Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA T.T

Fire. Air. Water. Earth. These are the four elements. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. But that all changed when the Firelord attacked, wiping out an entire race and beginning a war that lasted for a hundred years. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements has the power to restore peace, but even he has limits.

"Fire Nation soldiers?" Rohan whispered. "Looking for you?"

Zuko frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. Uncle Iroh faked our deaths. The crew of our ship told the Fire Nation that we were dead."

"Sounds like they didn't believe you." Rohan shrugged.

"Trust me." Zuko muttered grimly. "My father would definitely rather that I be dead."

"So why would he send soldiers looking for you? And why only two?" Rohan picked at his tofu salad, appetite forgotten.

"I have no idea." The Avatar murmured. "Only a member of the royal family could order a mission..." He trailed off as he realized the implication of that statement. "Oh no. She didn't..."

"What?" Rohan looked at Zuko with a puzzled expression. "Who?"

"Those two that were captured aren't soldiers!" Zuko exclaimed. "They're... acquaintances... of mine."

"Avatar Zuko."

The two boys whirled around to see Iroh standing behind them. "I see you have deduced the identity of the intruders already."

"Mai and Ty Lee." Zuko nodded.

"Yes." Iroh confirmed. "I have already visited them, but they refuse to speak to anyone but the Avatar."

"So what're we waiting for?" Zuko and Rohan started to get up, but Iroh shook his head.

"Not yet. There is no need to interrupt the festivities on account of a few interlopers. Enjoy the feast for tonight, and tomorrow we will see to Ty Lee and Mai." Iroh snagged a cheesy pastry from Zuko's plate as he walked away.

"Enjoy the feast?" Zuko grumbled. "After hearing that people are searching for me? That's going to be difficult."

"That might not have been just for our benefit." Rohan nodded to the rest of the banquet hall. "We weren't the only ones to notice the guard's arrival." Indeed, there was a distinct sense of unease among the assembled Air Warriors. Few people were smiling or otherwise enjoying themselves, and hushed conversations seemed to be the order of the day.

"Sounds like they need some cheering up." Zuko remarked. A wicked grin spread over his face. "You know, master, there seems to be an excess of fruit pies. It would be a shame if they were to... go to waste."

"Well said, my old apprentice." Rohan agreed. A peach cream pie appeared seemingly out of nowhere in his hand, and he swiftly threw it into Zuko's face.

Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation and would-be master of the four elements, laughed loudly as he returned the favor, hefting two pies like brass cymbals and smashing Rohan's head between them. The rest of the room quickly dissolved into chaos as the Air Warriors began waging war with food. Fruit pies and cheesy pastries flew impossible distances across the room, propelled by blasts of wind. No one was spared, not even the High Council. For once however, Tenzin said nothing.

"Nervous?" Iroh's question took Zuko off guard. The two were making their way through the cavernous hallways of the mountain fortress, to the deepest levels where an unused room had been converted into a prison cell. As it turned out, the pit that Zuko had been kept in when he first arrived was merely a training area for young airbenders.

"A little." The young man admitted.

Iroh sniffed. "You know, Prince Zuko, it's perfectly normal for a boy to be nervous around a pretty girl-"

"No!" Zuko exclaimed in shock. "It's not that, uncle... it's just... what am I supposed to tell Mai and Ty Lee? Sorry I ran off and disappeared for a year, but everything we've been taught in school is a lie, the Firelord is evil, and the airbenders are gonna keep you locked up forever?"

"Well, I'm sure that they'll be released once the war ends." Iroh began.

"And when will that be?" Zuko moaned. "We've been at war for a hundred years!"

"Zuko." Iroh's tone was firm. "All things come to an end. Even century-long wars. When you speak to Azula's friends, focus on the here and now. Why are they here. What is going on in the Fire Nation. Important news that we cannot gain from the Air Warriors' spies."

Zuko nodded. What his uncle said made sense. The Air Nomads had a network of information gatherers scattered throughout the other three nations. However, it was still incredibly difficult to obtain any information from the Fire Nation. In the year that Zuko had spent at Mt. Chomolungma, the only news that had come from his homeland was that a funeral had been held for him and his uncle, and that Azula had been named Ozai's heir.

"We are here." Iroh's voice broke Zuko out of his reverie. The Avatar looked around to see that they were facing a heavy wooden door, with a similar mechanism as the one that locked the doors to the Great Hall. "This is as far as I go." Iroh continued. "Mai and Ty Lee have said that they will speak only to you."

"Thank you, uncle." Zuko took a deep breath, then expelled it in a rush of wind. At the same time, he spread his arms wide before bringing them forward, sending two more blasts of air from his hands. The three pipes vibrated for a moment, then turned as one, and the door slowly swung open.

Zuko strode into the room, letting the door shut behind him with an ominous thud. It would require the same technique to open again. The room within was brightly lit, though sparsely furnished. Zuko found it morbidly amusing that the girls were better treated than he had been when he first arrived.

"Zuko!" A blur of pink slammed into Zuko, knocking the wind out of him. Ty Lee hugged Zuko tightly. "You're alive!"

"Of course he's alive, Ty Lee. That's why we're here, after all." Mai rose from the wooden stool she had been sitting in.

"Why are you here?" Zuko wondered aloud as he untangled himself from Ty Lee's grip.

"We're here to bring you home." Mai said simply.