Ren:

In my bedroom, I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to sleep.

I was in trouble, and there was no way I could get out of it this time. Odette was alive and my father was going to have me killed - literally - when he found out. I had completely forgotten the water. And now, Athera had once again thrown me under the bus. She knew I had lied before, and now I was going to pay the price for it.

I rose from bed and donned a hooded cloak, my mind spinning in terror. Slipping by an unguarded path over the crater's rim, I make my way to a prison tower embedded in the slope of another, nearby volcano. As I stood in the prison courtyard, looking upward, a guard spotted me.

"Who's there?" he shouted.

No…I couldn't do it, not yet…

Without a word, I turned and left.

Odette:

We came to the Fire Nation outer islands around midday a few days after my escape. A mysterious cloud we were shrouded in scuttled rapidly over the water. As it lighted on one of the islands, we started speaking.

"I think I see a cave below," I said.

"Shhush... keep quiet!" The cloud dispersed with a blast of airbending to reveal us, riding Fanindra. Alana dismounted and began a furtive reconnaissance. "Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud who knows how to keep its mouth shut."

Elise rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting up there and turn us in."

"Hey! We're in enemy territory. Those are enemy birds," Alana snapped defensively.

Ignoring them, I pointed upward to four of the enemy birds, perched on a rock just behind me. One hopped down onto my head and squawked plaintively. We all laughed but Alana remained unamused.

Ever the sourpuss of our group.

We walked toward the cave I had spotted, Alana lurking behind. All of the sudden, she leaped over our heads to ward off some - entirely imaginary - threat. Peering suspiciously about, she dashed into the cave, followed by the rest of us giving her odd looked.

"Well, this is it. This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave after cave...after cave...after cave…" Alana's head dropped further to her chest with each repetition of the word.

"Alana, we don't need to become cave people. What we need is some new clothes," Kole sighed at her.

I agreed with that. "Yeah, blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."

"Plus...they have real food out there. Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers?" Elise punched the cave wall and several hoppers hopped out. Fang caught one and began chowing down on it hungrily while we looked on, revolted.

Alana smiled slightly at him. "looked like we got out voted, sport. Let's get some new clothes."

Kole:

We found a place to hide nearby some Fire Nation laundry. Several items of clothing were hung on lines outdoors, suspended over steam vents. We hid in some rocks close by, surveying the scene.

Odette was uneasy and looked around her. "I don't know about this. These clothes belong to somebody."

"I call the suit!" I said and leaped from the rocks, running to my prize and snatching it from the line.

Odette paused for a moment and considered. "But if it's essential to our survival...then I call the silk robe!"

Plunder ensued.

The laundry's lone attendant, stealing a nap in the doorway, was completely oblivious to us which worked.

Once we all had something to wear, we took off to a secluded beach nearby. Hiding quietly, we all tried on our new duds. Odette tied the belt from her robe around her forehead to conceal her arrow.

"Ta-dah! Normal kid," I said after I had finished.

Elise looked down thoughtfully.

"Hmm...I should probably wear shoes, but then I won't be able to see as well. Sorry shoes!" Sitting down, she brought her knee up to her chest, pulling on the shoe's upper and popping out the sole with her foot, which propelled it into Alana's face. She stood up and evaluated her new customized footwear. "Finally, a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender."

"How do I look?" Odette asked, turning around.

I looked head to toe at a ravishing Fire Nation beauty...with one false note. Smitten, I blushed, and then suddenly realized the problem.

"Uh...your arrow."

"Oh...oh, yeah. I guess it's pretty obvious, isn't it?" she said, chagrined.

I thought for a moment then smiled and handed her the belt from my sister's women's suit. "Here, use this."

Reluctantly, she took the belt and tied it around her forehead, hiding the arrow. If anything, it only added to the effect.

Odette:

We walked through the bazaar of a nearby town, where Alana bought some new, more fire-themed neckwear. In an alley, she put it on and Elise and Alana tried on their own new accessories - a new headband for Elise and a topknot clasp for Alana. For my part, I smoothed down Fang's ears and tucked him beneath my robe.

"I used to visit my friend Ayanna here a hundred years ago. So everyone just follow my lead and stay cool. Or as they say in the Fire Nation - 'Stay flamin'!" I said and sauntered out, the others following. A man was eating a meat shish kebab on the sidewalk and I waved to him as we walked by. "Greetings, my good Hotman!"

