I don't like this chapter but to answer a few questions...Yes, I'm going to update the prequel, Yes I will go into detail about the war, or pieces of it at least, Yes, Ediera is still there, and still a major part of this story.

(blink) Mad Cow Disease?

Chapter 5: Looks are Deceiving

He fell like a rock, first hitting the side of the house and then landing in stacks of pottery harshly. Groaning, he struggled to stand.

Maida landed by him on her feet and tucked her sword beneath his chin.

"I could kill you here and no one would ever care."

He looked at her through the eyes of his mask.

"Go ahead, put me out of my misery. But someone will care. Many people will care, and the Punir will be wiped from the face of the earth, taking you down with them."

She pressed the sword to his neck, drawing just a drop of blood. Her eyes fell on the mask.

"You know, I prefer to see my victim's eyes. Let's see who's beneath the mask."

He made no move to stop her, and she reached for the edge of the mask.

With one harsh movement, she broke the band holding it in place but barely got a glimpse of skin before the man had spun on his palms and knocked the feet from beneath her. She fell flat on her back and briefly listened to his retreating footsteps before she was running after him.

Every step sent flames through his leg, and he was sure his ankle was sprained. It had never fully healed. But he kept running, he couldn't be caught, he couldn't stop. He could hear the girl behind him, and put on an extra burst of speed. Running on pure adrenaline, it was all he could do to keep going. Blood poured from the wound on his chest and the nick on his neck. Bruises and cuts were scattered about from his fall.

"Ediera help me!" burst from his screaming lungs.

Maida skipped a stride and nearly lost her balance. Who was Ediera? A goddess? Why was he calling to her? Another question to ask before she killed him.

"I'm here Zuko, I'm here. Help is coming. Can't you feel it?"

Zuko laughed, wondering why he hadn't felt it before. They ran into a clearing, and a small rising caused him to trip. When he fell, he didn't rise.

Maida froze when she saw him go down. When she went to him, he was unconscious, only the right side of his face visible. She reached a hand beneath his chin to turn his head and see his face, but a roar from above caught her.

A dragon was screaming down from the skies. Maida yelled and turned from the man, running away from the area until she tripped and fell and then she looked back.

The dragon had landed right next to the man, and enclosed the fire-bender in his front claws. With one great sweep of its huge wings, it was flying off into the night.

Maida watched until the dragon disappeared into the night and then shakily got to her feet. Her adrenaline was gone, and she was exhausted. Barely able to put one foot in front of the other, she trekked onwards back to the village.

While she'd been chasing the culprit, they'd managed to put out most of the flames without a great deal of damage. The first person she recognized in the soot and ash covered crowd was Ajayi. He was looking at a collection of flames, still burning.

"Maida, do you know who did this? Did you see his face?"

She shook her head, her heart still pounding as she wiped off her blades and sheathed them.

"That's all right. I'm quite sure whose flames these are, but if only…"

A child ran up to them, carrying a pair of Dao broadswords, and the look on the boy's face said they were heavy.

"Sir, we found these by our house." Ajayi looked at the boy and when he spoke his voice was gruff.

"I would know those swords anywhere. Those belong to the Blue Spirit, or in other words," He looked at Maida. "Fire Lord Zuko."

Her mouth fell open in surprise as she picked up one of the Fire Lord's swords and nearly dropped it. It was at least twice as heavy as hers. "You meant to say that I fought the Fire Lord tonight?"

Ajayi hissed in anger. "I believe so child. What's more important is that he knows where our headquarters are. This could be disastrous."

Maida sighed, outwardly calm as she headed back towards where she'd last seen the Fire Lord. How could she have let him get away? The village was nearly destroyed, and she couldn't even capture the one who had done it. In the clearing, she fell to her knees, struggling to understand.

She didn't blink until she felt Ajayi kneel beside her.

"I could've killed him tonight, and I could've killed him yesterday. Two days ago, I couldn't care less about the Fire Lord, but now it seems he'd become an integral part of my life. He destroyed most of the village, and I was powerless to stop him."

Ajayi touched her shoulder comfortingly. "It would not have fit our plans well to go ahead and deal with the Fire Lord, so the balance has not been upset, dear child."

She allowed him to pull her into a warm embrace, and she slowly raised a hand to clutch his shirt. "But I feel so useless."

"You will never be useless. Even once you think your destiny has been fulfilled, you will find something else to live for."

She pulled away gently, looking up but was still unable to discern his face in the folds of the hood.

