What If Zuko Won?

by donki-shouben

WITCH says goodbye to the Avatar's world. But who stays? Plus: Katara's tearful parting with Aang! Including a soundtrack! As the epilogues continue. It's almost over!

10. Invasion Part 2 The Ballad of Hay Lin

Author's Note: The Ancient Avatar doesn't appear in his segment in this chapter. Instead, you get to meet someone new! Then, in the present day, it's Invasion, Part 2 - the climax of the previous chapter's cliffhangers, but mostly the gut-wrenching Ballad of Hay Lin!

What If Zuko Won?

Based on events in W.I.T.C.H. in the World of Avatar

A Long Time Ago...

The teen-aged boy, Taro, didn't mind working for the Avatar (But he did mind cleaning the stable of Peachie the air bison! What did the Avatar feed that six-legged beast that could produce such foul feces??) Though the Avatar was considered a supreme jerk by most, he always treated Taro with respect. Well, except for the name-calling. And shorting him on his pay. And he thought he saw the Avatar bend the wind that knocked him over that one time (and that theory would go a long way towards explaining all of the accidents Taro had over the years). But at least the Avatar would talk to him! Unlike the rest of the townspeople.

The people of the town considered his father a joke, because he was always praising the Avatar. Even Taro's mom had been affected. She couldn't take his father's sycophantic devotion to a man not worthy of it, nor the town's cold shoulder. Fed up years ago, she gave his sire an ultimatum: "The Avatar or me." He chose the Avatar, and she walked out of their lives forever.

So Taro's name, which is only given to a first son, was twisted by the other children to Takaro, similar to the feminine Takara, which means 'treasure'. That is, instead of being the first of a long line of children, like other families in town, Taro was 'special', a treasure, because he was the only offspring of his family.

So when any did deign to speak to Taro, they called him 'Takaro', and rather casually threw his family situation in his face!

Taro chafed at the treatment, but his father was unyielding in his views.

"Father, why do I have to work for the Avatar? You know what he is like!" Taro asked him one day.

"Did I ever tell you how the Avatar saved our town?" his father replied.

"Yes. Many times!" Taro indignantly shot back.

"Then be grateful for what you have, Taro!" his father scolded him. "The Avatar is different from you and I, but he is still a great man, deserving of respect. And someday..." Taro's father lifted his son's chin, and looked him in the eye. "..Someday you will be a great man, too! I can feel it!"

Yeah, great! Taro thought disdainfully to himself after his father left the Avatar's air bison stable, leaving Taro to his horrid tasks. Too bad all I can feel is Peachie's shi-

CRASH

Went the sky bison, making a huge hole in the wall before falling in the hay!

"Holy crap!" Taro yelled. "Peachie, are you OK?"

Though the animal was in distress, he was physically unharmed.

"Oh no! Something must have happened to the Avatar!" Taro surmised. "Peachie, can you lead me to him?"

Chapter 9: Invasion Part 2 - The Ballad of Hay Lin

Or,

What's Love Got to Do With It

Flying.

Hay Lin loved flying.

Soaring high above everything. Her home. Her school. The city of Heatherfield. Her problems.

The sheer exhilaration of flight. The joy. The freedom!

With naught but the wind in her face, a hot breeze that smelled of...sulphur??

Hay Lin opened her eyes. It was the dragon!

He had found her!

Again!

Crap! she thought.

Quickly executing a roll, Hay Lin prayed she could lose the winged beast! All she had to do, she reasoned, was duck through the empty tower just ahead, then turn invisible and exit the other side totally unnoticed!

Feeling the heat of the dragon's flames on her feet, Hay Lin thought Darn! For such a huge thing, he sure is fast! This is gonna be close...

ooooooooooooooo

Meanwhile, at the front gate to the Red Zone (Palace complex), a standoff in the sand.

In the dark, volcanic grit of the Fire Nation, at opposite ends of a sandpit, stood two benders from the Earth Kingdom.

Ghashuin, formerly of the sand people.

And Toph!

The master earth bender made the first move, spraying sand in Ghashuin's face to make him as blind as she, and in the process remove any advantage he had over her.

But Ghashuin countered the move perfectly, blocking the sand shower with a curtain of silicon of his own making.

The two sand benders were too evenly matched.

So each waited for the other to make the next move, and first mistake.

ooooooooooooooo

Hay Lin had evaded the dragons, but now she'd lost track of Momo!

Momo. She never had a pet before. It wasn't 'allowed'.

And what will the health department say when they find it running around the restaurant, Hay Lin? her mother had said.

But I'll take care of it, mama! Hay Lin had promised. It won't be any trouble!

To no avail.

Her pleas fell on deaf ears.

And now Momo was in danger!

Hay Lin was damned if she was going to let anything harm him! (But please excuse the language.)

ooooooooooooooo

In the Agni Kai arena of the Fire Lord Palace, one lone girl faced a small army of earth benders.

(Who were also, insane as it sounds, plant benders!!)

Yet another obstacle! thought Irma Lair. But they're not gonna stop me from kicking Zuko's butt and helping my friends!!

"Did you feel those tremors earlier?" the leader of the earth benders, Long Feng, said in an attempt to psych Irma out. "That was my men...practicing their bending. We received quite a boost from the Fire Lord and his 'Plant Spirit'! As you can see..." He motioned to the giant plants his Dai Li had raised from the soil below the Palace.

Corny did this?? Irma wondered, then made light of it. Girl's got a lot 'splainin' to do!!

"So your powers include, what? Causing tummyaches?" Irma wisecracked.

"I will derive much pleasure from stilling that insolent tongue!" snapped the very annoyed former adviser to the Earth King. "Then I and my Dai Li earth bending legion will assume our rightful place at the head of the Earth Kingdom!"

"Ooo, is that supposed to be scary? Newsflash: Not happening!" the mega-confident Miss Lair exclaimed.

The same Irma who was practically surrounded by Long Feng's Dai Li!

"Enough! You cannot hope to overcome us!!" Long Feng barked. "Dai Li! Get her!!"

"Dai Li??" Irma joked. "You're gonna attack me with surrealism?" she said, referring to the artist she learned about in school, Salvador Dali.

But the ninja-like earth bending assassins were in no mood for quips.

Immediately, all manner of bent rock, earth and plant made a beeline for the water bender from another world!

As fast as thought, the Water Guardian of Infinity threw up a water shield that blocked most of the earthen attack! The few items that got through, Irma split with a water whip!

"Maybe I'm not gonna be as easy to beat as you thought, huh, slick?" Irma, untouched and unbowed, crowed.

"A water bender, eh? But not even a master water bender could stand against our might!" Long Feng declared. The Dai Li moved in closer. There would be no escape for Irma! "Concede defeat now, and I'll allow you to live under our rule!"

ooooooooooooooo

Hay Lin's search for Momo and the Dragons took her to the outer edge of the Royal Palace complex of buildings (the Red Zone), where she noticed something familiar.

On a nearby mountaintop was a structure that could only be one thing.

With a start, Hay Lin realized she had seen it before, during the eclipse invasion, but at that time it was only half-finished, so it didn't register in her brain as a celestial watchtower.

"It's an observatory!" she cried. "Like, like the one I saw in that big owl's library! And like the one Eric's parents work at!"

Eric.

Unbidden, Hay Hay's mind raced back to the last time she saw her boyfriend.

It was only a few short months ago, but it felt like a lifetime!

The Guardians were summoned to Meridian for a mission against the incorrigible bunch that first worked for Phobos, and then Nerissa. They were up to more bad nastyness, so Cornelia used the Breath of Time (a magic hourglass) to stop time in Heatherfield while the girls traveled to the other-dimensional world. The hourglass, a gift from the new Oracle, Endarno (who later turned out to be Phobos, and the real Endarno was his prisoner, but that's another story!), enabled the Guardians to do their duty for Candracar without messing up their lives on Earth. With time halted, no one would miss them!

However, Hay Lin had a serious problem!

"Meridian, again?!! But what about my school fashion show project? How will I work on that?! This is a disaster!" Hay Lin moaned.

"Maybe...We can do both!" Cornelia slyly suggested.

"Really? But how??" a curious Hay Lin inquired. To her mind, a solution was inconceivable! The project was due very soon, and she had asked the girls over for help in producing the sketches and samples, but had a total brain freeze! Hay Lin had no ideas!

"After we finish our mission in Meridian, we'll tell Elyon we're sticking around to 'keep an eye on things'!" Cornelia said with a wink. "To pass the time there, we can help you with your fashion project!"

"You'd do that? For me??" Hay Lin gushed.

"Sure, Hay Hay! No problem!" Corny reiterated her friendly gesture of support.

"But what about..." a pessimistic Hay Lin thought of the Oracle's reaction to using their magic powers for personal gain, although this seemed like small stuff.

"Hey, if you won't tell the Oracle, we won't!" Irma laughed.

"Yap!" Hay Lin shouted in glee.

Everything was going so well.

So of course, it all went to hell!

Not the mission to Meridian. That went off without a hitch.

And not Hay Lin's clothing designs. With all the time they had on Meridian to work on it, they came out divine!

No, it was when they came back and found...

...Their enemies waiting for them!

A trap!!

But...That should have been impossible! Time didn't move while they were off-world!

Plus, they had left their foes imprisoned on Meridian!

However, Frost, Tracker and Miranda had found a way around both problems!

They had tapped into the power of a strange star (Frost called it a 'dark star').

And that wasn't the worst part!

No, being ambushed was typical for the Guardians of Infinity.

