Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Prophesied ❯ Broken Souls ( Chapter 23 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip.

--Jonathan Carroll

Chapter 23: Broken Souls

Mamoru and Agni stopped at the crossroads, both in their true form. Mamoru sighed.

“I'm going to go look for Kaia. The wolves said she wasn't at the Water Temple. Are you going to go after Shasa?”

Agni shook his head. “Shasa can take care of herself. I learned that a long time ago.”

Mamoru nodded and then took off, running lithely down the left path. Agni watched him for a moment before unfolding his great wing and stretching them above his head. He quickly took to the air and headed north.

The air was electric around him. He felt sure that something was going to happen and soon. As he flew, the dragons that had been released felt his call and flew to him, forming a literal armada of dragons.

“Shasa can take care of herself.” He said again to reassure himself.

“What's wrong with her?”

Zyperis snorted while Shiroten just sharpened his dagger. Their father looked like he was having a nervous breakdown.

“She's pregnant, otou-san. What do you expect?”

“She's turning herself inside out!”

“It's…what do they call it…oh yes, morning sickness. It's normal.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do I need to call Nen?”

Nen actually chose that moment to walk in. She looked like she'd aged overnight, her spirit returning in a blaze of light. Her eyes were the most fascinating thing of her being and drew Zyperis' attention like a moth to a flame. The blue orbs that had held no life when he'd first seen them as a child in this world now flamed with life, with hope, with being.

Zyperis smiled softly.

“Well, Shasa's going to be fine.” Nen stated strongly.

“Are you sure?”

Nen blinked. Eimin's face was now inches away from hers. There was complete silence before he backed away and made a show of smoothing his clothes.

“She is essential to my plans, of course.”

Nen smiled. “Of course. Don't worry, this is normal. I've been through it, Shasa's been through it, the mothers of your sons went through it, just relax and go about your dastardly plans.”

Eimin looked like he was about to go pout, but sighed instead.

“Fine. I'll leave the temple to you, Nen.”

“You're going to let me stay here unsupervised? How thoughtful.”

“Qing-Yuan will keep an eye on you.”

“Pathetic mortal.”

A vein in Eimin's temple twitched and he turned to his sons. Shiroten was clothed in his usual daytime gear and Zyperis was dressed to be a Fire Nation general once more.

“Shiroten, you will accompany Zyperis as I have no further use for you.”

“'Kay.”

Eimin looked around at the three of them. “Is there something I should know about?”

“Nani?” Zyperis said.

“Everyone is being very compliant.”

“And that's a problem how?” Shiroten's comment was muffled by the cloth over the lower half of his face.

Eimin shrugged. “I am returning to the Fire Nation.”

His gaze fell on Zyperis. “You know what to do.”

Zyperis nodded and Eimin swept out. Nen shrugged and shooed the boys out, mainly because it was her room they were congregating in and she wanted to bathe.

Shiroten turned to his brother. “Onii-san, there's something I want to give you before we go.”

Zyperis blinked but followed Shiroten to his bedroom. Shiroten reached under his bed and pulled out a long cloth-wrapped package. Unwrapping it revealed an elegant sword which Shiroten handed over to his brother.

Zyperis drew out the sword in one smooth movement. The blade was long and straight, unlike the popular curved katanas, and the metal was solid black. Shiroten smiled at the awe in his brother's eyes.

“I made her from the shadows. The blade can cut through nearly anything. Once she acknowledges an owner, no other hand can wield her.”

Zyperis made no movement.

“Her name is Yoru ano Otome.”

“The Maiden of the Night.”

Zyperis suddenly realized he'd spent the entire past five minutes studying the play of light off of the blade. He quickly sheathed it and started to hand it back to Shiroten, but Shiroten caught his hand and pushed the sword back to him.

“She's yours.”

Zyperis watched him for a moment before tucking the amazing blade in his obi. Shiroten smiled and the two brothers headed out into the day. Automatically, Shiroten headed to Ji-Kan but Zyperis caught his arm.

“Leave that miserly beast here. Ride Hakai.”

“But…” Shiroten blinked and looked over his shoulder. Hakai and Konton had both grown overnight to the size of large horses…or small dragons, whichever you prefer.

“How in the nine hells did you do that?”

“Technically, there are only seven, but how? That…is my little secret.”

Shiroten laughed and Hakai came over to him, lowering on his front paws and offering the thick fur on the back of his neck to Shiroten. Once he was in place just in front of the wolf's shoulder blades, Shiroten glanced over to Zyperis, who had just mounted into Sainan's saddle.

