It was a wild night since the feast. Zuko and Sokka were now sleeping in a bed that the natives made for them. While they were sleeping, the two friends were hugging each other. Suddenly, Ozai appears upside down wearing a skull mask and face paint. The boys wake up to see him.

"AAHHH!!" they screamed as they get up seeing Ozai. They look at each other, realizing they hugged while sleeping. "AAHHH!!" they screamed again at each other as they let go. "AAHHH!!" They turned to Ozai again, screaming.

"Good morning, my lords!" Ozai greeted with a smile before leaving them.

"He's back!" Sokka whispered to Zuko. "And I think he's waring makeup!"

"Oh, no," Zuko groans.

Ozai walks outside to where the natives carried Zuko and Sokka while they were asleep. He comes to Chief Iroh. "And now it's my turn!" he said to him and looks at the people of El Dorado. "The gods have awakened!" he announced. The people began to cheer wildly.

"Whoa!" Zuko cried as he fell off his bed as Sokka gets out. Zuko stands up and noticed that Katara was now throwing flowers in their presence. "Hey, Katara," Zuko whispered to her, "What's going on?"

"It's not gonna be good." Katara answered.

"Thank you," Zuko whispered sarcastically. He and Sokka then turn to watch Ozai's ceremony.

"This city has been granted a great blessing," Ozai continued, "And what have we done to show our gratitude? A meagre celebration. The gods deserve a proper tribute!" At his words, the natives carry a large bag with something inside. They put it in front of the High Priest.

Zuko and Sokka smiled at each other, thinking that inside the bag was something good, like gold.

"The beginning of a new era," Ozai cried, using magic to open the bag, "The dawning of a new age...demands... sacrifice!" The bag disappears, thanks to Ozai's magic, revealing a weakened native named Chit Sang.

The people began to mutter among themselves in shock. Iroh also gave a silent gasp. He never anticipated that Ozai would be so bold…or so cruel.

Sokka and Zuko were shocked at well. Ozai was going to kill Chit Sang in front of them and the people. Ozai then used his powers to force Chit Sang to get up and used his weapon to push him next to a ledge, where in front of him was a giant swirling whirlpool.

"I don't like this," Zuko said.

"Zuko, we've gotto do something," Sokka told him. They may be con-artists, but they weren't monsters either. They weren't going to allow people to killed because of them.

Ozai raised his weapon in the air, about to bring it down on Chit Sang's head. Katara and the kids looked away, unable to watch what was about to happen next. Chit Sang's life was about to end until…

"Stop!" Zuko boomed.

Ozai turns to see the 'gods' walking towards him, arms outstretched.

"Hmm?" Ozai wondered, slightly confused. Iroh looked at the two deities in bewilderment as well.

"This is not a proper tribute!" Zuko announced. Meanwhile, Sokka began to drag Chit Sang safely away from the ledge.

"You do not want the tribute?" Ozai asked.

"No. No, no," Sokka lied, not wanting to get caught. "We want tribute. Lot's of tribute! It's just that, uh-Zuko, tell him."

Zuko just glared at his friend for a second before coming up with an excuse.

"The stars are not in position for this tribute!" Zuko told the High Priest.

"Yeah, like he says," Sokka agreed, taking Chit Sang out of reach of the whirlpool, "Stars-Can't do it. Not today."

Ozai looks at Zuko, who appeared to be very serious.

"Ah. Perhaps it is possible I misread...the heavens," Ozai answered humbly.

"Don't worry about it, big guy! No harm done. To err is human, to forgive-" Sokka was saying.

"My lords," Iroh announced, "May the people of El Dorado offer you ourtribute." At his words, the female natives appear, each holding a bowl of pure gold items. Zuko and Sokka's eyes widened and then they began to smile widely. Zuko smiled cause of all the gold the girls had, while Sokka smiled because of the girls. "My lords, does this please you?" Iroh asked.

"Yes, very nice," Sokka said.

"Certainly acceptable," Zuko said, trying to keep his excitement under control, "Yes, lovely. It'll do."

"The gods have chosen!" Iroh announced, "To Xibalba?"

Zuko and Sokka smirked. "No. No," Katara whispered, trying to warn them.

"To Xibalba!" Zuko and Sokka yelled out.

Katara smacks her head as Toph and Aang moaned. "Oh, great," Katara groaned sarcastically.

"Here we go," Toph also said in sarcasm.

