town, it was accustomed to tourists. Master Piandao attracted swordsmen from
across the Islands to their tiny village. However, the people of Shu Jing had little love for these
tourists. They tended to be haughty high-born brats. Inevitably, these nobles would throw fits in
town after being rejected by the master, treating wait staff and merchants horribly before leaving in
a huff.

It would say a lot about the young noblewoman, then, that Ty Lee had become beloved by the
local villagers overnight.

The young girl greeted all the villagers who wished her a good morning. Her last night was spent
with Appa in the fields. She and Zuko had set up camp just outside of town. Yesterday, she came
to town to stock up on supplies. Now, she was a familiar face to the people.

Earlier, Master Piandao had asked her to get something good for herself. The swordsman had felt
that the two travelers deserved something better than miso, rice, and beans.

“Get yourselves something nice,” Master Piandao had slipped the young girl some coins when
Zuko was busy, “this will be our secret.” The master had offered his student some money earlier,
but his student was too proud to accept it. Zuko was convinced the master was doing it because
Zuko was royalty. The student did not recognize the gesture of charity for what it was, a gift
between friends.
“I heard that Ms. Wu makes a delicious red bean cake,” the swordsman had whispered to the girl.

Ty Lee had winked at the swordsman before she had headed into town. The thought of a delicious
red bean cake causing her stomach to growl.

As she frollicked in town, the town was abuzz with concern. A group of confederates had entered
the town earlier in the day. Their ship was resting upstream in the harbor. The town called the
guards at first sight of them. However, a young man among them managed to broker safe entry.
They wished only for food and supplies, not a battle.

Sokka was that young man. Their naval battle with the Earth Kingdom happened in the waters near
Shu Jing village. After retreating, Sokka ordered his men to disembark on the nearest island for
some rest. Even with his renewed passion, the young prince knew his men would need some time
to recharge.

“Alright,” Sokka started, “go out, have some drinks, party, and be back in the boat by tonight.”

As his men shuffled out into the streets, Sokka could hear his stomach. “Come on, Bato, let’s get
something to eat. I’m thinking of Hippo Cow Tonkatsu.”

Ty Lee had noticed the soldiers milling about, but ignored it. Azula and Aang would be out for a
few more days. No one was looking for her and Zuko. To the bubbly girl, this was just an odd
sideshow on her way to cake.

Sokka was accustomed to the odd looks of the islanders. He had spent the last two years traveling
these lands. The people of the islands didn’t trust confederates. Sokka couldn’t blame them. After
all, they were at war.

It didn’t matter either way to the prince. Water Confederation money was always accepted in the
islands. The exchange rate, last the prince heard, was pretty favorable to the numerous currencies
of the fire islands. The islanders usually made out like bandits when they served confederates.

Sokka hadn’t eaten anything substantial in a few days. The Dai Li had fed him nothing but bread
and water during his imprisonment. The tonkatsu was delicious. Sokka loved fried food. The
Islanders even fried their rice, which Sokka was lovingly gulping down. Water Confederation food
is mostly grilled or boiled. There wasn’t much in the ways of trees or plants to make the oils
needed for frying in the north and south pole. First order of business as nukilik: a fire nation
cookbook in every house and a free bottle of oil every month.

Bato, however, was always slower to eat. He preferred the simple dishes that reminded him of
home. Sashimi in particular was a favorite of the commander. Simple, raw fish meat was one of his
favorite dishes back home and it was one of his favorite dishes in the islands. The commander
savored his meals. He remembered how bad nights could be when hunts went nowhere, back
before he met Hakoda. Food needed to be savored when you had it. Saved, if you can. He just
wished the Islanders didn’t always serve rice with their meals; Bato found it a bland side-dish.

“How are you feeling?,” Sokka spoke through full cheeks, “I think gyutan would be good. Or
maybe gyu kushi.”

“I’m good with the fish,” Bato shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” Sokka exclaimed, as he ordered another meal. After the waiter left, he turned back
to Bato. “So, we need to talk about our next steps.”
Sokka pulled a scroll out of his pack. Unfurled on the table, the scroll was a map of the islands.
“Roku Island is here and we are here,” Sokka pointed to two islands on the map. “The warlord in
Ishigaki mentioned the royal family was supposed to be on Roku Island.”

“The problem is that Roku Island is in the center of the Island chain.” Sokka said between strips of
the recently served gyu tan, “They could be anywhere by now.”

“We could call in a search from the Water Confederation Colony.” Bato sipped his tea, “But why
the sudden interest in the Royal Family? Weren’t we searching for the Avatar?”

“Don’t you see?” Sokka stuffed his mouth with the remaining Gyu Tan, “There were only two
boats that left Roku Island: ours and the shobo-shi warship. The only other thing that left was the
Avatar’s skybison.”

Bato gripped his chin, “Good work. The royal family must be traveling with the Avatar.”

“Exactly,” Sokka put up a finger, “One moment, let me order some shabu-shabu.”

After another conversation with the waiter, Sokka returned to Bato. “From what you told me, the
Avatar had two people with him. Did either of them wear this crown?” Sokka pulled out another
scroll. Setting it on the table, it showed a headdress in the shape of a flame: Azula’s crown.

“Yes, I remember that crown. I didn’t get a good look at the girl but I remember the crown
reflecting the sunlight. It was the woman who shot a fireball at me. Impulsive and violent, if I
recall," Bato sipped his tea.

“Then that’s the princess!”, Sokka fingered the scroll. “We just have to find her.”

“It won’t be easy, but that crown is a dead give-away,” Bato leaned back, “But wouldn’t she know
to hide the crown?”

Sokka grabbed his chin. “Possibly, but it's easier than looking for an airbender. Islanders know not
to tell confederates where airbenders are hiding. We can probably sell that the headdress belongs to
a criminal. After all, how many people are going to know what the princess’ crown looks like?
Royalty is all but dead in these islands.”

“Or we could just skip all that and grab her right now,” Bato got stern. Sokka laughed at Bato’s
apparent joke.

“No,” Bato got up and pointed over the balcony to a girl in the street. A girl in pink wearing the
same crown from the scroll: Ty Lee.

Sokka’s jaw dropped. When he recomposed himself, the young prince wore a determined grin,
“Cancel that order of shabu-shabu and get the men: we are going hunting tonight!”

The pair stopped in their tracks when they saw the village ahead of them. There was no doubt in
either of their minds that something was wrong. A dock stood in the middle of a dry lake bed.
Standing on pillars, the village stood suspended in the air. A ladder draping off the side to the
bottom of the dry bed.

It was obvious a lake was once here and the village was built on top of it. The real question on both
their minds is what could have happened to remove all the water. Could the Water Confederation
really do this?
Aang had his doubts. Were they capable of doing something like this? Were they strong enough to
move so much water? Were they willing to starve this village of water? To what end?

Azula, on the contrary, had no doubts. “Savages,” she burst out, “all of them: savages.”

“We don’t know they did this,” Aang interjected, “Even if they did, it doesn’t mean all of them are
willing to do something like this."

“Oh really?” Azula’s angier turned into a scornful mocking, “And when did you become an expert
on the water savages? You abandoned us to them for 100 years!”

“Stop calling them savages,” Aang stood against Azula’s words, “I knew people all across the
world in my time. I had friends in the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Water Confederation. I met
good and bad people everywhere I went.”

Azula leaned into Aang’s face, “I don’t know if I exactly need advice from someone who was
going to hand himself over to them a week ago. You know they were going to kill you, right? They
want their next Avatar, Aang, and they’re ‘savage’ enough to do it!”

Aang leaned into Azula, almost bumping noises with the girl. “Maybe part of the problem between
your people is you never treated them with respect. In my time, everyone in the temple knew the
tribes only united because the rest of the world turned their back on them.”

Azula huffed, “I can’t believe you right now. You haven’t seen what they are capable of!"

“It’s my job to be a citizen of every nation, Azula.” Aang stood up straight. “That’s what balance
means.”

"Balance?," Azula turned with a huff. “What balance would there be if there were no airbenders?"

Aang pointed forward, "What are you trying to say?"

"When I said that they were hunting you," Azula's voice had cooled into a callous, torturous tone,
"what did you think they were doing with all the airbenders they caught who weren't you? Putting
them in jail? Keeping an eye on them in case they were the Avatar?"

Aang's stomach turned at the implication of her words.

When Azula realized he wouldn't respond, she raised her voice. "They ended them, Aang! Your
people only remain in a few cities around the globe! All that's left of the once glorious Air Nation!"

Aang looked like he had eaten something sour. Without a word, he walked past Azula, heading
towards the ladder. Azula stood with a triumphant smile for a moment. Her smugness soon gave
way to the spectre of regret. Whatever she regretted, however, she didn't voice.

The town was deserted when Aang and Azula finally made it up the ladder. The few citizens out of
their homes seemed sick. Most likely, their families laid them outside to get them fresh air.
Assuming the sick villagers had families.

"They're dehydrated," Aang mumbled.

"Of course," Azula lectured, "it's not like anyone is bringing them any supplies. Why would the
Akatatsu governor help a remote place like this? They have too much on their hands with the war."

“That’s heartless,” Aang locked eyes with a sick woman. She was laying on her patio. Her
adolescent son was doing his best to tend to her.

“It’s pragmatic,” Azula was callous, “If it weren’t for General Jeong Jeong being here, we’d have
no reason to visit. I doubt the Akatatsu see things differently.”

“They’re still people,” Aang mumbled.

“Yes, they are,” Azula narrowed her eyes as she let out a sigh.

That’s when something surprised the visitors. There was the sound of bells. People began to perk
up and rush to the city center. Aang and Azula followed suit, intrigued by the sudden change in
mood.

At the center of town was a young man. He was clearly of fire islander descent, but he wore the
colors of the Water Confederation. He had set up a stall in the center of town. People were lining
up to get small jugs of water and a fish.

“Ko here!”, the man was shouting, “Get your rations here! All courtesy of the Water
Confederation!”

Azula was taken aback with surprise. She turned her eyes to Aang, who shot her a satisfied look.

“Don’t say anything,” Azula mumbled.

“I wasn’t going to say a thing,” Aang lied.

Azula gestured to the stall, “Let’s ask around. It’ll be easier to find General Jeong Jeong with
everyone here.” Azula seemed quick to want to change the subject.

The answers weren’t promising:

“Who?”

“Never heard of him.”

“Jeong Jeong? Like that fish cookie? I think Ko has some in his stand.”

After asking the entire village, the pair regrouped in front of the stall in defeat. No one had seen
General Jeong Jeong in the village.

“It’s like he never made it to the village,” Aang sighed.

“This was pointless,” Azula punched a pillar, “The Water Confederation must have gotten him on
his way here. We wasted our time!”

“Hey now,” an old man cried out, “You didn’t just insult the Water Confederation, did you?”

Azula turned to see an old man in a dockworker’s clothes. What did this fool want, she grumbled in
her head. “Oh, did I upset you?”

“Azula,” Aang scolded her before turning to the old man, “Excuse her, she has some issues with
the Water Confederation.”

“Why I don’t see why she would,” the old man rubbed his chin, “Why, they have been a godsend
for the village. When the Painted Lady took our water away, the Water Confederation was quick to
send supplies.”
Both Aang and Azula perked up at this information. “Painted Lady?”, Aang questioned.

“Why, yes, the Painted Lady,” the old man seemed reflective, “Though it’s really my brother Bushi
who knows more about them. Let me get him for you.”

The old man walked off behind a nearby house and reappeared in a rice paddy hat, “Hey, I heard
you two wanted to ask about the Painted Lady.”

Aang and Azula looked at each other. No words needed to be said.

“Why, the Painted Lady used to be the guardian of this village. We would honor her every year and
she would keep the river clean and pure."

Azula snorted, "Sounds like she renegotiated the deal."

"Something we did certainly angered her. First, the river dried up. Then, anyone who looked into it
went missing."

"Well, that's all rather tragic," Azula dismissed the man, "but we are looking for someone."

"If you can't find them, then the Painted Lady probably got them." The old man lectured. "I would
give it up. Only the Avatar can deal with problems like this, but the Avatar doesn't exist anymore."

Aang stepped back as Azula gave the young Avatar a sidelong look. "Thank you, Bushi. We'll take
your words under advisement."

"Bushi, you're thinking of my brother. I'm Xu."

Azula rolled her eyes as she took Aang to the side.

Before the fierce princess uttered a word, Aang let out a weak "I don't know, Azula."

"Sorry?", she mocked, "Who was just going about how it's their duty to bring balance to the world
ten minutes ago? Or does that only apply when you are being holier than thou?"

Aang could feel tension in his head. She got him. "I never met a spirit before," he mumbled.

"Tough," Azula was not giving an inch, "Most people never meet one. You're the one who’s
supposed to know how to deal with them." Azula gestured to Aang's head. "You joke about being
my great-grandfather. Just ask him how to do it. I know he must have dealt with spirits in his time."

"I never spoke with my past lives before," the monk whined.

"Isn't that the whole point of being the Avatar? That and the four elements?", Azula couldn’t
believe what she was hearing.

"It’s more complicated than that," Aang continued his excuses. He paused. "I assume it’s more
complicated than that."

Azula groaned. "Do you want to learn firebending or not? Jeong Jeong is gone and this spirit is our
best lead so far."

Aang wasn't sure how to answer that question. Here he was: the Avatar. Learning new elements.
Dealing with spirits. Could he really do this? Could he handle this pressure? Azula's eyes were
bearing down on him. He felt her gaze burning a hole in his head.
What to say? What to do? He was just a monk. Why not just hide in the Boiling Rock? Were the
Water Confederates that bad? They killed many of his people, though, and started this war.

Aang froze.

"I don't know." he finally whimpered out.

Azula lost her steam. Standing back, she looked disappointed. "That's it, then. You were only
defending the Water Confederation because then you wouldn't have to fight them. You don't want
to deal with the spirit because you don't know how to handle it. I bet you even ran away when you
found out you were the Avatar."

Her last words cut through Aang.

"What? Does it take an army at your doorstep and a volcano for you to be brave? When everyone
is seconds from the end? When it's quiet, when it's easy to forget, you just slink away ; putting it in
the back of your mind?," she wouldn't let up.

"You're afraid," she continued, "Worse than afraid: a coward."

Aang said nothing.

"Fine, go back to Shu Jing village with your bison. Run off to the Boiling Rock with the rest of
your coward people." Azula didn’t let up, "I can work around you in my plans. I don't need you!"

"Azula..." Aang barely got the words out.

"Leave!," fell from her lips like cold fire.

Azula turned her back. Aang moved to talk, but said nothing. Without a word, he left Jang Hui
village.

Azula didn’t look back at Aang. She could hear his staff pop open, turning into a glider. When the
sounds of his flight faded, she let out a sigh.

