Author's Note: First off, I want to thank all the people who left reviews of encouragement to continue the story. You have no idea how much that means to me. I still have loads of ideas scrambling around in my brain and, so as long as I know there are plenty of people who are enjoying the 'series', I will continue writing it (hint: the list of members who have me on author alert gives me a pretty good idea…and right now there are only 12).

And since I just finished watching all of the 'Escape from the Spirit World' animated comics for the first time, I'm suddenly feeling very validated in the assumptions I've made about the canon series and the direction I've been going with my version of season three. In fact, the last comic, 'Yangchen', presented some interesting revelations that have emboldened me to keep at this if only because now I get the feeling that I am actually on the right track (which is rather freaky, but…in a good way) even if I get the details and circumstances wrong.

In light of this, I've updated my bio with some thoughts and information for my speculative fiction that hopefully will answer some of the questions that have been posed regarding potential relationships. So if you've been wondering about that, please be sure to check it out.

Ok, I've jabbered enough! 'Commercial break' is over…and now back to the 'show'!


Aang walked cautiously alongside the knowledge seeker, warily looking around the library. When he was there before, he hadn't left on the best of terms, and the thought of Wan Shi Tong showing up now was not a pleasant one. Still, he knew that if there was one place where he might find some clues as to how he could restore the link to the Avatar State, it was here.

So engrossed was he in keeping an eye out for the Knowledge Spirit, that he almost tripped when the fox stopped at his feet.

"Whoops!" he blurted out, and then cringed as his voice echoed through the vaulted corridor. As the sound began to die away with no sign of an angry owl-thing descending on him, he relaxed…

"Hello?"

Aang shrieked at the tentative voice and whirled around to face it. It took almost a full two seconds for him to realize he knew this person.

"Professor Zei!" he gasped in surprise.

"Avatar Aang!" called Zei merrily, "Well, I must say this is quite unexpected!"

"No kidding," Aang agreed. "But I'm really glad to see you're okay."

"Oh, I've never been better!" he said enthusiastically. "This place is absolutely amazing! I can't thank you enough for brining me here; you wouldn't believe the things I've learned! And now that I'm in the Spirit World, I have all eternity to study," and he finished his statement with a contented sigh.

"Um, you're welcome…I guess," replied Aang with an embarrassed shrug.

"But what are you doing here?" asked the Professor companionably as they started walking down the hall. Then he dropped his voice a bit, "Not still looking for information on the Fire Nation are you?"

"Oh no!" answered Aang quickly, "I'm here for something else entirely." Then he brightened as an idea dawned on him. "Maybe you can help me! Do you know if there are any books about the spiritual link between all the Avatars?"

"Hmm," Zei pondered, "I can't say I've come across any yet, but…why would you need one? You're the Avatar after all; can't you just…speak to the other Avatars here in the Spirit World?"

"Weeell, that's sort of a problem right now," Aang admitted with embarrassment. "You see, I kind of got…severed from the Avatar Cycle. That's why I'm here, to try and find a way to reestablish the connection. But I don't know how to find them so I can do that."

"Oh," said Zei with concern, "That is a problem. I'm sorry, but I don't think there is anything I can do to help. Perhaps Wan Shi-"

"NO!" cried Aang, then quickly continued as nonchalantly as possible, "I mean, no, that's okay. I'd just as soon not bother him right now. He's probably really busy and all."

"Hrm, then maybe we can find another Spirit to help," Zei contemplated. "Follow me."

The professor led Aang down a series of book-lined aisles before coming to a small, cozy study. As they entered, he began to explain.

"I've been doing some research on the different spirits here," he remarked casually, "in order to get a better idea of what to find in my new...home." He started digging through a pile of books on the desk as he continued, "And I've learned of one being that may be able to help….ah! Here it is!"

But before the scholar could even open the massive volume he'd retrieved, a cold voice thundered into the tiny room.

"How dare you return here," it boomed.

Aang's face went white and his body stiffened at the proximity of the presence looming behind him. His voice was tiny and filled with dread as he uttered the only thing that raced through his mind.

"Uh oh…."


The Shadows hovered hungrily over Zuko's prone body, gleefully relishing the pain and anguish they had caused, and savoring their victory. But their triumph was short-lived as a far more powerful spirit entered the grove. The wraiths cringed against the onslaught of brilliance that emanated from it, before shrieking in terror as they fled the scene.

Delicate cloven hooves stepped lightly toward the fallen prince, the flickering flames that ringed them leaving not so much as a withering on the faded grass. Zuko stirred with a groan as warmth and life returned to his limbs, and slowly, painfully, he pushed himself up to a kneeling position and looked at his rescuer. His good eye flew wide as he gasped, frozen in awe at the creature that stood before him.

