Here is the brand new version of Sexyback. Hopefully you all enjoy it. I'm actually really excited about this. I feel like I am actually taking control of what is going on. Let me know what you think. Thank you for your dedication even though I am truly a terrible person.

I do not own any character that originated in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Jungle

"Look what the cat owl dragged in," the merchant taunted. He leaned against his wooden stand filled with an assortment of fish. A smile played across his lips as he looked up at me.

"Good morning to you too Liang," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "What's the price today?" my questioning eyes looked down at the dozens of fish gleaming back with their strong odor. Liang cleared his throat nervously causing me to glance up at him. Anxiously, he brushed his fingers through his short brown hair. "It went up again?" I sounded disappointed and to my dismay, he bit at his pale lip.

"Ten silver pieces per pound," muttered the man. My eyes widened as I nearly choked at the new price. Resting my shoulder against the stand I looked over at him, fluttering my eye lashes. "Oh no Ember, don't you try to entice me into the cheaper price by flashing those pretty gold eyes. I can't do it today."The merchant shook his head over and over. I forced my bottom lip to quiver as if it had been shaking from the cold which was unlikely due to the fact that most of the cold air had been sucked up by the humidity. "I can't give you your usual discount," he ruffled my black hair and stepped back.

"But Liang, your fish are the biggest in town. To spend ten silver pieces per pound would be insane!" I moved closer, "can't you make it six?" the pleading in my voice was pathetic. "I'll bring you a cup of my tea every morning for the next month." I perked up knowing he couldn't refuse my offer. He seemed to ponder this for a few minutes.

"Hmm… what happens if you drop of the face of the earth within that month?" he asked with eyebrows raised. "I'm not going to get my tea or my money's worth."

"Then my aunt will make and bring you tea." I responded desperately. His face turned sour. "I will have Tel bring you tea every day. He owes me." My offer to have the local tea maker bring it would surely seal the deal.

His smile reluctantly reappeared and with a nod of his head I let out an excited sigh. Liang wrapped up the few pounds of fish I needed for food and sent me on my way. I required a few more ingredients to go with the fish. After spending more than I wanted to at the Liang's stand, even after the discount, I decided my best bet was getting the items myself. This meant roughing it in the forest finding herbs and other various edible plants.

It was nearly sun down when I decided I had enough. My pack was filled with peaches, apples, basil, and mint. Then I saw a Jasmine flower, my favorite tea was made from the aroma of the blossoms filling my taste buds with the sweetest, purest flavor I'd ever had. It was like snuggling in newly washed sheets and taking in the perfect scent of the soap used.

I reached down to gently pull the plant from the ground, roots and all, when the shadow of three figures hovered over me forming into one large blob. Looking up I nearly ripped the flower out at the sight before me.

One owner of the shadow was a girl with tan skin and long brown hair that had been tied into a braid with loops connecting from her forehead down to the top of the braid. She wore an ocean blue tunic giving away her heritage immediately.

On the other side was a boy that matched her in the blue clothing and olive skin. They seemed to be related having similar features and stances.

In the middle of the two was a bald headed boy with a blue arrow pointed down and there were exact copies on his hands as well. He wore an orange and yellow outfit, and held a brown staff. His presence was what shocked me the most. I had never seen an Airbender before, only heard about them in the stories my father used to tell me. Now, as one stood before me, I knew exactly who he was.

"What are you doing in the Fire Nation?" I said with my mouth agape. "You know people here want to kill you." They all seemed to shrug this off.

"We're looking for Roku's Island." The bald headed boy replied. I rolled my eyes. Of course they were looking for the temple. I glanced behind me to see if anyone was strolling along the path through the forest. Thankfully we were alone.

"Do you have any idea what would happen if I took the Avatar through town to my house?"

"We aren't asking to go to your house," the boy in the Watertribe clothing murmured. "Why aren't you trying to kill us anyway?" He pointed his boomerang at me. "You're Fire Nation." I crossed my arms and leaned on one of my legs wanting to show them that I was comfortable around them and they could be too.

"Unlike the rest of my beloved Nation, I don't believe killing you is the right thing. We shouldn't be trying to dominate the world. It throws off the balance of things." The Avatar smiled at me.

"I'm here to maintain the balance." He said his grin growing wider at me, as if his hope in the world was slowly returning. "What's your name?"

"Ember, I was named after the island." I let out a heavy sigh. "I know typical Firebender name. But my dad thought it suited me."

"I'm Aang, this is Katara," he said eagerly, pointing to the Watertribe girl that clearly had a pout on her face. I wondered what her hitch was. Next Aang pointed to the Watertribe boy, "This is Sokka, Katara's older brother."

"Dude, she could tell the Fire Nation and they'd all know who we were and hunt us down." Sokka said, dramatically throwing his hands into the air. His voice was higher and cracked a little as he said 'Fire Nation.'

I didn't know how I could make them trust me. It was true, I could use the information they gave me, against them. But I wouldn't.

