The meeting was to take place at the Northern Water Tribe. Chief Arnook and our dad, mine and Sokka's, had planned ahead for over a month. They wouldn't be leading the actual meeting, that was being left to some important guy coming in from Ba Sing Se, the Earth Kingdom capitol. Generals, soldiers, political figures, skilled benders, city leaders, and other honored guests started showing up about a week before. Sokka, Aang, and I had been there for three weeks now, preparing different things. Aang's hair was long, for him anyway, and he refused to cut it. He was trying to keep his scalp warm because he'd been living with us in the cold for over a year now. Sokka's had grown out too, but you couldn't tell from the ponytail, and I'd cut myself some bangs and given up the braid. But anyway, we'd been cleaning and furnishing and rearranging rooms in the palace at the top of the city, and any extra rooms if people were willing to sacrifice a part of their homes.

Toph, Suki, and Iroh showed up the day before the meeting, the same day we got the seating chart. Aang was ecstatic to have Toph back in the gang. I think he missed his Earth bending teacher. And Sokka was flipping out over Suki being there. They immediately went off together. Aang went to show Toph where her room was, and I stayed behind to talk to General Iroh. "How was your trip here?" I asked.

"Very cold," he answered in his usual pleasant voice. "Even the warmth from the coal burning could not warm my old bones!"

"Awwe, well I hope you'll be warmer here off the sea. Did Zuko come with you?"

Iroh's face fell. "Uhh, no, he didn't. He had some business to attend to before heading over. He will be here either tonight or tomorrow."

"Oh, okay."

"Katara," he said, and his voice was grave, "I must ask you to do something for me."

I blinked. "Uhh, yes, what it is?"

"Please, no matter how much Zuko has changed, for the good or for the bad, please show him the utmost kindness and understanding. Please."

I nodded, and then walked away, wondering what in the world he meant by that.

Early the next morning I was woken up by the sound of Sokka and Aang yelling, "ZUKO'S SHIP IS HERE!"

I got up and followed them down to the docks. A couple soldiers were walking in front of Zuko, and he had his hood up. I stepped in front of Sokka about the same second Zuko stepped in front of the soldiers. "Aren't you going to look at me?" I asked jokingly. Zuko paused, and then slowly lowered his hood, and I understood what Iroh had meant. There was a huge line of stitches running from the right corner of Zuko's mouth, and ending just before the point where his cheek met his ear, almost like his smile had been crudely extended by a very bad artist. I swallowed my surprise as best I could and gave him a smile, then reached up and hugged him. "It's good to see you."

He was shaking, and his arms gripped me weakly. "You too." I knew I was holding a broken man in my arms.

We all walked up the steps to the palace, and entered the main hall at the entrance. There was a long, low table taking up the center of the room, with cushions for people to sit on either side. People stared at Zuko as we came in, mouthes agape, and I glared at them as we passed. They had no right. There was large man, who I assumed was the general from Ba Sing Se, sitting at the head of the table. To his left, my right, was our dad, and on the other side was Arnook and Aang's waiting place. Dotted around the table were Jong Jong, Pakku, Bato, Haru, Teo, the Earth King, the remaining freedom fighters, the other Kyoshi warriors (who Sokka and Suki noticed and immediately ran to), Mai and Ty Lee, June, King Bumi, and Master Piandao. There were all of the nations' banners hanging on the walls, along with flags of the Kyoshi Warriors, Sandbenders, and The Order of the White Lotus. Someone even put up a tiny banner for the Freedom Fighters, with Jet's date of birth and death on it.

Zuko and I were seated in between Iroh and a boy who seemed way too young to be there. Usually it's easy to tell what nation a person is by their dress, but all he had on was a brown shirt with a hole in it, black pants, and two sizes too big brown boots. His black hair was messy and looked like it needed a brushing too, but his big grey-blue eyes were wide with fear and excitement to be there. He looked up at me as I sat down. I smiled at him, and he blushed, before turning his attention to a large hole in the sole of his left boot.