It had a body not unlike an antelope, its long neck arching elegantly over its shoulders before curving forward again. Ethereal flames danced along its flanks and feet, while glistening multi-hued scales ran the length and breadth of its back. Wide nostrils flared on either side of a long snout, and a shining horn swept gracefully out from the center of its forehead above a pair of bottomless, intelligent eyes.

Zuko was completely immobilized by the power of that unfathomable gaze, and his vision swirled in darkness of those orbs even as the bright horn whispered against his brow. An unearthly radiance filled his mind, and he suddenly saw himself kneeling in front of the spirit as though he were standing outside of his body.

A blink of white flashed across eyes, and he now saw the same scene played out before him, but with a slightly younger Iroh in place of the banished prince.

With another flicker of light, Zuko saw Iroh's astonished face; the reflection of a bizarre dream growing in the older man's eyes until it became Zuko's vision as well, unfolding through what the young prince intuitively knew was his uncle's memory.

A young air bender surrounded by light hovered in the sky: his eyes and tattoos glowing while a spiraling thread of energy trailed from his floating form. To his right was the indistinct form of a young water tribe woman, eyes closed in a state of rest. Next to her was an equally vague impression of a small girl with milky eyes staring into nothing.

On the Avatar's left was the ambiguous shape of a boy whose face was painted in the tradition of a water tribe warrior. And next to him, there was a young man with a golden flame-shaped pin affixed in a topknot on his head. Only this last figure was clear, and it took Zuko a moment to comprehend that he was looking at himself, yet this apparition of the prince did not bear a scar.

The figures then flew away to some unseen distance far above, leaving in their wake the vast void of a night sky where only the streams of light that flowed from them remained. The threads then seemed to converge at intervals until they formed a single cord before being engulfed in another blinding flash of light.

As darkness descended over Zuko and he regained his own sense of self, he heard voices punctuated by fleeting glimpses of the past all blurring and melding together, only some of which he recognized from his own memories.

"Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. They're just two different parts of the same whole."

"If you open your mind, you will see that all the elements are one. Four parts of the same whole."

"Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole."

"Fire will spread and destroy everything in its path if one does not have the will to control it! That is its destiny!"

"Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?"

"He's the world's only chance. You both found him for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with his."

"I know it's meant to be this way. The world needs you now."

"Sozen's comet will return by the end of the summer. And Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives."

"It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai.…You'll need your friends to help…"

"We all depend on the balance."

With one last explosion of light, the voices and visions faded, and Zuko was once again kneeling on the ground, his head bowed as he struggled to breathe normally and process all he had just seen and heard. At last, he looked up with the intention of asking the creature for some explanation, but it was gone.

All that remained was a whisper in the air, "Your fate is tied to his, Zuko. The Avatar will not succeed without help...and if he fails...all is lost..."


Toph stood outside the doorway of the main temple, feeling deep into the mountain with her feet. One by one, she pinpointed the metal intrusions and thrust them from the rock, sending the climber-tanks sliding back down the sheer cliff walls. It was hard work that required a tremendous amount of focus, and no sooner would she dislodge one, than another seemed to take its place.

"Grr! These things just won't give up!" she snarled to herself, throwing off yet another clamp only to feel two more strike the earth.

A sudden explosion directly below the ledge where she stood sent her rocketing off her feet to land with a thud a few yards away. As she struggled to stand, another blast detonated to her left, spewing rock and debris at her. It took her a moment to realize that several of the tanks had made it to the main plateau and were now firing missiles into the air where she had no way to track their flight.

"This is not good," she groaned.

When a massive and familiar weight settled on the cobblestones nearby, she almost whooped for joy.

"Toph, come on!" shouted Katara from Appa's head. The blind earth bender felt around trying to sense the others but found only Iroh and Sokka staggering inside the temple.

"What about Aang and Zuko?" she cried back.

"We've got them!" called Sokka as he and Iroh stepped into the sunlight, Sokka carrying Aang across one shoulder, and Iroh with his nephew draped over both of his.

As the two men scrambled into the saddle and laid down their burdens, a whistling noise filled the air.

"Toph! Look out!" screamed Sokka before he realized the futility of his warning; there was no way she could see the incoming fireball.

"Are you kidding me?!" Toph yelled in furious panic as she whirled in the direction of his voice.

Her mind raced in fear, knowing she had no defense. The young warrior threw his hands on top of his head with a cry of despair, certain that the girl was about to meet her doom.

A wave of rainwater came hurtling out of a nearby fountain to dissipate the blazing missile a bare instant before it burned Toph to a crisp. Sokka let out a sigh of relief as Katara swirled the remaining water back around her arms, ready to diffuse another missile if need be. With the imminent threat removed, the earth bender wasted no time launching herself up on a wave of stone and on to Appa's back.

By now, Sokka was at the reigns and with a desperate 'yip yip' the group was airborne.