Aang stared at me for a few seconds, almost like he was analyzing me to see if I was a traitor. Katara still glowered where she stood, causing her anger to emanate off of her. Sokka walked towards me, being the first brave one to break the distance. Circling around me, the tan boy inspected me just as his bald headed friend was doing from afar.

"I have a map," I started, as Sokka still walked around me, "I can tell you where you need to go." Katara shook her head and I knew I had one vote against me. "Please, I want to help. You're our only hope of restoring balance to the Nations." Carefully, I raised my hand and tugged the string on my cloak. The neat bow fell apart against my pale collarbone. I pulled the cloak off and handed it to Aang. "This will hide your identity in town. No one will see you're an Airbender, and in turn won't put you or me in danger. Believe me I'd be just as much at risk as you would if people saw us together."

At this Aang nodded and took the red cloak from my hands. He put it on and drew the hood. Katara looked at him mortified.

"Are you crazy?" Her attitude disappeared as she seemed to become maternal, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Aang, how can we trust her? She could be just luring us into a trap."

"Three against one is kind of an advantage. Especially you being a Waterbender and him being the Avatar," I said, noticing the pouch she had on her hip that I guessed was full of water. "At this point, I'm your only chance of getting anywhere. And the more time you waste, the more likely we're going to get caught by someone." Aang nodded and stepped towards me.

"Lead the way." He said and pulled the hood further over his face. I moved swiftly along the path out of the forest and towards town. The hardest part would be seeing the least amount of people. Even with Aang covered, Katara and Sokka would be spotted easily in their attire.

Walking behind buildings, hiding within shadows, we finally made it to my house. The house my uncle built himself, and I lived with him and my aunt. I quickly unlocked the door and pushed my three guests into my house. I turned to make sure no one was watching us and thankfully the coat was clear. Locking the door behind me I turned to the three sets of eyes staring back at me.

"So you're looking for Roku's Island?" Aang nodded.

"And maybe a way to get to the Northern Watertribe after that," he said with a shrug.

"Okay, the maps are in the other room. I'll be right back." I walked out of the room and into my uncle's drawing room. He was a carpenter and built many houses in the Fire Nation and even built the newest wing in the Fire Nation Palace.

I moved in with him and my aunt after my father had died. My mother and I had a falling out, which led me to run away from home. It was a complicated story and it wasn't something I liked to talk to about.

On the shelves laid boxes of scrolls with a rainbow of colors marking the rolls. I looked for the ones I needed throughout the boxes.

"Need help?" Sokka asked behind me. I nodded my head. "What do they look like?"

"One has black ends with the Fire Nation insignia etched in it and the other is a pearl color." He began digging within the boxes and their contents looking for the scrolls we needed that held the map. Immediately he pulled out the black one and held it up. I nodded and then went back to my search.

After looking through every box and not finding the scroll we required, I decided to look for it within his desk. When I pulled open the drawer, it gleamed back at me.

"Okay, here you go," I handed him the scroll and shut the drawer. We returned back into the main room where Aang was playing with tiny balls of air. He looked up and smiled letting the air disappear. I took the black tipped map from Sokka and opened it on my table. "Here is Roku's island, and here we are." My voice was steady as I pointed to the different spots on the map. But I was nervous. Something inside me said that helping the Avatar was a risky choice.

Sokka opened the other map and marked where the Northern Watertribe and where we were, showing his sister and the Airbender.

"We can stop in these key towns within the Earth Kingdom on the way." Sokka said making more marks on the map at towns I had heard of before. "We'll definitely run low on food and need to replenish. The food the Kyoshi Warriors and King Bumi gave us won't last us long." The Watertribe boy tapped his chin for a few seconds. "Our best bet is to go through the Earth Kingdom after we leave Roku's island. Less Fire Nation, as it seems most of them will be in the sea searching for us." He rolled up the scrolls and placed them in his pack. "Thanks Ember."

I crossed my arms as I stared at the three guests in my house. "Just," moving my weight back and forth between my legs, I was trying to find the words to say "save the world, okay?" I finally replied looking directly at Aang. His eyes seemed to dim a touch but he nodded his head. "Now get out of my house before my aunt gets home and sees you." Leading them to the back door, I unlocked it and opened it to check and see if anyone had been strolling the small path that lead through the forest and to the river. No one was around, thankfully. "Okay, stick to the shadows. Make sure no one sees you or the maps." Three heads nodded and quickly escaped through the door.

Taking a deep breath I leaned against the now closed door. It was over. They were gone and I didn't have to worry about my aunt popping in, or anyone else for that matter. All I had to do was make sure that no one would ever hear or find out about this and I would be okay.

My aunt walked in immediately following my thoughts with an expression telling me something had happened today. Her face was wrinkled with wisdom, her hair gray with experience, and her eyes, usually sparkling with love, but not today, as they seemed to be filled with anxiety.

"Ember..." her voice trailed. Looking up at me, my aunts worried brown eyes bore into mine. "What did you do?" her demanding question caused my heart to begin pounding. "People are saying in town that you betrayed our country. What did you do?" Now she said it with a low hiss and I knew my secret had been blown.