What made this latest tussle so hard to swallow was the circumstances.

Frost used the telescopes in the Heatherfield Observatory to draw on the power of this bizarre star.

And guess who just happened to be visiting his parents who operated the astronomical facility at the time the creatures from Meridian commandeered it?

Eric!

Hay Lin's boyfriend!

However, though the Meridian maniacs had the advantage of surprise, and hostages, they were no match for five ticked off super-powered elemental teen girls! (Seriously, who is??)

Though strong of body, once Hay Lin saw her beloved bound and gagged, her heart sank.

She longed to be near Eric, to comfort him.

This is all my fault! Hay Lin thought. If they hurt Eric...

She had to do something!

Ignoring her friend's cautious entreaties, "Hay Lin, wait! Time is still moving in the observatory! If I can't figure out some way to get the Breath of Time to cancel out this 'dark star' effect, if Eric sees you, he'll remember what happened here!", Hay Lin, undaunted, forged ahead.

"Then he won't see me!" a determined Hay Lin spat back.

Turning invisible, the anxious Hay Lin knelt beside her paramour and examined him for any signs of injury.

Her presence did not go unnoticed!

"Hay Lin? Is that you??" Eric gasped.

"Wha??" cried the stunned Hay Hay! "How did you know it was me??!"

"I'd know you anywhere, Hay Lin!" the boy with the sweet soul answered rather matter-of-factly.

Removing his blindfold, the now visible Hay Lin smiled and said "Yes. You would, wouldn't you?"

"Hay Lin?" Eric was taken aback by his girlfriend's strange, winged attire. And then there was the odd look in her eyes. A look of...joy? Of secret knowledge?? What???

His unasked question was answered when Hay Lin leaned in and planted a long, soulful kiss on him, which he, still partially restrained, did his best to return!

"Geez!" Irma joked. "Get a room, you two! Or maybe another dimension!"

Satisfied (I mean REALLY satisfied!) that Eric was okay, Hay Lin rejoined her Guardian sisters and Cornelia announced she could turn time back in the observatory so it could then be in synch with the rest of Heatherfield when Corny re-started time.

"You do realize Eric's not going to remember any of this, don't you?" the Earth Guardian asked.

"That's okay." a happy Hay Lin responded, her mind floating in the clouds. "Because I will."

Hay Lin and her friends Will, Irma, Taranee and Cornelia, whether at home, school or their 'work' for Candracar as the Guardians, had regularly supported each other and made the impossible possible. No matter what happened, they had always gotten through it together!

And now? With most of her friends missing or incapacitated, trapped in a war with a militaristic nation led by a man with the most powerful magical item in existence, compelled to fight dragons and who knows what else?

Hay Lin, hovering high above the Red Zone, gazed at her reflection in the window glass of the tower.

Though her hair had mostly grown in since her Avatar (bald) 'makeover', it would be a long time before she'd regain her familiar pigtails.

Would Eric would even recognize me anymore? Hay Lin wondered, hoping (no, PRAYING) she was only referring to her appearance.

Suddenly, there was movement in the mirror-like glass!

Wheeling around in midair, Hay Lin saw it was one of the dragons!

Hoping it didn't spot her, the Air Guardian quickly vanished from sight and zipped straight up, out of the creature's flight path.

Seeing the dragon was in position, and realizing she'd never get a better opportunity, Hay Lin whipped up a whirlwind and sent it barreling into the skying scorcher!

The two ton beast careened out of control and pancaked onto the roof of a building, knocking it out!

"Alright! I got it!" an exuberant Hay Lin exclaimed. Then, considering how lucky she was, Hay Hay came back down to earth, gulped and sarcastically remarked "Great! Only two more to go!"

And she never once thought Why would Zuko need an observatory?

ooooooooooooooo

Aang and Katara stood in the upstairs area of the half-ruined Palace of the Fire Lord.

And they weren't alone!

"What do you want, Azula?!" a stern Aang bellowed.

"My brother is horribly unbalanced. The evidence is all around you!" she said, not bothering to answer the question. Instead, she directed the duo's attention to the trashed state of the royal living quarters. The scorch marks everywhere. The crumbling walls. The missing roof. Etc.

"You mean...Zuko wrecked his own Palace?!?" the incredulous Katara said.

"Yes. Besides other things..." Azula replied, fingering the torn portrait of Zuko and Mai that drooped close to the floor. She struggled to hide her glee at ruining her hated sibling's love life, lest her newly-sought allies thought better than to join her in her quest.

"But, why would he..." Aang began his obvious question.

"Look at the destruction! Who else has the power to do that??" Azula snapped.

"Well...You've displayed quite a bit of power in the past, Azula." Katara noted, recalling the horribly devastating blue flame and lightning the Fire Princess had used in the past.

"Yes. But no more. Not since your friend, the Fire De-...I mean, Fire 'Angel'!" Azula spat the words out as if they were venom. "She took my powers away!"

"Who? You mean...Taranee??" Aang stammered.

"Yes. It was her, exactly! These outworlders come here, with their strange ideas, and...well, you can see what happens! Madness!" Azula screamed, as she picked up a shattered and defaced work of art lying on the floor. "This used to be a portrait of me, Zuko, mother and father. Now look at it!" she cried, a plea for sympathy that fell on mostly deaf ears.

Aang and Katara, though, and not for the first time, wondered what happened to turn Cornelia into a plant, Taranee into an avenging fire stealer, and Zuko nuts enough to destroy his own Palace! What happened in the Fire Nation these past few months?? They were beginning to realize just how little they knew!

"He's gone quite mad, you know. I even heard he attacked his oldest and closest friend." Azula added.

"I'm only going to ask this one more time: What do you want, Azula?!" Aang demanded, her evasiveness only annoying him.

"Your help in deposing my brother, of course!" Azula answered, the witch's smile never far from her lips.

ooooooooooooooo

In 'the Sandpit', an arena composed of the black volcanic sand found in the Fire Nation, two earth bending masters faced each other.

Toph, the earth/dirt/rock/metal bending master vs. Ghashuin the sand bending master.

Each waited for the other to make the first move.

It was a staredown that could have lasted an age, or more. Neither would budge an inch, lest they give their opponent the opening, and advantage, they desired.

However, Toph was bored with the standoff!

"So...", began the earth girl, "...How's your family?" she asked, seeking to make conversation while still in her fighting stance.

"They disowned me." Ghashuin blankly responded, while maintaining his readiness to do battle.

"...Oh..." Toph replied.

Pause

"...I ran away from mine." she added.

ooooooooooooooo

Back home in Heatherfield, everything was fine. Perfect, even! (Well, as close to perfect as life could be!)

However difficult things got for Hay Lin (her braces, Stacy/Nerissa stealing her boyfriend, etc.), one thing was constant: Her friends were always there for her.

"You guys were great! The fashion show was a total success!" Hay Lin cheered.

"Any time, Hay Hay!" Irma replied.

"You know what? We should have a party to celebrate!" Cornelia suggested.

Errrr...Tonight?" Hay Lin sputtered. "I was kinda...going out with Eric."

"Hot date, huh??" Irma giggled.

"Irma!!" Hay Lin said, blushing. "We're just having dinner at the Silver Dragon! And Eric's granddad is gonna be there!"

"So your grandma, Yan Lin, will be there, too? Alright! A double date!" Irma laughed. She knew about the relationship between the two senior citizens, and loved teasing Hay Lin about it! "But watch out for those old people! I hear they suck face like no one's business! Too bad you don't have a pet! Than it could get in on that hot Lyndon action, too!"

After leaving her friends to take care of things at home and get ready for her date, Hay Lin missed the arrival of Will Vandom, the leader of the Guardians.

"Bad news, guys!" Will announced. "Frost's escaped, and they think he's here in Heatherfield looking for revenge!"

"Oh no! We better call Hay Lin!" Cornelia cried.

"We can't do that, Corny!" Irma pleaded. "She has her date with Eric tonight!"

"You're right!" Cornelia agreed, snapping her fingers. "And Hay Lin's going to have the best date ever!"

Surreptitiously keeping to the shadows, Cornelia, Will, Taranee and Irma, while in their winged Guardian forms, ensured that Hay Lin and Eric's date went off without a hitch! (except for the too hot noodles! But Hay Lin, using her air powers after distracting her dinner companion, cooled off the dish).

There was one close call with a runaway serving cart, but Cornelia summoned vines form the earth below the floorboards to ensnare the wheels and bring it to a dead stop.

Keeping a discrete distance from the couple, the unseen Guardians followed Hay Lin and Eric from the Silver Dragon to the park, constantly on the lookout for any Meridian trouble.

But all they encountered was a bum hassling people for money. When he spotted Hay Lin and her boyfriend, he made a beeline for them, spurring the Guardians to take action before he reached the cute couple!

Thinking he was Frost in disguise, Irma blasted water at him, knocking him down!

Then Cornelia wrapped him in plant stalks, immobilizing him!

Will shone the light of the Heart of Candracar on the man, to remove any magical glamour.

However..There was none.

In the light generated by the flame of her hand, Taranee showed the others the panhandler was merely what he appeared to be...

...A scared old man.

Mortified, the Guardians quickly made amends!

They emptied their pockets and asked what they could do for him, hurriedly explaining they were supposed to be rehearsing a movie and thought he was their co-star.

He said 'food', and Corny offered up an entire salad, grown on the spot right behind him!

Taranee suggested 'How about a shave'? and set about using her pinpoint control over flame to burn away the man's shaggy beard!

