Okay, second chapter. I think I'm going to take someone's advice, and actually try various types of fluff. Maybe actual fluff, not the semi-evil, rather uneasy-feeling stuff I usually write. It'll be funny, if not downright odd for me, but I promise, in a few chapters it's going to sound remarkably like "Azula's Fury" This is not actually me giving up, this is actually what I had planned.

Just bear with me, it'll all make sense, soon enough.

Enjoy!!

Well, everyone reacted exactly as I expected them to. It was strange, I though that they'd change in a year, yanno, from falling in Love with eachother and everything, but I guess I was wrong. I was wrong about a lot of stuff, it seemed. Like how everyone would react to seeing me, like how Katara would take the news of Zukos Death. Like how I told them the real reason I'd come back, instead of just wanting to see them all, again.

Okay, the last part was a lie. I did want to see them all again. Especially Toph and Sokka, as Toph is just as sarcastic as I am, and Sokka I can make blush at the slightest mention of Toph's name. My God, I Love torturing those two. But right now, that's unimportant, right now I've got to work this out, because I had just let loose why I was really back in the Earth-Kingdom,and they were none too happy upon hearing this.

I just hoped Katara would let me live long enough to finish my explanation. And even I admit, it was an incredibly stupid—not to mention cruel—thing to do.

1st person—Katara

"Who do you think you are!?" I asked JJ. I was standing in front of him, giving him my best Death's-Head glare, which he was shriveling under. The baby had stopped crying—he'd done this, amazingly—and everyone was sitting in a circle in the living room, like jurors awaiting JJ's execution. Ty-Lee had no problem with this. She just sat silently in a corner, not saying a word—I'd threatened her to stay there—and she was doing an excellent job of that. Even is she wasn't, it's not like I would notice, because all my available energy and attention were going to screaming at JJ.

He attempted to reply, holding up his palms as if to ward off blows, and didn't say anything. He only bowed his head, and sighed. I continued raging at him, until he flicked his wrist, and I suddenly found myself without a voice.

He stood up and immediately jumped back, glancing around—I was sure of this even as I was attempting to scream—for any sources of nearby water. He backed away a bit more, faced me, and said.

"I'm sorry, Katara." He smiled grimly. "I know, it was extremely stupid, and extremely asinine, and not to mention downright cruel for not telling you guys this, but I figured you'd be better off if you didn't know until everything was straightened out back home."

I continued trying to scream, which still remained soundless, until I gave up and fixed him with a glare that made him shiver. I folded my arms, and staid silent, staring at him.

He shrugged. "I'm sorry, and that's all I can say. I'm going to find and kill Mai, and I know it's dumb, but it's the only thing I want to do. After I'm finished with that, you can kill me, if you wish. All I want to do now is find her, and make sure I pay her back for what she's done."

I still said nothing. Even if I could, I wouldn't have said anything. It actually looked to me like he was being truthful—not that he had any reason to lie—but he looked and sounded both sad and tired and completely worn out, just then. Normally, from what I've seen of him, he's like Toph, always strong and bouncing around, making wisecracks. But his eyes were haunted, there were deep lines on his face, and he looked both beaten, and angry as Hell.

I looked at Toph, who shrugged towards me. "He's not lying."

I looked at JJ, and he sighed with relief—from not getting beaten up, or from me listening to him I wasn't sure—and he said to me, quietly.

"Thank you." He flicked his wrist, again, and I found that I could talk, once again. He smiled, which was both warm and extremely tired, and said to Ty-Lee.

"All right. You're going to stay here with the Gaang" (He had taken that title as part of his own, as Sokka had initiated all four of he, Zuko, Mai and Ty-Lee into it) "While I go and try to find Mai."

As I expected, Ty-Lee shook her head. It figured. She didn't want him—or anyone else—getting hurt, and I also thought it was because she cared a great deal for him. Trust me, it's a woman's intuition. She frowned, crossing her arms, shaking her head from side to side "Nuh-uh."