"I… I did nothing Aunt Tana," the lie barely left my lips making sure to put up a fight. "What are they saying?"

"You helped the Avatar." She slammed her bags down on the floor and walked towards me angrily. For an older woman, she moved relatively fast and she looked pretty strong, but that must have been due to the fact she lifts heavy spools of wool and silk each day

I guess I should have been paying more attention to the fact that I was now a traitor to the Fire Nation and not the fact that my aunt was robust. However, my aunt made my thoughts snap back to her as she cleared her throat and crossed her arms.

"Ember, I took you in knowing that you hated the Fire Nation. But I didn't think you'd put my family in danger like this." I knew what she was saying but I couldn't help but be hurt by her remark. She had said I was putting her family in danger. Did this mean that she didn't consider me part of her family? "Your uncle and I understand you had your problems with your mother after your father died, but to rebel against a country, a hostile one at that, Ember it's stupid of you." My face burned red with embarrassment. If I hadn't felt foolish before, I definitely did now.

"You have to believe me. I didn't do anything that I didn't think was right."

"Did you do what they are saying you did?" She asked. I stared at her for a long time trying to decide the best way to tell her. The silence between us was frightening.

"Yes, I helped the Avatar." I finally said. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. "But he can help us!" I said trying to defend my case. "He can stop this war and stop that foul Fire Lord!" Her hand clasped over my mouth and she looked around as if someone was listening to our conversation.

"Watch what you say about him." She said with a growl. "Ember, your little stunt has the guards talking. I want you to go to Jin's house and ask him what his father knows." She moved back from me and stabbed her finger towards my cloak which was hanging on the hook from where Aang had placed it. Grabbing it, I immediately left the house and rushed down the now dark street towards Jin's house.

Jin had been my first friend since I had moved here after my father died. His father was a guard that had served in the Fire Nation capitol, Caldera, but was moved to the colonies to search for rebels. Kartok, Jin's father, had confided in me that he didn't believe the Fire Nation was right either but he could never tell anyone else and if he chose to ever leave the guard he would be killed for treason.

I knocked on the door of Jin's house. It was much larger than my aunts, because his father worked for the Palace and when you're a guard of Caldera you are forced to have the best things.

Jin opened the door with his thick black hair pointing in different directions and his light brown eyes hidden behind his drooping eyelids. Once he saw me though, they popped open and he pulled me through the doorway into his dimly lit house.

"Ember, my father was sent to the guard's tower today because of you." My heart sank. This was getting bigger than I expected. I had really hoped no one would see me but apparently I had been spotted enough for the guards to gather. "They're sending for Prince Zuko. He should be here within a day or two." I couldn't help but let out a snort.

"They send for him? But they all consider him a joke. He was banished!"

"My father insisted that they send the Prince the hawk. You're safer with Prince Zuko than you are with anyone else trying to find the Avatar, especially General Zhao. My dad said just last week he nearly killed a man who possibly knew where the Avatar was going." I couldn't help but smile. Kartok was looking out for me by sending the lesser of two evils. "Ember, did you do it?" Everyone wanted to know didn't they? I stared at Jin for a few seconds. He was my best friend here. His father had treated me like his own. But they were also associated with the Royal family and I didn't know if I could risk telling them the truth.

I never found out if I would tell him the truth, because at that moment Kartok stormed into the house creating a loud bang as he slammed the door shut.

"Ember what have you done?" The taller wiser looking version of Jin said to me.

"I was asking her if she did it." Jin said to his father. "She was just about to answer when you stormed in."

"She does not have to tell us." Kartok rested his hand on his son's back and looked down at me with a strained smile.

"Thank you." I whispered to him. He had given me a chance by sending the information to Prince Zuko and not General Zhao.

"Don't thank me just yet." He said ominously. "You need to stay in your house. Do not leave unless you truly have to. Hopefully this will die down before the Prince gets here." The guard let go of his son and stepped back. "I'll walk you home."

We were walking down the path towards my house in silence. I wondered what was on his mind. Did he think I had made a mistake too?

"What does your aunt think about this?" he said breaking the quiet stroll. "She can't be too pleased, due to the threat this has on her and her husband."

"She's not thrilled. Actually, I've never seen this side of her before. It was almost like she regretted taking me in." I stopped when we reached my house and closed my eyes, my head dropped as the shame passed through me. "I messed up." I felt the guard's hand rest on my shoulder but it didn't make me feel any better. What I had done was selfish and I knew my family was going to pay for it.

"I would have wanted to do exactly what you had if I were put in that situation, Ember. You were very brave and courageous to stand up for what you believe. Not many people would have the guts to have done what you did," when I opened my eyes and looked up at him I saw a small smile barely embrace his face. The wrinkles in his cheeks held a special place for this smile, "especially an old guard."

"Thank you Kartok." I whispered and hugged him. "To know someone understands, it really helps."

"Get inside, kiddo. And stay inside. I'll check up on you tomorrow." I let go of him and retired into my house.

There was only one thing I knew for sure. I wasn't going to be getting any sleep knowing there was a Fire Nation Prince heading for me.

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