The Fire Nation Citizen was surprised. "Uh, hi. I guess?"

Wow, had common manners disappeared that much since I had disappeared? Either that or perhaps my lingo was perhaps a little out of date.

Alana led the way to a butcher's shop.

"Oh, we're going to a meat place?" I asked, my stomach churning at the thought.

"Come on, Odette," Alana groaned, guessing what the problem was. "Everyone here eats meat...even the meat!"

She indicated a nearby cow-hippo, greedily scavenging a pile of fly-blown fish.

I shook my head, unconvinced. "You guys go ahead. I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage."

They entered and I turned around and began dispensing affable greetings to my new countrymen.

"Hotman. Hotman. Hotman. Hotman. Hotman," I greeted.

Three imposing, official-looking figures approached me suddenly and I bristled slightly.

"It's over, we caught you," an officer snapped.

"Who me?" I asked, looking about, afraid.

"It couldn't be more obvious that you don't belong here." I cringed, expecting the worst. "Next time you play hooky, you might want to take off your school uniform."

What?

"Heh, heh. Uh!"

I was seized by the collar and pulled towards them roughly. They drug me all the way across town to a Fire Nation school, dominated by a large statue of Mordred. Inside, they led me down winding hallways before the stopped in front of a door, opened it, and shoved me in. My new classmates and I stared at each other in mutual astonishment.

The teacher - who I had been told was Ms. Ellesmere on the way up here - turned to me shrewdly. "Oh! Is this a new mind ready for molding?"

"That's right," I said brightly and knocked myself on the head to indicate its lack of contents. "Let the molding begin."

The truant officers turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," the teacher said and the officers stopped and turned around. "You're not from the Fire Nation!" A suspenseful moment ensued as Ms. Ellesmere approached me with a critical eye. "Clearly you're from the colonies."

I slumped slightly, relieved. "Yeah, the colonies. Of course. The Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom."

"Your etiquette is terrible. In the homeland, we bow to our elders. Like so." She bowed her head, making a fist with her right hand, holding her left hand open and pointed upward so that the palm was perpendicular to her body, and brought the two hands together so that the proximal phalanx of her infolded right index finger just touched the base of her left palm, again perpendicularly. The effect was of a small, stylized flame.

"Sorry ma'am," I apologized and attempted the salute, but reversed hands and met my right palm with my entire left fist, instead of just the index finger. Ms. Ellesmere tapped my fist with her ferrule, obviously disapproving.

I looked around for help. A boy in the front row caught my eye and demonstrated the proper technique. I smiled, reversed hands, and lowered my fist.

Ms. Ellesmere tapped my head with her ferrule. "And we don't wear head coverings indoors."

"Um, I have a scar. It's really embarrassing," I lies smoothly.

Ms. Ellesmere considered before nodding. "Very well. What is your name? Or should we just call you, 'Mannerless Colony Slob'?"

I chuckled. "Just 'Slob' is fine." This didn't go over well. I tried a different tack. "Or, uh... Ayanna."

I turned to face the class with a friendly smile.

After a few hours of trying and failing miserably to catch up with my "schoolwork", the bell rang, signaling school was out. Kids streamed out the doors. I walked towards the exit, pulling open my jacket and whispering to Fang.

"We made it through the day, Fang. And...it was pretty fun!" I said, surprised by this.

Someone spoke from behind me, amused. "Don't let the headmaster catch you with that wolf."

Concealing Fang, I turned around with an innocent grin on my face. "What wolf?"

The boy who had helped me earlier smiled. He had a sweet face with golden brown eyes and dark brown hair. "Don't worry, I'm not a tattletale. My name's Nicola. I like your headband, by the way."

I smiled, meditating a reply, when I was suddenly jostled from behind by a tall Fire Nation girl, who walked past me to stand by Nicola.

She glared at me contemptuously. "Nicola, you don't have to baby-sit the new kid."

"Wow," I said amiably and bowed, Fire Nation style, oh yeah. "You must be one of those popular kids I've been hearing about."

"That's right. Now listen, friend...I know you're from the colonies, so I'll say this slowly," she said. She enunciated carefully, getting in my face as she did so. "Nicola...is...my...boyfriend. Don't forget it."