Luckily, the old man was too inebriated to know what was going on! When he asked, Irma told him 'It's all done with CGI these days!', and he accepted it.

Then Will asked him if there was anywhere he'd like to go, planning to use the Heart to tele-transport the man there.

He replied 'My granddaughter's place in Open Hill."

Before that happened, though, Irma speculated she could dilute the alcohol in his system by increasing the level of water.

Once the elderly man was safely (and soberly) away, visiting his granddaughter (and resolved to stop hitting the sauce, lest he have any more 'episodes'), the Guardians planned to resume their surveillance of Hay Lin, but Will received a message from Candracar, so she folded all four of them there immediately.

(The four Guardians told Hay Lin all of this later on, after the date).

Meanwhile, Eric and Hay Lin had wandered over to the Observatory to ostensibly 'watch the stars'.

But somehow, their eyes didn't gaze skyward all that much, and spent most of their time fixated on each other.

They weren't the only ones who thought the grounds of the Observatory was the place to be.

Someone else was there, too.

Someone oddly dressed for the weather.

Excusing herself to take a trip to the 'little girls' room', Hay Lin circled back around and went invisible.

Quietly sneaking up on the stranger (by floating above the ground and not making a sound or footprint), Hay Lin blew a hard wind at him that snapped open his trenchcoat, revealing the Meridianite monster called Frost!

Temporarily blinded by the raging gust in his eyes, Frost lashed out with all his might!

But them someone grabbed his arms!

Hay Lin!

She opened her mouth, inhaled into her considerable Candracar-altered lungs, and reversed the mini-tornado that had come out of her throat a moment before, creating a powerful suction that stole the air around Frost's head!

Dizzy from the lack of oxygen, Frost passed out.

Her friends came back from Candracar soon after, and Hay Lin rushed to Eric to finish her date.

Later, when they asked Hay Hay how she knew it was Frost, she explained 'His clothes were so out of date, I knew something was up! Plus, I spotted you guys hovering around earlier, and put two and two together!'

Just the thought that her friends were watching out for her gave Hay Lin the courage to face down a fiend like Frost!

They laughed about it then, never dreaming the day would come when they wouldn't be there for each other!

Even Azula helped Hay Lin in their brief time together. Though the Fire Nation Princess was the last person you'd expect to be supportive and kind, given that she had quite the attitude, along with an ultra-obsessive need to be in charge and lord it over those 'inferior' to her, Hay Lin guessed she really was lonely and wanted a friend.

In Avatar Town, a hungry 'Avatar' Hay Lin eyed the scrumptious dumplings (and all the other yummy food!) spread out for the V.I.P. feast.

"Mmmm! It all looks so good!" Hay Lin said, licking her chops.

"So take some, already!" Azula urged the Air Guardian.

"Oh? But I can't! Madam Wong said the food is for the visiting dignitaries." the timid girl replied.

"So? Do you do everything Madam Wong tells you to do?" Azula challenged her.

"What? No! Of course not! I mean...Yes." the embarrassed 'Avatar' revealed.

"Hay Lin, you're the Avatar!" the royal Princess declared. "That puts you on a higher rung than any of these supposed 'dignitaries'!"

"But I'm not the real Avatar!" Hay Lin confessed.

"But you are an air bender! And there's only one other of those in the whole world! Which is more than these so-called 'nobles' can say! Take the dumplings! You deserve them!" Princess Azula said with authority.

"But what if Madam Wong catches me??" the skittish young girl fretted.

"Tell her you were hungry! What's she going to do? Fire you from your 'Avatar' job??" Azula teased.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a bite." Hay Hay agreed.

"That's my girl!" Azula cheered her success in convincing Hay Lin to follow her lead.

But wouldn't you know what happened next?

"Hay Lin!! What are you doing??!" Madam Wong cried upon entering the dining room.

"Oh. Hi, Madam Wong. I was...hungry." Hay Lin, dumpling bits hanging from her lips, sheepishly admitted.

The stern matriarch opened her mouth, ready to issue harsh words of condemnation, Hay Lin surmised.

But then the elderly taskmistress stopped. The features of her face softened. Madam Wong wasn't angry at Hay Lin anymore. She was...concerned? Worried??

"I see. Well...Don't overdo it. Save some for our guests." a much nicer Madam Wong said.

"Okay, Madam Wong. Thank you!" a grateful Hay Hay replied.

"You...really must remember not to skip your meals, Hay Lin. It's not good for the body!" the flustered Madam Wong added.

"I know. Thank you for your concern, Madam Wong. I'll do better in the future." Hay Lin said, bowing to her elder.

Then she turned to her new friend. "It worked! You were right, Azula!" the Air Guardian, wearing one of her biggest smiles ever, said.

"Of course I was right, Hay Lin." the royal Azula spoke as if issuing a decree. "You must deal firmly with those inferior to yourself."

"Madam Wong's not that bad! She's just kinda high-strung and...Okay, she is kind of bad! But she means well." the gracious Guardian of Air commented.

And so it went, those few months ago. A far more innocent time for our resident air elemental of the infinite dimensions.

Her friends were something Hay Lin could always count on.

Always!

And now she had to be there for them.

No matter what!

Right?

Thinking about her friends gave Hay Lin the strength to go on.

Returning to reality, Hay Lin considered her situation - fighting War Dragons, solo!

Riding the winds high above the city, the atmosphere being the one place that had always comforted the young Asian girl as much as her fellow Guardians (luckily, the ashfall was much lighter over the Red Zone than in the rest of the city. Two ton, flying fire-breathing reptiles were more than enough of a challenge! Adding hot, choking ash to the menu would be unendurable!), Hay Lin lay in wait for her aerial adversary, figuring she could dispatch it just as easily as the first one.

But this dragon had a different idea!

"Awp! It's coming right at me!! Somehow, it knows where I am!!" the invisible Hay Lin yelped as she zigzagged through the Fire Nation sky in a fruitless bid to evade her pursuer.

Perhaps the dragon could smell her? Or 'read' the air currents as the Guardian moved through them?

However, it really didn't matter why.

The flying fire-breather was coming for her, and there was nothing Hay Lin could do about it!

The winged beast was moving far too fast as it slashed across the sky! Even if the Guardian of Air could create a large enough cyclone in time, at the speed the dragon was moving it'd be impossible to aim the slow-moving tornado at it!

But...Maybe there was another way?

Quickly assembling a weapon from the materials left at a skyscraper construction site, Hay Lin gave herself an internal peptalk.

Come on, Hay Lin! Suck it up! You can do this!!

"What would Irma say?" Hay Lin wondered out loud as she pointed the 'windarm' (so named because it wasn't a 'firearm') at the swiftly approaching, bat-winged reptile. "Oh yeah! 'Say hello to my leetle friend'!" she quipped in a desperate attempt to screw up her courage and not think about what would happen if she failed.

Hay Lin fired her air cannon of debris directly at the onrushing firedrake!

Distracted by the pummeling metal and concrete, the 20-foot dragon veered offcourse and made like a jumbo jet tearing into the World Trade Center, crashing into an upper floor of an evacuated building!

"Woo-hoo! Score another one for me! Hay Lin 2, Dragons 0!" the Air Guardian squealed in triumph! "I'm coming, Momo!" Hay Lin earnestly promised as she took off in search of her friend's companion animal.

And also, ultimately, her last giant reptilian opponent.

ooooooooooooooo

In the Fire Lord's personal Agni Kai combat field, Irma stood alone against the earth bending and plant bending might of Long Feng and his Dai Li.

"Yeah, about that..." Irma considered Long Feng's 'generous' offer to live as a slave under his iron-fisted rule of the Earth Kingdom. "Nuh uh."

"Then prepare to die!!" Long Feng commanded. His Dai Li responded by moving their hands and arms to activate their fatal bending moves.

But Irma Lair wasn't worried.

Or, even more naturally for Irma, joking.

In fact, she was downright...Serious!

"Funny you should say that stuff about ruling..." Irma said, ominously.

ooooooooooooooo

From the air, things looked much the same as ever.

At times, with the Asian culture predominant, it even reminded her of home

Home.

She understood things back home.

But here?

Though there were similarities, life on the Avatar's world was...different.

Very different!

Back in the Earth Kingdom camp where she and Irma had stayed with the other Freedom Fighters, things were...okay.

But sometimes got a little odd.

Though here she could use her powers openly (which Hay Lin loved!), there were other issues to deal with.

Mainly involving the people. Oh, they were nice, sure, but...hardly as cosmopolitan as she was used to.

To put it bluntly!

"Wow! You're Hay Lin the air bender, aren't you??" said an Earth Kingdom admirer.

"Yes, I am!" Hay Lin beamed, proud to be recognized.

"Can we ride your sky bison?" the woman asked, pointing to Appa stationed nearby.

"Um, well, it's not my sky bison!" Hay Lin disappointedly informed the couple.

"So, how are you going beat the Fire Lord?" the man inquired.

"Me??" the Air Guardian retorted, her annoyance beginning to show. "I think you have me confused with..."

"How does it feel to be the last of an extinct race?" the man, who was a professor in Ba Sing Se, unthinkingly asked.

"It's...Excuse me." Hay Lin snapped.

Then she turned around and flew off!

"Idiot!" the woman yelled at her companion. "Why'd you have to bring that up?!?"

"What do you mean? It's a good question! I'm a scientist! I have to ask questions like that!" Prof. Kei defended his scholarly pursuit of knowledge.

"You offended the Avatar! That's bad luck!" the woman bitched. "Now I'll never get a ride on her sky bison!" she pouted.

