Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All of the rights belong to Nickelodean and the creators of the show.

Zuko never found his way.

This leaves a big hole in their plan to defeat the fire lord.

This could be a tamper of the fate of their world.

Aang has to learn firebending.

Hiding in the Western Air Temple all summer wasn't the best plan for them. Even if they wanted to try it, eventually, someone was going to find them. Running away from their problems wasn't going to solve anything. It never does. They all knew that, but they all knew that they weren't going to admit it.

The only firebender that Aang was aware of that was not only capable, but willing to do the job, could be anywhere by now. He couldn't help but have no hope in finding him again. The odds were slim to none. The odds are even slimmer to find another firebender that was against the war. It seems like everyone in the fire nation has the intentions in chasing him down. Never, has he ever seen another good firebender like Jeong Jeong was.

It was Katara's idea to come out of the closet. She was the first one to see what monstrosities have been rising to be in the dark for so long. There have been too many days when they haven't been doing anything all day. None of them cared about moving forward anymore.

The idea of hers seemed to pop out of nowhere in a conversation between her and Sokka, Aang and Toph. It was early in the morning. It was that time of the morning for Aang to feed Appa, all of them to clean up, have breakfast, and get ready to begin a new day - which usually started with a plan, but since they haven't been doing anything lately, a plan sounded too soon for any of them to worry about.

Aang, as a matter of fact, was all thumbs-up for the plan. Anything to get him some fresh air. . . Besides, Appa needed the exercise.

"We have to be careful, though," Sokka reminded. "If we see one sign of the fire nation, then we have to turn back."

No one had anything to comment on. They began to gather their items for the first time in a week. It felt nice to get back in their old schedule again. It made them realize that they didn't have as much time as they thought. That reminded Aang of something:

"If we want to get out of here, then we should do it fast. There's a bigger chance of being spotted in the middle of the day."

All of them agreed without question. "Anything to get away from those firebenders," Toph thought.

Sokka, Katara, Aang and Toph all worked together to lift all of their supplies on the big flying bison. Even with him laying flat on his stomach, he was still too tall for someone to easily lift tents, food, water, and etc, over him.

Momo randomly flew into the area and landed in Appa's saddle, ready for the journey ahead of them with an assuring chirp. It calmed down the tension a bit, but it was still hard to climb back in the saddle. So many things have gone wrong whenever they have gone somewhere new. Something has always happened when they just wanted to take a break. If they weren't mistaken, it was every time they traveled to an unfamiliar place. And they didn't even know where they were going.

"And who knows," Toph said. "Maybe Twinkle Toes'll meet a new firebending teacher." She shrugged with a smirk on her face. She was aware of that slim chance of finding one. She was only being sarcastic.

"Ha," he laughed off in a monotone. "I doubt that." He was with Toph on that one.

Katara was the last one to get in Appa's saddle. She checked the temple a few times this morning before she even mentioned going anywhere, but she wanted to take one last look before they left. They couldn't afford losing anything just because they forgot to take something with them.

While she climbed the flying bison, she went off on her motherly-ways, again:

"Who knows? Maybe we will find a firebender that's on our side."

"A firebender that's not from the fire nation?" Sokka asked, bewildered. He was the individual who hated the fire nation the most. He had no faith in them whatsoever and would never give them a second chance if they were given one. He thought of them as the lowest people on earth, but really, who could blame him?

"We found Jeong Jeong, didn't we?" she asked. She was desperate to find ways to contradict their theories, but she felt good about her belief. It's the same feeling as when she knew that the avatar would come back. She knew that there had to be someone out there - just one out of those millions of people, that could at least give a few tips on how to firebend before Aang confronts the fire lord. There just had to be.

She didn't even notice Aang telling Appa to go until he lifted his feet from the ground, or the fact that no one bothered to keep the conversation going, for that matter.

One of the gaurds that kept watch of the jail cells paced the halls with is eyes peeled for anything suspicious. The hall that he was walking in was coming to an end. He had a choice to either go left or right.

To his right was a dead end, containing only about 5 or more cells on each side, but he has checked that area more then once, and all of the times, they have passed his inspection. It was time to go left, where it brought him to the center of the building.

He spotted a large shadow in the distance, facing a particular cell. His first impression was that it was another one that wasn't in its spot. Reflexes moved his feet into a firebending stance, ready to strike him out at any moment. The hallway was so quiet that he heard the sound of his shuffling feet and heavy breathing.