She poked me in the chest and Fang stirred and complained beneath my jacket. I smoothed him down and grinned sheepishly at the girl's suspicious glare. She pointed at her eyes and then at mine to indicate that she'd be keeping an eye on me. She turned and walked away with her arm around Nicola.

"It was nice meeting you," I said pleasantly, rolling my eyes. Her worry was silly…I already had my eyes on a different Fire Nation boy, not that she knew that but still.

A small Fire Nation girl approached me, her eyes wide in shock. "I don't believe it. She didn't beat you up. Not even a little."

I shrugged modestly. "I guess I'm just lucky."

The girl smiled at me. "I'm Jazmyne. We were on our way to play hide-and-explode. You wanna come?"

"I'd love to!" I said, elated.

Kole:

Day faded to night and Odette still hadn't returned. I paced around the campfire and looked anxiously out at the cave entrance, hoping she would come back soon. We'd looked for her all day and there had been no sign of her anywhere.

Just before I was about to go look for her, Odette slid down the roof of the cave to its entrance and walked in.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" I snapped at her, running over as she approached us around the fire.

Odette was covered in burn marks and my eyes flew wide in alarm.

"I got invited to play with some kids after school," she explained, catching my look.

It was Alana's turn to stand up, flummoxed. "After what?"

Odette smiled happily. "I enrolled in a Fire Nation school, and I'm going back tomorrow."

Alana shook her head, shocked. "Enrolled in what?!"

She keeled over.

Ren:

After a few days, I returned to the prison tower. This time, I actually went inside and walked down a corridor. The guard from the last time heard my footsteps and spun around, leveling his spear. He recognized my hooded figure but didn't place who was under it immediately.

"You again? Stop where you are."

I raised my head, revealing my well-known face with my telltale scar. "Prince Farren?!"

I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Ugh!"

I spoke in a tone of insolent menace, one that I had not used in some time. "I'm going in for a visit. You're gonna stand guard here, and no one is going to know about this."

The guard nodded, frightened and opened the cell. The cell was bisected by a wall of bars so that one half was accessible from the door and the other half served as a cage. Uncle, unkempt and dressed in rags, was seated cross-legged on a mat, facing the wall to the right of the cell door as I entered it. I walked in and up to the bars.

"Uncle. It's me," I said quietly.

I removed my hood and shook my shaggy, mussed hair out of my face. Uncle turned away to face the back of his cell, scowling.

Kole:

Seated around the fire, we argued over whether or not Odette should return to the school.

Alana slapped her head in frustration. The two had been bickering constantly for over ten minutes now.

"Odette, I'm trying to be mature and not immediately shoot down your idea. But it sounds...really terrible," she sighed.

Elise agreed with her. "Yeah, we got our outfits. What do you need to go to school for?"

"Every minute I'm in that classroom. I'm learning new things about the fire nation. I already have a picture of Fire Lord Mordred," Odette replied and held up a picture of the handsome Lord.

She put it down and lifted up another one. "And here's one that I made out of noodles!" She displayed her masterpiece to us once again, smiling hugely.

Alana nodded, surprised. "Impressive, I admit. But I still think it's too dangerous."

Odette sighed and looked at her deviously. "I guess we'll never find out about the secret river then. It goes right to the Fire Lord's palace. We were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow…"

Smooth.

"Hmm... I am a fan of secret rivers," Alana said, and then relented. "Fine, let's stay a few more days."

"Flamey-o, Hotman!" Odette cheered, jumping to her feet as she ran off in excitement.

I looked after her, amused as Alana turned to me. "Flamey-o?"

I shrugged my shoulders, not knowing what to say. "Mmm-mm?"

Ren:

I glared furiously at his back as he continued to ignore me.

I stood at the bars, growing more irritated. "You brought this on yourself, you know. We could have returned together. You could have been a hero!"

Uncle turned a shade further away from me.

"You have no right to judge me Uncle. I did what I had to do in Eralith, and you're a fool for not joining me," I snarled and Uncle remained silent. "You're not gonna say anything?"

Enraged, I kicked a stool and bended a blast of fire at the wall.

"Arghh! You're a crazy old man! You're crazy, and if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter!"

This had been a total waste of my time - what had I expected to happen? That he would fall to his knees and beg me for forgiveness? Stupid!