What was she going to do? Why did she explode like that? She worked so hard to save him on
Umbie. He helped her with Ty Lee. He gets cold feet and she scares him off? He's only twelve
years old; of course he's scared!

She can't rework her plans. You can't just replace the Avatar. How was she going to get Jeong
Jeong? What did it matter if Aang is gone?

She gripped her forehead. All these thoughts rushed through her mind.

With a sigh, she narrowed her eyes. She didn't know what else to do except keep going forward.
Get General Jeong Jeong back and reorganize after that.

She walked into the village square. With a shot of flame, she caught everyone's attention.

"Everyone, listen: I will handle this spirit problem."

Everyone stared at the woman in awe and disbelief. Though her claims were unbelievable, they
needed hope and there she was.

“Now, tell me where it is!”, she commanded the town’s people.

Aang sat on a log in the lake bed. He had given up on his trip back to Shu Jing shortly after gliding
off the village’s edge. Aang knew that Azula was right. He was running away again. Just like back
then. Just like with the Western Air Temple.

Aang was born in the Southern Air Temple. He spent most of his early days as an eager young
airbender. The boys in the temple were raised together in the east. The women were raised in the
west. Aang grew up not thinking of his birth parents as anything special. It was not a secret, but it
was not important. His family were the people of the air temples and his parents were his elders.

Of his elders, one monk in particular was like a father to Aang: Monk Gyatso.The wise old man
took special interest in Aang at a young age. The two would spend a lot of time playing pranks,
testing each other at Pai Sho, and discussing life and its many wonders.

Aang remembered the day when everything changed. When the monks approached him and told
him who he was: the Avatar. Four toys from his childhood were the evidence. The Air Temple
tested children by letting them pick from four toys that belonged to the previous air bender avatars.
If they picked all four, they could have only done so because they were familiar: because they
were the Avatar.

Aang tried to disbelieve it. He tried to reason with them. He didn’t want everyone to treat him
differently. He didn’t want to be taken away from his father.

And yet, it all happened. He was trapped in the Western Air Temple. Trained for a role he never
wished for. Missing his dear father.

So, he ran away one night. He took Appa and he ran. He left everyone behind and he ran. He let
the people of the world handle their own problems without an Avatar and he ran.

That’s when he fell into the volcano. That’s when he ended up here.

Everything. Everything was his fault. It was always his fault.

For the first time in weeks, the lake bed was wet. Tears fell from the eyes of the monk like rain
drops, fruitlessly nourishing the dead lake bed.

Ty Lee was returning to Piandao's castle. Ms. Wu was such a nice lady, Ty Lee mused. Ty Lee had
come a few hours before for the cake. When she arrived, Ms. Wu's children were playing Hana Ichi
Monme. The kids were annoyed that the teams were uneven.

"That's unfair," the youngest brother cried. He felt cheated by being on the smaller team.

Ty Lee felt bad for the little boy. "Hey," she chimed in, "If you don't mind me jumping in, I could
even the teams."

Ty Lee and the kids played while she waited for the cakes to be made. Ms.Wu decided to throw in
a few extra cakes for free.

"Consider it a babysitting fee," Ms. Wu joked.

Ty Lee was dancing a bit on her way back to the castle. Singing the kids’ song to herself.

"We're so happy we won, the flower is one coin," she sang, "We're so upset we lost, the flower is
one coin."
"We want that kid," she twirled on her walk, "We don't know which kid you mean."

"Let's talk about it," she started.

"Yes, lets," Sokka finished.

Ty Lee stopped at the sound of the prince’s voice. All too quickly, Ty Lee realized that the
townsfolk had cleared out. The confederates surrounded her.

Did they know? How? Ty Lee took a deep breath. What would Azula do?

Try to play it off. Be ready to strike when needed.

"Hello~!", she greeted the soldiers, "Are you here for Ms. Wu's cakes too? I just got a bundle."

No response.

"I'm sure she can make more," she began to sweat, "I could even share… if you… want." She
paused as reality set in.

"We don’t need to make this difficult.", Sokka let the words hang in the air.

There were too many to fight. She would need to even the odds. Perhaps it was best to stop now
and wait for her chance to escape later.

"Okay~!", Ty Lee put her hands forward, ready for handcuffs.

"I'm glad you can see reason, princess.", Sokka joked.

"Princess?", Ty Lee perked up.

"Don't play dumb," Sokka was haughty, "We have extensive records on the Royal Family from the
days of the tsunami. We know all about your secrets. We know that is the princess' crown."

She was confused. Why were they calling her princess? Crown? Azula's Crown, it dawned on her.
They thought she was Azula!

Ty Lee knew she could use this to her advantage.

"Men, restrain her." Sokka gestured to two soldiers.

"Oh, please." Ty Lee's voice was a mockery of Azula’s; however, it was pretty far off, being
squeaky and over-acted, "Is that how you treat a princess among your people?"

"I mean, sending guards to handle me.", Ty Lee looked at her nails like Azula often did, "A real
prince would imprison me himself: royalty to royalty."

Sokka made a fake laugh, "You expect me to fall for that?"

"Oh no. You are just too smart to fall for my tricks.", Ty Lee pouted, "It's too bad, too. You are
pretty cute for a water confederate. To think I was thinking of merging the royal lines." Ty Lee
winked to punctuate her statement.

Sokka blushed.

"Too bad you're not prince enough to capture me yourself.", Ty Lee covered her mouth and giggled
at the blushing noble.

Sokka couldn’t find his words.

"Your highness, please don't tell me you're falling for this." Bato already knew the answer.

"Men," Sokka's voice cracked, "I will handle this myself."

As Sokka approached, Bato smacked himself in the forehead. It was obvious this girl was playing
the prince.

"I-I'm sorry for this.", Sokka tripped over his words, "Maybe you and I could have dinner on the
shi--"

Ty Lee made her move.

Her family had trained her and her siblings in an ancient Fire Nation nonbending martial art: chi-
blocking. There had always been a divide between bender and non-bender. However, fire is
passion and life. The nonbenders of the Fire Nation did not plan to remain weaker than their
bending counterparts. They made iron weapons. They designed iron armor.

And they made martial arts to counter benders.

By focusing on pressure points, one could disrupt the flow of chi, or life force, in a body. This
would disable the related muscle groups for upwards of ten minutes. Without the ability to move
one’s muscles, one couldn’t bend. That was the disciplines’ primary purpose.

Of course, anyone losing control of a muscle group is rendered pretty helpless. Something Sokka
had learned the hard way. He could not move his right arm. Then his left leg. Then his right leg.
With an open palm strike to the chest, the prince was on his back. He couldn’t even roll onto this
side and try to get up.

Bato didn’t wait for the order. “Men, enclose her! Take her by force!”

Chi Blocking was a secretive style. Benders feared its power, and benders made up the Royal
Family. Nobles were permitted to master the art in secret, but commoners were expected to make
do with other forms of martial arts. Many nonbenders still succeeded without the style,, such as the
Rough Rhinos and the famed Yuan Archers.

However, as mighty as it was, it couldn’t defeat this many soldiers. Luckily, Ty Lee planned for
that as well.

“Stop.”, she commanded, “Or I will burn the prince’s face.”

The soldiers ceased their advance.

Ty Lee was nervous. She wasn’t in her element. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t hold her own in a fight.
Sokka’s pathetic state was proof she wasn’t anyone to mess with. However, she wasn’t a barroom
brawler. She didn’t know how to fight so many people. Nor was she one to seek out a fight. Or
perform tricks. This was just stuff she remembered from hanging out with Azula!

She had to play it cool. If they really knew so much about the royal family, they would think she
was a bender.

“I-I’ll do it too.”, Ty Lee bluffed, “With my firebending! It’s hot and dangerous! You don’t want to
 get hit with this, hotman! Flame-o!”

“She’s bluffing!”, Sokka exclaimed while he impotently tried to get off his back.

“N-no!”, Ty Lee sweated, “I-I’m really going to do it!” She threw her first into the air and made a
“ptoo” noise. “See that flame? I’ll hit the prince with one just like that!”

“I didn’t see a flame.”, one soldier murmured.

“I don’t know,” another replied, “I’m pretty sure I heard a ‘ptoo’ of the flame going off.”

“Flames go ‘ptoo?”, another one asked.

“Some do, I think.”, another one chimed in.

Bato felt surrounded by idiots.

Sokka removed the boomerang from his belt and threw it at Ty Lee with his one good arm. Ty Lee
dodged it. She flashed her would-be assailant a playful grin. The grin faded when she noticed all
the other soldiers were smiling. Why? She placed a hand to her mouth while she thought.

Then everything went black.

Bato helped Sokka to his feet, giving the prince support with his shoulder.

“Not a word.”, Sokka moaned, letting his men know not to comment on how easily the woman
took him hostage.

“No need to worry about that.”, Bato looked down at the unconscious Ty Lee, “You came out on
top in the end.”

“I don’t know what magic she used on me,” Sokka picked up the boomerang lying on the back of
Ty Lee’s head, “but boomerang is the great equalizer of the world.”

Chapter End Notes

I know one of the readers are very into Ty Lee as a character. I promise I have a plan
for this and that I don't plan on her being a damsel in distress. As for what will happen,
you will just have to see.

Also, I should probably cut down on the captured stuff. I did it twice in the story so far
and it's going to get stale. I had my reasoning for this one, though.
 The Painted Lady Part 2
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"All we know is that the spirit comes out at night.", Bushi told the so-called Avatar, "But only a
few people have seen it."

"Any one I could interrogate?", Azula asked the eccentric old man.

"Just my brother X--", Azula cut the old man off with a flash of orange flame, "Is this a game to
you?"

Xu laughed, "Game? I'm partial to Pai Sho. Bushi prefers card games, though."

Azula extinguished her flame with a sigh. No one else was helping her. Not even Aang now. She
had to make do.

“I saw her once.”, he mumbled, “It was the middle of the night. She was a woman. About your age.
And she appeared in a puff of mist. Then, as quick as she came, she vanished.” Xu scratched his
head. “Next morning, a couple of teens trying to look into her vanished.”

“Any idea what draws her out?”, Azula stroked her chin.

“Seems to happen whenever someone tries to look into things.”, Xu pointed at Azula, “Like a
certain young girl right now.”

“Leave that to me to worry about.”, Azula brushed off the old man, “I just have to wait for
nightfall.”

Aang sniffled. His mind was racing with thoughts of home.

Living in the Western Air Temple wasn’t easy. Aang was away from his family and his father
figure, Gyatso. The nuns of the Temple tried to make him feel at ease, but Aang couldn’t relax in
the strange, new temple.

“Your airbending is amazing.”, the nuns would say, “You’ll be ready for Waterbending soon.”
Waterbending. Earthbending. Firebending. Once he learned even one of those skills, in Aang’s
mind, he was truly the Avatar: the only person who could bend more than one element. This sat
like a stone in Aang’s conscience.

As he laid in his bed that night, he thought long and hard of what being the Avatar would be like.
Already, people distanced themselves from Aang. Even back in the Southern Temple, the kids
stopped playing with him when they found out he was the Avatar. Aang didn’t find the Western
Temple any different. That was going to be his life now: separated from the rest. Standing “above”
the crowd. Given too many responsibilities. The weight of the world on his shoulders.

Hoping out of bed, Aang ran to his skybison. Leaving the world behind. If only he knew then
that’d be the last time he ever saw any one of his friends.

That last thought shot Aang back to the present. Airbenders are trained to run and evade. They are
sworn to never take a life. Their philosophy discourages violence, mandating rigorous life tenets to
minimize one’s harm to others. Aang was an airbender, in the worst way. He ran from his
problems in the past. He was doing it again now.

He couldn’t run away. He lost Azula over it. He could lose Zuko, Ty Lee, and even Appa if he
kept running. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his staff. Standing up, the monk wiped away his tears.
With a stretch of his shoulders, he latched onto the ladder and made his way back to the village.

It was midday as Aang made it onto the dock. The town seemed to be gathering towards the center.
Aang could see her from here: Azula.

Aang decided to get closer, but kept his distance. He wasn’t ready to talk to her just yet. Not after
what happened. Those words hurt.

As the monk approached, he could hear murmurs from the crowd.

“She wears all white.”

“Her face is painted red.”

“She floats on water.”

Aang surmised they must be talking about the Painted Lady. Azula proceeded without him, just
like she said she would. Everyone looked so hopeful. Someone was standing up to the spirit.
Someone was giving them hope. Someone was giving them the help they needed.

That was Aang’s job. He sighed. Seeing it first hand, he began to realize the importance of his
duties.

The monk inhaled. He couldn’t stand on the sidelines any longer. He was going to confront Azula
and do his duty as the bridge between man and spirit.

Or he would have, had he not noticed someone sneaking off out of the corner of his eyes. It was
Ko. Why was the guy moving so suspiciously? Checking over his shoulder as he left town?

Something wasn’t right.

Aang looked to Azula. He did a long stare. Then, he turned to follow Ko.
Aang followed Ko out of town. With his glider, Aang could stay in the air for hours. People never
looked up. Side-to-side, behind them, and sometimes even at the ground. However, people never
look up. It’s just not a direction people expect someone to surprise them. The monk took full
advantage of this as he circled overhead, following the young man.

Aang followed Ko as he walked from the lake up the side of a mountain. From the erosion on the
side wall, Aang had a feeling this mountain might have once been a waterfall. That waterfall must
have fed the lake. Why was Ko heading back there?

Aang noticed that, as he followed the old man, the forest seemed to come alive. The farther they
were from the riverbed, the more trees and plant life flourished. Perhaps that was to be expected,
but the monk couldn’t help but wonder.

It was late day when the old man came to a stop a few miles up the river. Aang took the chance to
land in some nearby trees. Landing as quiet as he could, he turned his glider back into a staff with a
flick of the wrist. The dense shrubbery provided cover as the Avatar kept himself out of sight.

As Aang neared the edge of the forest, he could hear the sound of running water. Peeking his head
through the bushes, he saw a great ice dam blocking the river. Behind it, the river water broke
fruitlessly against the wall. Waterbenders on each side worked to keep the river flowing back,
stopping a flood.

“The Water Confederation was behind it.”, Aang whispered to himself.

Aang could hear voices talking not far off. One was clearly Ko, but the other two were unfamiliar.
One was an older man while the other was a young girl.

“We got another one of them poking their nose into our business.”, Aang recognized that voice as
Ko’s.

“I knew we should have just invaded.”, the older male whined.

“And risk the Earth Kingdoms getting involved? This island is the closest one to the South.”, the
girl spoke back, “This island can be used to strike both Kingdom's bread baskets. They'll send men
if they know we have a base so close. We can’t deal with their reinforcements. Not with the men
Nukilik Arnook supplied us.”