“Can Hakai keep up with you and Sainan?”

Hakai growled lowly at this comment and took off towards the north, Shiroten yelping and barely clinging to his neck. Zyperis allowed a small smile to creep out before Sainan took wing and Konton followed Hakai.

Keilantra stood at the door, pressed sharply into the small space that provided her with excellent cover from anyone in the halls. Her keen silver eyes would find anything that entered those halls, from the smallest mouse to the Fire Sages she kept an eye out for.

“Have you found it yet?”

The young adult male that Keilantra was addressing stopped his perusing through the ancient historical documents and glared at her through his longish-black bangs.

“No, okaa-san, I haven't found it yet.”

Keilantra rolled her eyes and went back to watching the hallways.

“Well, hurry up, Tasuki.”

Tasuki folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “Why don't you get Shyu to do this if you're in such a hurry?”

“Because Shyu was banished.”

Tasuki gave his head a light shake to clear his bangs from his eyes and went back to searching. Keilantra risked another glance away from the hallways to watch his progress.

He may have appeared grown to anyone else, but he was still her little boy. Tall now, as tall as his father, he had her eyes and his father's blackish silver hair. The slight feminine figure came from them both. He was dressed in basic Fire Nation dougi and his hair was held back in a thin ponytail that fell down his back.

Tasuki, the Fire Mountain, the son of the Princess of the Night and a Ki-Lin.

“Got it.”

“You do?”

Tasuki held up the scrolls that they'd risked coming here for. Keilantra smiled.

“Let's go.”

Quickly, Tasuki and Keilantra sped quickly up the steps of the Fire Temple, through the halls, slipped past the guards and Sages, and out into the nearby marketplace. Behind a building, in the shadows, Tasuki quickly handed his mother the scrolls and smiled.

“Can I go now?”

She smiled as well. “I forgot how you don't like the cities. It was nice seeing you again.”

Tasuki shrugged but Keilantra heard what he didn't say. The black crystal in her son's face lit up and in a moment he reappeared in his Ki-Lin form. She kissed his muzzle and he quickly trotted off, seeking the forests he made his home in, the magic of his blood making him invisible to mortal eyes.

Keilantra watched until he disappeared into the trees before she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and vanished in a flurry of wind.

The cave brightened considerably as the sun rose aboveground, and the light woke Katara after only a few minutes. She stood and walked to the edge of the ledge. Stretching, she was surprised to find a rope hanging from a sturdy outcrop of rock and leading down. Climbing down, Katara found herself on a stretch of rock surrounding the underground lake.

Surprisingly, the waterfall didn't seem terrifying and menacing today. Rather, it seemed peaceful, a soft roaring in the background as she had gotten used to it around midnight the night before.

She found Zuko sitting at the edge of the water, his legs folded and his hands resting on his knees. He was wearing the single crimson shirt he now owned, one that had been made especially at his request during their stay at the Northern Water Tribe. Other than that, his outfit still consisted of the black pants and boots he had taken to wearing. His hair had gotten long enough to be tied in a short ponytail at the point of his nape.

He didn't move as Katara sat down beside him, his eyes closed in meditation. She watched the water ripple with the flow of the waterfall for a moment before tucking her knees to her chest and resting her head on her knees, her arms encircling her legs.

“How can you meditate without a flame?”

Zuko cracked his good eye to look at her briefly before closing it again.

“The flame is just a point of concentration, an aid to meditation. It's not necessary.”

Katara turned her head to the side so she could watch him comfortably.

“Meditation is supposed to help with concentration during battle.” Zuko said, answering her unsaid question.

“I imagine a flame in my mind and feed all my emotions into it.”

She raised an eyebrow and Zuko smiled slightly. “The bad ones anyway.”

Katara laughed and Zuko continued.

“This leaves one with a clear mind. As Uncle kept telling me, this is essential to fire-bending.”

Zuko's eyes opened and he rested his head against his hand for a moment, looking away from Katara.

“I never really listened to my Uncle. I never told him how much I appreciated him.”

“Well, you can do that next time you see him.”

Zuko sighed and his head hung. Katara was immediately at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Zuko, what's wrong?”

“I'm worried about him, Katara. Azula was after us last time we were together, and she might have gotten to him.”

Zuko's fists, newly formed, clutched the loose cloth of his hakama and his eyes snapped open, glowing ferally.

“I swear, if she's harmed Uncle then I will kill her, sister or no.”