I left, slamming the door behind me in rage

Odette:

The next morning, I was happily back in the Fire Nation classroom. Ms. Ellesmere entered and all the students rose.

Ms. Ellesmere nodded at us. "Good morning, class. Recite the Fire Nation oath."

They turned to the larger-than-life portrait of Mordred that dominated the room's rear wall, bowed Fire Nation style and began reciting. I stood up awkwardly, a few beats behind everyone else, and did my best to follow along.

"My life, I give to my country. With my hands, I fight for Fire Lord Mordred and our forefathers before him…" the students said in unison.

"Fire Lord...forefathers…"

"With my mind, I seek ways to better my country, and with my feet…"

I tried to follow along desperately. "Firebenders...Fire Lord...blah, blah, blah, blah."

The other students stopped reciting and began giggling helplessly. Ms. Ellesmere scowled and the students turned back around and sat down.

Ms. Ellesmere rose and struck the open book before her with her ferrule for emphasis. "Since it's obviously hilarious to mock our national oath, we'll begin with a pop quiz on our Great March of Civilization."

The students groaned and took pens and paper in hand.

"Question one: What year did Fire Lord Ezra battle the Air Nation Army?" I raised my hand, confused. The teacher acknowledged me suspiciously. "Ayanna?"

I rose. "Is that a trick question? The Air Nomads didn't have a formal military. Ezra defeated them by ambush."

The entire class stared open mouthed at my brazen heresy.

Ms. Ellesmere was flustered. "Well, I don't know how you could possibly know more than our national history book. Unless you were there a hundred years ago."

Thinking better of it, I sat down. "I'll just write down my best guess."

In band practice, my day didn't get much better.

The music teacher taped his stand and the amateur orchestra commenced playing. I, armed with a Tsungi horn, paused a few moments to draw in a deep breath and suddenly let fly a boisterous blast of something resembling music, maniacally dancing in place as I did so. The rest of the class stopped playing, dumbfounded.

"Ayanna?" the music teacher asked.

I sighed and stopped playing. "I know. I'm a terrible Tsungi hornist."

"No, child. That hullabaloo going on with your feet. Is that a nervous disorder?"

I was lost. "I was just dancing. You do dances here in the homeland, right?"

Jazmyne, sitting beside me, leaned over slightly. "Not really, no."

The teacher walked to the window. "Dancing is not conducive to a proper learning environment. Young people must have rigid discipline and order."

"But what about expressing yourself?"

The music teacher sighed and walked back to his stand.

"I know sometimes we're so moved by our love for our nation, that we can't control our own bodies." Overcome with emotion, he clapped his hand to his face and reconsidered. "If you must, you may march in place quietly next time the urge hits you."

The orchestra recommenced and I marched quietly as directed but malcontent.

Later in the day at lunch, I headed out to the school courtyard. Kids were scattered about the yard, eating their food and chatting in groups.

As I exited the school building and entered the yard, the kids spotted me and begin whispering; clearly, I had caused a sensation.

Nicola suddenly approached me. "Oh, hi, Ayanna. I really liked that crazy dance you were doing."

I laughed. "Thanks, Nicola. I could show it to you again, if you'd like."

I started and yelled as a blast of fire hit me. I looked up and saw Demi - the girl who had yelled at me yesterday - across the yard, who had thrown the blast.

"What'd you say, colony trash? You're gonna show him something?" She hissed as she approached us.

I shrugged. "Just some dance movements."

"Nobody shows my Nicola anything, especially movements."

She lunged at me and I stepped neatly out of the way. For the next several seconds, Demi tried to land a blow on me but I was too quick and agile to be caught. At last, Demi was propelled by her own momentum onto the ground. At this unfavorable juncture, the School Headmaster entered the scene, and naturally assumed that I had been bullying Demi, rather than the other way around.

"Picking fights on your second day? We need to have a conference to discuss your punishment. Bring your parents to my office after school," the headmaster said, disgusted with me.

"Parents? But…"

"Don't be late."

He turned and left, followed by a smirking Demi. I was momentarily crestfallen - but then got an idea.

Kole:

In the Headmaster's office, I tried to keep my face straight as we went into the meeting. To distract myself, I looked around at the obligatory portrait of Mordred on the wall to the Headmaster, sitting directly beneath it.