Hay Lin had tried to fit in.

Really!

But it was so hard!

"Hey, Katara, you said before you were thinking of changing your wardrobe. I can help with that! I can design new clothes for you!" Hay Lin, in her specially-designed jeans, offered. "They'd really highlight those big blue eyes of yours!" she added, grinning, certain she had sealed the deal.

"If it's all the same with you, Hay Lin, I don't really feel like discussing clothes. Not after...you know." a somber Katara replied, referring to the fate of her brother, Sokka.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." a much chagrined Hay Lin apologized.

Later, Hay Lin spotted Irma hopping on Appa's back alongside Katara.

"We're going clothes shopping in Omashu!" Irma announced.

"You are??" an astonished Hay Lin gasped. "But..."

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did you want to go, too? I thought you were busy training with Aang!" Irma regretted offending her oldest friend, and sought to make it up to her.

"No, that's okay. You go ahead. I have...things to do." Hay Lin replied, finally cognizant of the fact that, after months on the Avatar's world, some things had indeed changed.

Heartbroken that she and Irma were drifting apart, Hay Lin wandered over to her fellow air elemental to seek relief from her grief.

However...

"Sorry, Hay Lin!" Aang perfunctorily apologized without even glancing in her direction as he practiced air, water, fire and earth bending. "I'm kind of busy at the moment! Maybe later?" Then he added "Oh. Wait. I have to go over invasion plans with the Generals later on. Maybe..." he trailed off, focused on bending a fireball encased in a circle of water.

"Sure, Aang." Hay Lin sighed, as she walked away. "I'll have my people call your people."

And Toph... was Toph.

"I'd love some new clothes, Hay Lin!" Toph eagerly agreed to Hay Lin's generous gift. "Anything would be better than these old rags!" she exclaimed.

"Really, Toph? I'd love to..." Then Hay Lin got a look at Toph's 'old rags'. Her very expensive, upper class Earth Kingdom robes marred with nary a stain or a hole. And she realized..."Wait. You're blind. So that was...a joke?" she quizzed the sightless earth bender.

"Yeah! Isn't it funny?!" Toph chortled.

"A riot." Hay Lin deadpanned.

"Although I could use new shoes! Ha! Not really!" Toph laughed. "I never wear shoes! I even got Sokka to quit wearing shoes! It was great! We would play footsie for hours! We...Did I just say that out loud?" Toph, slightly embarrassed, said.

Hay Lin blanched, screwing her face up in disgust at this unwelcome TMI (too much information)!

Absent-mindedly meandering toward the Earth Army's area of the camp, Hay Lin stopped when she heard a familiar voice...

...Caleb!

But he was discussing important war plans with the heads of the Allied forces, so Hay Lin didn't interrupt.

The sharp-eyed Meridian rebel, though, spotted his old compatriot from Heatherfield. "Hay Lin?" he asked, stopping his meeting. "Do you need something?"

"No. That's okay, Caleb. I'm good." she meekly replied.

Whereupon Caleb, without skipping a beat, resumed his war conference. "We can't use Sokka's old route into the Capital. They'll be guarding that entrance. So I think we should…"

All alone, a state of being she had never gotten used to in her short life, Hay Lin kicked at a rock and shuffled off.

Retiring to her tent in camp that night, Hay Lin thought she could at least forget the cares of the world while her mind and body rested.

But her dreams provided no escape.

Because it was THAT dream!

Again and again, always the same dream!

Stirred from her restless slumber, Hay Lin recounted the events of the nightmare one more time!

Oh, the dream had started out fine.

At first.

As it always had.

But all too quickly, it turned on her!

In her dream, Hay Lin served tea to her Grandmother.

Normal, right? Considering they both worked in a restaurant, that is.

But then Grandma Yan Lin got very demanding, charging her with various menial tasks to perform!

And then Yan Lin morphed into Madam Wong bossing Hay Lin around!

She wondered what it all meant.

Madam Wong was certainly no Grandma, but at least she looked after Hay Lin (for her own reasons, sure, but at that point in her life, with no friends or family, Hay Lin was grateful for even that tainted bit of kindness).

And now? She didn't even have that.

Why is it so hard here? an anxious Hay Lin moaned. Even when I try to be myself, it doesn't seem to work out on this crazy world!

ooooooooooooooo

As a sand dweller, Ghashuin was used to the hot, dry climate of the Si Wong desert of the Earth Kingdom.

Not the sticky, humid air of the Fire Nation.

A drop of sweat rolled down his face, fell...and landed on the parched sands below.

Toph smiled.

It was all she needed.

ooooooooooooooo

Some Agni Kais take place entirely in the mind.

Most, though, occur in physical places called arenas.

Like the one in the Fire Lord's Palace.

Case in point: Irma Lair vs. Long Feng & the Dai Li.

"No more chances!!" Long Feng roared. "Men, destroy this impertinent obstacle!"

As the deadly Dai Li prepared to bend Irma to an early demise, the Guardian of Water defiantly stood her ground!

"I couldn't do this in front of Aang or Katara. They're too nice." Irma lectured her opponents, the anger rising in her voice with each word she spoke. "Me, I don't have that problem. Not after this place cost me almost all of my friends!"

With a simple wave of her hand, Irma made the Dai Li freeze!

Then, Long Feng himself was dancing to her tune!

"W, what are you doing to me?!? Nooooo!!!"he cried, as his limbs moved of their own volition, a macabre puppet with Irma pulling the strings!

"Ruling..." Irma cruelly answered. "...You and all of your earth bending buddies!"

ooooooooooooooo

Had the dream again. Not that it matters. Not up here. thought Hay Lin as she sailed on the air currents above the seemingly endless ocean of the Avatar's world.

The invasion fleet had recently left port, and Hay Lin was taking a much-needed break.

The zephyr winds caressed the Asian girl's skin like she imagined a lover would someday. The air adored Hay Lin, and she reveled in the uncritical, unquestioning acceptance of her element, soaring high into the sky, without a care in the world!

All the petty troubles in her life faded away, way up here!

Nothing could beat this feeling!

The freedom!

The joy!

The...

"Hay Lin?" the voice called her back to reality. "Could you please come down here?" asked a man on the ship below.

Landing as instructed, Hay Lin found out what the Water Tribe sailors wanted.

"We're getting close to Fire Nation waters. So if you could scout ahead?" the warrior known as Bato requested.

"Sure. No problem." Hay Lin blankly responded.

"Great! Thanks a lot!" a grateful Bato replied.

Feeling appreciated, Hay Lin's mood brightened.

Then, as she rode her familiar winds skyward, Hay Lin heard Bato say something else.

"Isn't she wonderful?" Bato told his fellow warrior. "I don't know what we'd do without our invisible secret weapon!"

Hearing this, while her body soared, Hay Lin's spirit sank.

Later, the Air Guardian stood on the deck of the Water Tribe ship. They had left the Earth Kingdom port a day ago.

Soon, they would be embroiled in a war with a whole nation.

Hay Lin considered her current situation. Aang, with his awesome Avatar duties, had no time for her. Irma was best buds with Katara now. Katara treated her coldly. (Why didn't she like me?? the girl Guardian fretted. What did I ever do to her?!) Toph was Toph (right now she was asking the Water Tribe crew swabbing the deck to keep the water away from her. Toph hated to clean her feet, even accidentally). Caleb was war planning. And none of them were talking.

Her father told Hay Lin he always wondered how she and her friends got along so well. "Most times you put five girls together, they scratch each others' eyes out!" he had said. Hay Lin thought he was joking. But maybe he was on to something, after all.

As the ship sailed west, towards the Fire Nation (and destiny), Hay Lin looked at the sky. It was grey and overcast. A perfect complement to her mood. Her life used to be warm and sunny. But now?

In her dreams, her past life haunted her.

As for her new life?

A whole world who didn't know who she was, who might never understand her? Even her identity wasn't her own, here on this strange world where people commonly, and quite often, mistook her for someone else.

Aang, Toph and the rest (even Katara. Usually, anyway) were nice enough, but Hay Lin knew she'd never be one of them.

And her old friends?

Oh, she still had Irma, but after what the Water Guardian talked her into? Ditching (betraying!) Aang, Katara and Toph?? Now Hay Lin wasn't even sure about her Candracar-powered companion, who she'd known for years!

Hay Lin knew she had to make a choice between her new friends and her old friends, her new life and her old life. Hay Lin knew she had to be assertive. Azula had taught her that.

But it was so hard!

What was left?

Anything??

Hay Lin, who had tried to please everyone she ever met, up to and including shaving her head to pass for the Avatar, stood there in her still short, rather boyish haircut on the ship's deck and reflected on her life.

Her eyes darted from side to side. There was no one around.

Hay Lin began calmly walking toward the railing of the ship, then halted her movement, as if hesitating.

Finally, she broke into a sprint, grabbed the railing and hoisted herself up on top of it.

Hay Hay stood there a moment, gazing out at the sea. Then she closed her eyes and...stepped off.

Hay Lin's eyes snapped open. She was perched on a skyscraper high above the Red Zone of the Fire Nation capital.

Back to the mission. Hay Lin sternly observed, as she once again entered the grimy, soot-filled, war-torn sky under her own power.

Forgetting her self-indulgent reverie, Hay Lin returned to the task at hand: Tracking her prey.

Reasoning that dragons were mountain animals, she deduced the beast would seek shelter on the side of a building.

Which is where she'd also probably find Momo!

Suddenly, shouting from below!