Katara laid her head on Zuko's shoulder.

“I'm sure your uncle is okay. Wasn't she just after you anyway? Maybe she left him alone when you separated.”

“Maybe,” Zuko said, almost hopefully, the anger melting from his voice. “Then again…I wish I could just see him, know he's okay.”

“You know, I feel the same about my Gran-Gran.”

Zuko immediately turned his head to look at the girl now leaning heavily on his shoulder. She rarely spoke about the Southern Water Tribe, as if it were a subject to painful for her.

“I mean, Gran-Gran was old and already a little sick when you…when we left. What if she's…?”

Zuko sighed. “It seems that this is the price of war.”

Katara blinked. “What do you mean?”

“We're always going to be wondering what's happened to our loved ones while we are gone. We can win the war, but if there's no one to return to, what's the point?”

Katara nodded. “We have to win.”

She stood sharply. “We have to win because if we don't, there won't be anything left! Now we can hope that those we loved are still fighting, but if we give up, then there will be no hope.”

She offered her hand to Zuko and pulled him to his feet. Surprisingly, he grinned.

“You're so different when you get like this.”

Without hesitation, Katara pulled him towards the waist-deep placid pool.

“Come on, let's spar!”

“As always?”

“As always! Tradition is one thing that must be upheld.”

Ever since they'd landed at the North Pole, it had been a bit of a tradition for Zuko and Katara to wake up, go to the Oasis, and spar. At first it had felt like an intrusion on the Spirits, but then it had felt okay, as if they were watching and enjoying seeing their friendship grow.

Now Zuko and Katara quickly stripped to their underclothes and waded out into the pool, the water rippling around their waists as they each took a bending stance. The fight began with Katara making the first move, shaping the water to capture Zuko's wrists and prevent him from bending but the water hissed into steam as it touched his skin.

The fight was on.

Moving in the water was tough for them both but it was good training, toning and shaping their muscles as they pushed against the pull of the water.

Finally Katara just collapsed back into the water, letting her aching arms rest in the cool water. Zuko watched her for a minute as she floated with the flow of the water before diving under and following her as the current drew them both out into the center of the lake.

Katara opened her eyes to find Zuko calmly swimming near her. He looked so at home in the water that she had to comment.

“I remember when you were afraid of water.”

He folded his arms over a passing log and rested his head on his hands.

“I still am.”

She blinked and raised her head from the water. “What?”

He shrugged. “It's a natural instinct from the fire within me. Water can put out fire, so I'm afraid of it. I just know that I can handle myself in the water that helps me overcome my fear.”

She smiled. “You know, I'm still afraid of fire. I've seen how it can destroy, but now I know that though uncontrolled it can be catastrophic, it is necessary for life.”

“If it's kept well in hand. That's the first thing every fire-bender learns.”

“And it's nice having a fire-bender nearby in case things get out of hand.”

Zuko smiled. “I knew you just kept me around for my skills.”

Katara turned and let her lower body fall underwater, resting her hands on Zuko's log and they continued to float downstream.

“What skills are you talking about?”

Zuko flicked up his chin with a mock arrogant air. “You cannot deny what I have done.”

The arrogant tone disappeared. “I've saved you more times than you remember.”

Katara smirked. “You haven't saved me as many times as you think you have. And I remember all of them. There was the time with the tigress…”

Zuko suddenly realized that the current had gotten incredibly swift.

“…the time when you got food…”

The log broke away beneath them but Katara paid it no mind.

“…the time when you saved the Northern Water Tribe…”

“Katara…”

“…the time during the raid…”

“Waterfall.”

“Oh yes, the time with the waterfall…no wait, I saved you…”

“No! There's a waterfall!”

It seems that the underground cavern had room enough for two waterfalls in its vast labyrinth. Katara grabbed onto Zuko and sent a jet of water towards the waterfall, hoping to propel them back into safer water but the current behind them was too strong.

They were thrust forward as Katara lost control of the water. Zuko grabbed onto her, wrapping his arms around her waist and turned them in the water so that he could protect her with his body as they went cascading over the falls.

Above the surface, the animals of the gang walked, following the scents of their masters.

Mika and Nakara, both now about the same size, eyed each other warily around Appa's bulk. The great bison gave a low throat growl which caused the two to straighten immediately, facing forward.

Mika yawned and offered that they should merely wait until Aang summoned them with the whistle.

Nakara bared her teeth and quickly stated that their humans could be in need of their service and if they followed that plan, they would never be their in time.