The people chanted as the girls head towards where Zuko and Sokka are. The two con-artists smiled at the amount of gold they were about to receive. Suddenly, one girl threw all the gold up she had into the air and it falls off the ledge, into the whirlpool. Zuko and Sokka were shocked at this and saw more girls walking toward the ledge and throwing the gold into the whirlpool, like the first. The boys' jaws dropped, looking over the ledge, seeing all the precious, precious, gold being thrown away. Katara walks to them, crossing her arms angrily at their mistake.

"Hey, Katara, um, what are they doing?" Sokka asked.

"They're sending it to Xibalba. The spirit world!" Katara explained.

Zuko and Sokka now realized the whirlpool was Xibalba as the girls continue to throw the gold there.

"The spirit world." Zuko repeated, looking as if someone told him his pet Turtle-Duck had just died.

"Keep it together guys," Aang whispered, "Everyone in the city is watching."

"Spirit world…" Zuko repeated automatically, not hearing what Aang had said. Sokka looked like he was about to cry.

"Oh, great!" Toph said, "If these two start with the waterworks, we're deadmeat!"

"Spirit world…"

"I'll take care of it." Katara said to them. Iroh was watching happily until Katara comes to him. "Um, excuse me, Chief," Katara said as Iroh leaned in to hear her, "The gods have changed their minds about Xibalba. They wish to bask in the reverence that has been shown them."

Iroh got the message. "Stop!" he cried to everyone. The girls stop throwing their gold, looking back at Iroh. Just then, a plate of gold was rolling toward off the ledge, but Zuko, still looking at the whirlpool, stopped it from falling off with his foot. "They wish to bask!" Iroh announced, "Take the tribute to the gods' temple!"

The girls obeyed him and they take all the gold they had left and walk out, going to place all the gold in Zuko and Sokka's temple.

Katara then walked back to join with Zuko, Sokka and her friends, looking very pleased with herself.

"Nice going," Zuko whispered to Katara.

Then the five of them walk out as Ozai watches them. Iroh turns to Ozai, and then smiles and chuckles before he leaves.

"Smile while you can, you old fool," Ozai said to him coldly.


Meanwhile, Zhao arrives at the beach where El Dorado was only a few days away from. His army and boats where there as well, ready to conquer the 'New World'. Zhao steps on and crushes a skull. He then spots something on the beach; footprints from Zuko, Sokka, and Appa. And an empty steamboat.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Zhao said with an evil smirk.


Back in El Dorado, Zuko and Sokka were being carried in a litter that was lifted by four strong men. They were in the middle of a parade, with the people cheering loudly for them as they went past. Katara, Aang and Toph where riding on Appa next to them.

Inside the litter, Zuko and Sokka were singing happily.

Zuko & Sokka:Ai-ai-ai. Tons of gold for you, hah

And tons of gold for me, hoo

Tons of gold for we, ah

"Not bad for a day's work, huh?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, not bad at all," Sokka agreed.

"We just became richer then the Earth King and the Fire Lord put together!" Zuko said with a laugh, referring to all the gold that they now had.

"You know, speaking of kings," Sokka said, "The chief and high priest seem a bit, uh, tense."

"It's called a power struggle," Zuko explained, "That's normal in politics. Listen, all we have to do...is keep playing the one against the other. You know, do a little god dance, chant some mystic mumbo jumbo, dazzle 'em with some smoke and mirrors and then get the hell back to the Earth Kingdom!"

Sokka smiled until he thinks about something else. "Um, Zuko," Sokka asked, "How are we going get all this back to the Earth Kingdom? Or back to the boat, for that matter?"

Zuko looks at Sokka, knowing he had a good question. They have so much gold, too much for them to carry, even for Appa. And even if the could get the steamboat to work, it would probably sink from the sheer weight. "Ummm…" Zuko was saying.


The boys were in Iroh's throne room as they asked him something. "A boat?" Iroh asked, while drinking some of his favourite tea.

"Yeah," Sokka explained, "Um, we really hate to be ascending so soon, but, uh, some urgent business has come up- family matters-and it's just a bit-"

"Yeah, family." Zuko added

"Badda-bing, budda-boom, you know what I mean."

"Oh, we expected you to be staying with us...for the next... thousand years," Iroh states.

"Well, as we say in the spirit world, there's your plan and then... there's the gods' plan," Zuko said.

"Mm-hmm," Sokka agrees.

"And our plan, uh, calls for a boat," Zuko said, "'cause we're gonna ascend...kind of in a horizontal pattern at first. And then we're gonna go vertical, uh, as we get further out to sea."

"Hmm," Iroh wondered, "To build a boat large and glorious enough... would take... about a week."

"A week?" Sokka asked, "Hmm."