The School Headmaster's voice snapped me back to attention. "Thank you for coming, Mr. And Mrs…"

Alana, Odette, and I, in that order, were seated facing the Headmaster. I was wearing a fake moustache and beard. Alana's hair was tied up in two buns on either side of head and her waist was padded to mimic pregnancy.

"Fire! Wang Fire. This is my wife, Sapphire," I said in a loud voice.

Alana shook her head slightly before perking up. "Sapphire Fire, nice to meet you."

The School Headmaster looked at us dubiously. "Mr. and Mrs...Fire, your daughter has been enrolled here for two days, and she's already causing problems. She's argued with her history teacher, disrupted music class, and roughed up my star pupil."

"My goodness! That doesn't sound like our Ayanna," Alana gasped.

The Headmaster nodded indulgently. "That's what any mother would say, ma'am. Nonetheless, you're forewarned. If she acts up one more time, I'll have her sent to reform school…" he cut Odette a menacing glance "... by which I mean the coal mines. Are we clear?"

"Don't you worry, Mr. Headmaster. I'll straighten this girl out somethin' fierce." I turned and blustered in Odette's face. "Little girl, as soon as we get home, you're gonna get the punishment of a lifetime!"

The Headmaster smiled slightly with an air of subdued sadism. "That's what I like to hear."

We rose and left with me swaggering proudly...the role of overbearing father figure seemed to suit me.

Ren:

Naveen and I were enjoying a sunset picnic and a chance to canoodle in private on a sheltered little plateau on the rim of the royal volcano.

"Orange is such an awful color," Naveen sighed, looking at the setting sun.

I faked a snicker. "You're so beautiful when you hate the world."

Naveen looked up at me dreamily and I resisted the urge to pull away. "I don't hate you."

"I don't hate you, too," I said and we kissed. I was getting pretty good at this whole lying thing…imagining I was talking to Odette made things a little easier, but I still wished I could stop thinking about her all together.

"Ahem!" my sister's voice suddenly broke through my concentration and we looked up at her in irritation. "Ren, could I have a word with you?"

"Can't you see we're busy?" I snapped and Naveen and I resumed our "business".

But Athera was not one to be put off. "Oh, Naveen... Kenna needs your help untangling her braid."

Naveen smiled complaisantly. "Sounds pretty serious."

She got up and left. After she passed my sister, she shot the princess a quick, poisonous glance behind her back.

Even though Naveen provided a fairly decent distraction for me, I was grateful to Athera for getting rid of her…she seriously creeped me out sometimes.

"So...I hear you've been to visit your Uncle Fatso in the prison tower," Athera said casually.

"That guard told you," I snapped, incensed as I jumped to my feet.

Athera grinned smugly. "No, you did. Just now."

Oh I hate you sometimes…

I sat back down. "Okay, you caught me. What is it that you want, Athera?"

"Actually, nothing. Believe it or not, I'm looking out for you. If people find out you've been to see Uncle, they'll think you're plotting with him. Just be careful, dum-dum," she said solicitously.

As she walked off, I looked up at her suspiciously.

Kole:

Odette stared in amusement at my face, still bearded, as I bent over Odette and ranted at her.

"That settles it. No more school for you little girl!" I snapped.

I straightened up and stroked my beard imperiously.

Odette laughed at my over-the-top act. "I'm not ready to leave. I'm having fun for once, just being a normal kid. You don't know what it's like, Kole. You get to be normal all the time."

Elise snorted mockingly. "Ha, ha."

I scowled.

"Listen, guys, those kids at school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we wanna change this place for the better, we need to show them a little taste of freedom," she explained.

"What could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire monsters?" I questioned.

"I'm gonna throw them…" she did a quick tap dance flourish "...a secret dance party!"

Elise, Alana, and I all stared at her, stunned. I was the first to recover.

I pointed to the back of the cave with a flat look. "Go to your room!"

Odette:

Later that same night, Elise earthbended a bandstand from the cave floor.

Alana was arranging candles. "I can't believe we're having a dance party. It seems so... Silly."

I smiled at her. "Don't think of it as a dance party, but as a cultural event celebrating the art of fancy footwork."