Appa rose up and stomped his forefeet on the ground, bringing the discussion to an abrupt halt. Mika leapt to the saddle while the other three took to the air, Nakara giving Mika a haughty glare at the fact that she couldn't fly.

Nakara had forgotten about Zana, who was also curled up in Appa's saddle. The great bison found it very easy to carry the young tiger and the elk.

Mika just yawned.

After many days of traveling and much less to eat, Yashamaru and Li finally entered Omashu, currently known as New Ozai to them. Dressed as the YuuYans they were, it wasn't hard to get a full course meal. They were only halfway through when a messenger interrupted them, bowing and handing a scroll to Yashamaru.

Yashamaru leaned back in his chair and slit the wax seal with his fingernail. Li looked up from his food.

“What is it?”

At least, that's what Yashamaru thought he said. It sounded more like `whaffifift?”

“It happens to be orders from the Fire Lord.”

Li swallowed. “Really?”

Yashamaru nodded. “And not our usual either. We're to escort King Bumi from New Ozai to Taiyoo, a Fire Nation stronghold just outside of Tasha, due to the fierce resistance from residents of the former Omashu.”

Li nodded. “Okay. When are we supposed to leave?”

“Tonight.”

Li choked on a bite of chicken and coughed. “Wh…what? We just got here!”

Yashamaru rolled up the scroll and tossed it at Li, hitting his forehead.

“Orders are orders.”

Li rolled his eyes and started eating again. Yashamaru sighed.

“Well, you finish eating. I'm going to go pack.”

Li nodded his agreement and Yashamaru stood and headed to the room that the governor of New Ozai had offered them. After carefully locking the door behind him, he slipped the quiver from his side and placed the arrows in a straight line on the bed.

Here lay his secret, his most valuable prize of information. The arrows weren't real arrows at all. They were made of earth, the lightest of sands mixed with the sturdiest of clays. This was how he had become a YuuYan archer, how he became the greatest assassin the Fire Nation had.

Yashamaru was an earth-bender spy. His real name was Arasoi.

Countless lives he had saved by hitting just to the side of the vital organs. He could also encrypt messages on the arrows. The plan was flawless.

He had been able to read the underlying message on the orders he and Li had received. He was to transport King Bumi to Tasha, not Taiyoo.

His eyes darkened. Getting this done without Li knowing would be hard, but he could do it for his country. And he could do it for Majinai.

Sokka, Midori, and Aang woke slowly, long after Katara and Zuko had gone through their daily rituals.

Sokka sat up and stretched, Momo flying up and off of the ledge.

“Okay, Katara, what's for breakfast?”

Silence followed Sokka's inquiry. He opened his eyes and scratched his stomach, looking around the ledge.

“Katara?”

Aang rolled over, tucking his staff under his arm as he sat up.

“Where's Katara?”

“And Zuko?” Midori, now also awake, sat up holding only his shirt, having been using it for a pillow.

Aang's eyes narrowed and he air-bended himself down beside the lake. Momo floated to land on his shoulder.

“Look, there are their clothes.”

Sokka knelt, looking at the ground. “Well, they spar every morning so they must have gone in the water and been pulled downstream by the current.”

“Then we have to go after them!” Aang bit his tongue to keep back the rest of what he wanted to say.

Midori frowned at the water and then took a deep breath, bringing her arms up as she did so. She released the breath as she brought her arms down and forward, shifting her body in the direction the river ran. A sheet of ice appeared over the river, freezing the lake and second waterfall solid.

“Hurry!” she shouted, running out onto the ice. “It won't hold for long!”

Sokka and Aang quickly ran after her, their steps strangely sturdy on the ice.

Aang bended himself down to the bottom of the second waterfall when they reached it. Sokka grabbed Midori around the waist and leapt off the falls, using his boomerang to cut into the ice and slow their descent.

As Sokka and Midori landed, they could hear the breaking of the ice behind them, but they were still yards away from the edge of the lake.

“Grab on!” Aang shouted as he threw his glider forward.

Lifting all three of them into the air, the water that fell forward narrowly missed them as Aang flew them to the shore. Aang turned to Midori when they landed.

“I didn't know you were such a good water-bender.”

Midori stood and smiled. “There was a master in Cascata where I lived. I studied under her for most of my life. I don't really have a natural talent for bending, but I work hard. Ziri…”

Midori stopped and looked down. Ziri had always been slightly upset at being a non-bender, adding it to the list of things that already put him out of place in their society. But Ziri wasn't a non-bender. He was a fire-bender. She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts of worry and confusion from her mind.