The older man growled. “Hey, girlie, we only have you here because the myth required a girl for
the part. You just happen to look like that statue.”

Ko made a disapproving sound. “You shouldn’t treat your women like that. You could get
burned.”

“Quiet, islander.”, the older male voice barked, “Water Confederation women know their place,
unlike your countries’ 'women.'”

“And Water Confederation men seem to forget that they need the women here to heal them. You
know, when you try to invade this place by force and get clobbered by reinforcements?”, the
younger girl mocked, “It’s easier to just wear this place down. Give them enough relief supplies
and they'll love us."

"It's not like our warlord’s done anything for the town.", Ko chuckled.

Aang could hear the group move farther away. The young girl continued, "When they secede the
city to us, we will have the perfect staging ground for an assault on either Kingdom's breadbox.
Without any refugees begging for help from their Warlords, we can quietly build the base on the
top of the waterfall. By the time anyone notices, we'll be too entrenched to remove.”

“I know the plan!”, the older male was yelling, “I just hate this song and dance we have to do.”
Aang could tell the male was using air quotes when he said “Painted Lady” in an insulting tone.

“Don’t forget who let you in on that little story,” Ko chimed in, “And the one who you promised
governorship when this place becomes part of the Eastern Water Tribe.”

“Yeah, yeah.”, the girl dismissed, “We know the deal.”

“And don’t you forget it.”, Ko cackled.

Aang heard footsteps coming towards the voices. The person was moving in a hurry.

“Sir,” a young male shouted, “General Jeong Jeong has attempted escape again.”

The older man groaned. “Of all the prisoners we had to take, we had to get a general.”

“Double the ice in his Cooler.”, the young girl interrupted, “That should teach the General to act
out.”

“Don’t give the orders!”, the old man screamed at the girl. “I give the orders!” He paused. “Do
what she said.”

Aang heard enough. The Water Confederation starved these people of water so they could quietly
take this town. No, not the Water Confederation. Aang shook his head. He couldn’t let Azula
influence him like that. These people who served the Water Confederation starved these people of
water. Not all of the Water Confederation, not even their entire navy, but these people.

And something told Aang this wasn’t the only ‘bad’ thing they were doing. It’s not like the Water
Confederation was evil, Aang had to remind himself. If the situation was reversed, the Fire Nation
wouldn’t treat this village well either. If Azula’s attitude was any evidence. This war was evil.
People were doing awful things.

It was Aang’s job to stop this war. It was Aang’s job to bring balance. It was Aang’s job to help
those people.

But, he couldn’t do it alone.

Aang didn’t know how to Firebend yet. Nor did he know Waterbending. He wasn’t going to blow
that dam on his own. Azula, however, once used flames to start melting Appa’s ice chains. This
dam was thicker. The monk had a feeling she would just need to melt some key points and the dam
would collapse from the pressure.

Aang gulped. This would mean he’d have to go to talk to her so soon after their fight. Aang had to
stop running away and evading his problems. Aang had to be more like fire, burning through his
issues. Or like water, adapting with life’s struggles. Or like rock, enduring the pain. Or perhaps all
four. He was the Avatar, all these forces were within him. That was his gift and his burden.

As silently as he could, Aang unfurled his glider and flew down from the waterfall, back to the
village.

Azula was leaning against the wall. Spirits? She had a few plans to try and fight it off, but
something wasn't adding up. She knew little of spirits. However, all of Xu's -- Bushi? Dock? ---
stories tied to one key factor: someone only disappeared if they were looking into the strange
occurrences.

If the spirit wanted the problem fixed, why would she abduct the people who were trying to help?
Furthermore, no one knew General Jeong Jeong was here. If he was looking into the situation,
wouldn't people have remembered him? Everyone acts like they never saw him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a thud. On reflex, she darted her eyes to the source of the sound.
Then, she tried to ignore what she saw.

"Azula.", Aang started, "I wanted to talk."

Azula ignored him. She should be the first to speak. She was the one who exploded. A voice in her
screamed that would be a sign of weakness. He needed to apologize to her. Bow down to her.
Anything else was unacceptable.

Aang waited a moment. When it was obvious the princess wouldn't budge, he continued. "I did run
away back then.", he looked to the side, "I ran away from the Temple. That's how I ended up
frozen on Roku Island."

Azula tensed up.

"I wanted to run away from learning firebending. Just like I did when they wanted to teach me
waterbending.", Aang was sullen, "Being the Avatar is scary. When everything happened on
Umbie, I felt I had to get involved. Appa was in danger, people were in danger. Everything
happened at once and I moved. But, with this, it's so slow that I had a chance to think it through."

Azula chuckled.

"I thought that doing this would cement my fate as the Avatar. That learning firebending was
making the choice. That I'd never get to live an ordinary life once I did.", Aang paused, "But that's
not what makes someone the Avatar."

Azula stirred.

"The second one becomes the Avatar is the second they choose to live for others. Even when it's
scary and difficult."

Azula put her hand up to stop the boy's words.

"What?", Aang was confused.

Azula put her hand down, "I don't care about any of that. That selfless nonsense is for fools. I don't
want to help this village. I just need them for the next step in my plan. I just want to be sure you
are ready to do what's necessary to defeat the Water Confederation."

Aang felt frustration surge from his stomach. "Is that all you care about!?"

"Yes," Azula was pretending to be disinterested, "wasn't it obvious?"

Aang snorted like a bull. "I can't believe you!" Aang stepped towards Azula. "Is it just about
winning with you? Does no one else matter?"

"Of course it's about winning.", Azula stepped forward in retaliation, "If you don't win, you lose. If
you lose, you have to do whatever the winner demands. I am sick of being beneath my inferiors."

"I can’t believe I was coming here to apologize!", Aang burst out, "You would never apologize to
me!"

"I'm not weak! I won't be treated like Zuko or my mother, Uncle!" Azula realized what she said too
late.

"Uncle?", Aang was confused.

"Nothing.", Azula leaned back, "It's nothing. Forget I said anything, immediately."

Aang put his hand on her shoulder.

Azula sighed, "You're not the first person who has lectured me on my behavior, Aang. My mother
thinks I'm a monster and my Uncle thinks I'm crazy. They both like Zuko more."

"She didn't seem like she hated you.", Aang countered.

"Really? And did she address me once when you were there? Or did she only talk to Zuko?", Azula
raised her voice.

Aang shrugged.

"Of course you wouldn't notice.", she rolled her eyes. She pushed Aang's hand away.

Aang sighed. "Maybe we don't understand each other.", Aang sought common ground, "But, we
understand what needs to be done, right?"

Azula looked Aang in the eye, "For once, you're making sense, airhead."

"So, are you the spirit expert, after all?", Azula playfully mocked the young Avatar.

"About that, there is something we should discuss," Aang leaned in to Azula's ear.

Night fell on Jang Hui village. There was a chill in the air. In the center of town, Aang stood in a
meditative pose. He was preparing himself for what was to come. No one else was out on the
street. Everyone was hiding inside.

A mist began to enter the village. It blanketed the sleepy town in white. Aang opened his eyes to
see a woman floating on air. She was wearing a veil covering her entire body, but the red paint of
her face stood out. This must be the “Painted Lady”, Aang thought.

It was best he played the part.

Raising to his feet, Aang commanded the “spirit”, “Painted Lady, I am the Avatar. I’m here to put
you at peace.”

The figure showed no response. Aang wasn’t surprised.

“Why have you been attacking this village?”, Aang did his best to sound authoritative.

The lady did not respond.

“What has angered you?”, Aang asked again.

The lady was unresponsive as before.

Aang was expecting this silence. It would ruin the illusion if she gave an answer. It might
contradict the myth.

He needed to keep them here for this all to work. He took a step forward, fully expecting
something to strike.

Sure enough, two tendrils of water burst through the floor planks and grabbed Aang’s feet. With a
swipe of his staff, he blasted the water away. Jumping back, he got his footing further into the
village. He readied. He knew where they were now, but he couldn’t let them know he was onto
them. They had to think this was real.

“I’m not here to hurt you.”, Aang was trying too hard to sound concerned. His voice was stiff and
unconvincing.

The mist shot forward and turned into ice shards. Aang spun his staff, shattering the ice as it
approached. After he parried the last shard, he swung his staff hard. The resulting blast of air shot
the mist away. For a second, Aang was able to see the water spiral the Painted Lady was using to
“float.”

I just need to buy some more time, Aang reassured himself.

It took hours for Azula to climb that mountain. It took almost as long to reach the dam that Aang
described. It would all be worth it, in Azula’s mind. So much had happened to her in the last few
weeks. She lost her home. She found her old crush. She told someone how she actually felt. That
was all very emotional. Azula needed something to destress.

Beating up some confederates and blowing a dam up? Ruining their plans all at the same time?
And getting that damn firebending teacher for Aang?

This was too good.

Her father had trained her to engage in stealth operations, alongside her brother. The secret was
keeping keen awareness of the environment. It wasn’t even really about being quiet or keeping
low. If you know where people were, who was in earshot, and everyone’s line of sight, you can be
like a ghost. No one saw you, no one knows what you did, and some people may not even think
you were there.

The prize was in sight. Just as Azula had reasoned, the majority of the waterbenders would be at
the village to keep the illusion going. All that was left was a single guard for these “coolers” and
two waterbenders to keep the river from flooding. Two of them were preoccupied with their job.
The guard was half asleep.

Sloppy work, but they didn’t think anyone knew they were here.

Azula snuck past the guards. She tied a fish hook to a rope and swung it over the side. Feeling it
dig into the ice, she knew she had her leverage. Walking along the side of the dam, she ignited a
small flame and began to hold it up to the ice wall.

She couldn’t melt the whole thing. Good thing she just had to weaken it in the right spots.

Aang had his hands full in the village keeping the illusion alive. The waterbenders below deck
began to fire spouts of water through the ground. Aang panicked as he walked backwards, dodging
the ever increasing geysers. Finally, he had the chance to jump back. The monk landed safely on
Ko’s cart.

Before he could catch his breath, a small wave rocketed through the village streets towards Aang.
Thinking fast, he swung his staff into a glider and took off. In the sky, he was safe from the wave.
However, he was vulnerable to ice darts that began to shoot from the ground.

Aang swung his glider left and right as fast as he could. He needed to keep them from hitting the
wings. Not only would he fall, but he’d lose a priceless part of his home.

The shards were endless. When one got too close, Aang decided he wasn’t going to risk it. Turning
his glider back into his staff, he fell to the village floor. Before he collided, he curled into a sitting
position. Summoning an air ball underneath him, he landed softly.

Rocketing off on his air scooter, he readied his staff. Spinning it in the air, he gathered up a small
storm. Jumping off his scooter, he lunged forward. With a downward strike, he shot a strong gust
at the Painted Lady. The blast knocked the fake off her water spiral. She fell to the lake bed below,
catching herself at the last moment.

Aang worriedly looked towards the mountain. His attack was too strong. Azula had better be ready.
Otherwise, he just exposed their entire gambit early.

The orange glow of Azula’s flame illuminated her face. Sweat dripped down her brow, she was
almost there. Water was trickling through tiny cracks she had formed throughout the dam. The
water was beginning to wear away at the structure. It just needed to be weakened a little more.

The loud cracking noise thundered in the night. Azula knew that meant it was time to go. She could
hear the guards chatter. They knew something was wrong. She ran along the side of the wall as
fast she could. The dam kept cracking to her left. If she was going to be washed away if she wasn’t
quick enough.

With a final leap, she was back on dry land.

“Who was that?”, one guard questioned.

“It’s an intruder!”, the other guard screamed.

Without another word, they began to send water tendrils out at the young firebender. She didn’t
bother returning fire. She focused on getting into the trees. What would come next would ensure
they wouldn’t follow.

The burst of the dam rocked the ground. Azula looked back to see the two waterbenders knocked
down by the resulting shockwave. The river began to rocket down to the village.

“Airhead better be ready,” Azula mumbled, “or else he’s getting a much needed bath.”

Aang could hear the waterbenders beneath the village docks.

“He saw us,” an older voice barked. Aang recognized it from the waterfall.

“Shut up.”, the girl responded, “Only he saw us, not the whole village.”
“Don’t tell me to shut up,” the older voice barked, “I don’t take orders from you!”

“Maybe you should.”, the girl got up and pointed a finger at him, “I could have done a better job
fighting that so-called ‘Avatar.’”

The older male was insulted. “How dare you imply that a wom--” He stopped as the ground began
to shake.

Aang felt it too. Looking back, he saw the water begin to rocket down the waterfall like a torrent.
The dozen or so soldiers under the docks began to rush towards the village. The group was fighting
each other over who would get there first.

A smile grew on Aang’s face. Waving at them, he wished them a nice bath.

The water blasted through the valley. The entire village shook as the water rocketed past the dock.
Aang had to hold onto a house to keep his footing. Just as quickly as the flood started, it ended.
Opening his eyes, Aang saw the confederate soldiers floating in the lake unconscious. It looks like
one of them formed an ice cage to protect the group.

Grumbling, the older male and the “Painted Lady” began to wake up, as did their men.

“What happened?”, the older male grumbled, “How did we get in this cage?”

“Would you rather I let you get hit by that wave?”, the woman responded.

“Great, saved by a girl.”, the man moaned.

The lady took the chance to punch his arm. He didn’t even bother saying ouch. His body hurt too
much otherwise.

“Hey!”, Aang lifted his staff as he yelled, “I want you to leave and never hurt this village again!
Let everyone know that the Avatar has returned!”

Slamming his staff, a gust of wind rocked the ice cage along the lake like a hockey puck. The
soldiers screamed as they were shot far from the village.

The guards were shocked. The river was flowing. Their entire plan was up in flames. Their
comrades were down there. Were they okay?

“Hey,” Azula walked up to the shocked waterbenders, “I think you have more pressing concerns.”

Before they could react, Azula made a wide kick. Firing a wave of fire from her feet, the
waterbender quickly summoned a wall of water. The steam took him by surprise. Stepping
backwards, the soldier fell into the river, washed away with the current.

The other soldier summoned up a wall of water. Punching forward with quick jabs, he began to fire
ice shards at Azula. The firebender tried to block with her own firebolts, but the darts were too
constant. She was being pushed back. There were too many. She couldn’t melt them all.

What could only be described as the breath of a dragon blasted the soldier, knocking him into the
river like his comrade.

Turning to the source of the inferno, she was amazed to see an old man. His messy hair was
contrasted by his Akatastu soldier armor. He was standing over the guard protecting the coolers.
“General Jeong Jeong, I presume?”, Azula started.

The old man took a deep inhale and let out two streams of flame from his nostrils. Feeling
refreshed from his time in the cooler, he responded to the girl. “Princess Azula, it has been too
long.”