The large man at the front suddenly stood up. He turned to a thin gentleman wearing glasses next to him and asked, "All in?" The eye glass gentleman looked around, and then checked a piece of paper in his hands. Then he nodded. The large leader looked back at us all, and began to speak. "Ladies and gentleman," he said, "My name is General Hichoew. I have witnessed most of the previous war first hand, along with many others. For the past two and a half years we have been in the middle of an armistice. Yes, this peace has not lasted. I do not know how much of you know exactly what has occurred, or whether you know the entire story. However, that shall all be revealed today."

He paused for dramatic effect, and then continued. "Two months ago, former Fire Lord Ozai and his daughter, the ex-princess Azula, escaped from prison. They managed to gather some followers, high jack a Fire Navy ship, and are now hiding out very close to Kyoshi Island, according to recent information. Ozai and Azula have been training followers and creating an army of their own. It may not be incredibly large right now, but it is powerful. However, with the help of all of you, along with additional forces, we will be able to conquer them and continue with this time of serenity." There was a short round of applause, along with a bit of worried whispering. The large general said after the room was quiet once more, "Now will be the time for each of the guests that have recieved my invititation to speak. They are each experts in a certain field, or have great knowledge that we can use. I would like to start off with the current Fire Lord, Zuko." He waved his hand in Zuko's general directions while a few people clapped, and then sat down on his cushion.

Zuko sighed heavily and removed his black cloak. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, which had grown a good four to five inches longer since the last time I'd seen him and now covered his face to the tip of his nose, and stood up. "Uhh, well," he started shakily, "thank you all for being here today. Soo ... well I'd like to apologize for my attire." He tried a half hearted laugh, which nobody returned. He didn't look too bad actually for wearing a large, sloppy red shirt and pants that came to the knees with tight black thermals on underneath. "I was thinking more comfort wise, seeing as we'll be here ... awhile ... uhh ..." Everyone was staring at him. Somebody coughed, and I heard him mutter, "Shit." He cleared his throat and continued, "Well, as you've heard, not too long ago my father Ozai and sister Azula managed to escape from prison. They were assisted by a guard who used to be my father's grade school friend. They-"

Someone in the back interrupted, "Did you hang him?"

"Uhh ..."

"The guard! Did he get what he deserved?"

"Well, uhh, he wasn't killed, no, but-"

The interrupter stood up. He was older, maybe in his fifties or sixties, and a Water Tribe member. "That bastard should've been hanged or burned! Letting the only thing that can harm us now out and loose! It's a disgrace! And you didn't-"

"Stop!" Zuko shouted. The man fell silent. "I'm sorry for yelling," he added. "That was wrong of me. Anyway, I did not order him to be killed. Maybe that means I'm weak. But after all the years of fighting, I didn't want more death brought on my by nation." He brushed his hair out of his eyes again. "So, uhh, the night Ozai escaped ... Well, a guard who I've become friends with had a birthday, and I took him and a couple other guards and palace help out to a nice dinner. I'd been feeling a bit under the weather, so I backed out a bit early while everyone else was ordering drinks after the meal and walked home, denying an escort. I didn't want to ruin anyone's fun. About a quarter of a mile from the palace, I was hit over the head and dragged into an alley. It was Ozai. We exchanged a few choice words which I won't repeat in polite conversation, and then he told me of his plans. Ozai and Azula had planned that escape for a year. Once out, they were to steal a boat and sail over to a remote location in the Earth Kingdom, which we now know is very close to Kyoshi Island. Then they were going to send messages back to anyone they thought they could still trust with directions to the meeting place. Apparently these individuals could be trusted, because no one has come forward to me or any other Fire Nation officials.

"Before he left, Ozai offered me a position on this campaign, and I uhh, basically told him to off himself. He ... said something to the effect that he's burned me once, and he can do it again, and then ... cut open my mouth." Zuko looked down at his feet and quietly concluded, "And that's all I have to say," before sitting down. He put his face in his hands and didn't look up.

After that speech a lot of boring people talked about boring topics; historians talked about the royal family, generals talked about past war tactics that could be reused, and things like that. All that time Zuko kept his face in his hands. Finally, after over two hours of nothingness in the conversation (and many sore tushies, considering the only thing between us and the ice floor was a small cushion), somebody interesting got up to speak: the little boy who'd been sitting next to me.