Sokka looked at her pityingly, understanding how she felt to worry about a sibling.

“Come on, let's find Katara and Zuko.”

“I'm going to scout ahead, see if I can spot them.” Aang stated as he took the air again.

Sokka and Midori followed him on foot, running easily.

Zuko surfaced in the water, Katara having been pulled from his grasp. He struggled to remain above water as the swift current swept him further. The water was crystal clear, shadowed only by its own movement, and icy cold.

“Katara!”

When he received no answer, he dove into the rushing water, fighting to keep his eyes open as he searched the depths for a shock of blue that was his only friend.

He surged upward, breaking the surface for air, shaking water and his wet hair from his eyes as he searched for her, crying out her name again before diving again to find her.

His limbs were quickly becoming numb despite the constant movement, and he thought that if he was succumbing to the cold, Katara had to be in worse condition.

“Katara!”

Sokka skidded to a stop and knelt with his ear close to the ground, listening carefully. Midori stopped and bent to catch her breath and then turned.

“What is it, Sokka?”

Aang landed a few feet in front of them. “Did either of you hear that?”

Midori looked at him strangely. “Hear wha…” she trailed off.

Echoing through the cave, this time they all heard it.

“Katara!”

Sokka straightened quickly, drawing his boomerang and pointing forward.

“They're not far!”

Aang turned, twisting his glider. “I'll try to see them!”

With that, he took to the air again and flew ahead. Sokka and Midori ran just behind him, their eyes and ears open.

Katara was dreaming. She was surrounded by her element, and her element was calling her, wanting to make her a part of it, and she wanted to go with it. It moved around her, calling to her, and she smiled as she bended it to her.

Then something tugged at her, a fiery presence. She wanted to go to it too. The water tugged at her and she started to give in. It was her water, after all, her element. It would never hurt her.

That presence again, someone…calling her name. Pulling at her, pulling…pulling…pulling…Someone….

Zuko.

Katara snapped to and fought against the water that dragged her down. With the last of her strength, she bended herself to the surface. With the last of her breath, she screamed one word.

“ZUKO!”

Zuko spun around, seeing Katara struggling to maintain the surface. She was gasping for air and trembling. He quickly swam with the current to get to her.

“Katara! Are you all right?”

“Do I look all right?”

Zuko chose not to answer, pulling her shivering form into his arms. At this moment, he took the time to look around them. The tunnel they were cascading down was getting smaller, but the water was speeding up, which meant it had to be going somewhere, and Zuko really didn't want to find out.

“Hold on!” he shouted to Katara and she wrapped her arms around his neck and as an extra precaution, her legs around his waist.

When he felt sure Katara was secure, Zuko let go of her and tried to grab on to rocks as they passed them. After several tries, he succeeded. Placing Katara between himself and the rock, he protected her as best he could from debris in the water.

He lost track of time, only feeling the strain on his arms on the slippery rock and the icy cold of the water. Katara held on to him as if her life depended on it, as it very well may have.

As if in slow motion, just as his eyes were closing in exhaustion, he saw a blue boomerang with a rope attached gliding through the air in a curve around them. He saw his hand reaching out for the rope as if it was not his own, saw himself grasp the rope and at the same time release the rock that held them both.

Then time sped up.

Sokka grabbed his boomerang as it snapped back to him, wrapping the rope around his forearms, Midori grabbing the rope beside him. Aang bended the water around the two towards the shore, making it easier for Sokka and Midori to pull them up.

Zuko felt the rough stone beneath them, Katara wrapped in his arms, as they were pulled up on the shore. Warm hands on his shoulders and then he surrendered to the cold exhaustion consuming him.

Sokka pulled the two up and Zuko, though unconscious, instantly tightened his grasp on Katara. Aang's eyes narrowed in hate.

“I'll start a fire.”

Neither Sokka nor Midori responded the air-bender and he went closer to the wall and dug out some materials to start a fire with.

Midori knelt by Zuko, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

“They're both frozen. The water must have been icy.”

Sokka gently pulled at Zuko's hands, clasped behind Katara's back.

“You're safe now. You can let go.”

Zuko's brow furrowed. Sokka repeated his mantra and slowly, Zuko let go of Katara. The young water-bender almost instantly reached out for him but Sokka and Midori had already pulled them apart and towards the fire. Out of the bag came their clothes and some spare blankets which the two quickly wrapped them in.

