Elements of War

Chapter 02
Power of Love and Hate

Sokka floated atop a giant leaf in a calm lake as he and his younger comrades rested in a peaceful meadow. It was a much needed rest after the fiasco they had undergone just recently. After leaving the North Pole, they had stopped at an Earth Kingdom outpost, and the general there, in a crazed effort to end the war quickly, had tried to find a way to control Aang's Avatar State. To that end, he had attacked his own younger sister, Katara, and the release of the Avatar Spirit's fury had been quite enough to quell the Earth Kingdom soldiers' desire to use it, even if he and his boomerang had had to personally convince General Fong.

Of course, relaxation could only go on so long before it became downright boring. "You guys are gonna be done soon, right?" he asked of the two bathing clothed benders a small distance away. "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we wanna make it to Omashu today."

Katara and Aang stopped their practice and the former turned toward him with eyebrow arched. "What, like you're ready to go, now, naked guy?"

Sokka considered. He was indeed sparsely clad, and that was apparently inappropriate for most public affairs. "I can be ready in two minutes. Seriously." He kicked back again into the leaf. "Whatever."

Aang and Katara went back to training, the young waterbender lightly correcting the boy's form while he did his best to pay attention, though he was a bit embarrassed at the girl's close attention. They put the octopus waterbending form into practice then, with Katara launching icicles as Aang used eight liquid arms to parry. When they finished, Katara put her hands on her hips and acknowledged, "You make a fine octopus, Pupil Aang." Indeed, the airbender was making a fine representation of an octopus with his newfound waterbending skills.

The three travelers found their attentions diverted by singing in the distance. They heard it as faint musical background at first, then the voices and words became comprehensible. "... don't fall in love with a traveling girl," a man's voice sang, "She'll leave you broke and broken hearted..." As the singing troupe came into view, they could see there were five of them. The lead man looked long in the face but quite cheerful. He was wrapped in blossoms and he strummed on a pear-shaped pipa, producing lazy yet entrancing steps . The woman to his left had large hair adorned with a bloom and wore black and pink raiment and was currently blowing shrill, expressive notes through a flute. Beside her, a very large man with a cobalt complexion and black robes with red clouds printed on it played a large zheng, giving a background accompaniment that sounded like the rippling of waves on the ocean. A wide man to the leader's right wore pink and white robes and had a coolie hat and he drummed out the wandering rhythm. To his right was a man with long black hair dressed in dark gray clothes, and he cried in a plaintive xiao tone through his suona trumpet.

A splash was heard by the musical troupe as Sokka fell from his leaf boat an into the lake on their arrival. The lead man pointed and exclaimed, "Hey-hey! River people!"

"We're not river people," Katara denied.

The man looked confused. "You're not? Well then what kind of people are ya?"

Aang returned his answer hesitantly. "Just... people."

The man laughed. "Aren't we all, brother!"

Sokka, still clad only in his underwear, pointed suspiciously at the other group. "Who are you?" he questioned.

"I'm Chong," the man replied. He gestured toward the woman. "And this is my wife, Lily. We're nomads, happy to go wherever the wind takes us!" He riffed a series of random notes on his pipa.

"You guys are nomads!" Aang burst. "That's great! I'm a nomad."

"Hey, me too," Chong said in amazement.

"I know... you just said that," Aang replied, confused.

"Oh," the nomad replied, his eyes seeming to unfocused. Then, randomly, he pointed out to Sokka, "Nice underwear."

The young Water Tribe warrior again assessed his state of dress—or, rather, undress—and took decisive and completely appropriate action. He grabbed Momo, placed him over his sensitive area, and booked to find an appropriate dressing area.

Aang and Katara settled near Appa with the troupe and they began to exchange stories of their travels. When Sokka returned to find Appa with braided hair (much to his chagrin—Appa was a man-bison!), Aang bid him, "Hey, Sokka, you should hear some of these stories. These guys have been everywhere."

Chong paused on his pipa, clarifying, "Well, not everywhere, Little Arrowhead. But where we haven't been we've heard about through stories and songs."

Sokka was visibly skeptical, but Aang continued, saying "They said they'll take us to see a giant night crawler."

The hefty nomad, who had been introduced as Moku, continued in a longing voice, "On the way there's a waterfall that creates a never-ending rainbow."