I demonstrated my "fancy footwork" as Kole bended beverage into an earthbended punchbowl. We had just finished setting up when Elise suddenly felt the vibrations of our guest's feet.

"They're coming! Everyone stop bending!" she whisper yelled.

I approached Fanindra.

"Sorry, buddy. You should probably wait out back." Fanindra grumbled and shuffled into a tunnel at the back of the cave and I patted her side. "I know, you've got fancier feet than anybody...and six of 'em!"

As the guests started to file in, I got a few Fire Nation kids playing various musical instruments on the bandstand. I leaped in front of the band exultantly and, facing them, spread my arms wide.

"Ladies and gentlemen, The Flamey-os! Yeah, this ought to get everybody moving," I said.

I turned around.

It hadn't.

The Fire Nation kids were standing, huddled together, uncertain.

Jazmyne looked at me. "Now what do we do?"

I smiled. "This is when you start dancing."

A Fire Nation boy spoke up as his head disappeared into his collar like a turtle's into its shell. "I don't think my parents want me dancing in a cave."

"Yeah, what if someone finds out?" another boy said as he looked around anxiously and scuttled off.

"Oh, boy. Listen, guys...dancing isn't something you think about. It's a form of self-expression that no one can ever take away from you," I said.

Jazmyne frowned. "Maybe it was different in the colonies, Ayanna. But we don't do that here."

I shrugged. "Sure you do. You have for generations. It just so happens that I know several classic fire nation dances. A hundred years ago, this was known as 'The Phoenix Flight.'"

I ran in a circle, squatting and kicking my legs in the fashion of the old folk dance, my arms stretched straight out behind me in imitation of wings. The students oohed and aahed.

"And this was the "Camelephant Strut"."

I hopped on one foot, alternating feet with each hop, passing my palms in front of my face as I did so. I turned a somersault through the air and landed in front of two guys, who smirked, embarrassed. I somersaulted backwards and landed expertly on one foot, bowing. The students were amazed. Elise and Kole were watching, sitting to the side, drinking beverage.

"Who knew Twinkletoes could dance?" Elise asked and Kole smiled.

Ren:

Okay, enough playing around. I needed to talk to my Uncle desperately.

He was the only one who would know how to help me. Being back in the Fire Nation was exactly what I had wanted for so long, but I found that I couldn't enjoy it. I carried a huge burden of guilt and remorse that went with me no matter how hard I tried to shake it off.

In the interior of Uncle's cell, I kneeled and passed a packet of food through the bars.

"I brought you some komodo-chicken. I know you don't care for it, but I figure it beats prison food," I said, trying to ease my way back into his acceptance…I hadn't done a very good job of it last time. Uncle, sitting down, was silent, his back to me again.

"I admit it. I have everything I always wanted, but it's not at all how I thought it would be. The truth is, I need your advice." I clenched the bars. "I think the Avatar is still alive. I know she's out there. I'm losing my mind."

I clutched my head desperately. "Please, Uncle, I'm so confused! I need your help."

Uncle remained motionless…he wasn't going to help no matter how much I begged.

Hurt and enraged I stood, feeling like an idiot for even trying. "Forget it! I'll solve this myself! Waste away in here for all I care!"

I walked to the door and opened it, turning back for just a moment, and then quickly slammed the door.

Kole:

I watched as Odette somersaulted through the air and landed in front of a boy who was looking away bashfully. A friend nudged him and he looked up at Odette, who extended her hand to him. He blushed as she led him out to the dance floor.

"And this is how they do it in the ballrooms of Eralith," she said.

She passed her arms in an undulating motion across her chest, stepping from side to side as she did so. The boy - who she called Nicola imitated her.

Alana nodded in approval. "Wow, they look pretty good together."

Dismissively, I looked away. "Eh, if that's what you like."

I stole a jealous glance at the couple.

More of the kids joined Odette and Nicola. The crowd was loosening up.

"Yeah, that's it. That's the sound of happy feet. All right, go with that. Everybody freestyle!" Odette announced.

One Fire Nation boy was doing an elaborate "freestyle" dance, reminiscent of juba dancing. The remaining people in crowd were slowly beginning to get their groove on. I sat alone at a table with my head in my hand. I looked up when I heard the sound of feet approaching. Odette was standing in front of me, hand outstretched.