It was morning when Azula and Jeong Jeong had finished leading the prisoners down from the
Water Confederation’s camp. Aang was sleeping in the village square. Azula thought it was cute.
It reminded her how young Aang really was despite everything. He was just a kid. Of course, Aang
was only two years younger than her, but, at their age, a year could make a lot of difference.

With a shove, she woke the sleeping Avatar. Jolted awake, Aang was happy to see Azula. Jumping
to his feet, he asked if she was okay. She brushed off his concern.

"Do you see what I mean now, dum-dum?", Azula grinned, "What those savages are capable of?"

"No.” Aang shook his head. “Those guys may have done something bad, but I'm not going to
condemn their entire people. The monks always taught us that people are the same everywhere but
not everyone is the same."

Azula simply shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, Aang." Azula looked to the sky.
"Just be careful. Rather you didn't fall off that moral high ground you're perched on."

Aang smiled through her comment. Despite everything, Aang really felt they had grown closer
together.

Azula gestured to the old man, “Aang, I want you to meet General Jeong Jeong, your new
firebending master.”

General Jeong Jeong bowed, “It is an honor to train the Avatar in firebending.”

Aang returned the bow, “It is an honor to be taught.”

Standing up straight, General Jeong Jeong continued. “I am impressed. To think you mastered both
waterbending and earthbending in your short time here.”

Aang was confused. Looking at Azula, he saw a look that was growing a bit familiar. A look that
read “just roll with it, airhead.”

“Yep, that’s me: just one element away from being a fully realized Avatar,” Aang laughed
nervously.

How was he going to make this work?

Zuko went to bed early last night. His training with Master Piandao had left him exhausted. When
he awoke, he was surprised to see Ty Lee’s sleeping bag empty. Could she have come to camp
after he slept and left before he woke up?

Maybe, but something sat poorly in the prince’s stomach.

Walking into town, Zuko noticed none of the villagers wanted to look him in the eye. He was used
to this with his bokkei. However, once again, something just felt off.

That’s when he decided it was best to ask questions. Turning to an old couple, he asked a few. But
 they just quickly rushed off. Was it the burn mark? No, something else was going on. The prince
started to get frustrated.

More and more villagers ignored him. They knew something about where Ty Lee was, but they
didn’t want to say.

A few kids walked up to Zuko, “Are you looking for that nice pink girl, mister?”

Zuko spun around. Seeing the kids, he wiped away his fierce face with a quick breath. “Yeah, have
you seen her?”

The boys looked guilty.

Zuko sighed, “Why is no one telling me what happened!?”

The kids were scared. The youngest amongst them started to cry, “They took her.”

Zuko was confused. “Who were they?”

An older kid spoke up, “The Water Confederation. They said they were just here to trade. Then,
they all went and took her.”

Zuko could feel the angier rile up inside him. They got her? One of Team Avatar? Azula’s friend?
Zuko wasn’t happy, but taking it out on the kids would be pointless.

“I guess I’ll be missing my training today.”, Zuko mumbled as he walked off to find her.

Chapter End Notes

Next chapter is going to be focused on Ty Lee and Azula. Not together, as you might
imagine, but developing them. Ty Lee being captured is going to use this as a chance
to speak about who she is and her character. Whereas Azula's past is going to be
brought up. It's something I planned for a while with Jeong Jeong. I also have had this
cool explanation for why learning the elements out of order is a bad thing for a while
and I can't wait to write it up.

I got to say that I started watching "Tangled The Series" on the Disney Plus app and
the depiction of Rapunzel really gives me ideas for how to positively portray Ty Lee,
on top of the original series of course. The episode where Rapunzel and Cassandra
both join a game show, "Challenge of the Braves", gave me some ideas for Ty Lee and
Azula's relationship in this timeline.

Hopefully, the next chapter will be done by next week. I am writing these as I go.
Every chapter starts on Monday and is usually written by Thursday.

However, I also make tabletop games and my pitch for the San Jenaro Co-Op Short
Games Digest Volume 6 got accepted. I actually published my last game, Crying
Fantasy Friends, in Digest 5. It was a tabletop roleplaying game about retired
adventurers trying to live with the trauma their careers instilled in them. They're also
publishing my shonen jump inspired tabletop roleplaying game, Friendship, Effort,
Victory, which uses the Powered by the Apocalypse engine.
I am going to need to split my time to get the first draft done by deadline for Short
Games Digest Volume 6. Funny enough, my pitch, Shaping The Stars, is an old
abandoned idea I had of mashing up "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and "Mass Effect."
Got the idea for the game from the fanfic "Avatar of Victory" by James Golen
(https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8099181/1/Avatar-of-Victory). Only ever read the first
chapter of the fic but it gave me the idea. I had a half-completed draft that fit the
theme Digest 6 is going for so I pitched it.

I'm also an accountant as my actual day job. Tax season was extended until July 15th
in America this year. We're seeing the ramp up now, despite us reminding clients that
they could mail in their documents at any time for a virtual appointment. It's amazing
how many are shocked that we're not doing face-to-face appointments at all. They
were all waiting for one lol. Like there isn't a global pandemic or something, right?

Anyway, as I said at the end of the last chapter, I really appreciate everyone who is
reading and commenting. I personally felt these last two chapters are the worst in the
entire fic, but my test reader thought they were fine. I hope you feel the same way. As
always, I appreciate any comments. As you may be familiar by now, I make it a habit
to respond to every single one. If you have any concerns, issues, etc, feel free to send
them and I'll let you know what I think. Honestly, TheMasterTinker's comments have
actually helped me consider Ty Lee's role in the story and my test reader (who doesn't
have an account) has been invaluable in keeping this story from being garbage. So, I
really appreciate any thoughts you might have to share.

Edit: I got two comments (one here and one from my test reader) that thought the
female waterbender was Katara. That actually wasn't the intent. I didn't feel like
naming two background characters who weren't going to matter. The point of that
scene was to let people know how women are treated in the military hierarchy. The
Painted Lady was intentionally chosen because Katara was her in the canon series.
That way, you were thinking of her in this scene. To let you know how sexism plays
into the Water Confederation's society and how it will later be shown to have affected
Katara.

That said, if a lot of people really thought it was Katara, I might retcon it later lol. I
think this wouldn't fit her characterization at all though. But, who knows, it might
make a better story later. For now, though, this isn't Katara. Was never intended to be
Katara. If I change my mind, I'd let you know in the text itself.
 The Retired General Part One
Chapter Notes

My test reader is busy. I tried to wait, but they don't think they'll be in the headspace
for some time. As such, this three part chapter might be rougher when it comes to
spelling and grammar for now. They'll probably do a quick editing pass later.
Ty Lee could feel her body rock rhythmically. The floor below her was moving. This gentle
rocking urged her to open her eyes. A wooden cell came into view. It was dark, but some hints of
orange light shone through: sunrise was soon.

A pain caused her to grab the back of her head. There was a small lump. She couldn't remember
what caused it.

Pushing herself up, she moved herself to the edge of the cot, hanging her feet off the side. For a
short while, she watched her feet sway. The prior day's events slowly came back piece by piece.

Master Piandao's gift.

Playing with kids.

Singing.

Surrounded by Confederates.

"They must have snuck up on me somehow.", Ty Lee rubbed the lump, "Unless that weapon
returns to his hand or something."

Ty Lee chose to ignore the pain for now. It would go away on its own, rubbing was only making it
worse. Jumping to her feet, she began to stretch.

Feeling limber, she noticed the cell door had a window. Walking towards it, she found two men
standing guard at the door.
"Hello~!", Ty Lee popped her head next to the bars. The guards showed no response.

Ty Lee pouted. She looked at the back of the two guards' heads. Both wore a facsimile of a wolf's
head. "Your hats are pretty cool.", she beamed, "I love dogwolves."

"It’s a snow wolfdogs.", one guard grumbled.

"Oooh," she started, "I've never seen one in person before. What are they like?"

The two guards looked at each other.

The young one started, "I don't know. I have never been to a hunting party before."

The older one made a "so-so" grunt. "They're okay."

"You're a hunter?", Ty Lee asked, "I've never been a big fan of hunting. It seems cruel."

The older man chuckled. "It's not cruel: it's nature. The land provides and we hunt. The wolfdog is
much the same way: a hunter."

The younger one butted in, "Besides, don’t you like meat?”

"I'm vegan," Ty Lee said a little proudly, "I just hate hurting little animals."

The older one continued laughing, "Just like a woman."

Ty Lee interjected with an annoyed "Hey!"

"It's okay.", the younger one soothed, "My little sister is the same way. You'd probably get along
well. She never lets me eat meat when I'm home."

"You're close with your sister?", Ty Lee leaned in a bit.

"Pretty close.", the younger man shrugged, "Ever since frost took dad back when we were kids.
Had to look out for her and mom."

"You sound like a good big brother, mister…?", Ty Lee inquired.

"Amka.", the young guard answered, "And the old geezer is Nanouk."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Ty Lee." She reached her hands awkwardly through the window to shake.
Both guards obliged with a little laugh.

"Didn't Prince Sokka say she was called Azula?", Amka was confused.

"That's my best friend!", Ty Lee shouted back.

Nanouk shook his head, "Amka, I keep telling you: military intelligence isn't intelligence.
Someone must have got the names of the princess and her friend mixed up."

Ty Lee remembered now: they thought she was Azula. It probably wouldn't help to correct them
right now. Not yet, at least.

Ty Lee heard her stomach rumble.

Nanouk jabbed Amka, "Get her something to eat."

"Are you sure? Commander Bato said not to feed her until he said so", Amka seemed a little
nervous.

"It's fine.", Nanouk shrugged, "She's royalty after all."

"Vegan option, please!", Ty Lee burst in.

"We don’t keep a lot of vegetables," Amka cupped his chin.

"Check Prince Sokka's cabin.", Nanouk chuckled, "Commander Bato’s been trying to get the
prince to eat vegetables for once. Should be a whole plate’s worth leftover from dinner.”

Aang was awakened by a strong hit to his shoulder. Jolted, he saw a figure looming over him. It
was too big to be Azula, his first guess of who would kick him while he slept.

“Get up!”, the figure barked, “The sun has been up for hours!”

As Aang lurched to a sitting position, there was some kinship between him and Azula. The
princess was not pleased to be awakened so early either.

“Why do you wake me at such an hour?”, Azula tried her best to get her hair under control.

“Your highness,” General Jeong Jeong was respectful yet firm, “the sun is the source of all
Firebending. A firebender should rise with the sun!”

Aang and Azula shared a quick look. “It’s your turn to make breakfast, airhead.”, Azula’s voice
struggled through the haze of sleep.

“No breakfast!”, General Jeong Jeong barked, “You will earn your breakfast!”

The pair groaned.

Dragged from the inn in the village, the two were led to a boat. “You two row.”, General Jeong
Jeong barked, “You both need to learn to control your breath.”

The two slugged their way into the ship. The exhausted teens were forced to grab the edge of the
boat in a panic when Jeong Jeong jumped into the dinghy unexpectedly. “Do not let yourselves be
so easily surprised!,” General Jeong Jeong’s voice was like a dragon’s roar, “Firebending’s worst
aspect is defense: you must always be vigilant! Only then can you be the one who strike’s fist!”

Without even pausing, he commanded them to row.

“Breath in when you move it towards you! Breathe out when you push away!”, Jeong Jeong
pointed to the shore.

“In!”

“Out!”

“In!”

“Out!”

“This was your choice in firebending teacher?”, Aang whined to Azula.

“Shut up, airhead.”, Azula shot back.

“No talking! Only breathe!”, General Jeong Jeong shook the boat, almost capsizing the vessel, to
get his student’s attention.

The young benders were exhausted when their boat reached the shore. Controlled breathing proved
difficult for the pair.

Huffing, Aang turned to the haggard Azula. "Shouldn't you already have breath control?" There
was the spark of rivalry in his voice.

"Father was more focused on teaching us about power. Uncle was the one who cared so much
about breath.", Azula turned to Aang, "Besides, shouldn't an airbender know all about breath?"

General Jeong Jeong walked past the huffing teens, embarking on shore. "The mark of Firebending
mastery is endurance. Focusing on overwhelming force is a fool's errand!"

General Jeong Jeong pointed to his right. “Your highness, you and I will study some kata. I need to
evaluate your ability in Firebending.”

The wise general walked to a tree and pulled off a leaf, “As for the Avatar, take this leaf and focus
your mind on heating its center.”

“A leaf?”, Aang questioned.

“Do not underestimate the importance of this method.”, General Jeong Jeong spoke soft for the
first time all morning, “This is how most noblemen make their first flame. It is an ancient
technique that helps one take their first steps in manipulating their chi.”

“But I already know how to use my chi.”, Aang whined.

“Each element is unique.,” General Jeong Jeong grew stern again, “You may know how to use
your chi like an airbender, a waterbender, and an earthbender, but you must relearn your chi control
all over again to learn firebending.”

General Jeong Jeong handed the leaf with a huff, “You should be familiar with this by now from
your other masters.”

“Uh, right.”, Aang nervously tried to cover his track, “Of course, I am familiar with relearning chi
control. Done it twice already. No problem. Easy. Let’s go, Flame-o!”

Not far from Aang, General Jeong Jeong stood behind Azula expectantly. “I do not know what
your previous master taught you.” General Jeong Jeong stroked his beard. “Let’s start with some
simple moves.”

Azula looked serious, despite her exhaustion. General Jeong Jeong reminded the young princess of
her father in many ways. Specifically how he would treat Zuko.

“Roar like a tigerdillo!”, General Jeong Jeong blasted his order.

Azula outstretched her arms and took a deep breath. Screaming like a banshee, flames shot from
her arms and mouth. The inferno stretched far beyond her. As the flames assaulted the sand, glass
formed on the spot.

“All wrong!”, General Jeong Jeong criticized.

Azula’s flame vanished in an instant. “What did you say?”, Azula was knocked off her footing.

“Your power and control is there,” General Jeong Jeong paced, “but you lack restraint.”

“Aren’t 'restraint' and 'control' the same thing?”, Azula wasn’t convinced.

“No!”, General Jeong Jeong shook his head disapprovingly, “Your flames spread in a controlled
pattern, yes. I have no doubt you could control exactly where the fires went. That only makes it
more worrying that your fire glassed the sand beneath. This was a training exercise. Had we done
this in the village, the wooden town would have set a flame.”

“The point of that exercise is to show off your power! Assert your dominance!”, Azula pointed at
the General.

“What fool filled your head with such falsehood!? The tigerdillo stance is to show one’s mastery of
all aspects of Firebending. How hot their flame grows. How far it can spread. How much you
control its plume. How long you can release such a torrent.” General Jeong Jeong paused. “The
tigerdillo stance says everything about a firebender. You have power and control, but not restraint.
You’re strong and precise, but you will escalate a situation unnecessarily.”