Sokka refused to be moved. "Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here but," he looked firmly at his sister, whose hair was being ornately braided by Lily, "Since Katara is busy I guess it's up to me. No sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows."

Chong interjected with a half amused and half bewildered tone, "Whoa… sounds like someone's got a case of 'destination fever,' heh. You're worried too much about where you're going."

Lily nodded supportively. "You've gotta focus less on the 'where' and more on the 'going.'"

Stubbornly, Sokka once more reiterated his point. "O. Ma. Shu."

"Sokka's right," Aang admitted. "We need to find King Bumi so Aang can learn earthbending somewhere safe."

"Well," Chong said thoughtfully. "Sounds like you're headed to Omashu." Sokka smacked his head audibly in frustration. "There's an old story about a secret pass…" he said ominously, "… Right through the mountains."

"Is this real or is this a legend?" Katara asked skeptically, not much more sure than her brother of this traveler's credibility.

"Oh, it's a real legend," the nomad responded, affirming the group's assessment of this guy's mental status. "And it's as old as earthbending itself." He strummed on his pipa and began to sing. "Two lovers, forbidden from one another… a war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart. Built a path to be together." He stopped singing and said, "Yeah, and I forget the next couple of lines, but then it goes… 'Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountain! Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!'"

"I think we'll just stick with flying," Sokka said after the troupe had finished their enthusiastic chorus. "We've dealt with the Fire Nation before. We'll be fine."

Yeah. Thanks for the help," Aang said, "But Appa hates going underground and we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable." The bison growled his agreement. However, minutes later, the bison and his passengers suddenly found themselves more agreeable to the idea once they found themselves amidst a horde of Fire Nation soldiers with flaming catapults trained directly on them. They flew swiftly back to where they'd left the nomads and all agreed with Sokka when he said, "Secret love cave. Let's go."

Meanwhile, in another part of the Earth Kingdom, a lone figure trundled through the forest. He rubbed his stubbled scalp, mourning the loss of his queue to that spiky haired boy. But that was of the most minor concern to him now. Zuko's right eye welled up, but he didn't let tears fall for his slain uncle. The vision of the old man's head being liberated from his body replayed itself through his mind over and over. He wouldn't let himself cry until his uncle's murderer was slain. He had already had so much taken from him already. His country, his throne, his father's respect. He would not let this boy get away with taking from him the only person he had had left. Iroh may have been a fat, lazy oaf, but he was his fat, lazy oaf.

The young exile wandered past a small town, stopping only long enough to steal some food and supplies from a distracted merchant. He would survive. He would become strong enough to defeat that man. He would kill him and then he didn't care what happened next.

"How far are we from the tunnel?" Sokka asked elsewhere.
"Actually, it's not just one tunnel," Chong explained. "The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth."

"Labyrinth?" Sokka exclaimed in horror.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out," said Chong.

Sokka was not so convinced, but then Lily piped in, "All you need to do is trust in love. According to the curse." Sokka was now definitely not convinced.

"Curse!"

In no time the group was there, standing before the gigantic cave. "Hey-hey, we're here!" Chong stated. Sokka studied a plaque that sat before the entrance with scrutiny.

"What exactly is this curse?"

" The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the caves," Chong recalled. "Otherwise you'll be trapped in them forever."

"And die," Lily added.

"Oh, yeah, and die. Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song," Chong realized. He strummed a minor chord on his pipa and sang in a deep voice, "And die!"

"That's it!" Sokka growled in aggravation. "There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!"

Moku and the other two members of the troupe turned at that point, having noticed a column of smoke rising from nearby. Moku pointed it out and said cheerfully, "Hey, someone's making a big campfire!"

Katara knew better. "That's no campfire, Moku."

"That's Fire Nation," Sokka agreed. "They're tracking us."

Aang looked at Chong uncertainly. "So all you need is to trust in love to get through these caves?"

"That is correct, Master Arrowhead."

The young monk looked at Katara, her back to him and hair blowing gently in the wind. He felt a pressure deep in his chest and a lightness in feet that had nothing to do with airbending. He turned to Chong with a confident smile. "We can make it."