"I don't know, Odette. These shoes aren't really right for dancing, and I'm not sure that I know how to…"

Odette smiled masterfully. "Take my hand."

I sighed. "Okay."

She led me out to the center of the floor and whispered the steps in my ear. I nodded and we stretched out our arms and touched wrists, circling around the axis thus formed.

"Odette, everyone's watching," I said, feeling uncomfortable.

"Don't worry about them. It's just you and me right now," she said calmly.

I looked into her warm grey eyes, blushing, and then confident. We began an elaborate dance that seemed to be based off capoeira, cartwheeling through the air, crouching, and kicking over one another's heads. The crowd stopped dancing and watched us, entranced.

After our dance was finished, the party went into full swing.

"This is incredible. It's like my inhibitions just disappeared," a boy said, dancing. Just then, the Headmaster and his entourage entered the cave, and the dancing grinded to a halt. The boy's head shrank back into his collar. "Okay. They're...back again."

Odette, oblivious, danced across the floor.

"She's the one we want," the Headmaster yelled and Odette looked up, alarmed. "The girl with the headband!"

He pointed and the truant officers made a beeline for Odette.

"Uh-oh," she said and dashed into the crowd, an officer following close behind. The crowd parted in front of the officer to reveal a lone figure with her back turned, wearing a headband.

"Got ya!"

He grabbed the figure by the shoulder and turned her around. It was Jazmyne, who had tied her belt around her head in imitation of Odette.

Jazmyne smiled. "Looking for me?"

"That's not the one! She's here somewhere. Don't let her leave the cave!" the Headmaster snapped.

The officers darted through the crowd, the Headmaster joining them. Headbands were multiplying everywhere. One by one the officers snagged them, only to discover one wide-eyed innocent face after another.

"Yes?"

"Hi there."

"How we doing?"

"Looking for someone?"

The officers, disoriented, backed into a small knot in the middle of the cave as the students encircled them. By now the entire student body had morphed into replicas of Odette.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Do you need something?"

"Over here."

At the back of the cave, our gang was escaping down the tunnel Fanindra disappeared into earlier. Odette, last out, stopped and turned back for a moment. Jazmyne, at the edge of the crowd, turned and winked at her. Odette blows - Fire Nation style - and ran down the tunnel. Two walls of rock abruptly slammed across the tunnel's entrance, sealing it off.

Odette:

Safely ensconced in Fanindra's saddle, we flew away through the night sky.

Kole looked at his sister and shook his head. "We're safe, Alana. You can take off the moustache, now."

Alana had stolen Kole's fake mustache and was now wearing it proudly. She grinned smugly. "Oh, no, I can't. It's permanently glued to my skin."

She stroked it, unaccountably pleased with herself.

Elise looked over and smiled at me. "Way to go, Dancypants. I think you really did help those kids. You taught them to be free."

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was just a dance party, that's all."

Kole smiled. "Well, that was some dance party, Odette."

He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, making me blush.

Alana, sitting cross-legged near the pommel, rocked lazily back and forth and clapped her hands slowly like a tranced-out beatnik. "Flamey-o, sir. Flame-ee-o."

Ren:

There was only one way to fix my problems now.

Odette had to die.

The thought saddened me but it had to be done. I had to get on with my life and there was just no room for her in it. Besides, the only reason I was thinking about her so much was because she was still alive. It was just my fear and my guilt nagging at me - that was why I saw her stupid face every time I was with Naveen, there was no other explanation. The feelings that I had for her were false…just products of the influence my Uncle had over my mind.

Well, hopefully after tonight, I would soon be rid of the annoying little peasant.

I walked though a seedy industrial quarter somewhere in the Fire Nation, my hood pulled up over my head. Smokestacks clouded the night sky, casting darkness everywhere. In a small yard bisected by railroad tracks, I walked into the middle of the yard and removed my hood.

A clanking noise was heard and I turned as two large boots, one of them metal, stamped into view. The one good thing that had come out of me regaining my status as the Prince was that I had the power to pull any kind of string I wanted…from anyone.

"You're sure you weren't followed?" I asked, speaking to the ominous looking figure twice my height. "I've heard about you. They say you're good at what you do. And even better at keeping secrets. The Avatar's alive. I want you to find her. And end her."

My newly hired assassin stared back, as expressionless as the inverted eye tattoo on his forehead.