“What does escalation have to do with Firebending?”, Azula crossed her arms, “This isn’t a
discussion of military strategy.”

General Jeong Jeong shook his head, “I am sorry.”

Azula raised her eyebrow.

“Whoever trained you did not teach you the most basic tenets of Firebending.”, General Jeong
Jeong paused, “For that, I am sorry.”

Azula huffed smoke.

“We will begin from the basics.”, General Jeong started.

Aang stared into his leef. His eyes dead set at its center. Burning a whole into the plant with his
gaze, the monk could not shake the feeling this was pointless. What was he supposed to
accomplish? Look at it until it burned?

Turning his gaze to the other side of the beach, the young airbender marvelled at Azula’s display
of Firebending.

“He probably thinks she’s amazing.”, Aang grumbled. “And I’m still stuck with this leaf.”

Tired of fruitless staring, Aang called to the general. “General Jeong Jeong, I can’t seem to get the
leaf to burn!”

The General made his way back to his other student. “I suppose that is my own arrogance.”, the
master looked almost apologetic, “I assumed that mastering the other three elements would have
prepared you. However, that is no excuse for poor directions.”

Jeong Jeong took a leaf off the tree. “Think back to your training with Waterbending.”

“Uh, I’ll try.”

“Waterbending involves manipulating a fluid element. It’s not ephemeral air, but something solid
you can touch. Do not forget your airbending either. Firebending is using your chi to burn the air."
General Jeong Jeong spoke slow and clearly.

Aang tried his best to follow.

“Use what you learned from Waterbending and Airbending to draw your heat into the center. Like
when you first learned to move water, you must push your chi like a wave through the leaf.”,
General Jeong Jeong started a small fire in the center of the leaf, “Remember your Earthbending as
well. You must stand firm and fight back, not avoid and evade like an Airbender. Fire is alive. You
must keep it in the center of the leaf like you are holding back a landslide. Otherwise, the entire
leaf will burst into flame and burn your hands.”

There was a silence.

“Understood?”, General Jeong Jeong asked.

“Uh,” Aang wasn't sure what to say. He had to keep the act going or he’d lose his teacher. It’s not
like he was going to be able to learn Waterbending first. Maybe Earthbending, but not
Waterbending. He had to make due. “Yeah, got it. Clear as crystal.” He beamed a wide smile.

General Jeong Jeong didn’t say a word. With a nod, he returned to Azula.

Cleaning her plate, Ty Lee stifled her resulting burp. The grilled vegetables had gotten cold over
the night, but it was filling for her empty stomach. Whipping her mouth clean, she snuck the plate
back through the bars.

“Well, shift’s over,” Nanouk yawned.

“Try not to cause too much trouble for Aguta and Ujurak,” Amka joked.

With that, the two guards went off for their cabins to sleep. Their long night of guarding was
behind them. Moments later, two young guards took their place. They grumbled about how the two
had left early, failing to be properly relieved of duty.

“Aren’t they worried the princess would escape,” one of the guards bemoaned.

The other guard shrugged, “I’d be more afraid of Commander Bato finding out, Aguta.”

“Oh, I hope I didn’t get them in trouble.”, Ty Lee leaned into the bars, “They were both really
nice.”

“Get back.”, Ty Lee assumed this guard must be Ujurak, “Prisoners are not supposed to touch the
bars.”

“But the other guys let me do it.”, Ty Lee whined.

“I won’t ask again!”, Ujurak barked.

Ty Lee complied, letting the bars go and leaning back. The guards relaxed, returning to their ready
position.

Some moments passed and Ty Lee was bored. That’s when she heard the sound of footsteps.
Looking back into the window, she saw a lovely woman walking past the cell. Aguta seemed
unphased, but Ujurak was sweating so badly that Ty Lee could see it from behind.
“H-hi, Paka,” Ujurak squeaked.

The young girl turned and gave a little nod before smiling. Without a word, she continued on her
way.

With her out of earshot, Aguta turned to Ujurak with his tongue hanging out. “Oh, hi Paka~!”,
Aguta mocked, “Will you m-m-marry me~?”

Ujurak punched Aguta in the shoulder, telling the soldier to stop it and focus on his task. Aguta
laughed off the hit.

“Aw,” Ty Lee spoke through the bars, “You like her, don’t you?”

Aguta was losing it.

“Don’t get involved!”, Ujurak shot back.

Ty Lee smiled at the embarrassed guard. “Have you told her how you feel?”

“N-no!”, Ujurak blushed.

Aguta began to wheeze.

“I think she likes you.”, Ty Lee giggled, “Maybe you should say something later.”

“You think so!?”, Ujurak became suddenly interested in what Ty Lee had to say.

“Her aura was red.”, Ty Lee smiled, “She either loves you or hates you.”

Augta nearly fell over laughing.

“D-don’t mock me like that.”, Ujurak blushed as he turned his head from Ty Lee.

“N-No!”, Ty Lee was flustered, “I really did think she likes you. Red auras can just mean a lot of
things.”

Ujurak huffed. “It doesn’t matter. I’m too afraid to tell her anyways.”

“Why?”, Ty Lee was confused.

“Well, what if she says no?”, Ujurak turned back to the girl.

“Then you respect it.”, Ty Lee smiled, “You can’t make her like you. But that doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t tell her.” Ty Lee giggled. “Besides, it’s important to be upfront with people. You can’t
expect someone to like you just by standing around and being nice. You have to be honest with
them.”

Ujurak seemed deep in contemplation. Aguta had stopped laughing a little while ago. The soldier
actually seemed a bit interested in the conversation.

“Maybe you’re right.”, Ujurak finally let out, “How do I even talk to her, though?”

“Just go up to her, ask her how she’s feeling, and ask her if she wants to go do something
sometime. Like, like,” Ty Lee put her finger to her chin, “Do you know what she likes?”

“Flowers.”, Ujuruak blushed.

“Next time you go on shore, why not offer for her to go flower picking!”, Ty Lee exclaimed.

“Maybe that isn’t the best idea.”, Ujurak was a little embarrassed, “I think you have the right idea,
though. I think I’ll take your advice.”

Things quieted down for a bit. Ty Lee sighed with boredom.

Ujurak picked up on it. “Aguta, can you man the post on your own? I have a pai sho board in my
cabin. Maybe the princess and I can play?”

Aguta rubbed his chin, “What about Commander Bato finding out?”

Ujurak waved it off, “He won’t.”

Aguta shot a smile and a wink.

“Oooh!”, Ty Lee jumped in, “Can we play skud pai sho?”

“The flower arranging one?”, Ujurak questioned, “I was more interested in vagabond pai sho.”

“I don’t like vagabond pai sho.”, Ty Lee sighed, “Maybe we can do one game of both?”

“Sounds fair to me,” Ujurak smiled as he left for his cabin.

Azula was frustrated. She could feel her blood boil. Why was she doing a basic routine like this?
Horse stance? A few punches? She could throw a punch! She wasn’t even lighting flame. Was the
General mad?

“Keep going with your routine.”, General Jeong Jeong seemed to sense the girl’s annoyance. “Your
stance is good. Your breathing is well. However, you need to control your aggression.”

Was that a comment on her procedure? Or was it a comment on her attitude? Azula didn’t know
which annoyed her more.

“Bending is an augmentation of martial arts. I could teach a non-bender these techniques and they
would be proficient in battle. I did so often in the army.” General Jeong Jeong paced. “Your
Firebending is an extension of these basic tenets. The core of its power originates in your form.
Your martial prowess.”

General Jeong Jeong tried to push Azula off balance. He was testing her horse stance. “You must
master these basic moves first before you can truly appreciate Firebending for what it is.”

Azula was on the verge of screaming. She had mastered basic punches when she was five years
old. Why did this man doubt her?

“That’s enough punching for now.” General Jeong Jeong ordered. “Are you familiar with the
Komodorhino’s dance?”

Azula nodded. She noticed she was breathing heavy. It must have been the early morning tiring her
out.

“It is a basic technique that focuses on aggressive strikes.” General Jeong Jeong grabbed stone off
the ground. “Enter the beginning stance.”

Azula got into a cat stance. General Jeong Jeong Place a stone on the top of her head. “Perform the
komodorhino’s dance without the stone falling from your head.”

“What?”, she turned to her teacher.

“Do as I ask.” General Jeong Jeong dismissed the question. “Use only the amount of force needed
for the moves and the stone will not move.”

Azula felt General Jeong Jeong was out to get her. He was mocking her. The komodorhino’s dance
involved a full turn. Not to mention a high kick that required tilting your body back. How was she
going to keep the stone in place? This was nonsense.

Taking a breath, she moved from cat stance into the first strike.

“Stop!”, the master shouted.

“What?”, Azula was annoyed.

“The stone has fallen.” General Jeong Jeong pointed to the ground.

“I barely moved!”, Azula grabbed the stone off the ground.

“Your movement was too aggressive.”, General Jeong Jeong shook his head.

“The komodorhino’s dance is an aggressive form.”, Azula countered the general’s nonsense.

“This is a training exercise.”, General Jeong Jeong let his implication sit.

“A training exercise made to practice for a real battle. Why would I hold back now if I won’t in
battle?”, Azula could not understand this madness.

“Do you wish to kill every opponent you fight?”, General Jeong Jeong gave her an intense glare.

Azula leaned back, not following her teacher's logic. Without a word, the general placed the stone
on his head.

“You make every strike strong and precise, dripping with the intent to kill. It is as if you were
trained by a murderer.” General Jeong Jeong began to perform the khomodorhino’s dance. His
movements were precise. Every strike would hit its mark. There was clear strength in his
movements. However, the performance was subtle. In many ways, it mirrored a dance.

“If you fight as you do, you will inevitably take life.” General Jeong Jeong spoke as he continued
the form. “That moment will not come when you expect it or when you wish it.

“Murderer is a grave act, one only taken in the most extreme of circumstances. Do not enter every
fight like a soldier. Not every battle is a war.” General Jeong Jeong exhaled as he finished the
form. The stone had not moved on his head.

“I was raised to win a war.”, Azula was flat. Not mocking, as she usually would be, but direct and
clear.

“And you were born to live a fulfilling life.”, General Jeong Jeong had a stare that went for miles.
He wasn’t talking just to Azula anymore. “Do not learn Firebending just to fight battles. It is a part
of who you are. Learn it so you can live your life well and be at peace with who you are.”

Azula scoffed. His words blew past her like ash in the wind. “I will keep trying with the rock.
Maybe Aang needs help with the leaf. I don’t see any smoke from here.”
General Jeong Jeong gave her a steely gaze. He wished to say something, but knew it would only
hurt his pupil’s chance to grow if he did. Besides, she wasn’t wrong. For someone who had
mastered three elements, Jeong Jeong thought, this simple exercise was taking surprisingly long for
the young Avatar.

Azula tried to hide her glare as General Jeong Jeong went off to check on Aang. What did he know
about her, she thought? They had met only briefly in the past when Uncle had war meetings. He
was just a foolish old man who didn’t know what it took to win a war.

What is holding back? Weakness. What is being merciful? Weakness. What is kindness?
Weakness!

She could hear her father’s voice repeat that in her head.

Jeong Jeong was clearly jealous of her power. She was a young prodigy, like few before her. He
hated her. He was treating her like her father treated Zuko. He thought she was weak. She would
show him. She would do this task easily and show the old man how pathetic he really was. She
would make him apologize. He would recognize her brilliance.

The stone fell from her head once more.

“Move chi. Move!”, Aang muttered to himself. “Come on, chi, just burn the leaf.”

“Talking to your chi will not get it to move.”, an old voice surprised Aang.

“Oh, Jeong Jeong!”, Aang was embarrassed. “I was just doing some...mental exercises. Helped me
when learning Earthbending.” He punctuated his sentence with his usual smile.

“Avatar Aang, I think it is time you dropped this charade.”, General Jeong Jeong shook his head.

“Charade? What Chara--” Aang could feel General Jeong Jeong’s disapproving stare. Letting out a
sigh, the young Avatar slumped forward. “You figured it out?”

“I have known since the moment I gave you the leaf.” General Jeong Jeong was flat and scolding.

“It was that obvious?”, Aang sighed.

“You were too nervous to be found out that you didn’t even ask me what I wanted you to do with
the leaf.”, General Jeong Jeong stroked his beard, “I had a feeling and my test proved it true.”

“Why let me keep going?”, Aang fell back, “I couldn’t figure anything out.”

“To teach you the importance of the Avatar cycle. Finding a Waterbending teacher will be near
impossible. However, it will be your first obstacle on the path to being an Avatar.” General Jeong
Jeong paced. “If I told you that you had to master water first, you wouldn’t believe me. You would
find excuses. You would move on to Earthbending and waste even more fruitlessly.”

“The cycle is not just tradition, it has a purpose. The disciplines of the preceding elements inform
the abilities of the next. Had you begun to learn Waterbending, you would have been able to make
a fire. You would be familiar with making a flame.” General Jeong Jeong looked Aang in the eyes.
“However, you wouldn’t know how to hold fast against fire’s onslaught. Only Earthbending could
safely prepare you. You would lose control of the fire. You may even hurt someone you care for.”
Aang went bug-eyed at the suggestion. The monk knew the cycle was important. It took until now
for him to realize why. What could have happened.

“Any way you start the cycle, it prepares you for the next element. You can’t skip any step, no
matter how hard.” General Jeong Jeong looked to the beach. “However, I did not expect to find
someone in need of my immediate teachings.”

Aang was puzzled. Who could need his teachings? Not Azula. She was just studying to hone her
skills. She was an amazing firebender.

“I know you cannot see it.” General Jeong Jeong spoke with dire seriousness. “To you, you see
only a Firebending prodigy. To an experienced firebender, however, your friend is a wild dog.”

“But Azula has great control of her Firebending!”, Aang jumped to his friend’s defense.

“Yes, she could very precisely aim a flame at someone’s throat.” General Jeong Jeong spoke with a
dry wit. “Knowing that such actions are wrong? No, she would have trouble.”

“She isn’t a murder!”, Aang was yelling louder than General Jeong Jeong did this morning.

“Not yet, no.” General Jeong Jeong looked away from the girl. “Give her time, however. Whoever
trained her did so with the intent of raising a murderer.” The general paused. “Has she ever
escalated a situation? Put others in danger?”

“No!”

Aang paused.

“S-she once threw a fireball at someone. I was trying to make peace with a confederate
commander. She didn’t want me to be taken prisoner so she attacked.” Aang paused again. “It may
have caused a volcano to go off...somehow.”

General Jeong Jeong turned to the Avatar with a baffled look.

Aang shook away this line of thought. “You’re wrong about her. She might be rough around the
edges, but Azula isn’t a ‘wild dog.’