Aang tried not to look at Katara, her arms still reaching out for Zuko.

Admiral Min strolled through the halls of the Fire Palace until he reached the Fire Lord's study. He tapped lightly on the door and entered when it opened of its own accord.

The Fire Lord, instead of being busy at work, was staring into the roaring flames in the fireplace, one hand resting lightly on the mantle.

“My lord?”

The Fire Lord sighed. “Hello, Min.”

“Events have been stressful of late, haven't they?”

Ozai nodded. “When I fought Zuko…I was so sure that it wasn't him. But then…I was informed last night that he confessed to pretending. I don't know what to think. Ruling this country just became twenty times harder. There are Air Nomad survivors in the Achlys Mountains and the Earth Kingdom rebels are getting harder to repress.”

“They are filled with hope since the Avatar has returned.”

Ozai's eyes narrowed. “That hope won't last long. I sent the greatest fighter in my army against the Avatar…and the second best to the Achyls Mountains.”

Min smiled softly. “It pleases me to hear you speak so highly of my son. To think him second only to your daughter.”

Ozai turned to face his admiral. “Min, my daughter will be seventeen in a few months. She will be old enough to be married. Yet, I will choose only the best for her.”

“Of course, sire.”

“And Peris is the best.”

Min took a step back. “My…my lord, you do us great honor.”

Ozai stood up a little straighter. “Your family is the greatest. You need no condolences from me. I would choose no other for my daughter.”

Min bowed low and Ozai turned his gaze to the rising sun.

“Now, what did you come to tell me.”

“Lord Iroh has arrived. He is now in the harbor.”

Ozai's gaze narrowed. “He is not to be informed that Zuko is here. Make sure everyone knows that a breach of this will constitute the most severe punishment I can imagine.”

“Might I ask why, sire?”

Ozai never wavered. “I need Iroh, if only for a little while. I won't let anything come between me and what I want. And I want the world.”

Min smiled. “And I am here to see that you get it.”

Iroh and Lieutenant Jee entered the Fire Nation palace without so much as a flicker in the capital's daily life. Yet, in truth, the last thing Iroh expected was a personal greeting from his brother.

“Welcome home, brother.”

Iroh turned to see Ozai standing at the edge of the room, skirted by an admiral whom the Dragon of the West could have sworn he'd seen before.

Ozai looked around the room. “Where is Prince Zuko?”

Iroh had to make an effort not to sigh. “Prince Zuko and I were separated. In truth, I don't know where he is.”

“That is unfortunate.”

Iroh could've sworn he saw the admiral behind Ozai smile. Ozai did smile.

“Well, you know the frustrations of ruling a country. I must leave you now, but Admiral Min will give you the details of your mission and then you can settle in. See how things have changed since you left.”

Iroh eyed his brother as the Fire Lord swept out towards the war chambers.

“Things haven't changed that much from what I can see.”

The admiral, Min, chuckled lightly. He then motioned to Iroh.

“If you'll come with me, I'll show you our plans.”

Jee gave a short bow to Iroh. “If I may take my leave?”

Iroh nodded. “Go and see your family. It's been three years.”

Jee bowed again and turned. Before he had completely walked out of the palace, Iroh turned and followed Min further into the palace. Then Jee turned just as he reached the door, glanced around to make sure no one was watching and then headed down a nearly hidden stairwell.

He had a hunch.

Haru thundered down the path on the elk his father had given him, his roll of supplies tied behind the saddle and his canteen hanging at his side. He didn't know how or even what he was up against, but he wouldn't let Shasa go through whatever it was alone.

All of a sudden, the elk he rode started acting up, slowing to a stop, crying out and raising up on his hind legs. By the time Haru had regained his seat and began to try calming the beast down, the reason for his antics appeared.

It was an enormous wolf.

The elk threw him and bolted, Haru landing hard on the ground several feet away. He pushed himself into a sitting position when he was startled for the second time that day by an Earth Kingdom man appearing from seemingly nowhere and kneeling beside him.

“Are you all right?”

Haru nodded. “I think so.”

He looked around for the wolf but didn't see it.

“Did you see it? Where did that wolf go?”

The man smiled sheepishly and looked down. “Um…you see…”

Haru's eyes narrowed and he managed to put two and two together.

“Are you Mamoru, the Earth God?”

Mamoru blinked. “What brings you to that conclusion?”

Haru shrugged. “Well, I saved the Goddess Shasa the other day and now she's…”

Mamoru grabbed his wrists and pulled him up. “Shasa? Quick, tell me everything.”

