Long Lost

Redbayly: Okay, it's been a while since my last update.

Sokka:*Sarcasm* Oh no, what will the world do without Redbayly updating her stories every five minutes?

Redbayly:*Glares* Anyway. I was out of town for a college orientation, and next week I'm leaving on a three week vacation to Italy-

Sokka: Thank the spirits.

Redbayly: So I won't update for some time.

Sokka: Can we just get on with this travesty of a story?

Redbayly:*Sneaky grin* Yes, will Azula kindly give the disclaimer?

Sokka: What? Azula? Don't tell me you're asking that creep to come in here! She's evil! A manipulative psychopath, who only cares about her own sick ambitions, and isn't afraid of hurting innocent people to achieve her nightmarish goals!

Redbayly:*Smirks*

Azula:*Who has been standing there throughout the duration of Sokka's rant* Flattery will get you nowhere, peasant.

Sokka:*Turns to Redbayly* Why didn't you say she was standing right behind me?

Redbayly:*Shrugs* You didn't ask.

Sokka: I hate you.

Redbayly: Well Azula, would you care to do the honors?

Azula: Sure, why not? Redbayly does not own Avatar the Last Airbender. And for that we are truly thankful.

Awake at Last

"Mmm, where am I?"

Aang opened his eyes for the first time in weeks. Ursa heard the boy speak, and leaned over him. Ever since Aang had gotten hurt, Ursa had stayed right by him in case he woke up.

"Aang, you're awake."

"Ursa?"

Aang opened his eyes wider, taking in his surroundings. He almost had a heart-attack when he saw they were on a Fire Navy ship.

"Aang, calm down. It's alright. Do you think you can walk?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Okay, come with me. I'm sure that everyone will want to see that you are okay."

"How long was I out?"

"A few weeks. I think you've had enough rest by now, you should probably get up and start walking again."

Ursa helped the boy to his feet, propping him up so he wouldn't fall. She proceeded to guide him up to the deck of the ship.

"Twinkle-toes! That's gotta be you!" Toph declared as she ran over and hugged the delirious Avatar.

"Aang, good to see ya back with the living, buddy." Sokka said as he approached, dressed in a Fire Nation uniform.

"Sokka? Wait, why are we on a Fire Navy ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?"

"You need to take it easy, okay?" Katara responded. "You got hurt pretty bad."

Aang seated himself, and Ursa draped a cloak over him so he wouldn't catch a chill.

"So, I've been out for a few weeks?"

"Yes, that would explain the hair." Ursa stated.

"I have hair?"

"Everything okay?" Asked one of the men in uniform.

"We're fine, dad." Katara responded with a slight edge to her voice.

"I'm Hakoda," the man introduced himself to Aang, "Katara and Sokka's father."

"He knows who you are, I just called you 'dad', didn't I?"

"I guess you're right."

"Nice to officially meet you, Chief Hakoda." Aang said as her reached out to shake his hand.

"It's an honor to meet you."

"Great, great, now you guys have finally met." Katara said with irritation. "So, would you mind giving us a little privacy?"

"Of course."

As Hakoda walked off, Ursa couldn't help but sense the tension between daughter and father.

"Katara," Ursa asked, "are you angry with your father for some reason?"

"What? Not at all, why would you say that?"

"You spoke very bitterly towards him. And, call it a hunch, but I don't think that the way you have been speaking to your father is how a person should speak. I would have expected you to be overjoyed when we met up with your father and the other Watertribesmen, but you've been very cold to him. "

Katara decided to change the subject.

"Maybe we should take Aang upstairs for a healing session."

The following day, they were all out on deck.

"After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety." Sokka explained to Aang. "We flew back to Chameleon Bay, where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men. The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone..well, not completely alone. Soon, the bay was overrun with Fire Nation ships; rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then we've been traveling West, we crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

"So, what now?" Aang asked.

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan." Hakoda answered.

"It's Sokka's invasion plan." Katara corrected.

"Yes, Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the Solar Eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

"So we're planning a smaller invasion." Sokka continued. "Just a rag-tag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and the Duke." Sokka gestured over to the two.

"Good to see you again, Aang." Pipsqueak greeted.

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage." Sokka then lowered his voice to a whisper. "We have a secret. You."

"Me?" Aang asked.

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead. Isn't that great?"

Aang just stared in shock.

"The world thinks I'm dead? How is that good news? That's terrible."

"Aang, settle down." Ursa said in a calming tone. "Sokka did not word that the way he probably should have. What he means is that we now have the element of surprise on our side. The Fire Nation won't be expecting you when we invade. And they also won't be out looking for you."

Aang, however, was still freaking out. Suddenly, they heard a horn and saw another ship approaching. Aang was prepared to face them, but Ursa convinced him not to, and instead to wrap some bandages around his forehead to hide his arrow.

"Everyone just stay calm, we'll handle this." Hakoda told them.

Ursa told the kids to huddle up together and keep their cloaks wrapped tightly around them. When the man in charge of the other ship and his two guards boarded, Hakoda and Bato faced them.

"Commander, why are you off course?" The man asked. "All Western fleet ships are supposed to be moving towards Ba Sing Se to support the occupation."

Hakoda proceeded to use the excuse that Ursa had come up with if such a situation arose.

"We were on a special mission." Hakoda the gestured to Ursa, Aang, Toph, and Katara. "These people are all that remain of one of our colonies." Hakoda gestured for Ursa to come forward.

Ursa bowed respectfully at the man.