"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka shouted, and the others followed suit, though Appa was somewhat belligerent about it. Not long afterward, a squad of Fire Nation soldiers and tanks advanced into the area, noting the direction of their quarry. The soldiers moved to follow, but the commander halted them.

"Hold on! It's too dangerous," he said from his tank. "Haven't you heard the song? Just close them in. The mountain will take care of the rest." The troops obeyed as they launched grappling hooks into the mountain, causing a rock slide that sealed the group in the cave, also sealing their fate.

Appa's feelings on the matter were transparent, as he attempted frantically to dig himself out. "It's okay, Appa," Katara soothed. "We'll be fine... I hope."

"We will be fine," Sokka asserted confidently. "All we need is a plan. Chong, how long do those torches last?" he asked, pointing to the torch in the nomad's hand.

"Eh, about two hours each."

"And we have five torches," Lily exclaimed. "So that's…"she struck the torches on the ground, lighting them like matches. "Ten hours."

Sokka grabbed the torches out of Lily's hands and stomped them out, shouting in an exhasperated tone, "It doesn't work like that if they're all lit at the same time!"

"Ohh, right."

"I'm gonna make a map to keep track of exactly where we've been," the Water Tribe warrior decided. "Then we should be able to solve it like a maze and get through."The others conceded to his logic and followed him down the tunnel. The young man meticulously mapped out their route, taking great pains to get the distance scaled down as accurately as he could. They traveled down multiple tunnels and backtracked after quite a few dead ends, until finally Katara spoke up.

"Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've led us to."

"This doesn't make any sense," Sokka replied. "We already came through this way."

"We don't need a map. We just need love," Chong said. He pointed to Aang. "The little guy knows it."

"Yeah," the airbender replied, "But I wouldn't mind a map, also."

"There's something strange here..." Sokka insisted.

"Perhaps," said the nomads' suona trumpet playing member—he'd been introduced as Kurohi, if he remembered right. "The tunnels themselves are changing."

Sokka laughed. "Well, that's just..." he sobered. "Actually, that's just about what I was thinking."

The gray garbed nomad looked thoughtful. "I wonder... what could cause stone walls to move in an underground tunnel?" No answer was forthcoming as the earth began to shake.

"It's the curse!" Chong said, suddenly in an uncharacteristic panic. "Oh, I knew we shouldn't have come down here!"

"Right," Sokka commented with sarcasm. "If only we'd listened to you."

"Everyone be quiet," Katara whispered sharply. "Listen."

The group paused, hearing the strange sounds coming from far down the pitch dark tunnel. Momo leaped from Sokka's shoulder and faded into the darkness, and the wolf-tailed boy stared hard after the lemur. Not long afterward, a new form faded into view, this time a flying creature. With teeth. That was coming right for him! He tumbled backward as the thing flew over him. Gathering himself up again, he saw the creature's wings fold up into its front legs as it landed on the ground. He heard Moku shout that it was a wolf-bat. He'd never seen such a thing before, but he certainly wasn't wanting to stick around to learn more about it. As it leaped into the air once more, Sokka swung at it with his torch. Unfortunately he missed, catching Appa in the foot, instead.

The large flying bison was understandably upset, but even more so when, after knocking the torch out of Sokka's hand, the wolf-bat maliciously decided to attack the bison's burned toes. The bison thrashed about, slamming into the cave walls, causing the tunnel to crumble around them. Aang saw Sokka and the nomads about to be crushed by the falling boulders, so he used airbending to blow them deeper into the tunnel, then he paused for a crucial moment. He had only seen three nomads. Where were the other two.

"Get down, Aang!" he heard a voice say as a powerful pair of arms grappled him and whisked him the opposite way from Sokka and the others. "Wait," he said, realizing something. "Katara!" he stopped as he saw a gigantic sheet of rock descending on him and his would-be rescuer, but suddenly, he saw a torrent of water.

"A-Aang?" the young monk heard Katara say. "Are you alright?"

The boy looked around. Above him was the zheng player, Mizu, looking down on him with his strange, beady eyes. Over him was a dome of ice, which held up the sheet of rock that could have meant certain doom. "Oh... hey, thanks. I didn't know you were a waterbender, though." He looked over to see Katara, who was being let down from the trumpet player's arms.

"Where did all that water come from, though?" she asked.