"Why did you leave the Fire Nation, Ajayi?"

He hissed lightly, and she could feel his anger in his spiked body heat.

"Because of what Fire Lord Zuko did to me. Do not concern yourself with it."

She let him pull her head against his chest and sighed, relaxing in his fatherly embrace. Her doubts of earlier had been quelled, for here she could be content. Maida found herself drifting to sleep in Ajayi's arms, but she didn't fight it. She was so tired…

The dragon flew over the earth, and Fire Lord Zuko woke and climbed to his place on the dragon's back.

(Stupid boy.)

What? If you had been there yesterday you would have understood.

(I understand much, but not why you would go on a suicide mission. You are lucky I was there.)

(That I'll admit Hessair. That I'll admit.)

Bonds joined once more, they flew over the Fire Nation to Sozun, and then to the palace. Once there, Zuko fixed climbed the many stairs to his bedroom while Hessair headed out to the stables where Akierin had bedded down.

Zuko fixed himself a hot bath and happily sank into the steaming waters. Dunking his head below the surface, he thought of the night's events.

The girl, she was so familiar. Agni above, if only I knew who she was. An excellent fighter, that is for sure. I wonder…

His thought was broken as he came up for air. Shaking his wet hair from his face, he took the soap and scrubbed the thin layer of sweat and dirt from his skin. It was now that he first got a good look at the scratch across his chest, and he sighed, running a finger along its length.

No way am I hiding that from Katara.

The cut was jagged but shallow, and only stung for a moment as he cleaned it. The rest of his body was in pretty good shape, if tired. The only other wound that might need tending was the cut on his temple where his head struck a small rock when he fell.

Stepping out of the water, he used his bending to dry off and dressed silently. Creeping back into his room, he crawled into bed next to Katara, who murmured in her sleep and cuddled up close to him. He was asleep in…

The next day, Maida found herself waking up in a strange room. It wasn't her attic bedroom, and she was resting on a real mattress with clean white sheets. She blinked in the sunlight streaming in through the open window and sat up. Though she was still in her things from the battle, her swords were by the bed and there were clean clothes and fresh water by the foot of the bed. Her room was separated from the rest of the house by a floor length cloth.

Quickly, Maida scrubbed herself clean and donned the clean white shirt, leggings, and split skirt laid out for her. She padded barefoot and silent down the hall.

"Ajayi?" She called tentatively.

"In here, Maida."

She followed his voice until she reached an mainly empty room. Ajayi was sitting in the center, a pot of stew in front of him. He handed her a bowl when she sat down in front of him and waved a hand towards the pot.

"Please eat." She complied.

"Where am I?" She inquired between bites.

"At my home, dear child, far away from any of the worries you suffer daily from. And today, you need not worry about any of them. If you'd like, today I will help you with your fire-bending."

And that was what they did for most of the day, until they were both heated and exhausted. But Maida had improved significantly.

The lake rolled smoothly next to them as Ajayi sat and watched her go through the movements and guided her with words alone. Suddenly, Maida turned and dove into the water. When she came up for air, Ajayi was yelling at her.

"What do you think you are doing girl?"

"I was hot! And now I'm swimming. Don't I deserve a break?"

Ajayi shrugged and then sat down where he could watch her.

Maida swam through the cool water happily, her strong strokes pulling her along, when suddenly the world turned blue.

Maida spun around, but was unable to fathom what was going on. A voice caught her and made her spin around. A young girl, maybe 9 or 10 years old and dressed in Fire Nation clothing, was standing above the water and looking at her. The look on her face was one of distress and horror.

"You must get away from him Maida! He is not what you think he is!"

Maida stared at the girl in confusion.

"Maida, what are you doing here? You must leave, go home! Go home Maida!"

The girl was holding out her hand, and Maida reached towards her, unable to stop herself.

"Who are you?"

"Come to me Maida, I will take you home, and there you will be safe, safe from this monster!"

"Who are you?"

Their fingertips touched.

"Come to me Maida! Maida Maida Maida MAIDA!"

"Maida!"

Maida's eyes snapped open and she peered up into the dark hood of Ajayi.

"What...What happened?" Ajayi sighed thankfully at hearing her voice.

"You sank below the water and didn't come up. It was if you just stopped swimming. I dove in after you and pulled you up onto shore. It was as if you had fainted."

Maida sat up, her eyes wide. What had the girl been saying? Who wasn't safe? She shook her head and allowed Ajayi to carry her back to his house, saying she needed rest.

Anybody else wondering a little about Ajayi?