Someone else had found Hay Lin!

Fire Army soldiers!

"Look at them!" an amused Hay Hay said. "They're so tiny, they look like ants!"

Then the fire benders launched missiles of flame at the Mistress of the Vaporous Element!

"Ants with fire! Hmphh!" Hay Lin disgustedly remarked. "Nothing to see here, fellas!" she added, with no small amount of contempt, and then disappeared from sight.

The soldiers, though, had given Hay Lin what she wanted...

...The last dragon's attention!

Attracted by the commotion, the mighty fire animal soared through he air, spewing hot flames before it!

Caught by an unlucky blast that singed her arm, Hay Lin became visible!

Realizing she was mere moments away from death, and in too much pain to save herself, Hay Lin thought it was all over!

But she didn't think of her life in that last instant.

No, Hay Hay thought of the friends she'd never see again!

And then...

...While the dragon bore down on the lithe, unmoving form of the Guardian of Air...

...Momo sailed out of the clouds!

Distracting the sky scorcher, Momo led it away from the hurting Hay Lin!

"Momo!!" she cried, as the air lemur flew just inches ahead of its demon-winged pursuer!

Forgetting her pain, Hay Lin chased after the furious dragon!

And, even more surprisingly, caught up to it!

Determined to make the sizzling skymonster forget its mammalian prey, Hay Lin shot air ram tornadoes, air cannons of whatever she could get her hands on, and even air daggers that could penetrate armor at the scaly one's tough hide, but the great beast merely turned in her direction and let loose a vomitous stream of hellfire, which dissipated whatever air attack Hay Lin produced, then resumed its hunt of the tasty lemur!

Desperate to stop the foul fire-breather before it ate Momo, Hay Lin landed on the creature's back and formed 'air fists' (fists with funnels of air around them) to batter the beast senseless!

"Leave. Him. Alone!" the maddened Hay Lin demanded as she thrashed the back of the dragon's head with her 'funnel fists'!

In response, the irritated dragon rolled in the sky, shaking the Air Guardian from his backside!

But Hay Lin was partially successful.

The dragon halted his hot pursuit of the air lemur!

Unfortunately, all its attention was now focused on the girl who had been such a thorn in its side!

Circling around, the wild War Dragon sought to finish her off!

All of Hay Lin's old tactics were useless against this creature that must have been from hell itself!

"He's too fast, too hot! I've gotta find some way to shut him down! But how??" she hastily pondered, in the few seconds of life she had left!

Looking up at the sky, Hay Lin had an idea.

The sky...In science, we learned there's different layers, each with a different temperature. So, if I exchange a colder layer...for the warm air here at the surface...it should...Yeah! That should cool off Mr. Hot Stuff!

Calling down the thin, frigid air of the upper atmosphere, the Air Guardian of Infinity wrapped it around the hapless dragon!

Her plan worked!

Very well, in fact.

Too well!

You see, dragons used warm updrafts of air to fly in the thick, atmospheric currents closest to the surface.

Bereft of that, and frozen to boot, the fire beast lost the ability to soar through the sky completely and fell to the ground far, far below, making a huge crater in the middle of the city street!

Watching this horror unfold from above, Hay Lin had one comment:

"Oh no...Momo, what have I done?!?"

"Cheee?" the clueless lemur responded.

ooooooooooooooo

"It was amazing, Aang! Sand bending was like how you described air bending! Instead of having one set of eyes, I had a thousand!" the greatest earth bender ever joyfully exclaimed to her Avatar friend.

As the fallen drop of sweat hit the sand, sending vibratory echoes across the grains all the way to the Earth Kingdom girl, Toph sprang into action, commanding the millions of bits of volcanic basalt that constituted the black sand at Ghashuin's feet to encircle and entwine the young sand bender's limbs!

His position revealed, Ghashuin struggled to free himself from the sand trap! Failing that, and though his arms were restrained, he went on the offensive in a desperate attempt to take down his opponent. Ghashuin kicked his legs, and wave after wave of needle-sharp sand flew at Toph, cutting her unprotected arms and face!

Toph responded by dissolving the sand under Ghashuin.

The stunned sand bender sank in the liquified gunk! Buried completely in the dark as night beach soil of the Fire Nation!

Then, with another motion of rare earth bending form, Toph hardened the sand until it was as strong as concrete, imprisoning her foe!

"That's great, Toph! I'm really happy for you!" Aang sincerely said.

However, the earth bending master could sense the anxiety in the Avatar's voice. "But we have...company." he added.

"Huh?" the blind girl uttered. "Who?"

Across the way, in the upper reaches of the Fire Lord's Palace, another reunion took place.

"Irma!" Katara shouted with glee, greeting her water sister with a warm hug. "I'm so happy to see you! How did you defeat all those Dai Li guys?"

"Oh, it wasn't easy." Irma admitted with a smile.

"Where's all your threats now, big man? Huh??" Irma berated Long Feng as she forced him and his Dai Li to repeatedly slam themselves into the wall!

"Unh!! You can't...Oof!!...keep this up...forever! Nghh!...little girl! Sooner or...Ahk!...we will...!" the former ruling minister of Ba Sing Se spat through clenched teeth.

Though Long Feng and his earth bending lackeys were powerless to prevent Irma from making them beat themselves up, the Water Guardian knew he was right!

"Luckily, I...had a little help." Irma added.

"Hi, Irma!" the girl in the shadows said.

"Cornelia!!" Irma shouted as the teen stepped into the light. Then the Guardian of Water lost control of the earth benders, and they fell in a pile on the floor. "You're okay!!" she exulted, upon seeing the blonde Heatherfieldian was human again.

"I am now!" said Cornelia Hale, giving her old friend a big hug!

"Where's Caleb?" Irma inquired.

"He said he had to check the weapons room!" Corny replied, heedless of the menace of the nearby Dai Li.

"Boys and their toys!" Irma quipped.

"You...will...pay..." Long Feng promised, as he struggled to free himself from the pile of mangled bodies he found himself trapped under!

"Now why don't you find Aang and the others and take care of Zuko once and for all?" the Earth Guardian implored Irma. "Zuko used me to make these 'plant benders'! That makes them my problem to solve! Go! I'll join you as soon as I can!"

"Gosh, thanks, Corny!" said Irma Lair, much happier than she'd been in a long time! "I almost hate to say goodbye, except I really do want to get that slimeball!" Irma cracked, confident she'd see her friend again very soon!

After Irma exited the arena, Long Feng continued his threats against the Guardian of Earth. "We are legion!" the would-be ruler of the Earth Kingdom claimed. "You cannot stop..."

"Yadda yadda yadda!" the bored earth elemental yawned. "Oh, I know! Let's see if any of you ate seeds!" she added, her interest clearly perked.

With one quick movement of her arm, Cornelia germinated all the seeds in the earth benders' bodies, sending sprouted leaves and vines through their throats and out their mouths!

While those afflicted struggled to remove the quick-growing plants from their helpless form, their allies were wrapped up in the stalks issuing from their fellow Dai Li!

While watching the Earth Kingdom traitors attempt to extricate themselves from the quivering mass of living plants, Cornelia noticed one unfortunate earth bender must have had a digested seed in his alimentary canal when it sprouted, because a vine came right out of his posterior!

"Ha! Ha! Now that's just wrong!!" Cornelia laughed heartily.

"Enough!!" Long Feng yelled, using his plant bending powers to send a wave of green death through the room that killed off all the vegetation!

"You shouldn't have done that." Cornelia Hale, formerly the Earth Guardian, ominously stated, as her human aspect fell away like an old dress, to be replaced by something far greater. Corny's skin acquired the color of a garden, her face became bark-like, her arms and legs like tree trunks, her blond hair filled with leaves, and twigs sprouted all over her body. She was, now and forever, the Plant Spirit.

Long Feng and his Dai Li hesitated as they began to comprehend just what it was they faced.

Then plants erupted through the floor and the walls all over the length of the arena, making a jungle of it in an instant, with the Plant Spirit at the center of the explosion of nature's fury!

"Look who else is here, Irma!" Katara revealed the good news, leading the Water Guardian to another recent arrival who just 'flew in'."

"Taranee!!" Irma rejoiced, giving her Guardian colleague a big hug! "I was so worried! How have you been?!!"

"Never better than right now!" Taranee confessed. "It's been nuts these last few days, what with the volcanic eruptions and all the other things!"

"The Fire Army pulled out of a lot of small towns, recalled a lot of troops to the capital because of the feared Invasion by the Earth Kingdom. But with no one to keep the peace in the outlying areas, a lot of suppressed hostility came out! Some people saw it as an opportunity to 'settle scores', some hundreds of years old! It was crazy!" Taranee explained. "So I was pretty busy! With that and the tsunami!"

"There was a tsunami??" Irma gulped.

"Yeah. Out in the ocean, because of all the geological activity. I saw it as I flew here. But I stopped it before it reached shore!" the Fire Guardian assured her audience.

"How'd you do that?" Katara wondered, as a tsunami was an awesome act of nature!

"I had to vaporize the water." Taranee disclosed, as if it was no big deal. "Then I had to stop the tsunami going the other way, before it hit the Earth Kingdom!"

"The other way?? Then...you saved the fleet, too! Good job!" Katara congratulated her.

Sniff! Irma crinkled her nose at the odd smell. "What is that stink??" she asked.

"Ah, well, I..got close to the volcanoes...and their gases when they exploded!" Taranee revealed, without spelling out WHY they erupted - she caused it!