The fishy nomad patted his gut in a jovial manner. "Right here. I keep my water supply in my own body. Beats a water skin, anyway."

The two kids thought that was a bit disgusting, but couldn't argue with its effectiveness. "Well, it looks like we're separated from the others, so we'll just have to find our own way out." Aang said. "Come with us," he offered the two nomads. The four travelers plus one large bison started down the tunnel with renewed determination.

"So," Kurohi said after a short time. "You're an... airbender, right?"

"Uhh, yeah," Aang said, a bit nervously. "The last one, I think."

Mizu laughed. "You'd be surprised, kid. You're the last air nomad, that's for certain, but there are those, however rare, who have an air affinity in the ninja community."

"Really?" Aang said. "I'd like to meet some."

"You'd be hard pressed," Mizu warned. "Sozin was very thorough. He managed to wipe out most of those with air affinity even among the ninja. There are only a few left, now, mostly in the Village Hidden in Sand."

"How do you know so much about it?" Katara asked, suddenly suspicious. "Are you a ninja?"

"We were, once," Kurohi responded. "We were exiled from our lands, however. We did not agree with the policies of our homelands, so we had to leave."

"Oh," Katara said, a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry. It has to be hard to leave your home."

"You should know," Kurohi offered. "After all, you left your home to go to the North Pole in order to get training for the Avatar."

"How?" Katara started, shocked that the young man had managed to figure out who they were. Her limbs tingled with anticipation of a fight.

"Relax," Kurohi said. "It's simple. Your friend is the last airbender... and the Avatar is an airbender." He shook his head. "We used to be ninja, but that doesn't mean our skills have diminished. A ninja's true purpose is not assassination, but bringing hidden truths to light."

Aang nodded, considering the words. "I knew a couple ninja once. He was from the Fire Nation," the boy said. "And he was from the Uchiha clan, just like you."

Kurohi stopped, his eyes assessing the Avatar with a new appreciation. "You could be a good ninja, as well." His eyes changed from coal black to red, with three black seeds in the iris swirling around the pupil. "You're right, I am of the Uchiha. But I am... only one of three left in this world."

Aang looked somber. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know what it feels like to have all your people taken from you."

The Uchiha's face, passionless until now, twisted slightly with discomfort. "I think that's enough talk for now. We've reached the tomb."

The two benders looked awestruck upon a large round door. "Tomb?"

"That's right," Mizu said. "According to the legend, the two lovers were buried here. This is the entrance to their tomb, which is built at the place where they would meet. This is the center of the maze."

Aang and Katara nodded, and proceeded to open the tomb, though they were met with much difficulty. Appa then joined in, quite desperate to speed along their progress and get himself back in the air where he belonged. The door rolled aside, revealing a beautiful cavern filled with sculptures and plaques. The four people plus one bison walked down the grand staircase to the two sarcophagi at the center of the crypt, where Katara began to read the tale of the two lovers aloud from a dais.

It was a tale of lovers from rival villages, who learned earthbending from the badgermoles, who were the original earthbenders. They built the tunnels to meet, but one day the man died in the war between the villages, and, enraged, the woman used her earthbending to force the fighting to stop. She then built a new city, which was named after her and her lover, Shu. This city was Omashu. After hearing this tale they looked up to an inscription in a plaque between a statue of Oma and Shu kissing. "Love is brightest in the dark," Katara read.

"Hmm," Kurohi muttered. "It sounds like two of us are going to have to kiss each other."

"I'm not kissing you," Mizu said bluntly.

"I'd hope not," the other replied. He looked at the young waterbender. "Katara, I'm afraid, would be a bit too young for either of us, as well."

"Ahh," Mizu said. "I see. The only logical explanation would be..."

Katara looked nervously at Aang. She had been thinking along the same lines, herself, but she could see that the young monk was a bit puzzled. She could not think of anything more embarrassing than this. It's not as if she didn't think Aang was cute and all, but what if he rejected it? What if it changed their friendship? What if he was a really bad kisser? She sighed. "Okay, I'll kiss Aang."

"What?" the airbender asked, shocked.

"Oh," Mizu said. "Well, I would have gladly done it, but..."