"Greetings, sir. My name is Tenshi. My home was attacked by Earth Kingdom rebels." Ursa allowed tears to fill her eyes. "They came and killed as many people as they could, our defenses were wiped out in a matter of minutes." Ursa then gestured to the children. "I managed to get these children out, and we were eventually found by Commander Huang here. He kindly agreed to escort us to the Fire Nation, so we can go back to the relatives we still have."

The man from the other ship looked as though he himself were straining to keep in sympathetic tears, Ursa really did know how to play the sympathy card.

"That is awful, ma'am. Everyone in your town was killed without mercy?"

"Dozens, if not more, Fire Nation men, women, and children were slaughtered. My own son" she gestured towards Aang "was badly injured, and barely survived the attack. But he is a true Fire Nation boy and won't allow some Earth Kingdom savages to get the better of him."

Those words did it, patriotism and pity were the single-most effective tools against even some of the most hardened of soldiers.

"Well Commander, get these people back home safely."

"Yes sir." Hakoda replied with the Fire Nation salute that Ursa had taught him and the others.

With that, the other ship departed.

"Wow Ursa, that was impressive acting." Hakoda said.

"Yeah," Toph added, "even I couldn't tell you were lying."

"Well," Ursa responded, "I am Azula's mother after all. Where do you think she got her ability to lie so well?"

The ship sped safely away.

Later that evening, Aang disappeared. Katara came running up to her father who had been speaking with Bato and Ursa, her eyes filled with tears as she said what happened. Bato and Ursa left the father and daughter to talk, but Ursa stayed just out of sight so she could hear what was being said. She felt her heart breaking as she heard Katara reveal her true feelings to her father, how sad and angry she was that he had left them. Ursa knew it was wrong to listen in on the conversation, but she felt a deep concern for the Waterbender, in a way she saw Katara as a daughter to her, and she wanted to know what had been bothering the girl lately. Soon it started to rain, and father and daughter parted. As Katara went off to get things ready for them to go after Aang, Hakoda stood by watching the rain come down.

"Is there a particular reason you listened in on me and my daughter?"

Ursa came forward.

"Katara has been like a daughter to me ever since I met her. She's certainly been more of a daughter to me than my own daughter. I was...concerned."

"Why are you fighting the Fire Nation, Ursa? It's your home."

"My people have done a great injustice to the world. And, for a while at least, I actually went along with it. But seeing what this war has caused...it disgusts me." Ursa then turned to face the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. "You know, Hakoda, I envy you."

"You, envy me? Why?"

"You actually had happiness in your life. Your family was whole at one point, for however brief a time. My family has been broken since I was forced into a marriage with that monster that calls himself a Fire Lord." Ursa began to feel tears welling up. "I envy your happiness."

Hakoda put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which then became a full-fledged hug.

"Ursa, I'm sure your family loves you. Even if they don't act like it."

"Your optimism is astounding. My husband is a tyrant, my daughter a psychopath, my oldest son betrayed us all in Ba Sing Se, and my younger son is a hostage in the Fire Nation. My life has been so miserable." She let out choked sobs and looked at the ground. Hakoda put hand under her chin and lifted her gaze back to his.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. This war will be over, we'll find Roku. We'll figure this all out when Ozai is defeated."

Ursa hugged him again.

"Thank you, Hakoda."

Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Ursa all loaded up onto Appa, and set off to find Aang. As they flew away, Ursa looked back to see Hakoda watching them leave, she smiled and waved a goodbye to him, which he returned.

They found the young Avatar on the Crescent Island that had once been home to the Temple of Avatar Roku. The Gaang were relieved to see that he was alright, running up to hug him. They told Aang that they would meet up with the invasion force on the day of the eclipse and that, no matter what, they were standing by him.

Meanwhile, deep in the heart of the Fire Nation, a long lost prince was pacing around his room anxiously.

"I have to get out of here. He's playing some sort of mind game, welcoming me home like that. It's just a ploy to get me to side with him. Well I'm not falling for it. I'm not falling for it."

"You know, talking to oneself is often taken as a sign that a person is going insane."

"Hello Azula."

"Well, it's nice to know that, unlike Zu-Zu, you know to show a little courtesy before getting to the questions."

"May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Oh, just checking up on my dear long-lost brother."

"Come on Azula." Roku turned to face her, a smug grin on his face. "Aren't you a little too old to be playing games? You didn't just come here for a pleasant chit-chat, and if you think I'm stupid enough to let you bait me like you plan to, well, I won't be the foolish one in that conversation."

Azula was struck, no one had ever countered her like that.

"Why are you so obsessed with the fact that father welcomed you home? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Why are you so obsessed with trying to destroy your own family? Is it because dad poisoned your mind so much?"

Azula was getting irritated. It dawned on her that, though this boy looked like Zuko, he had her ability to get inside people's minds and push their buttons. It is a perplexing thing when those who possess such an ability try to outdo each other.

"Just to let you know, brother, I'm watching you. You are a traitor, and should be rotting in prison. But if father decided to spare you, then I won't question his judgment. But I am not letting my guard down."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, sis."

Azula stormed out. That boy was so hard to unravel. One minute he's talking to himself about his worries and fears, and the next it's impossible to get into his mind. He was a puzzle, a paradox, an ever-conflicting mix of personalities. But Azula let it go, for now, telling herself that eventually he would crack.

Redbayly: Serious stuff going on.

Katara: I'm really interested in those two names you came up with.

Redbayly: Oh, simple. 'Tenshi' is Japanese for 'angel', and 'Huang' is Chinese for 'bright'.

Ursa: Well, you certainly have good taste in oriental names.

Redbayly: I try. Well, goodnight everybody. *Blows a Kiss*