"You were in exploding volcanoes??" Irma marveled. "Geez, remind me never to do that! Pee-yew!"

"Um, you get used to it." Taranee weakly smiled. "And, it was kind of unavoidable." she added, as she struggled with admitting her role in the current mess.

"That really is amazing, Taranee!" Katara applauded her.

"It wasn't that great! Not after I..." Taranee started to confess, but was interrupted by Irma.

"Hey, you wouldn't believe who I saw downstairs!" Irma began. "It was..."

"Hay Lin!!" Taranee shouted, forgetting her embarrassing revelation for the moment.

"No, not Hay Lin! It was..." said Irma, a bit annoyed Tara talked over her.

"No, I mean Hay Lin!" the Guardian of Fire said, pointing to the girl who just wafted in through the upper-story window!

"Hi, guys." said the emotionally drained Air Guardian, not even bothering to look up to match her friends' gazes.

ooooooooooooooo

Hay Lin had wondered, many times over the past few months, what the reunion with her Guardian friends would be like.

But she never imagined it would be like this! Her friend, Cornelia, a plant?! And Taranee? Hay Lin couldn't even look her in the eye!

"Hay Lin! It's so good to see you!!" said the excited Taranee as she ran to give her friend a hug!

But Hay Hay was not in a hugging mood.

Recoiling from Hay Lin's unusually cold behavior, Tara stepped back and regarded her fellow Guardian. She did not like what she saw! The unkempt, short hair. The colorless cheeks. The empty eyes. It was clear the air elemental had been through some trauma!

Taranee didn't know quite what to say, so all she managed to blurt out was: "Hay Lin? What did you do to your hair?"

Which, to Hay Lin, sounded like "What happened to you? Why did you change??"

But before either could react to what they were feeling, Aang chimed in!

"It's great you're all here, but we have a situation!" the Avatar declared.

"Do you mean Zuko??" Hay Lin asked. "Where is he?"

"I haven't seen him yet. But we did run into someone else!" Aang exclaimed.

"Hello, Hay Lin. Nice to see you again, even if you are garbed like a peasant." Azula entered the room and immediately zinged the Air Guardian!

"What? What did you say??" Hay Lin gasped. The fashion-forward Heatherfieldian wore a vest over a long-sleeve wrap top with extra-long ties that circled her lithe frame twice before ending in double loops, complimented with bootcut jeans that had her own designs and appliqués affixed to it. She put a lot of work into her attire and considered the ensemble rather trendy.

Consequently, she was quite miffed when Azula labeled it 'peasant wear'!

"Although, I suppose those horrid rags do take attention away from that terrible hairstyle of yours. Whatever did you do to your hair??" the Fire Princess fired another dig at Hay Lin's appearance.

"Lay off, Azula!" Taranee stuck up for her friend. "You're not here to give fashion tips!"

"No." Azula smirked. "Although it clearly wouldn't hurt! Now then..." Azula regarded Aang, Katara, Toph and the three Guardians like a cat regarded a ball of string. "...Have you decided on my proposal?"

"What proposal??" Irma asked.

"To stop Zuko, of course!" Azula clarified. "The only way to eliminate the threat my brother poses is if we work together. Hmphh! Working with air benders, water benders, earth benders and outworlders to save the Fire Nation! What an inauspicious day in our history, but I suppose it will have to do!"

"It makes sense." Taranee commented. "The more of us there are, the better our odds!"

"We don't need her, Aang!!" Toph stated rather emphatically. "We have enough bending experts to take down one guy!"

"If you could see, earth girl, you'd see the looks of disbelief on your friends' faces!" Azula snapped.

"Hey!" Toph snarled. "Don't start with me, fire trash!" the former Earth Rumbler shot back.

"Easy, Toph, easy!" Aang put a calming hand on the young earth bender's shoulder. "Don't let her get to you!"

"With the Heart of Candracar, Zuko's a lot more powerful than you realize, Toph!" Taranee added her expert opinion. "And Azula's plan is for me to create more fire benders to help us, which I'm not too crazy about..."

"Except even you recognize how dangerous the situation is!" the deposed Fire Princess scored debate points. "Zuko's undeserved power threatens everyone! He's totally lost control! I'm sure you've seen the madness out there! And that 'Third Way'? The whole country is in peril, so the traitorous dogs are trying to take advantage of it! I knew ZuZu would lose it and unleash his 'secret weapons' if he felt threatened, but even I'm surprised at the depths of his insanity! Earthquakes? Volcanoes? Dragons?! The Plant Creature?!? Destroying his own palace??? Heh. My ability to press my brother's buttons continues to amaze me!" she grinned.

"You mean you're responsible for all the chaos out there?!!" Aang gasped.

"Only indirectly, of course, although I suppose I am." replied Azula, whose ego couldn't resist bragging. "However, my only goal was to prove that Zuko is unfit to rule. As I am sure you all agree."

"Azula, that is low, even for you!" sparked the fiery Guardian of Fire.

"Regardless of your feelings on the matter," Azula snidely commented, "what's important is that Zuko must be stopped before he destroys everything! He'll be back soon, and we must be ready!"

"But you goaded him??" Hay Lin cried. "This is all your fault?!!"

"Yes. Whatever. Old business. Let's move on, shall we?" Azula urged the freedom fighters. "Return fire bending to me and my men so we can terminate my brother's rule!"

As she spoke, Combustion Man and two other formerly expert fire benders entered the room and stood behind Azula.

"And of course, with Zuko out of the way, you'll be Fire Lord then, right?" the surprisingly perceptive Irma Lair noted.

"I suppose that is a sacrifice I will have to make! The Fire Nation needs a strong, sane leader! But I do promise to end the war. So what do you say? Is it a deal?" Azula smiled as sincerely as she could muster, and looked to the six heroes for their response.

Aang, Katara, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee and Toph (well, maybe not Toph) looked at each other, then at Azula.

But no one spoke up.

"I thought you might be...hesitant." Azula said, steel in her voice as well as her hand, as she grabbed the dazed Hay Lin and put a knife to her throat! "I didn't want to do this. However, that doesn't mean I won't enjoy it! Give me your word you'll restore our fire bending, and I'll let her go."

"Azula! No! Don't!!" Aang begged.

"Halt! One move, one tiny little bending, and dear, sweet Hay Lin discovers what life is like without a throat!" Azula coldly promised. "I've planned for everything! I've even sent men to detain your air bison, so there won't be any last minute rescues!"

"You, you captured Appa??!" cried the Avatar, upset that both Hay Lin and his spirit animal companion were in grave danger!

"Don't worry! He won't be hurt! No one will, as long as you do what I say!" the rough royal said, her finger on the hilt of the blade.

"Aang, she's playing you! Appa is fine! Now let Hay Lin go or you'll regret it!!" Irma bellowed, hands at the ready, one step away from attacking the foul Fire Nation princess!

"Ah ah ah! You don't want to do that! Only I know the truth about the sky bison!" Azula expertly played the heroes, tickling the Air Guardian's throat with the sharp point of the knife. The Princess would get her way...or else!

"No, Irma! It's too risky!" Taranee held her friend back.

"I...you're right. I'm sorry, Hay Lin." Irma said, her rage as deflated as her hope that the Guardians will be reunited and happy, like they were in an almost forgotten time.

"Azula, you don't want this!" Hay Lin tried talking to the steely-eyed royal. "I know what they did to you - taking away your fire bending - must have hurt you a lot, and that's why you did those things to your brother. Because you were in so much pain. If Aang and the others understood that, I'm sure they'd help you!" the sweet, sensitive Asian girl confidently stated.

Aang, Katara, Irma and Taranee (especially Taranee) were struck by Hay Lin's words of forgiveness and lowered their heads in shame. They were so quick to judge, to condemn, another human being while the one put in harms' way by the 'villain' had nothing but love for her 'enemy'.

Azula picked up on the forgiveness vibe that offered such hope for her, but couldn't believe it. Deals and negotiations, those were allowed for a royal (especially if trickery and deceit were involved!) but how could she simply ask someone to help her?!! She was Princess Azula of the Fire Nation!! She gave orders that were to be obeyed! She didn't crawl on her knees and beg, like some whipped eelhound!

"Azula, you don't have to act like this!" Hay Lin continued, the cold knife pressing against her warm, blood-filled throat. "I know it must embarrass you to ask for help, but Aang's a good guy!"

"Why would the Avatar help me?! He's my enemy!! I wasn't born yesterday, you know!" Azula scoffed. "And quit being so nice! Why aren't you scared?!?" she angrily asked her polite, petite captive.

"Why would I be? You're my friend!" Hay Lin declared, believing it with all her heart. "Please, Azula. It'll be okay."

Though Azula had done little to earn the Air Guardian's trust, Hay Hay had been through some trying times herself lately, so she was willing to give the troubled Fire Princess another chance, and extended the hand of friendship.

Only to see that welcoming hand swatted away.

Swatted hard!

"Ha ha ha! Naive, simple-minded fool! I was never your friend!! From the first we met, I was only using you!" the cruel Azula retorted.

"But, but you helped me...I thought..." Hay Lin muttered.

The Air Guardian's mind raced back to a few months ago, and Azula's true nature and goals revealed itself to her.

"Madam Wong's not that bad! She's just kinda high-strung and...Okay, she is kind of bad! But she means well." the gracious Guardian of Air commented.

"Like those friends of yours you were telling me about?" Azula replied, deftly changing the conversation to the subject she wished to learn more about.