"Stop it," Kurohi grumbled. Then he smiled a smile that held genuine warmth and a chill of grief at the same time. "Perhaps it will work. I sense strong bonds between you two. You might be surprised the power such bonds can hold."

- - -

Miles away, there was a ship filled with soldiers, three ninja, a princess, and a traitor. The princess Azula spoke to the traitor. "Zuko can't hide forever, Uncle. We'll find him." She grinned maliciously. "Or he may just come back for you, assuming you haven't disappointed him too much with your weakness."

"No," one of the ninja said, the Uchiha boy. "The prince won't come back for his uncle. He thinks he's dead."

"What have you done, boy?" Iroh asked with a hint of anger.

"Just a simple genjutsu," Sasuke said. "With these sharingan eyes, it's simple. He saw me take off your head instead of merely knocking you out with my hilt. He ran away like a coward." The boy's eyes hardened. "But... he'll be back for me. He has great anger and greater determination. It's interesting... I want to see what he will do..."

Sasuke exhaled, his eyes softened with a reminiscent look. Reflected in them was a familiar determined face, hot with indignation, shouting at Sasuke that he would break his arms and legs. "And, maybe, he will find strength enough to be of use."

"My, my," Azula said with honest appreciation. "You are a devious one, aren't you? I think I'm beginning to like you."

The Uchiha grunted and turned. "It's just a matter of proper motivation."

"You think hate is the most powerful force that drives a man?" Iroh asked, his voice suddenly full of compassion. The Uchiha stopped and looked at the old man, his eyes still cold. "That is an outmoded way of thinking. Hate may provide quick and easy power at first, but in the end it will destroy you."

Sasuke's eyebrows narrowed. "I think hate will last me long enough for my purpose."

Iroh sighed as the Uchiha and his niece exited the room. "Poor boy..." he whispered. "Just as lost as his brother..."

Orochimaru and Kabuto met the two teens in the hallway. "Well," Orochimaru said smoothly. "It seems General Iroh has gotten soft since we last met. I don't think you'll have any problem transporting him home, Princess."

"You don't think I'll have trouble?" the young woman asked. "I'm sorry to say, but I'd make a horrible babysitter."

"We were hired for apprehension of your criminals, not transportation," Orochimaru reasoned. "I can capture the prince far more easily than you, as well. Especially if Iroh has taught him any of the secret shinobi techniques with which you would be unfamiliar."

"Ridiculous!" Azula said. "I will capture my brother myself. This is a family matter in the first place; Father should never have brought you into this!"

Sasuke intervened. "Miss Azula may be right. After all, she knows her brother more intimately than we do. Besides, it would be just as simple to apprehend Zuko with a small, elite task force."

Orochimaru stared down his apprentice with his cold, serpentine eyes. "So... you want an elite task force?"

"It's better this way," Sasuke said. "A small group of elite fighters will be more effective than an army, especially if ninja are involved, as Fire Lord Ozai suspects." He turned to his master. "I have prospects in mind. Do I have your permission to use whatever resources I deem necessary?"

"Of course," Orochimaru said. "My minions should become used to hearing orders from your face."

Azula nodded and said, "I have some people in mind, too."

"However!" Orochimaru interjected. "I have one requirement to my cooperation in this matter."

"What do you want? More gold?" Azula proffered. "Easily done."

"No," he rejected. "Your older brother was chasing a boy who is alleged to be the Avatar. The one human being who can naturally use all forms of elemental manipulation. I want him."

Azula scowled. "I'm afraid we have a conflict of interest, here. My father also wants the Avatar. Alive."

"Oh, I will keep him alive, I assure you," Orochimaru reassured her. "Nor will I allow him any chance to escape once he is in my grasp. I only want to... learn from him." He chuckled. "I still have much to learn."

- - -

"Um, well... you don't have to if you don't want to... I mean... I don't really care."

"Yeah... yeah, who would care about such a silly thing? It's silly. Really silly..."

"Then do it!" Mizu growled at the two youths working up the courage to press flesh. "Really... you'd think the Avatar would be a bit smoother with the ladies."

"Hey," Aang shot back. "I have no trouble with ladies. I had all kinds of ladies following me around on Kyoshi island!"

"You mean, 'little girls'..." Katara added.

"Hmph," Mizu grunted.