A hand was gently raised and the man said, "I am one of you," in a slight whisper.

He wasn't assured until he saw it for himself, even though his arms lowered. He took a few steps forward to get a better look, and of course, he was right. He was dressed in the same attire that every soldier wears on duty as a jail gaurd. It was the regular dark red and black armour covering his legs and shoulders. The cloth surrounding it was neatly set around it to give it a calmer look. A fire nation insignia was hand-marked on each side of the shoulders of his armour. The uniform made him look the same as everyone else, but he was really a lot older then the rest of them on gaurd. He had to be at least sixty years old.

He let his stance go completely and gave it a breath. It wasn't everyday that he sees another soldier in the same wing as he was, unless the general was enforcing the law more heavily now that the avatar has returned. . . but wait, wasn't the avatar dead?

"Someone has escaped," the man said. "Very clever, I must say, but this isn't the first time, and we both know who's to blame."

He rested his eyes upon him and nodded once.

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll both have equal consequences, as will the rest of the gaurds."

His gaze turned back to the jail cell. The door was wide open. He was looking at the inside of it. Her escape must be highly noticable there.

"That is my forewarning to you," he said with a bow. He continued his way down the long, dark hall with all of the other jail cells that were actually filled with the criminals. The robe covering some of his armour flowed behind him like a large cloak would. That wasn't part of the dress code that was enforced.

"Who was it that has escaped?"

The man stopped, but he did not turn around. He kept his eyes on him until he got an answer. . .

"Holly Wilson."

"How long does this desert go on for? We've been flying for hours!" Sokka complained with his head out of the saddle. He was hopelessly watching the dead soil stretch out for miles.

"We haven't been flying for hours, Sokka, it hasn't even been an hour yet," Katara told him.

Sokka pulled his head back in. "Wow, I guess it really has been a while."

"Yeah, but I'm getting pretty sick of this dry air," said Toph.

"I'm actually surprised we haven't been caught, yet," Katara admitted. "Azula and Zuko knew that we've been here, before."

"Maybe they got distracted or took a break," Sokka said, trying to come up with ideas. He shrugged, but could still think of a whole lot of other possibilities in his mind. Though, he couldn't hide the fact that what Katara said was true.

"Maybe they found a new target?"

Toph brought up of what was actually a really good point, but it didn't seem probable to them. Since she was the one with the least experience with the two siblings, then she would always be the optomist when it comes to Azula and Zuko.

"Like who? Is there another avatar out there that's willing to defeat their fire lord?" Katara asked sarcastically. She was only in this kind of mood because she knew that there was a prominent reason for them not getting caught today. She found it to be a problem that they should issue. There had to be some reason that they weren't out looking for the avatar. If there was one thing that was for sure, then that would be that they never give up.

Aang, who was sitting on Appa's head, had a map resting in his lap to know where he was steering. They had names of cities and towns in the area that he was supposed to keep track with, but he was so busy daydreaming, that he almost didn't notice that they were flying over a city right now.

"Hey, guys, I think I found a city!"

He looked down at the map, hoping to see the location and name of the city, but there wasn't anything marked on the map where they were. Either they needed a new map, or this is an unknown city. Both of them were pretty likely.

"I don't think I've ever been here, before," Aang said. "Let's check it out!"

He shook the reins that were tied to Appa's horns and called "Yip yip!"

Instead of the bison rising higher, he began to descend.

The closer that they got, the more weirder the city looked. It wasn't like any other city that they have seen. It was so low-populated that it looked deserted. The tint to their buildings were a lot darker then they should be, they were almost a black color that looked to them like soot. There weren't any markets that were in sight. Clearly, according to Katara, this place needed some cleaning up to do.

"Well, at least we'll all know that Azula and Zuko won't be here," Sokka said in an optomistic, yet sarcastic voice. His tone was full of intimidation as he stared at the dull, dark and quiet town. Something wasn't right.

Aang, without really noticing, parked Appa right in the middle of the road. It just wide enough for him. Immediately, when they entered, they smelled a foul stentch like old, scented-candles - but only the smoke part.

It was especially weird for the team to not be welcomed by any of the citizens to their town, but no one was there, anyway. It was empty all up and down the road. There were a few market stands in the distance and one beside them, but it was unoccupied. There was a wind chime hanging form one of the empty windowsills that made the only sound. The wind was totally dry.