That’s when the pair’s attention was distracted by the orange glow of fire. Turning to the source of
the light, the master and student were shocked to see the nearby forest caught ablaze. At the source
of the inferno was Azula, trying her best to put the fire out.
The Retired General Part Two
Azula was slowly losing concentration. She could never get past the first strike. The second she
moved from her cat stance, the stone fell to her side. This was impossible. General Jeong Jeong
must have tricked her earlier with his demonstration. He was out to get her. This was all just some
joke to him. The General wanted to make her weak. He was jealous and afraid.

She couldn’t trust him. This was a mistake. She had to leave and take Aang to a real Firebending
teacher. Maybe her father was available. Father would be mad if she showed up unannounced. The
thought caused her stomach to turn. But, he would understand the seriousness of the situation. I’m
sure he’d be thrilled to train the Avatar.

Father would fix this problem. He was the one who knew how to be strong. He was the one who
trained her, after all.

Her mind flashed back to a moment she tried to forget.

On a training ground after dinner.

An Agni Kai.

Her brother’s face.

Azula’s flames grew hotter and out of control. The first strike turned from a small stream of orange
flame into an inferno of blue fire. Azula had never seen blue flame before, not from any
Firebender. What was this? Why was it coming out of her now?

In her shock, she lost control of the flame. The blaze blasted far beyond where she would have
wished it to land. The trees lining the beach went aflame.

Azula could only look in horror as the now orange fire slowly consumed the forest.

In the bowels of Sokka’s ship, a guard screamed out in agony.

“How did you get another harmony ring?”, Ujurak was in disbelief.

“It’s just about knowing the game.”, Ty Lee smiled at the frustrated soldier, “Best 10 out of 15?”
“No,” Ujuruak shook his head, “We’re playing vagabond this time. I actually won that one once.”

A knock came at the door.

“Bato’s coming!”, Aguta screamed, “Put the board away and get back out here!”

With a rush, the guard threw back on his helmet and grabbed his spear. Ty Lee, without skipping a
beat, hid the Pai Sho board under her bed. The guard was back at his post within moments. By
luck, Bato was busy reading over a scroll and didn’t notice the man’s absence.

“Is the prisoner properly starved?”, Bato asked as he stood in front of the door.

Not only had their predecessors fed her, but Ujurak had to get her a plate of sweets after losing the
first round of vagabond pai sho. If he won, she promised to tell them where the Avatar was hiding.
Who could have known she was that good at vagabond pai sho as well as skud pai sho?

“Y-yes, sir!”, Ujurak squawked.

Bato noticed the nervousness in the guards demeanor. The commander wrote it off as the fear
many subordinates had when directly addressed by a commanding officer. A tad shameful, but not
an action worthy of further investigation.

“Keep your ear to the door.,” Bato moved to the handle, “The best I could discern from our intel is
that her fighting style is called ‘Chi Blocking.’ Our spies knew little more than the name of the
martial art. If she attacks me, I will need your back-up.”

The guards nodded to their commander. They didn’t feel too worried. Ty Lee seemed like an angel.
They saw how she took down Prince Sokka before, but the Prince wasn’t known as a warrior.

Bato entered with a commanding presence. He loomed tall in the room, cloaked by shadow. The
small lanterns in the room illuminating only half his face.

“I hope you find your accommodations pleasing, princess.”, Bato started in a cold, detached
manner.

“I sure do!”, the bubbly girl burst back at the bewildered commander.

Bato wasn’t expecting her to be so happy. She shouldn’t have had anything to eat or drink for
almost twelve hours by now. The isolation and darkness alone should have put her on edge. The
fire princess was certainly a fearsome foe to behold: did they train their royalty to withstand
torture?

“I am glad to hear so.”, Bato hid his surprise. He could not let any sign of shock through or else he
would forfeit his leverage. “Now, about the Avatar.”

“Ooooh, what do you want to know about Aang?”, Ty Lee smiled.

So he’s called Aang? Not an uncommon air nomad name. It would narrow the search. At least until
the Avatar caught on and began using a pseudonym.

“Yes, about this Aang, what is he like?”, Bato thought back to the small boy he met on Roku
Island. He seemed rather brave. Or rather foolish. He needed to know about him if this hunt was
going to work.

“Oh, well, he’s super fun! He was so excited to go to my circus.”, Ty Lee punctuated her sentences
with her hands.

Bato lifted an eyebrow, “Your circus? I was unaware that the royalty had a circus?”

“Oh, I never did correct you guys, did I?”, Ty Lee laughed, “I’m not the princess: I’m her best
friend, Ty Lee.”

Bato stopped for a moment. The weight of that sentence fell in on him. “Surely, this is a trick?”

“Nope, no trick! The only trick was me playing along with you guys earlier.”, Ty Lee giggled,
“I’m not even a bender.”

Bato sighed. “You do at least actually know the Avatar, correct?”

“Yep, we’re traveling buddies!”, Ty Lee smiled.

“Would he come rescue you?”, Bato felt some hope return.

“Of course, we’re both Azula’s friends.”, Ty Lee put her finger to her mouth, “But he is away with
Azula to some village. I don’t think he would know I’m gone for a week or so.”

“Village?”, Bato felt his fortune changing back.

“Oh, I don’t remember its name?”, Ty Lee fanned him away.

“Surely, you must remember the first character? Maybe what it sounded like?” Bato paused.
“Perhaps you would like some food. I can have that arranged. Would you like that? Cookies and
tea would probably be divine right now.” Bato allowed himself to be devilish.

“No thanks, I’m pretty stuffed.” Ty Lee’s words caused the guards outside to tense up.

Bato looked at the door. Then, he took a closer look at the room. From the bottom of her bed, Bato
could see a dirty plate. And, was that a Pai Sho board?

Fury took over the commander. He wanted to barge out the door and deck the two men. He sighed.
What would that accomplish? Further divide his men? Set his crew against him? There would be a
punishment, but direct violence was a poor solution for discipline. Spending the next three months
cleaning the dishes and the toilets? That should do.

It didn’t change the matter at hand: he had a prisoner the Avatar cared about, but he wouldn’t
notice their appearances for weeks. He might be able to get the village name out of her eventually,
but he had no leverage at the moment.

The name of the Avatar will be useful, however. She was forthcoming with the information. Maybe
he could push the information out of her. How could he trust it? She was in good spirits. She could
easily be lying. The name of the Avatar could be as fake as any village name he gets out of her.

He had to come back later.

“I see. You’re craftier than I gave you credit.” Bato turned to the door, “Perhaps another time
then?”

“Before you go,” Ty Lee beckoned, “Can I ask you one thing?”

Bato raised an eyebrow, “You may.”

“Can I speak with the boy from earlier?”, Ty Lee seemed innocent.

“The prince? Why would you want to speak with him?”, Bato was curious.

“I wanted to apologize about hurting him.”, Ty Lee was suddenly a bit morose, “Also, I wanted to
apologize to you as well.”

“To me?”, Bato was confused. He understood the implication, but he wasn’t ready just yet to get
on guard.

“Yeah, because I don’t plan on staying too long.” Ty Lee stretched, “I just didn’t think I could do
much when I was completely surrounded before. Not without those nice villagers getting hurt.”

Bato laughed, “And escaping a ship will be easier? We are out at sea.”

“Maybe.”, Ty Lee seemed curious, “But I don’t have to worry about those nice people getting
hurt.”

“I won’t deny the danger of your ‘chi blocking’ technique,” Bato stared the girl down, “but, if the
blood witch of the colonies hasn’t been able to escape her cell for decades, I doubt some fire island
circus performer is going to escape on my watch.”

Bato left the cell wearing a smirk. It masked his own worry. The girl was up to something. She
knew something he didn’t. He ordered the guards to cuff her arms and legs. Afterwards, they were
to report to his office for reassignment: the kitchen and bathrooms were going to be spotless for the
next few months.

Azula was frantic. A part of her thought she could bend the inferno away before General Jeong
Jeong saw it. It was a pointless delusion, but a panic had swelled up in her. She was afraid that she
would be exposed if the General saw the flame. That he would see her as weak and unfocused,
unworthy of teaching. That he’d discard her and punish her. She would be treated like Zuko.

Try as she might, she could not stop the flame. The more she bent, the stronger the flame grew. She
could only add fuel to the fire. With each failed attempt, her panic grew. Aang would see her as a
loser. All the respect she earned from him would be lost. She would lose him.

Word of this would surely reach her father. He always warned her what happened if she proved to
be weak. She wasn’t weak. She could control this fire. She was going to put out this flame. If she
didn’t, she’d be the new Ursa, the new Zuko.

Her teacher.

Her best friend.

Her father.

She’d lose them.

The only person who wouldn’t care would be her brother. He already hated her, she thought.

These thoughts came to an explosive conclusion when the General and Aang came within earshot
of the panicked princess.

Without a word, the General took a strong stance. With the entire weight of his body, he pulled the
flames from the trees and sent them into the nearby lake, extinguishing the blaze. The effort left
the old man visibly exhausted.

“H-how?”, Azula was astonished. There was an angier in her voice. “Why couldn’t I-?”

The General had a dismissive visage. “Because you have been trained wrong!” Back was the angry
mentor from the start of the morning. “You were taught only to fight! Only to hurt!” General Jeong
Jeong was going to continue. He was going to lay the blame at the feet of her previous teacher. He
knew she was simply doing as she was taught.

He didn’t get the chance.

Aang could see the tears well up in Azula’s eyes. She was scared like an animal caught in a trap.

In desperation, Azula shot a blast at the ground between them. Vanishing behind the blaze, she ran
off out of sight.

The general seemed unmoved.

Aang, who had already begun to run after his friend, was confused at the general’s lack of action.
“Aren’t you going to come?”

“My presence will only worsen matters.”, The general turned his back. “If you were smart, you’d
do the same.”

“Good thing I’m not smart then.”, Aang tried his best to mock the general’s words. Though, the
monk’s words missed their mark.

Zuko was not an Airbender. That was pretty clear. He was a Firebender who played at being a
Nonbender. Riding a skybison was not something in his skillset.

The beast was comfortable enough with him. No doubt, it recognized the young prince as a friend
of Aang. It probably helped that Zuko had been caring for the bison the last few days.

Even with the bison’ cooperation, Zuko was uncomfortable sitting at the creature’s head. Below
him, there was a long fall into the river. It made him nervous.

He tightened his grip on the reigns. The river only went out to sea from one side. The confederates
had to be somewhere at the end of the river. They couldn’t have gotten much farther in only a
day’s time, even with the help of Waterbending.

The dual dao swords clattered on the boy’s back. He had only practiced for two days with the
master. It was arguably too soon to rush into battle.

If it was for his little sister, however, he knew he had to. Her best friend was on the line. He
couldn’t let her down.

Aang knew Azula couldn’t have gotten too far. She didn’t seem to be in her best state of mind
earlier. Something was eating her up. It couldn’t just be the fire. There was something deeper at
work.

Yesterday, she had called the monk “uncle” because of his reprimanding. She confided that her
mother thought she was a monster. The young Avatar knew she was hurting inside, but he had no
idea what to say to her then. He still didn’t. However, something told him he couldn’t just abandon
her to “work it out” like General Jeong Jeong was doing.

Taking to the air, the monk scanned the treeline. It wouldn’t be easy to find her from here under
normal circumstances. The monk remembered how she almost burned Jeong Jeong’s sign when
she snapped a while back. He had a feeling she would be doing something similar now.

Sure enough, he saw smoke coming through the treetops. Turning his glider down, he landed
nearby.

Azula sat with her back to the wall. To her left, she burnt a few leaves. A small flame that was
unlikely to grow far. Still, it made her feel better to burn it. It was what she was best at.

Burning leaves.

Burning trees.

Burning her brother’s face.

Her father always praised her for burning things. That was what Firebending was all about, wasn’t
it? Burning things with fire. That’s what father taught her. Now, this old geezer is demanding she
change everything because her father was wrong? If he was wrong, then what does that mean about
her?

She always did as he asked, even when the order terrified her. She knew it was wrong when he
asked her to do “that” to her brother, but she had to believe it was the right thing to do. Anything
else would be too terrifying to contemplate.

The girl heard the light thud of Aang landing. She wanted to run away. Even attack him. But she let
it pass. She was already exposed. At least he wasn’t going to punish her for it.

Aang came next to Azula and sat down.

A long silence passed. “Are you okay?”, he finally started.

Azula said nothing.

“You know, General Jeong Jeong said that if I had already learned Waterbending, I probably
would have been the one to start the fire.” Aang tried to joke. He could tell it failed to land from
her silence.

Aang said nothing for a time again.

“Do you want to talk about it?”, Aang tried again to reach her.

“Go away.”, Azula mumbled, “I don’t need your pity.”

Aang was confused. “Pity? Azula, you’re my friend. I’m here because I want to help you.”

A weak laugh escaped. “Help me? Airhead, you really think I’m so weak that I need help from
you? I’m Azula, princess of the Fire Nation!” Her voice raised into a shout. “I’m going to win this
war! I’m going to destroy the Water Confederation! I’m going to be Fire Lord!” She turned to
Aang with disgust. “Why would I need help from someone as pitiful as you?” An evil grin
overtook her.

Aang got up in angier. “I don’t know why I keep trying to help you!” He went to walk away, but he
stopped. He turned back to the sitting girl and sat next to her again.

“What? Weren’t you leaving? I don’t need you! Go!”, Azula snapped back.

“You’re afraid, I can tell.” Aang looked at the ground. “You want me to leave because you want to
run away.”

“Like you did?”, Azula laughed, “Don’t flatter yourself, airhead.”

“I know you’re lashing out because you don’t want to let me in.” Aang kept to a calm voice.

“Why would I be afraid of letting you in?”, Azula was cruel and mocking, “I let you know about
how Uncle and mother thinks of me. There: I’m not afraid. I’m an open book. A girl with mommy
issues. Happy? Now go! I’m sure you can find another hard-luck case in that poor excuse for a
town.”

“This isn’t about them.” Aang looked to Azula. “This is something worse. Something about
General Jeong Jeong scares you.”

“I’m not afraid!”, Azula shot at the top of her lungs. Aang leaned back in surprise. Guilt took
Azula’s face, tears coming out. Weaker, she said again “I’m not afraid.”

“I’m not weak.”, she muttered.

“I know you’re not weak.” Aang tried to put a hand on her shoulder but it was knocked away.
Rubbing his wounded wrist, he continued. “You’re one of the strongest people I know.”

Azula grmly laughed. “Is this the part where I say I never had a friend before and we all hold
hands?”

Aang sighed. “I mean it. You keep running towards your goal and never stop. You're relentless.
You deal with your problems head on.” Aang looked at the tattoo on the back of his hand. “I ran
away. And the world turned out like this.”

