It is strange, really how defeat and victory can change you.
On the back of a great bison saddle sits four people who have changed.
One is a great bender who is now a heartbroken helpless.
She commends herself for being the greatest Earthbender alive.
She cries because she wasn't and isn't good enough for her love.
Metalbender Toph.
One is a strategic young man who is now a cold soldier.
He cared once for peace in the world, for love, and for family.
He cares only now for the brutal death of those who have made him suffer.
Soldier Sokka.
One is an honest beauty who is now a girl betrayed.
She believed that he was good. That he was someone worth healing.
Now her soul weeps for the boy who cried Honor.
Master Katara.
One is a love struck child who is now a loveless leader.
He once had the love for the beauty, the betrayed.
He looks at her now with no love at all.
Avatar Aang.
Together, though, the changes cannot break them. They will win, no matter what.
Back in the city, another young man experiences changes.
He is a scarred prince turned refugee turned Betrayer.
He once cared only about himself, but now, as he is tossed into a damp cell next to a plump old man, all he can think about is how glad he is that Iroh is alive and how nice it will feel to finish this war once and for all and how great it will be to put his hands on the peasant girls hands and beg for her forgiveness.
Prince Zuko.
It's strange how victory and defeat can change you.