With only a moment's hesitation, Haru related the whole story to him. Once he had finished, Mamoru jabbed a fist into his palm, scowling deeply.

“That bastard, Eimin. What does he want Shasa for? It seems he's gathering all the goddesses. And Samir…”

He began walking the path at a fast pace at which Haru nearly had to jog to keep up.

“Wait a second. Who's Eimin?”

Mamoru looked at him and shrugged. “He's like the God of Death. Alem, the father…”

“I know.”

“Well, Alem Sealed him over 500 years ago but he got out somehow. Alem himself is still Sealed and there is little to no chance of getting him out.”

“And Alem is the only one who can take Eimin.”

Mamoru sighed. “Short of the Prophesied Four, yes.”

Haru stopped short. “All right. You lost me there.”

Mamoru also halted and transformed back into a wolf, much to Haru's surprise.

“Get on my back. We must reach the ocean before nightfall and I will explain on the way.”

Haru climbed up on the wolf's back and pointed south. “That's the direction that…erm…Shiroten took Shasa.”

Mamoru turned and looked. “That's close to where I can feel Kaia, so that is the direction we will go.”

Zuko woke slowly, his gaze gradually coming to focus in on something azure above him. The blur of deep blue cleared to a smiling face with sapphire eyes.

“Good morning, sleepy.”

Zuko blinked and then gave a very slight smile. He sat up very carefully so as not to disturb his lovely pillow. She laughed at his easy grace and he looked at her over his shoulder.

Katara was in a very good mood this morning. She couldn't say as to why, or how, but she was. The camp itself was a very busy place. Sometime while she and Zuko had been unconscious, the others had found a way out of the cave. The sun was brightly shining through the trees, reflective of her mood.

Aang seemed to be happier than he was of late; running around and playing with Momo, he sent her a genuine smile. Sokka was whacking at something with his machete with a determined look on his face.

Zuko smiled slightly as his gaze fell on the struggling Water Tribesman and he stood, walking over and carefully demonstrating the proper stance and arm movements. Sokka watched his demonstration with the eager eyes of a student and soon the two boys were engrossed in weaponry.

Katara moved to sit near Midori, who was happily making the breakfast. For a time, Katara even felt that she could forget the war.

The happy group didn't know they were being watched.

It had taken them a great deal of fast pace tracking to reach the group, especially when it seemed that the Avatar had simply disappeared. Azula couldn't help but feel obliged to the young Earth Kingdom rebel, as it had been he who discovered that the group had disappeared underground.

She had, at first, wanted him to stay behind when they made their attack. With only Mei and Ty Lee, she was sure that she could capture the Avatar with ease, but after that intuitive insight, she knew he could help.

Of course, he was rather cute though arrogant, and strong but overconfident, and wild but tame, and…

Dear Agni! I'm falling for him!

Azula clamped down on the thought, immediately destroying it as if it were a particularly vile doll.

The said Earth Kingdom rebel was crouched in the brush with the three teenage girls, viewing the scene before them with ease. Suddenly, Jet's eyes narrowed and he glared forward.

Ty Lee turned her head, taking notice of the tension in Azula's new toy.

“What is it, Jet?”

“Where's Sokka?”

Instantly, the other three tensed for an incoming attack.

Zuko headed over to the other side of the clearing to fetch his new broadswords. Katara walked over to him.

“Zuko,”

He glanced her way to show he was listening.

“When have you been training?”

Zuko accidentally dropped a scroll he was holding on his foot but ignored the pain.

“Erm…what?”

Katara frowned. “I know you've been training some time other than our…”

She stopped mid-sentence as Zuko covered her mouth with his hand. Seeing this gesture, the other three immediately froze, Nakara and Mika the only ones moving.

A bolt of blue lightning flew out of the trees and headed straight for Katara and filling golden eyes. But Zuko was one step ahead.

He caught the lightning as his uncle had taught him to do with an elegant spin and as he came through the full circle, he brought his other arm around in a sweeping motion, sending the lightning right back where it had come from.

Azula's elite squad flew from the trees to avoid the lightning, each landing with a practiced flair.

Katara gasped from her place behind Zuko. “Jet?”

Jet winked at her. “Hello Katara.”

Azula tried desperately to ignore the flirting hint in his voice. Instead, she let her gaze narrow on Zuko. She grinned.

“So…you are a traitor.”

Zuko did nothing, said nothing, only fell into a bending stance and watched her.