The boy got up and dragged a bag that had been on his other side up to the front with him. He dropped the bag onto General Hichoew's lap, turned to the audience, and said in a high pitched and excited voice, "Well, hi everybody!" Zuko peaked through his fingers at this new speaker. There was a pause, and then a curious "hello" back. The kid smiled. "I've been really interested in everything you've all had to say, and I think everyone here is really smart and fit for the job, but you've all left out one thing." He turned around and pulled a bunch of scrolls out of his bag. He fumbled with them for a minute, found the one he wanted, and turned to the bespectacled gentleman next to him and the general. "Could you please hold this up for me?" The gentleman begrudgingly took the paper and opened it up for us all to see. It looked almost like an air balloon combined with a boat, and then that was put on top of an ostrich-horse's legs, which were ten times bigger than they're supposed to be. There were overlapping lines though, and it almost seemed like certain pieces could fold up and down. All in all it was one crazy ass contraption.

"What the heck is that?" someone called out.

"Transportation!" the boy exclaimed. "Admiral Quinne, I believe, said something about sending troops down to Kyoshi, and a lot of other people went back and forth on that idea. But how could we get there in a timely fashion, and then be able to use the vehicles as a defense mechanism if we go into battle? Using this!" He pointed a tiny finger at the drawing. "See these?" he asked, moving his finger to the leg looking things. "These things can be easily controlled, if built right, and they'd be flexible, so they'd act like real legs. You could pull a lever and use them to kick enemies out of the way. And then they fold up and you can sail or fly, depending on the terrain being crossed." He took the picture away from the gentleman, threw it into the general's lap, and took another one, which he then handed to the gentleman, who rolled his eyes and opened it. It was a closer view of the top of the device.

I looked at Zuko. He'd taken his face completely out of his hands, and was staring intently at the boy and his diagrams, his chin resting in his palm. How he could actually see through his hair, I had no clue. As soon as I got the chance, I was cutting that mane of black mess.

The boy continued, pointing to a compartment drawn in on the device, "Here is where the balloon piece could be stored, and deployment would be simply the push of a button. The water propellers can then double as the air propellers. And there are also guns on the side. Any questions?" He turned to the crowd of people, but nobody had any questions. "Uhh, okay!" He took his papers, and then sat back down next to me.

I smiled and said, "Excellent job." He blushed.

General Hichoew stood up after a moment of talking. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, and the room fell silent. "I have a suggestion." Many people in the congregation nodded at this, meaning for him to continue. "I have enjoyed listening to all of you speak, and I am most certainly going to take all of it into account. I would like to add one more thing to the overall plan though. Throughout all of this talking we have all surrounded ourselves with one main goal: build up an army of our own, and march to battle against Ozai's forces. However, wouldn't it be a good idea to know what he's actually doing and planning, and what his strategies are before we head out?" Many mouths formed the words "yes" and "of course". "I suggest that we send one or more scouts down to Ozai's hide out ahead of time while we build things, gain weapons, and train our soldiers. Then, we can meet the scouts and they can give us additional information, so we can alter anything that may need to be altered."

Aang stood up. "I'll go," he said jovially, giving the general a goofy smile.

"Very well, and who shall go with you?" Immediately, without any further discussion, Zuko, Sokka, Suki, Toph, the boy with the travelling machine, and I all stood up. The general shook his head. "No Collin, you aren't going."

The boy protested immediately. "WHY NOT? I'm almost eleven! I can do it! You know I can!"

"Yes, I know you can, but we need you here. Who else will supervise the building of your transportation?"

Collin crossed his arms and sat back down, muttering angrily.

The general smiled at all of us standing and announced, "Then you will be the ones to go ahead and be our scouts. Congratulations, and may the best of luck be with you! We shall have a briefing meeting later this evening in my quarters, after dinner. At this time now, the meeting is dismissed. Everyone rest up before our feast tonight!"

I looked around at each of Aang's, Sokka's, Toph's, Suki's, and Zuko's faces. The old gang was back together.