Azula gave the quiet airbender a quick look over.

“Fine!”, she burst out, “I’ll tell you. If only to stop this pity party you started.”

It was three years ago. Zuko and Azula had just begun to grow into adults. Their Uncle had left on
a political voyage to the Northern Earth Kingdom to beg for help from King Bumi.

Ozai was always the better diplomat. He knew what he wanted and pursued it without pause. Iroh
was always quick to appease and find common ground, like a coward. His weakness was favored
by the governors of the Fire Islands, it fed into their own pathetic cowardice. Ozai hated when he
was left out of these important meetings.

Ozai was always more honest when his brother wasn’t around. Azula thought it was part of Ozai’s
game. There was no way her father could be afraid of his fat older brother. Clearly, he cooled his
angier around Iroh to keep his loyalty. For what ultimate purpose, Azula did not know. She just
knew there was wisdom in her father’s plans.

It was still difficult when he was alone, even as the favored child. She knew Ursa and Zuko hated
her. They were punished for their transgressions where she was allowed to be in peace. That was
simply the way of things, as father had told her once. The strong are rewarded and the weak are
punished.

Azula was strong.

“What is this slop?”, Ozai poked at his stew.

“It’s beef stew.”, Ursa cowardly whimpered.

Ozai tossed the soup aside. “I am a royal and you feed me commoner cuisine!?”, Ozai reprimanded
his wife.

“It’s what I could afford today.”, Ura insulted her husband’s wealth.

Ozai huffed. “Are you calling me poor?”

Zuko stood up. Azula didn’t show it, but, whenever Zuko acted like this, her blood would run cold.
Why did her brother stand up to father like this? Was he trying to say he was strong? Couldn’t he
do things the right way for once? Just as father said? This fighting wasn’t strength. He’d just be
punished again.

She was always afraid how Ozai would punish her big brother.

“Dad, you’re taking this too far! It’s just dinner!”

Just dinner?, Azula thought. It’s father’s pride. Couldn’t Zuko understand that? Did the weak think
so differently?

Ozai turned to Azula’s brother with disgust. “Shut up, you ingrate!”, Ozai shot back, “You’re my
first born. Be lucky that I haven’t revoked your right to the throne, you weakling.”

“Zuko,” Azula pleaded with her eyes, “do just as he said. Don’t get into a fight, you’ll lose.”

Her eyes must have done the trick because Zuko did as father asked: getting him a new bowl of
soup. Azula wanted to give a sigh of relief, but she knew better. Father would question it. How has
mother and Zuko not figured out how he worked yet?

“You and Azula are behind on your training. Both of you are to follow me to the training grounds
tonight.”

Azula felt better. Training was always relaxing. She could never do anything wrong there. She
didn’t have to hold things back or keep her mouth shut. Just being herself was rewarded.

She wished the same was true for Zuko.

"Your leg is too low, Zuko."

"Your breath is too weak, Zuko."

"Your punch is too slow, Zuko."

Why couldn’t he just try harder? Father’s training was always easy. He never insulted Azula’s
work.

"Good kick, Azula"

"Exemplary power, Azula."

"Fast punch, Azula."

While she was in the middle of her routine, her brother did something that scared her again.
Something that terrified her to her core. Why did he have to say that? Didn’t he know how father
was by that point? Didn’t he learn?

“Can you say one nice thing about me? All you ever do is yell and complain!" Zuko was like a
raging inferno. "You always act like you're so perfect. You treat me like dirt.

Zuko let it all out. His voice rose with every word. "Our family is not the royal line it used to be!
Grandfather ran us broke! You destroyed every ally Uncle made! Stop clinging to the past! Stop
acting like I have to be ready to inherit some throne our people lost a hundred years ago.

Azula could only look to her father with horror. What would come next? Would father hit him on
the spot? Would he do worse?

“Please,” she wanted to beg, “don’t hurt him. He’s just a dum-dum. He doesn’t get how it works.”
But she knew better than to speak.

Moments later, she stood over her brother. In a way, she was relieved. Father simply wanted her to
prove how superior her training was with a simple sparring match. A reminder to Zuko that Azula
was strong and Zuko was weak. Maybe even a bit of hope that Zuko could become strong one day,
if he just let himself learn for once.

“What are you waiting for? Strike!” Ozai commanded.

Azula felt ice. Was her father seriously suggesting she burn her brother’s face? This was a joke,
surely. “He lost, Father. We can end this sparring match here.”

"Did I say this was a sparring match?", Ozai foamed at the mouth, "this is an Agni Kai: burn his
face! He will wear a mark for his shame."

Azula could not believe what she heard. Father was strict, but this was too far. Zuko didn’t deserve
such a punishment. Not even mother deserved that. "That tradition died even before great
grandfather Sozin. People will think it's a Ryujin bokkei. They'll think he's a traitor to our people."

"Did he not insult the crown prince of our fair nation? Did he not insult our divine right to rule?"
Ozai was relentless. "He spoke treason. The punishment fits."

"Father," Azula whimpered. She was scared. She looked down to her big brother for help.

"Azula, do you want to be the next Ursa? The next Zuko? I have treated you with privilege because
you were strong." Ozai had no love in his voice. "Prove you're weak and I will show no mercy."

Azula's face was pained. She couldn’t become the next Zuko. Her brother could endure it. He was
stronger than her. She couldn’t. She was weak. She was afraid. She wanted someone to save her.
Give her any reason to escape this moment.

That’s when she saw her brother's mouth “It’s okay.” She wanted to thank him. Instead, she did as
father asked, as always.

Aang was speechless. After hearing that story, he couldn’t stop himself from staring at the girl.

Azula looked away. “You think I’m a monster too now, don’t you?”
The monk was flabbergasted. “You? No, not you. Your father is the monster.”

Azula shot back at Aang, “I’m the one who burned him. And f-father must have had his reasons.”

The young Avatar had a sullen look. Rising to his feet, he stretched out his hand.

“What? Aren’t you going to say something? Some sappy speech about friendship or some garbage
like that?”, Azula refused to take his hand.

“What happened to you is awful, but I can’t fix it.”, Aang looked away for a moment, “I can be
here for you now, though. We can learn Firebending together. I’ll listen whenever you need a
moment to talk like this, just like before with Ty Lee. I’ll do what I can to help you deal with
things.”

Azula scoffed, “Because you think I’m weak.”

“No,” Aang shook away her words, “Because I know even someone with all the power in the world
still needs help sometimes.”

Azula waited a few moments. The air grew heavy.

She grabbed Aang’s hands.

On her feet, she tried to shake the last few moments off. “General Jeong Jeong just reminded me of
how father treated Zuko. I was afraid he was going to make me the new ‘Zuko.’”

“General Jeong Jeong seems strict, but I think he’s a good person.” Aang smiled.

“Well,” Azula was starting to get back to her old self, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to trust an
airhead’s judge of character once and awhile.”

The two started to head back to the shore.

 The Retired General Part Three
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Following the river for hours, Zuko finally reached his prize. From high above, he could see the
ship still traveling along the river.

“Good,” he thought, “they haven’t made it out to sea yet.”

There was no good approach. The confederates would see him no matter how he tried to land on
the ship. Above? Below? Pulling up on the side? All resulted in detection.

Appa was Aang’s pet. Zuko would be lying if he didn’t get a little attached to the creature over the
last few days. If nothing else, Aang would be furious if it was hurt.

That left one good option: Zuko would fly by and jump off. After that? Zuko would have to
improvise.

“So, what was that magic you used on me, anyway?,” Sokka spoke through spoonfuls of lionseal
meat.

Ty Lee, trying her best to eat her salad while her hands were bound, did her best to smile. “Magic?
You mean my chi blocking? It’s a martial art that my mom taught me and my sisters.”

“Cool.”, Sokka pointed to his food, “Are you sure you don’t want any?”

“N-no thanks.”, she waved off the offer, “I don’t like meat.”

“Suit yourself.”, Sokka continued. “You know, it’s funny you asked for me. I was planning on
coming down anyway.” The prince chuckled a little.

Ty Lee looked a little nervous. “Yeah, I just wanted to apologize for hurting you earlier. I try not to
use violence if I don’t have to.”

“Aren’t you from the Fire Islands?”, Sokka pointed at the girl, “You’re talking like an Air Nomad.”
Ty Lee laughed. “Really? I just don’t like hurting people. Even though, it is kind of funny when
people go all ‘noodlely’ when their chi is blocked.”

“So,” Sokka leaned in, “I remember you saying you were ‘interested’ in merging the royal lines?”
He wiggled his eyebrows.

Ty Lee grew a nervous smile. “Oh, that? I mean, you are kind of cute, but that was just part of the
act. Besides, I’m not actually the princess. ”

“So, you don’t actually like me?”, Sokka looked hurt.

“I sometimes like boys, but it’s not really my preference.”, Ty Lee waved him off.

Sokka looked confused. He scratched his head. “I’m talking about dating you know. Guy and girl
stuff. Not being friends.”

“Uh, yeah,” Ty Lee looked to the side. She guessed more places were like the Fire Islands than she
wanted to admit. Why couldn’t she be born an air nomad? “Uh, still, you eat meat. I eat veggies.
Plus, you’re a confederate. It just wouldn’t work out.”

Sokka sighed. “You’re probably right.” He grew a devilish grin. “It could be fun for just a little
while, though.”

Ty Lee became uncharacteristically stern. “Sokka, I mean it.”

“Alright, alright,” Sokka leaned back, “I’ll drop it.”

Ty Lee huffed as she went back to her salad. “You really should be more respectful.”

“What?”, Sokka shot his hands up, “I am respectful. I backed off.”

“After I had to push you.”, Ty Lee pouted.

Sokka looked a little guilty. “Is that bad?”

“Girls don’t like that. Nor do guys. No one does. Don’t be pushy.”, Ty Lee struggled to get the
salad to her mouth. “I’ve had to chi block guys for being so pushy before.”

A thud sounded above them. Ty Lee’s eyes narrowed. Sokka got up.

Sokka told her to stay there as he rushed upstairs.

Ty Lee waited until the door was closed. The second the door shut. She rolled on her back. The
handcuffs were a standard one-size-fits-all design. Clearly, they were built for burly male hands.
Like one would expect from a soldier. Her smaller hands and wrist had some room to maneuver.
Using her feet to push the cuffs, she slipped out of the restraints.

With her hands freed, she moved to her feet. Leg cuffs are much harder to just break out of. Earlier,
she found out you could easily reach through the bars when she shook hands. The guards were still
at their post.

Walking on her hands, she made it to the door. Flipping onto her feet, she maneuvered her hands
through the bars. She apologized right before she knocked both guards out with a strike to their
heaven’s pillar. Before they fell, she grabbed their shirt collars. It took a great deal of effort, but she
held them in place as she grabbed the keys from their pockets. With her prize, she gently let the
bodies hit the floor.
Unbound, she creaked the now unlocked door open and began to make her escape.

Zuko landed with a thud on the deck of the ship. His swords were already drawn. Appa never
stopped flying. On instinct, the beast seemed to be heading in the direction of Shu Jing village.
Zuko had their attention, he just had to keep their focus on them for Appa’s sake. Then, it was a
matter of getting Ty Lee out.

Two confederates came forward with their spears. Zuko recognized the style from his brief lessons
with the master: fluid and fast as expected from water confederates. With a flourish, Zuko rose
from his landing position. The soldier’s spears were sliced in half in a single motion. Left
defenseless, they cried out for backup.

Men began to flood the deck. Zuko remembered Aang mentioning archers on the ship that came to
Umbie. Zuko needed to get inside the cabins before they could form up.

He acted like a firebender: aggressive. The prince didn’t let the soldiers form around him. He chose
the closet soldiers to the cabin and charged. The young man could sense that the soldiers to his
back and sides were closing in on him. He flourished like a waterbender, taking his blades in an arc
around him. Those with their spears outstretched were disarmed, just like the first to attack the
prince.

However, the waterbenders were in their element. This was a river. They could never be disarmed.
Water tendrils began to blast at the prince.

The young man closed his eyes. He remembered his battle with Fat. He had to tune out the voice
telling him to strike, to be aggressive. The prince had to forget his father’s teachings.

When the first shot reached him, he could hear it. He spun away from the blast.

The second strike drew near. He leaned back, allowing the water to fly harmless above him.

The third strike came to his legs. He jumped forward to the trio of waterbenders.

When he landed, he made a glancing strike at the group. The wounds were small and barely drew
blood, but the strike had hit their arms. The pain gave Zuko time.

Opening his eyes, he dashed back at the terrified guard blocking the cabin doors. The man was
only slightly older than Zuko. Clearly young and inexperienced. He was horrified at the sight of
this swordsman. Alone, this man had taken down the rest of his squad. Reinforcements were
coming, but this guard was all that was left.

The soldier closed his eyes when Zuko approached.

Nothing.

Only when the guard had opened his fearful eyes did he realize that Zuko had leapt past him,
running through the cabin doors. With a sigh of relief, the soldier dropped his guard.

Ty Lee kept to the ceiling. Her years in the circus had taught her a few tricks. She knew how to get
out of handcuffs from the escape artists. Pickpocketing was a common trick learned for the
occasional gag. This ceiling walk was an exercise she was taught to keep her balance and develop
her muscles. The fear of failing down was a good incentive to stay up, but the wounds you’d get if
you failed were minor and wouldn’t stop you from performing.
People never look up. The guards running about seemed too occupied to hear her breathing, either.
While it was getting tiring, she was making her way to the staircase. Once she was on deck, she’d
get herself to shore. Whichever one of her friends saved her, they surely brought Appa. That would
make for an easy getaway.

The trip was tiring. She’d move a couple feet then be forced to stop by an arriving soldier. She had
to be careful not to give herself away.

It’s not that she couldn’t take the men down. If anything, her style had the advantage in this
confined space. The biggest issue with Chi Blocking was closing the distance on your foe. The
problem was that Ty Lee didn’t want to fight the entire ship. Not only was that a risk that someone
would pose too much for her. She didn’t think it was the right thing to do. They were nice to her
earlier, after all.

Sokka ran back to his cabin. In a hurry, he grabbed his club. He needed something good for
fighting. That’s when his eyes darted to the jian on his wall. It was a prize from war that Bato had
given him. He never used it before, but he knew he needed something to protect himself. Who
knew how many men were invading his ship?

Grabbing the Jian, he rushed out. His men needed a leader, like Bato had said earlier. He needed to
be there to guide them.

That’s when he found himself face to face with Zuko.

Sokka recognized the man for what he was: a criminal. He knew of Ryujin bokkeis. Clearly, he
was part of some bandit or pirate raiding party. Criminals were easily scared, from what Sokka had
learned. They wanted your money, but they didn’t have a cause. If they thought they could die,
they’d back off for easier prey.