Sokka ran forward with a cry and the battle ensued, Aang, Sokka, and Midori against Mei and Ty Lee, Zuko against Azula, and Katara against Jet.

Jet was thankful for all those sparring practices with Azula, for they put him in top shape; Just as good, for Katara had only gotten better. If only he could get close enough…

The battleground the five had chosen was a blur of knives, air blasts, water whips, and pink.

Zuko and Azula had moved away from the main battle, mirroring each others' movements, their gaze never leaving the other.

Azula moved first, sending a quick blast of lightning at her brother, which he easily avoided and took her moment of inattention to move into a much closer range.

He's fast!

Her previous conceptions of Zuko vanished in a thick wave of white-tinged flame through which he burst, flaming daggers at his side as he moved into hand-to-hand combat. She could barely keep up.

Something no one had ever noticed was that while Azula was a fire-bending prodigy, Zuko was a taijutsu prodigy. Azula had often only beaten him because he could not control his emotions. It was this also that had allowed her to destroy him in fire-bending.

Zuko had gotten past that. He had learned what held him back. He had destroyed it within himself.

There had never been a fiercer battle as that which transpired between the Fire Siblings that day. It was an informal Agni Kai but an Agni Kai without question.

It was a burst of luck that allowed Jet to send Katara flying backwards into her brother, which in turn actually saved his life from a knife of Mei's. He turned just in time to see a fire blast of Zuko's send Azula soaring.

She rolled as she hit the ground until she stopped, allowing her to push herself up onto her palms. Jet rushed to her side, unable to stop him-self. Zuko would have finished them both right then if Sokka hadn't rushed over and grabbed his arm, dragging him to where the others mounted onto Appa and took flight.

Zuko gave no word of protest as the bison gained height. His mouth hung open as he fought for breath, adrenaline and his inner fire stealing the oxygen from his blood, which boiled with unreleased power. He sat at the back of the saddle, leaning over, watching for any fire blasts or lightning.

Katara healed a knife wound on Midori and Sokka gripped the handle of his machete hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

“I can't believe Jet would help the Fire Nation.” He spat. “The way he talked…”

Katara sighed. “I don't think Jet even knows what he wants.”

Jet didn't hesitate. He knew what he had to do. He had to bring them down. He had to. She would never forgive him if he didn't.

His hands flew to arc around the amulet that hung above his heart and almost instantly the winds began to swirl, hungrily feeding off of his anger.

Appa struggled to remain aloft as the winds whipped at him. Aang tried to still the winds but they ignored him, answering to a higher power now. No mere mortal could control them, no, not now.

A silver light engulfed Jet, paling his skin and silver lines formed around his wrists and eyes, like kanji half-drawn.

Zuko felt the same presence that had given him such strength at the Northern Water Tribe rising up within him. While the others struggled to remain in the saddle, he stood and leapt cleanly from Appa's back, disappearing into the timber below.

Katara was the first to notice he was gone but Sokka wouldn't let her go long enough to look where he had fallen.

Zuko landed in a clean crouch, having slowed his fall with the branches of the trees. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with red.

Azula pushed herself up. She felt the fire coming before she saw it, but it wasn't quite fire.

Then she saw it. It was lightning, pure white, stronger and fiercer than anything she had ever even heard of being produced except by Agni himself. And it was heading straight for Jet.

She never hesitated and both Mei and Ty Lee gasped, unable to comprehend what she was doing.

In that moment, the person who Azula was shattered and she became someone else, if only slightly different. Perhaps that change was what would save her.

She reached up and pushed Jet out of the line of the fire, the silver light fading from him as she landed on top of him, the lightning exploding behind them.

Mei and Ty Lee rushed forward to pursue their quarry.

The group returned, rejoined by Zuko, and then headed onwards, soon losing their captors. By nightfall, they had reached Tasha and one chapter of their lives ended and another began.

The two stared at each other for the longest time, neither moving, neither wanting to move. Earth and Fire, not the world's most repulsing opposites, but strong enough for there to be a moment of hesitation, but it was only a moment.

The Fire Princess Azula always got what she wanted, even if she had to ask.

Auburn eyes met amber and there was reluctance in neither gaze.

“Kiss me Jet,” she paused. “Please?”

That was enough of a question for him. His arms wrapped around her waist as he raised his head and pressed his lips to hers.

She didn't care that she got dirty rolling around on the ground with an Earth Kingdom rebel.

He didn't care that her nation had killed his parents.

Two torn souls found peace within each other.