"Hello?" Aang called out, his voice echoing. "Is anybody here?"

Aang was the first one to slide off the side of Appa. There was barely any room for him to land. He found himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Appa and one of the large, dark buildings. He expected his entire sleeve to be blackened when he pushed away.

Appa roared, like he didn't have a good feeling about this place. Katara and Toph didn't want to move: they were the first to spot someone. They felt like they couldn't warn him, since she would hear them the same time that he would. He would have no time to prepare. When Sokka saw her, he was also coming up with the same assumption.

Aang took a step back, but he was still squished in between his bison and that stupid wall. He kept backing up until he would reach the side of the building. That was when he ran into her.

The other gaurd ignored him after only one question, just when he could think of ten other questions. He thought he had recodnized the name from somewhere, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew that name from somewhere. . . did he read it somewhere? Did he come across it when he was going through old records last night? Has he actually seen this person before? Maybe all was true.

The door remained ajar. From where he was standing, the only thing standing out of place was the fact that it was opened. Otherwise, the cell appeared to be normal.

He didn't have a straight answer to why he was so scared to approach it, but anything could happen these days. He was being extra cautious walking up to the metal door. His hands were up and ready to throw fire at anyone that jumps out at him, no difference if it was a bug or a human. Chances were fifty/fifty, but he didn't want to take the risk. His body forced himself to jump in the doorway.

A jet of fire followed him, but it quickly dissolved in the air in a matter of seconds.

The entire cell was made of metal. It was about as large as the fire lord's closet. This particular room had nothing in it whatsoever. He expected it to have some type of bed or mattress shoved in the corner like every other one, but there was nothing.

The back wall was totally blown apart. It looked as though someone had brought dynamite to it. It also reminded him of watching paper burn. The surrounding metal looked like it was melted, then dried over from the wind outside. Some parts of it had weird folds and creases around the corners of the room from so much heat. Some parts still looked like they were hot. He was afraid to step inside and burn the souls of his feet.

This prison is located on a remote island and is a dormant volcano. The water around it is scortching hot and burns anyone that gets close to it. The only way to leave The Boiling Rock is if you rode on the Gondala, which is more heavily gaurded than anything else here. Even if she was the greatest firebender in the world, she still wouldn't have a great chance taking all of them down. What did she do, grow some wings and fly across? With that said, wouldn't at least one out of the hundreds of gaurds catch her before she escaped? He knows how slow the gondalas are, he doesn't even know how long it would take to leave by foot, if that's even possible.

What is the general going to say when he finds out about this? Seeing how angry he gets when one of the criminals steal some of their food, he didn't know what he would do when he sees what one of them has done to his jail cell. Would his first priority be to find the one that has escaped, or punish all of the gaurds and make them repair? What if he fires everyone? Even worse, what if he tells the fire lord? He remembers what happened last time one of them met face-to-face with him.

". . . hear that someone escaped?"

The voice was very faint, but the person sure wasn't watching what he was saying.

What does he do now? They would bring suspicion if the rest of the staff found him lingering in the escaper's room. But there wasn't anywhere to hide. . . Unless he leans against the front wall beside the doorway. If they don't decide to go into the room, then he might be safe. So that's what he did.

"Oh, yeah, I heard about her," one of them said. From the higher voice, he guessed this gaurd to be a woman. "I think they're all making her get way over their heads." She was making it sound like it wasn't a big deal and there was nothing to worry about.

"Well, I don't blame 'em!" the other gaurd said. "She's a firebender - and a pretty damn good one at that. She's clever as a fox, too, 'specially to figure out a way off this island."

"Pffft, you're exaggerating yourself, Chen! I've seen that girl before, she's - what, under five feet tall?"

"Don't let her height and good looks fool 'ya. People say that her fire is as white as snow. That's the hottest fire out there," he informed. "That's even hotter then the fire Azula makes. Even the fire lord himself can't make that much heat! And that is really sayin' somethin', eh?"

"Do you think that's how she melted down that wall?"

He could almost feel the hot breath off of the two gaurds against his neck. The way the woman asked the question sounded like she was either amazed, scared or both. At least he knows now that he's not the only one intimidated by the damage she has caused. He's never seen anything like this before. And he figured that they haven't either.

"It's too bad that the girl isn't on our side," was his only answer.