Kurohi closed his eyes and smiled knowingly. "Ah. I see."

"You see what?" Mizu asked as the two young benders looked quizzically at the Uchiha.

"Well, it's obvious," the young man said to his friend. "These two... they must have very strong feelings for one another."

"What?" the two shouted.

"Ohhh," Mizu said, a sly grin spreading across his face. "So they're lovebirds..."

"That's ridiculous!" Aang protested.

"Yeah, tha—wait, it's not that ridiculous," Katara cut in.

"Uh... I didn't mean..." Aang stammered. "That is... we're just friends! So we'd never want to... I mean, obviously we're not..."

"For those truly in love," Kurohi said softly. "A kiss cannot simply be forced by circumstance." He got his trumpet out and blew a plaintive tune. "There has to be a certain... mood."

"I understand," Mizu said, and he strummed on his zheng. He then began to sing, "In the dark of the cave, love will light the way / You can't lose the love that's in your heart!"

Aang and Katara looked at the two travelers like they had gone mad. The instrumentals weren't exactly bad, though a bit repetitive, but Mizu's singing was just awful. "Okay, Aang, let's do it."

"Wha?" the monk asked, bewildered. "You mean... you think this is romantic?"

"No, it's horrible," she stated bluntly. "Let's kiss so they stop."

"Right..." Aang said. She took him by the shoulder as their torch began to sputter. It was down to its last moments. They leaned in, faces flushed.

- - -

"If the next person to walk through that door is a girl, I'll kill her!" a lone voice in a prison cell said. "If the next person to walk through that door is a girl... I'll definitely kill her!" Suddenly, the chained beast heard a clack as the door sprang open. On a whim, he suddenly said, "Wait! If the next person to walk through the door is a guy, then I'll kill him!" He turned his feral eyes toward the silhouette that now appeared in the doorway. As it stepped through, the beast saw its features clearly.

He faltered. "Not a guy," he said, noting the full, red lips and wide hips of his visitor.

"So sorry to disappoint you... what was his name again?" the girl asked another figure. The beast moved to the side, trying to see at whom she was looking.

"Juugo," a voice said. "He is a talented man, though unstable due to a certain illness..." This voice... it was attached to a man. He saw him. A shock of black hair and a white robe.

"You!" he growled. "I'll kill you!" He leaped past the girl and his claws raked the air as he went on the attack, murder in his eyes. His fist collided with flesh, pushing it into the wall, cracking it. He could see guards readying themselves to take him down, but he knew they wouldn't stop him before he had had his fill of bloodletting.

Just then, he found himself being pushed back by a strong spiritual power. This power was backed by a large hand that had sprouted from the other guy's back. "Not another copy of me!" he growled, slapping the monstrous hand away. "But this one's pretty tough, he can even do partial transformations. He must have good control over the curse seal."

"I didn't come here to fight," Sasuke said, the black of the curse seal enveloping his left half, turning his cornea black. "I need to discuss something with you Juugo, that's all."

Juugo considered the copy. "He's strong. The strongest since that other copy, Kimimaro!" He made a move to attack, once more, but this time the girl got in his way, shooting a jet of flame between them.

"I'm insulted!" Azula said coyly. "You give all this attention to Sasuke and don't even give me a second glance!" She dodged an angry blow from the ill man and planted an explosive kick to his gut, sending him skidding back. Juugo wobbled, clutching his stomach in pain. He was surprised. Few were able to effect him in such a way while he was in this stage of his disease. However, it was not enough to stop him.

"Stop, Azula," Sasuke ordered. "We didn't come to fight." He had to motion to the guards to stay back as well, because he knew that if they got involved, it would just result in unnecessary bloodshed.

The princess found herself rather put off by the authority in his voice. She definitely wasn't used to people telling her what to do like they were entitled. She disregarded him and moved to attack the murderous man. She would put fear of her in his heart and then he would obey.

The young princess and the raving man both found themselves in the clutches of large snakes that issued from the ninja's sleeves. Sasuke looked at both of them, cold murder in his own eyes, shocking the both of them. "How about I kill the both of you?" he asked.

The blotches on Juugo's face began to recede as the snakes slithered back into Sasuke's sleeves. He looked around himself in confusion. He saw the guards circled around and the cracked wall. He saw himself out of his cell. He screamed. He dashed back to his cell and shut the door behind him. "Lock the door!" he demanded.