The young prince had to play the part of a powerful warrior.

“Who do you think you are?”, Sokka screamed out, “This is the ship of Prince Sokka of the Water
Confederation! I’ve felled hundreds of you ash breathers before. My deeds with my sword are
legendary.” He laughed with fake bravado. “If I were you, I’d take your men and turn back! There
is easier plunder on this river.”

Zuko got into stance. “I’m not here for treasure.”

Sokka had miscalculated. This man was an assassin. To think Sokka just gave away his identity!
No doubt, the prince was the target. He had to act quickly. Adjust the situation.

“So, you’re an assassin then?”, Prince Sokka smiled, “You aren’t the first to come after my head.
Nor will you be the last. Do you want to know what happened to the other ones?”

The prince was praying his stalling tactic would work. He couldn’t escape in time. He just needed
to give him men time to find him.

Zuko shot out, “I’m not an assassin either! I want my sister’s friend back! Take me to her and I’ll
spare your life!”

Sister’s friend? Ty Lee! That would mean this man was Prince Zuko. How would a prince be
branded a criminal?

“Prince Zuko?”, Sokka fell back on his stalling tactics, “What happened to you? That’s a ryujin
bokkei, isn’t it? Did something to the royal family?”

“Shut up!”, Zuko almost burnt his breath, “This is your last chance!”

Sokka could hear footsteps in the distance. Perfect.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but it seems my friends are arriving.”, Sokka grinned.

Ty Lee’s arms were starting to tire. She didn’t expect this all to take so long. She was going to have
to drop soon, unless she wanted to be too tired to fight later.

That’s when she heard the sound of Sokka’s voice. It was faint. She could barely make it out, but
she heard the word “bandit.” Perhaps this wasn’t her friends come to rescue her. That could be a
problem, but it was too late to go back.

That’s when she heard Zuko yell. It was them! She smiled. Ty Lee knew she had to get to him if
she was going to get out of here. He probably didn’t need the help to fight Sokka, but who knew
how many men he had with him.

Jumping down from her hiding hole, she immediately realized her mistake. A familiar voice called
out to her, “Ty Lee, was it?”

Turning, Ty Lee saw Bato, clad in armor and carrying a club. “I knew you were planning
something.”

“I just knew my friends were going to come eventually.”, Ty Lee got into stance, “I had a good
feeling about them.”

“Really?”, Bato got into a battle stance, “You were just counting on your friends to arrive? To
think you had bigger plans.”

“Didn’t need one.”, Ty Lee checked quickly to see if anyone was behind her. There was just one
pathway to her right. She could dart that way, but she still didn’t know if Zuko was overwhelmed.
She could run right into an ambush and worsen the situation for both of them.

The two took a moment to size each other up. Bato knew not to underestimate the girl. She was at
home in these tight corridors. He needed to be precise. The commander wished he had gotten a
sword or dagger of some sort. He wouldn’t be able to fully swing the club in these corridors: a
piercing weapon would have been ideal.

He knew she wouldn’t make the first strike. The old man just needed to make his first strike count.
Her specialty was counter-striking. The second he gave her the chance, she would chi block him.

Bato lunged, taking a short swing at her midsection. Ty Lee bent down and jumped up in a quick
motion. Her entire body flipped. For a moment, it was as if she stood upside down.

Kicking off the ceiling, she attempted to grab the commander’s arm. To her surprise, the
commander had dropped the club midstrike. With no purchase, she had to act fast. With cat-like
reflexes, she landed into a handstand.

Bato's foot caught the side of Ty Lee's ribs as soon as she landed. Halfways through the swing, the
commander had dropped the club and spun his momentum into a powerful kick.

Ty Lee was knocked into the side pathway. On her back, she could hear the commander come for
her. Opening her eyes, she saw that Bato had reclaimed his club. He was striking the weapon down
at her shoulder, clearly intent on shattering it and disabling her. Like a spring, she got into a
handstand to dodge the strike.

The club lodged itself into the wood. Ty Lee pushed herself off the floor and landed on the man’s
shoulders. Wrapping herself around his neck with her legs, she got to work. With a strike, she
disabled his left arm. That’s when she felt the commander grab her legs with his right arm. Keeping
her in place, he ran back and slammed the small girl against the walls of the cabin. The impact
almost broke the girl’s shoulders.

Dazed, she tried her best to focus on taking out his other arm. Confused, she missed the pressure
point on her next strike. Bato punished the mistake with another slam into the wall. The wood of
the cabin had begun to give from the force.

The girl was beginning to lose consciousness. She felt Bato get ready to ram into the wall again.
She closed her eyes.

The second they closed she saw Azula. The princess was disappointed in her. She could see her
friend try to mouth something to her. She barely made it out, but the princess was clearly
questioning why she was giving up so easily. Was she really going to let herself go down so easily?

Waking up, Ty Lee quickly struck the commander’s right arm. The arm dropped, loose and wobbly
like a noodle. Free, Ty Lee jumped off of Bato. Set off his footing, the commander landed hard
into the wall and was knocked unconscious.

Ty Lee was still dizzy from the ordeal. As best she could, she apologized to the commander before
heading towards the sound of Zuko’s voice.

Sokka heard the footsteps approach faster. “I wouldn’t attack now, if I were you. My men would
be more willing to go easy on you if I was unharmed. Isn’t that right...” Sokka looked back at the
sound of approaching footsteps. Who he saw surprised him. “Ty Lee!?”

While she seemed slightly tired and dazed, Ty Lee arrived on the other end of the hallway. Sokka
was now blocked on both sides. There was a side passage he could run to, but Zuko was in the
way.

“Ty Lee!”, Zuko cried out, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Ty Lee began to look around her, “but the room is spinning pretty bad.”

“Did you hurt her!?”, Zuko screamed at Sokka.

“No!”, Sokka put his hands up, “My men didn’t lay a hand on her.”

“Yeah, Sokka was fine.”, Ty Lee rubbed her head, “I just got into a bad fight with that Bato guy on
the way here.”

“You attacked Bato?”, Sokka turned to Ty Lee with his sword ready, “What did you do to him?”

“He’s just knocked out.”, Ty Lee spoke with an innocent air about her, as if she had done nothing
wrong.

“Just knocked him out?”, Sokka clearly didn’t see her as innocent.
Sokka heard footsteps charging at him from behind: Zuko. Turning in a flurry, Sokka blocked the
Prince’s swords with his own. The force was too much for Sokka to block one-handed. The water
prince had to bring his other hand to the flat of the blade to hold back the attack. Sokka could tell
that Zuko had flipped his swords around: the fire prince was only going for a knock-out. Sokka
wished he could breathe a sigh of relief, but the boy’s swords were crushing him.

Sokka could tell he wasn’t strong enough to hold him back much longer. Jumping back, he let the
swing finish. The swords barely miss him.

Seizing the advantage, Sokka struck downwards towards Zuko's outstretched arms. Sokka wasn’t
intending to dismember his foe: he had moved the sword so that the fat of the blade would strike.
If swords were like clubs, this should break at least one of the boy’s arms, leaving him vulnerable.

Sokka never got to test that theory. With shocking grace and fluidity, Zuko yanked back his arms.
The water prince was left without a chance to react. His jian met the cabin walls, becoming lodged.

“That was a waterbending maneuver.”, Sokka was shocked. He remembered those movements
from sparring with his sister. He never expected for a firebender to use such moves.

Without a word, Zuko hit Sokka in the chin with the hilt of his swords. The force caused the water
prince to see stars, falling instantly unconscious.

Azula and Aang took their time getting back. Azula moved slowly. She clearly didn’t want to come
back. Even with Aang with her, there was still a fear in her. Aang didn’t expect their talk to get rid
of it. He just hoped their conversation was enough for her to try again.

General Jeong Jeong was waiting for them on the shore. He had gone back for tea in the time they
had been gone.

“You have returned.”, The General didn’t sound happy.

Aang wanted to start, but Azula cut him off. “Yes, I did.” Azula stepped forward. Aang tried to
stop her, but she brushed him away. “There is something I want to say.”

The general did not turn from his tea. He expected her to scream out at him. She was clearly upset
before at her own shortcomings. He expected this response from someone so consumed by their
element.

“You were right.”, Azula mumbled.

The general looked back, his eyebrow raised.

“Don’t get all surprised about it!”, Azula dismissed him, “I just agree that you were right about my
Firebending. I need to learn to hold it back. Otherwise,” she looked at the trees, “I could hurt
someone I care about.”

The general felt something in her words. Finally, things fell into place: she had hurt someone
before.

“Please, drink tea with me.” General Jeong Jeong gestured to three glasses he had placed at his
side.

Azula looked back at Aang. Aang shrugged and sat next to the general. Azula followed suit.
The old master poured tea for his pupils. “I had learned to appreciate tea from your uncle, your
highness.”

“That certainly sounds like him.”, Azula smirked, “The old man got a holiday made after this
stuff.”

“He always said that was his third proudest achievement, when we served together.”, Jeong took a
sip, “Do you know what the other two were?”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”, Azula knew the answers. The first one was cousin Lu Ten. How
unfortunate it was that Lu Ten was lost so young. Her Uncle was never the same after that: he had
lost his desire for combat and became weak. And the second was even more obvious: Zuko. The
two were inseparable whenever Uncle came to visit.

“The first was his son, Lu Ten. Lost in a battle to retake the capital.”, General Jeong Jeong looked
to Azula. She showed nothing. She knew the answer. Just say it. It wouldn’t matter.

“The second was his nephew,” Azula rolled her eyes, “and his niece.”

Azula laughed, “You expect me to believe that? He hates me, just like mother and Zuko.”

“Azula,” Aang chimed in, “Zuko doesn’t hate you.”

“How couldn’t he? You do remember that story I told you?”, Azula tried to play off her words but
her eyes gave away her true feelings. The final piece came together for Jeong Jeong on what
happened. At least, a part of it.

“Your family loves you Azula.”, The general poked the fire, “Your Uncle spoke of how proficient
you were in Firebending. The Dragon of the West once joked over Pai Sho that you’d inherit his
title one day.” Azula tried her best to hide her surprise. Her face was stone, but her eyes were
always her weakness.

“General Iroh told me how proud your father was of you.” Aang tried to send the general a look to
tell him not to mention her father but it did not reach Jeong Jeong. “Your mother was doting and
loving, your brother looked after you, and Lu Ten thought you were the cutest rascal.”

General Jeong Jeong looked to her, “I doubt whatever happened changed that.”

Azula sighed, “Don’t pretend to know my home life.” Azula took a sip of her tea. “I’ll listen to
what you have to teach, but don’t expect anything more.”

The general sighed. “I suppose that is all I could expect for now.”

A silence took over the group. Aang was the first to break it. “I suppose we’ll have to leave soon. I
can’t learn Firebending.”

“Why not?”, Azula was almost offended, “You’re the Avatar. That’s your job. That’s why we went
through this.”

“I can’t even make a small flame.” Aang’s voice was low.

“Without the teachings of Waterbending and Earthbending, he’ll never master Firebending. That is
the reason elements are taught in order,” the general followed Aang.

“So, this was all a waste of time.”, Azula wanted to punch the sand, but held herself back.
“Not necessarily, your highness”, General Jeong Jeong stood up, “Aang will still need a teacher
one day. I’m too old to go around the world anymore.”

“What? You’re suggesting you’ll train me so I can teach him one day?”, Azula laughed, “I could
have done that before.”

The general gave a look. Azula sighed. “No, you’re right: I couldn’t.” Azula stood up and bowed to
her new teacher. “But I will be ready when the time comes.”

General Jeong Jeong bowed back at his student.

Aang could feel a smile take over him. Maybe he wasn’t any closer to becoming a fully realized
Avatar, but he felt like that this diversion had helped him grow in other ways.

Zuko and Ty Lee rushed up the stairs.

“Did you bring Appa?”, Ty Lee spoke between breaths.

“I let him go. I couldn’t let him get captured.”, Zuko huffed as he responded.

“But we’re out at sea!”, Ty Lee freaked out.

“Who said that? We’re still in the river. It’d take days to get out to sea.”, Zuko looked back for a
moment.

It dawned on the girl that the commander had lied. Not a bad idea, honestly. If she knew she was
still in the river, she would have tried to escape on her own earlier.

Zuko kicked in the door, revealing a packed deck. The men had regrouped and secured the main
exit. Whoever had ordered this was clever. Why bother fighting below deck when you could cut
off their escape?

It was one of Prince Sokka’s orders to his men before he went to his cabin to stock up on weapons.
While he may not be awake to see it, his plan had worked.

When Ty Lee and Zuko nudged back, preparing to return to the cabin,they heard the nocking of
arrows. Archers had gotten into position. They were pinned down.

“What now?”, Ty Lee whispered.

Zuko wasn’t sure. He wanted to hit something. The fire prince was furious with himself. Master
Piandao told him not to be so aggressive, not to rush into things, and here he was: trapped on a
ship. Why didn’t he plan for his own escape?

“I-I don’t know!”, Zuko barked.

The soldiers could tell they had their prize. The cowardly guard from before was looking for
shackles to hold the pair. They had lost.

That’s when they heard a roar from above. Looking up, Appa was diving in from overhead.
Crashing onto the deck, the shaking of the boat knocked everyone over, archers included. Ty Lee,
not missing a beat, grabbed Zuko by the hand and dragged him to his feet. With a leap the pair
jumped over the soldiers and grabbed onto Appa’s saddle.

“Yip yip!”, Zuko shouted.

 As the confederates were getting back their senses, Appa shot them back with a powerful gust from
his tail, taking flight.

Appa soared into the sky. Zuko could hear the waterbenders screaming. Ty Lee could see the
waterbenders attempting to make water tendrils to grab Appa. The river didn’t have enough water
to grab the flying beast when the bison was so high up.

Within moments, the ship was out of sight.

The pair took a moment to catch their breath. They were exhausted.

“How did you get out of your cell?”, Zuko laid back onto the saddle. He looked like he was about
to fall asleep.

“The guards were nice.”, Ty Lee giggled. “I learned a lot about how the cell was from hanging out
with them. I figured out I could get the keys through the window.” Ty Lee let out a deep breath.

Zuko laughed. He was worried about this girl. She could have gotten out on her own. “You really
are like my sister.”

“How so?”, Ty Lee perked up.

“Scary.”

Ty Lee giggled. Exhausted, she fell back onto the saddle like Zuko.

The two fell asleep, Appa taking the pair back to Shu Jing village.

Chapter End Notes

What does everyone thinking of the full page title pages I've added? I couldn't do it in
the coding for Ao3 so I just made a page in Word, saved it as a PDF, then saved that
PDF as a PNG, uploaded it to Imgur, and then embedded the imgur image.

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!