"Yeah! The Guardians! We're always helping people and fighting monsters and stuff! It's a lot of fun!" the excitable Hay Lin squealed. Then she tempered her enthusiasm. "Although, the monsters can get a little scary, sometimes."

"As scary as Madam Wong?" Azula said with a smirk.

"Ha ha! No, not that scary! Hee!" Hay Lin laughed.

"So, how many of you are there?" Azula very nicely pumped Hay Hay for info on the heroes of Candracar.

"There are five Guardians." Hay Lin ran through the roster. "I'm the Air Guardian. Will's the leader and she's the Guardian of...What's that word?...Quintessence. I guess you'd call her an 'energy bender'."

"Energy?" the bemused Princess inquired.

"Yeah, you know. Like electricity? Oh, wait. You guys don't have electricity around here. Um, we'll get back to her later." Hay Hay reasoned, then resumed her vocal essay. "Cornelia's the 'earth bender' of the group. You know, I bet you two would really hit it off! Then there's Irma, the 'water bender'..."

"Would she and I 'hit it off', as you say?" Azula smiled at her use of the Heatherfield teen's vernacular.

"Seriously? Probably not. You're too much alike! Ha!" Hay Lin giggled, then instantly turned serious. "Please don't tell her I said that!"

"My lips are sealed." a grinning Azula said, pleased her plan to befriend Hay Lin and gain her trust had paid off. "Any more?"

Yeah! Taranee! She's the 'fire bender'..." Hay Lin continued.

Finally, Hay Lin understood what really happened between her and Azula back in Avatar Town.

"You...you used me!" the stunned Air Guardian cried.

"Well, duh! Hay Lin!" Azula cracked a mean smile.

As for Madam Wong's uncharacteristically nice behavior towards Hay Lin?

The stern matriarch opened her mouth, ready to issue harsh words of condemnation, Hay Lin surmised.

But then the elderly taskmistress stopped. The features of her face softened. Madam Wong wasn't angry at Hay Lin anymore. She was...concerned? Worried??

"I see. Well...Don't overdo it. Save some for our guests." a much nicer Madam Wong said.

What Hay Lin didn't know back then, but now firmly believed, was that, when the Guardian of Air told Madam Wong she was eating the off-limits dumplings because she was hungry, Azula, standing behind the ravenous Miss Lin, flashed lightning from her hand to scare Madam Wong into going along.

Even though Azula had threatened to kidnap Hay Lin when her original scheme to coax the Guardians to work for her failed, it wasn't until this moment, with Azula sticking the sharp point of a knife into Hay Lin's delicate neck as she mocked the very idea of friendship, that the Air Guardian realized the falsity of Azula's acts of kindness, the depths of the Fire Princess' devious nature.

"You have no idea how the world works, do you, you silly girl? Perhaps a demonstration is in order." The amoral Azula dug the blade into Hay Lin's tender neckflesh, and the crimson, life-giving plasma trickled out, painting a thin, red line on her exposed throat.

"Ow!!" Hay Hay screamed.

"Alright! I'll do it! Just stop hurting her!!" Tara yelled.

"Excellent! Now that you're all satisfied I mean business, if our erstwhile 'Fire Angel' can begin, soon Zuko will be put out of everyone's misery and things can finally get back to normal!" Azula gloated, another military victory in hand, unaware she had lost something much greater.

"Fine, Azula." snapped Taranee, as she walked over to the first candidate to restore fire bending to, Combustion Man. "But don't celebrate just yet. Zuko's pretty tough!"

"Oh, no doubt!" Azula replied. "But with all of us to oppose him, ZuZu doesn't stand..."

From out of the blue, Momo flew on top of the former fire bending Princess!

As the harried harridan tried (unsuccessfully) to dislodge the winged lemur who came to the rescue of his 'air bending' friend, the GAang, amused and delighted by the fortunate turn of events, commented on the unusual sight occurring before their eyes.

"Why do they ALWAYS forget Momo?" Aang said with a grin.

"Who cares why? Thank the Spirits they do!" Katara cracked.

"Hay Lin! Run!" urged Irma.

But Hay Lin saw Momo in danger, and had another idea.

First, she knocked the knife away. Then the Guardian of Air followed that up with an elbow to the Princess' face and a kick in the shins, causing Azula to fold like a house of cards.

And if it ended there, all would have been well.

But it didn't.

In an instant, the quick-moving Hay Lin (her speed aided by a blast of air behind her, a tactic she had picked up from the last air bender) was on top of the downed royal.

Hitting and punching the helpless (but lemur-free) Azula in the face. On the side of the head. In the neck!

The others thought Hay Lin's assault, while a bit over the top, a perfectly understandable response to Azula's vile acts against the Air Guardian, and therefore didn't try to immediately stop her (Irma even cheered her on, screaming "Yay! Go, Hay Lin!") but the Princess' lackeys moved to take action against the fighting fury. Hay Lin momentarily halted her pummeling of the Princess, peered at the onrushing soldiers and angrily spat "Well? You want some of this??!"

Seeing the look of pure rage in the petite Asian's eyes, two of Azula's crew of de-powered fire benders got cold feet and took off!

But not Combustion Man. The bald behemoth of a man, scary tough even without his explosive fire bending skills, charged the air bending lass! However, Hay Hay merely moved her right hand and blasted a furious funnel of air at him, sending the hulking Fire National crashing into the wall!

Then Hay Lin resumed her pounding of Princess Azula!

Irma could barely believe what she was seeing. Hay Lin was like a one-girl army! But the Water Guardian did manage to find her voice, at least, unlike the stunned others watching. "Uh, Hay Lin? I think you can stop now." she weakly suggested.

But Hay Lin didn't hear her friend (or pay any heed if she did) and continued raining haymakers on the prone form of the Princess, her once-delicate, but now cracked and peeling, fists painting Azula black and blue.

Even though Azula and her posse had been completely neutralized, Hay Hay didn't stop.

Or couldn't stop.

"Hay Lin!!" Aang and Taranee shouted scoldingly. Then Tara added "What are you doing? Look at her leg!"

Azula's artificial leg had come off, and Taranee wanted Hay Lin to understand Azula was disabled, thinking that would ease her ire, bring her back to her senses and cause Hay Hay to back off.

"What?" The Guardian of Air spotted the unattached limb. "Oh. I see."

Then Hay Lin picked up the prosthetic. "Thanks!" she chirped. And whacked Azula with her own leg!

"And that's for hurting Momo! And that's for saying my clothes are peasant robes! I'll have you know these are perfect knockoffs of designer jeans! I just got tired of wearing robes all the time!" the short-haired but very fashionably dressed Hay Lin raged while she thrashed the Fire Nation girl with the ash & rubber limb!

What the Air Guardian's companions didn't understand was how deep Azula's words cut Hay Lin. Her self-made clothes were the one thing that reminded Hay Hay of home and kept her centered, that told Hay Lin 'this is who I am, and it's going to be alright'. A feeling of reassurance she sorely needed after she was plunged into a world not her own, separated from family and most of her friends, underwent an 'extreme makeover' to play the bald-headed boy Avatar in an effort to fool his enemies and most especially after being thrown in the middle of a terribly costly and cruel war. Azula's fashion critique took that one, special thing near and dear to Hay Lin's heart, forged it into a knife...and stuck it in Hay Lin's soul as far as it would go, cutting her to the core. Much deeper than any real knife could. Then, for Azula to claim credit for the terrified state of the populace, of the whole horrible situation, made it even worse! On top of everything, for Azula to reveal she was NEVER Hay Lin's friend, that she was only using the Air Guardian back in Avatar Town, when to Hay Lin friendship was EVERYTHING... (Not to mention an incident yet to be revealed that tore at the young Wind Guardian's soul) ...It was all just too much for the usually pleasant Hay Hay to take!

Little wonder, then, that the normally cheery, vivacious Asian girl, who always had a ready smile and a friendly 'hello' for anyone she ever met…snapped.

It was as if Hay Lin wasn't even sitting atop Azula, beating her to within an inch of her life. All she saw, was Eric...Grandma Yan Lin...her parents...the Guardians...Aang...the Dragons...and the mean-spirited Princess…They all flashed through her mind.

"Don't have any more smart remarks, huh, Azula?!! Come on! Tell me how terrible my hair is!!!"

Hay Lin continued to club the unmoving Princess with the unattached body part, delivering blows that split flesh and cracked bone, sending blood spurting from wounds amid the unmistakable snap of skeletal fragments.

Her friends could only look on in horrified fascination.

"Holy crap, Hay Lin!" Irma yelped. She'd heard her father the police officer tell stories of perp/police brutality to fellow cops when he thought she was asleep in bed, but they never sounded as bad as what she was witnessing right now before her very eyes!

"And that's for saying you were my friend!!" Hay Lin cried, smashing the wooden leg into Azula's nose, breaking it. "Liar!!!"

The no longer stunned Irma, Aang and Taranee grabbed the bludgeoning Hay Lin and pulled her off the unconscious, injured Princess Azula.

They physically restrained the Air Guardian, and as her rage eased, Hay Lin sobbed and repeated the very revealing phrase that encapsulated all the pain in her heart.

"She said she was my friend..."

"Oh, Hay Lin!" Irma sympathetically responded. She finally began to understand just how badly Hay Lin had been affected by all that had happened to her.

"I'm not so sure that was the best way to go." Taranee acidly commented. "We could have used her help!"

"What? But, you can't trust Azula!" Hay Lin sputtered, feebly defending her actions "She's evil!!"

"Yes, but we could trust her to defeat her brother. After that, we could have taken care of her." Tara logically pointed out. "And you really shouldn't beat up a disabled person!" she disparagingly added.