JJ frowned, rolling his eyes. "Yes-huh."

Ty-Lee took a step forwards, meeting his eyes directly, and said. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"I don't want you getting hurt!" Cried JJ. "I've already found one family member of mine Dead, I don't want to have to find another!" He sighed, exasperated. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

Ty-Lee looked awful. I could tell she was angry at him for deciding to leave her here with us—without our consent, though I think he knew we wouldn't care—and I could also tell she was worried about him, because even now, standing in front of me, he looked half insane and ready to fall right off his feet.

I think it was time I stepped in.

I took a step forward, cutting off Ty-Lee's reply, and silencing JJ from saying anything back with a quick wave of my hand which freed the water from my flask—JJ paled—and I said to them both, in my best "Do it, or I'll kill you" voice. (The one that I usually reserve for Sokka) "Okay, you two. I don't care if you both go out and get killed"--JJ looked shocked, Ty-Lee looked angry--"But I want to tell you something. If you're going to go out and get yourself killed, you'd better stay here for a little bit, because I don't want to have to go dragging myself all over this town just because I'm worried about the pair of idiots that I consider friends, and whether they'd gotten themselves killed, or not!"

JJ said nothing. I think he was actually awestruck into silence. He'd never seen me act like that, then again, he'd never seen me angry, before, either. Ty-Lee sat down upon the floor, and began to trace her hands around on the carpet, absent-mindedly.

"So...We can go?" Asked JJ meekly.

I nodded. "Yes, you can both go after Mai. You can both go, because Ty-Lee obviously wants to help you, and I think you're too stupid to go running off by yourself. Even if you do find Mai, you'll probably get killed by someone else, before you do.

JJ nodded, he sounded angry, but I can tell he was silently thanking me. "Fair enough."

I wheeled around to face him, after smiling for a split second, my face turning once again into the stern mask I had perfected against Sokka. "One more thing!"

He paused, halfway in standing up. "What?"

"Go take a bath, both of you." Sokka snickered, and I threw him a warning glance. "No, not together, Sokka." I turned back towards JJ and Ty-Lee. "Go take a bath, and then get some sleep. You both look utterly exhausted."

He looked angry, but I could tell he was silently thanking me. Like I said, it's a womans intuition.

1st person—JJ

I don't know if I should be hating or thanking Katara, right now. She had let Ty and I—no, I don't get tired of saying that—back into her home, with a minor argument, and no major injuries on my part. I should be thanking her. I should be groveling at her feet like a chihuahua, or something, saying "Thank you, Thank you so much!"

But I won't. Because that's just not my style.

Instead, I might do something really nice, later. Once I actually get some time to think about something other than Death, or revenge. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that it was revenge that almost caused Zuko to destroy himself. Well, it didn't,and Zuko changed into the reliable, cool-yet-rock steady guy you know him as. He gave up searching for the Avatar, after having some sort of "internal revolution"--that's as close as I can come to putting his Uncle Irohs explanation into words—and it seemed to help him greatly, not only as a Fire-Lord, but as a person.

It helped him, yeah. It helped him a lot, it helped him fall in Love, and even fight his father in this cursed War that I was a part of, even if I wasn't actually trying to kill the Fire-Lord alongside them. I was more trying to get the Hell out before they killed me.

Remember, they took my Sound-Bending as an outrage? Yup. I killed my own countrymen.

It doesn't count if they were trying to kill you first, right?

Either way, it doesn't matter now. The War is over, everything is once-again back to a state of normalcy—or as close as it was going to get—and people everywhere were enjoying Irohs wise and watchful eyes across the Fire-Nation. The Fire-Nation was at peace with the Earth-Kingdom, now. Everything was okay...Everything was fine, just hunky-dory.

If I keep telling myself that, maybe I'll actually start believing my own lies. I need to clam down. I need to relax, like Zuko says, "It doesn't help to get so worried about something little that you're ignoring Death looking you in the face." Well, Death wasn't looking me in the face, and if he was, I sure as Hell couldn't see anything in his eyes. The only thing I saw right now was a wall, and the end of a pillow.