"Juugo," Sasuke said. "I came here to free you. Come with me."

"What is he so afraid of?" Azula muttered.

"I don't want to kill people anymore!" Juugo shouted, almost as if answering the question, though he was at the time too panicked to truly listen. "Just leave me alone! Please!"

The Fire Princess understood. "So... he has some kind of multiple personality?" Sasuke nodded.

"I could start killing again at any time," Juugo went on. "Please lock me back in."

"With someone like that..." Azula reasoned, "It could be a huge risk, don't you think?" She looked at the closed door. "That monster might just lose control and kill us... or at least get in our way."

"No," Sasuke said. He walked closer to the door and spoke to Juugo. "Orochimaru has given me authority to complete a very difficult mission. I need your special talents. I will act as your prison in place of concrete walls and metal doors."

"What do you think you could do?" Juugo protested. "The only one who could calm my impulses was Kimimaro. I can't be allowed to leave if he's not there." Sasuke remembered Kimimaro. He was of the Kaguya clan, and Orochimaru's favorite subject. He was the most loyal of them all and had willingly offered his body to Orochimaru, both for experimentation and to become Orochimaru's new body once his current one decayed. However, he became ill, and thus useless for Orochimaru's purposes, so he sacrificed his life to bring Sasuke safely to him, so that he might be his new body.

"Juugo," Sasuke said. "Kimimaro is dead. He died for my sake."

"He... died for you?" Juugo asked, stunned. "That means... you're... Uchiha... Sasuke?"

"Yes," the Uchiha responded. Juugo remembered Kimimaro speaking of this young man right before he went to die. Juugo had wondered how anyone could be so special that Kimimaro would die for his sake. The Kaguya had told him that this Uchiha was the only other suitable vessel, and that bringing him would be like a rebirth. He understood, now. He opened the door and came to Sasuke, now resolved that this Uchiha was indeed a man who could take Kimimaro's stead.

- - -

Aang, Katara, Appa, Kurohi, and Mizu all emerged from the cave. They breathed deeply the fresh air and rejoiced at seeing the sun after so many hours. Aang and Katara looked at each other and blushed, embarrassed at what had happened in the tomb.

"I... guess it was lucky our torch went out," Katara said. "I guess those crystals only glow when they're in total darkness."

"Or maybe it was the power of love that did it," Mizu said with a grin. The two young people turned a deeper red.

"Umm," Aang said after a moment. "So what about Sokka and the others?"

Suddenly, rock shrapnel was everywhere as two large forms burst out of the mountainside. The four travelers readied themselves for a fight, but relaxed when they saw familiar faces atop the badger-moles' backs.

"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asked as he slid down the beast.

"Just like the legend said," Aang responded coyly. "We let love lead the way." Katara's cheeks went rosy again as he said that.

"Really?" Sokka said. "We let huge ferocious beasts lead our way. Apparently, they're big music fans." He turned and waved goodbye to the badger-moles as they receded back into the mountain, closing up the new entryways behind them.

Katara hugged her older brother, glad that he had emerged unscathed, though she did notice, "Why is your forehead all red?" Sokka started to answer, but then Chong cut in.

"Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you," he said in the most serious tone they had heard from the man. "I think that kid might be the Avatar." Sokka smacked his forehead in utter exasperation, widening the red mark there considerably, and thus answering Katara's question satisfactorily.

"So are you guys coming to Omashu with us?" Aang asked.

"Nope," Moku responded.

"Actually," Kurohi said. "I think Mizu and I would enjoy your company for a little while longer."

"Okay," Aang said, pleased. He thought these two guys were pretty nice, and if they were ex-ninja they might be helpful in his journey.

Sokka came over, adorned now with flowers as Chong, Lily, and Moku all wandered away, singing their songs. "The journey was long and annoying," Sokka said cheerfully. "But now you get to see what it's really about – the destination." He went to the edge of the cliff they found themselves on and said, "I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O... oh, no," he said as he took in the sight before him.

The walls of Omashu were now adorned with a Fire Nation flag. Siege towers surrounded it and fires were smoldering throughout the city. Omashu had been taken.