"Um-" Zuko wondered, "I wonder how long it would take Ozai to do it."

"But-But for the gods," Iroh said after hearing them say something about Ozai, "Uh, three days."

"Uh- Well, if that's the best you can do," Sokka said.

"Oh, perhaps if you were not burdened with so much tribute, you could leave sooner," Iroh explained.

"Hmm?" Sokka wondered, nudging Zuko.

"Hmm." Zuko wondered and finally said, "I like it here. Sokka?"

"Yep, yep," Sokka agreed, "Three days is just fine."


Zuko and Sokka were back at the temple with Katara, as Toph and Aang were somewhere else with Appa. Katara was looking for some new earrings to wear. "No," Zuko was saying, "Three days is not fine. This is a real-" He spots two golden earrings for Katara and gives them to her, "Mmm, these-these are the ones-"

"Oh. Thank you," Katara said putting on the golden earrings.

He gave a quick nod before finishing his sentence. "-Problem."

Zuko then turned to Sokka, who was resting on a pile of gold.

"Sokka," he asked his best friend, "how are we gonna keep this up for three days?!"

"Aw, relax old buddy. It's not like we have to break out of a maximum security prison in the middle of a boiling lake or anything. I mean, you worry too much," Sokka said with a casual smile.

"No, I worry exactly the right amount," Zuko explained, "You can never worry too much. We just have to lie low."

Sokka smiles and looks out the great view of the city. "But, Zuko, this place is amazing! I mean, I wonder what's-"

"No!" Zuko interrupts, "Don't even move!"

"Zuko-" Sokka was about to say.

"You're moving!" Zuko protested.

"A little, but, come on."

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stay!"

"I gotta-I-"

"Nyargh! Just... stand there!"

Sokka was now standing in weird position, he froze.

"For three days?" Sokka asked. He suddenly loses his balance and falls down.

"Yes! Exactly," Zuko exclaimed, "For three days. Don't even breathe. All right?"

Sokka got up and dusted himself off. "Alright, we lie low."

"Ah! Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, promise." Sokka said with a sigh.

"Great! Good. Okay," Zuko said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to gloat over my gold." Zuko walks away. A few seconds later he starts kissing his gold. "Oh, yum, yum, yum."

Katara turns to see Sokka enjoying the view of the city. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked him.

"Yeah!" Sokka answered.

"You know, you really shouldn't miss it," Katara suggested.

"I know," Sokka said turning to Katara, "But I-I couldn't."

"Go ahead," She said, "I'll cover for you."

"Oh, good. Thanks," Sokka thanked, "So, what happened to Appa and the kids?"

"I don't know," Katara answered.

Sokka looks to see the close is clear and he leaves the temple quickly. Katara sits down on a bench as she sees Zuko singing and holding a pot of gold. "So sign on two gods for paradise,"he sang but stops realizing something, "Hey, what happened to Sokka?"

"I don't know," Katara answered, pretending she didn't notice.

"Oh, my various gods!" Zuko cried dropping and breaking the golden pot, "He's gone! Sokka's gone! He's loose! What am I gonna do? Oh, no, no, no!" Zuko sobbed and sits down on the bench.

Katara gets up and comes behind the bench and Zuko. She laughs. "Oh, Sokka is right," she said. "You worry too much."

Katara smiles seeing that Zuko needs to relax, so she rubs Zuko's shoulders. "Oh. Ooh. Oh, yeah. Oh, oh, down, down, down," Zuko sighed but realizes something and gets up to face Katara,

"No! No! Big trouble! Whoa! Look, sweetheart, we're in the middle of a con here, walking the razor's edge. On the one hand, gold!" Zuko said, showing her all the gold they had. "On the other hand, painful, agonizing failure!" He then pointed to a picture of humans being sacrificed and killed. "I can't afford any tempta-uh, distractions," Zuko explained to her, "So, I'm sorry. So sorry. But perhaps another time? Another place, hmm?"

"Too bad," Katara said sitting on the bench, "I'm free now."

"I'm... not really sure I trust you," Zuko said, his voice sounding as if he was trying to win a battle but losing terribly.

"Mmm," Katara wondered, "I'm not really asking you to trust me. Am I?"

Zuko looks at her, knowing that she wants him to rub her shoulders. "Whoo. Kay," Zuko said, giving in. He rubs Katara's shoulders, feeling how soft her skin was. "Ooh, yeah," Zuko said, enjoying himself.

I love Maiko, (especially after 'The Boiling Rock Part 2'), but I've been a Zutara fan for longer. And I can't stand Kataang! Please let me know what you think!