I wish Ty-Lee were here. She was here, right down the hallway. She was probably asleep, just like I was supposed to be, only she wasn't being driven mad by Zuko from beyond the grave. She followed me because she cared about me, and I knew this, but she's not the type of girl that wanted to be entangled into some like myself. She was just so...So happy, and so innocent, even when she fought in the War, it seemed like she wasn't really aware of what she was doing. She was merely following orders, given to her by the Fire-Lord, and Azula, and she followed them quite well.

She also followed me around because she Loved me. She Loved me, and I knew it, and I felt like such an ass for not telling her this, but then again, I didn't want to get her mixed up into all of this—it was her decision to follow me here, alongside the councils, not my own—so I really had no say in the matter. I mean, I appreciate the Hell of out Ty-Lee dragging herself along for the ride—especially about something that had nothing to do with her.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. I'm sure she knew Zuko from somewhere before, I'd known her since I was at least eight, and we'd often play together as children, setting things on fire (my idea) or practicing gymnastics or her bizarre form of martial arts (her ideas) And she was basically what had gotten me started on sword fighting. It was actually Zuko who had suggested I use and modify the Kodachis to "Asses my bending malfunctions."

He had a killer grin on his face as he said it, too.

Regardless, it didn't really matter, to me. I didn't Love Ty, I didn't Love Toph, and the sad part is, that even if I did, I wouldn't actually have the time to do anything about it. I was always rushing around, doing something else just as stupid as the event before, until--

My door opened, and Toph walked inside, looking furious.

--I found myself once again in trouble.

"What do you want?" I said, rolling over.

She stared at me for at least a minute, and then she said. "Something's bothering you, now tell me what it is, or else I'm going to make you."

That—the first part, anyway—obviously didn't sound like something Toph would've said, and I knew it.

"Where's Sokka?"

She grinned. "He's outside, with his ear pressed against the door. It was his idea for me to come and question you."

"The why isn't he in here?" I asked, my face puzzled.

"Because I can make you talk. Sokka can't."

Damn them.

I sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. Zuko's Dead, and I think Mai is the one that killed her."

Tophs face remained impassive, but I could hear the rage in her voice when she spoke. "Mai did this?"

I nodded sadly. "Yup. I think she did it, because when I found his body, her knife was folded inside his neck."

"Folded?" She asked, but she weighed my silence and said nothing more.

"Yeah, folded." I laughed, bitterly. The way you would when you wished something was funny, but it really wasn't. "He was the Fire-Lord, and he gets murdered by the girl who Loved him." The grim smile remained on my face. "There is no justice, poetic or otherwise, in that."

Toph laughed. "You're right." She walked a few steps towards me, and clapped me on the shoulder, smiling. "You'll get her. If you're anything like Zuko, you won't rest until it's done."

She was right. Damn her, she was absolutely right.

"Where's the baby?"

"Sokka's outside the door, I told you."

"No, I mean-"

"The baby is asleep with Katara and Aang. It's almost nine P.M. You've been out for hours."

Damn. Figures.

"Is Lee still sleeping?"

She nodded. "Yeah, she's been out like a light. She must really like you to follow you around, through all this."

I felt my face turn red, and I rolled over and yawned to hide it. "Naw, there's no way she'd like me."

"I can tell you're ly-ing." There it was, that incredibly annoying, sing-songy voice. And the worst part is, she knew she was right.

"Shut up." I rolled over, facing the wall. "I'm going back to sleep, okay?" I smiled as genuinely as I could. "I'm going Mai-hunting, Tomorrow."

I felt her stand up, and she sighed. "All right. Good night, JJ."

"Night, Toph." I mumbled into the pillow. I wasn't doing it because I didn't want to talk to her, I was doing it to hide the tears.

She left, and the room was silent and dark, once again.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe I actually missed her.

But I did. I know I did.