"Azula is disabled??" a puzzled Hay Hay gasped. "Since when?"

"Since Zuko had his prison guards beat her up so badly, the doctors had to amputate! Didn't you notice the way she limped?" Taranee explained. "Or her one leg??" she said, sarcasm intended.

"Awp! Oh no! What have I done??" Hay Lin cried, dropping the bloody artificial limb to the ground. "Will she be okay?" she worriedly asked.

"Sure she will!" Aang lied. "Did we ever tell you about the time all of us, plus Zuko, hit her with all our bending combined, and she walked away without a scratch?" he said, referring to the time Azula, Mai and Ty Lee chased the GAang through the Earth Kingdom.

"Uh, yeah. About that? I don't think she's walking away now." Toph spoke up. The blind girl felt the vibrations through the stonework of the floor beneath her feet. She could sense Azula had several broken bones and wasn't about to get up anytime soon.

"Errrr...That's because..She's resting?" Aang weakly offered, hoping to make his friend Hay Lin feel better.

Hay Lin looked at the artificial leg lying by itself on the floor. Made from the finest ash and rubber trees (the former for strength and durability, the latter to provide a defense against lightning bending, and ensure such bending didn't electrocute Azula once that skill had been restored to her), it now symbolized how out of balance the Air Guardian's life had become.

"Sorry!" Hay Lin sincerely said. Then she hastily tried to re-attach the leg to the Princess' thigh.

However, time was running out.

"Hay Lin! Don't move her! You could injure her more!" Katara spelled out the facts of the matter. The compassionate water bending healer then stabilized Azula and set her broken bones. It was all she could do at the moment. "We'll send a medical team for Azula as soon as we can! Right now we have to find Zuko! Come on!" she ordered.

"But…" Hay Lin impotently uttered, as Aang, Toph, Taranee, Irma and Katara rose to the upper levels of the partly ruined Palace of the Fire Lord in their quest to locate the dangerous ruler of the Fire Nation

The girl who had been on an emotional see-saw left the leg next to Azula and followed her friends upstairs.

The Fire Princess, meanwhile, lay motionless on the ground.

Until…

"Unhhh. What do they feed that flying monkey, anyway??" Azula wheezed. "Ohhhhh."

As the freedom fighters ascended the Palace stairway, careful to avoid the missing steps and burned-out floors, Irma had a question for her oldest friend.

"Hay Lin, I know it's not 'Zula's fashion critique that set you off. What's really going on?"

"I..."

Hay Lin wanted to tell Irma all that she'd been through, including the most recent events, but she didn't know where to begin.

Then, an unusual sound echoed in the still air of the debris-strewn Palace.

CLAP CLAP CLAP

It was Zuko!

He applauded Hay Lin's efforts. "I doubt if I could have so thoroughly humiliated Azula! Congratulations, air girl!"

He hovered above the benders and Guardians, behind a shield of Candracan energy.

Unbeknownst to the freedom-loving invaders, Zuko had witnessed the whole ugly scene through the crystal prism of the Heart.

"Not exactly the technique I would have used on my sister, but certainly effective! Bonus for using her own leg against her. Even I couldn't have beat her that badly!" Fire Lord Zuko cheered. "But then, I was never her friend. And that's what really hurts, doesn't it? Friendship gone bad?" he sneered.

"No! I, I didn't mean to do that!!" the upset Hay Lin stammered.

"Don't belittle your accomplishments. It's not worthy of a warrior!" the Fire Lord chastised her, grinning in cruel amusement as he said it.

Next:

Invasion, Part 3!

Zuko Uber Alles

(Zuko over all)

Plenty of big fights in store as Zuko battles Aang, Katara, Toph, Irma, Hay Lin, Taranee, Cornelia & Caleb!

That is, it's Zuko vs. …EVERYBODY!

Guess who wins?

(Hint: Look at the title!)

Can't anyone stop this guy??

Hmmm. Maybe someone can.

What happened to Azula?

How did she react to the beating of a lifetime?

Let's flash-forward a few days after and see...

Epilogue: Azula

"Mistress?" a Fire Nation soldier loyal to the Princess voiced. "Why don't you seek revenge on the Avatar's friend?"

"Why??" the bruised, bandaged and black-eyed Azula uttered, amazed someone would ask such a stupid question! "Isn't it obvious? Because that would prove such a creature could best me!"

"Creature? You mean the lemur?" the confused infantryman replied.

"Yes, of course! What else would I mean?!!" the stern royal snapped. "And no one can ever know!"

"But it was..." the military man attempted to explain.

"Enough! We will never speak of this again. Or..." Princess Azula threatened her subject, bolts of angry lightning dancing in her eyes.

"Yes, mistress. I understand." the lowly recruit answered, then bowed his head.

"See that you do. Or the most endangered beast in the world won't be the vulture griffin. It'll be your family!" Azula laid down her sinister law.

She had no idea Hay Lin beat her up.

Azula thought her assailant was Momo!

Notes

I like this chapter because it shows what kind of person Hay Lin is, both the good and the not so good.

"She said she was my friend..." Whoa. Intense stuff! This chapter has to be among my best work!

If you thought this chapter was amazing, wait till you see the conclusion! Not that the finale blows this out of the water. They're both great. In fact, there's so much water being blown around in the course of this tale, there won't be any water left at the end of this thing! The creativity river will be bone dry!

When I read the title of the chapter, The Ballad of Hay Lin, I hear that tinkly Asian music they play at the beginning of Avatar episodes.

Another line from the song used for the musical subtitle is 'Who needs a heart, when a heart can be broken". Which describes Hay Lin's situation pretty well, in that her (friendship) heart was broken by Azula.

Will was empowered by Cassidy's Star in the W.I.T.C.H. comic, so it's plausible a villain could use the same tactic.

Cornelia received the Breath of Time in Issue 42 of the comic.

Allusions - The Human Torch used fire to 'shave' a beard off a man way back in Fantastic Four #4. And it was, of course, Scarface who uttered the immortal line about his 'leetle friend'.

The Fire Nation has skyscrapers? Why not? It was the development of steel that made skyscrapers possible, and the Fire Nation possesses vast metallurgical prowess. Their tanks and some ships appeared, at the very least, to be ironclad, and it's a small step from iron to steel. After the war, it's only natural for the country to shift from war production to construction.

Irma's power of suggestion plus 'bladder bending' = one powerful controller of minds & bodies.

Now you see why Irma picked on Hay Lin earlier (she teased her with the worm and used bladder bending to make Hay Hay run to the toilet). Irma and Hay Lin have been growing apart as each has gravitated towards their fellow elemental (In their months together, Irma got chummy with Katara and Hay Lin became real good friends with Aang). Plus Katara, quite understandably, resents Hay Lin 'intruding' on her special relationship with the young Avatar. Which brings us to the fight we'd like to see (but never will): Katara vs. Hay Lin! Before this chapter, easy money would have been on the water bender. But now? After Hay Lin displayed her fighting chops? It's anyone's guess. And I thought Corny vs. Toph was a good match-up! Everyone's always so nice to each other on these shows. They need some good conflicts to stir things up! Cornelia vs. Toph in Chapter 5 was a natural because both are strong-willed (stubborn) individuals with opposing points of view. Hay Lin vs. Katara could be a real catfight. Or, more likely, a sparring match that escalates and gets out of hand. It's not only Aang's feelings for Hay Lin that drive Katara crazy. (And those feelings appear mild to anyone BUT Katara. Everyone else sees Aang and Hay Lin as purely platonic, almost brother and sister. But that's not how Katara views the relationship). It's also the fact that Katara is a bit of a control freak. She likes being in charge. Look how Katara acted towards Toph when the earth bender joined the GAang and upset their orderly lives in "The Chase". So inserting two powerful girls into the mix is sure to cause fireworks! Unlike the addition of the 'boys' (Haru, Teo, The Duke) in Season 3, who are content to hang out and not do anything to upset the apple cart.

Did Hay Lin really try to kill herself by jumping off the ship, only to get cold feet? Or was she planning to take flight all along? Is it even possible for Hay Lin to commit suicide in this way? These are questions that will have to remain unanswered.

Hay Lin losing it is not one of those tacked-on, ultra-violent out of character events I hate so much in other fanfics. There are reasons both internal (Hay Lin's mind) and external (actions of others, but specifically Zuko) that explain why this happened (including a reason the full scope of which is yet to be revealed).

Granted, Hay Lin is not a violent person. However, we've never seen Aang or the other elemental heroes punch or kick anybody, whether bending/using powers or not, and Hay Lin has (she punched Frost in F is for Facades and kicked Phobos in J is for Jewel). I don't recall Irma, Cornelia or Taranee hitting anyone, although Will was more physical in Season 1 (before she got her electrical/energy powers) and even used a mace once, if memory serves. Hay Lin has shown she's not averse to using violence to solve a villainous problem. Her willingness to use her fists is in her emotional makeup. It is hard to see Hay Hay as a violent individual because she's usually so cheerful, and a real nice person. But it is a part of her. Therefore, it's possible she could let that ugly part of her get out of control. Also, Hay Lin was affected the most by this unwanted trip to the Avatar's world. Her life up till now had been pretty easy, and then she lost her whole world, thrust into an unknown situation without family or friends. And after she's reunited with her friends, she's split from most of them once again. As the youngest and least experienced of the group, she possesses the least confidence and is the most unprepared for such emotional upheaval. In fact, she nearly had a nervous breakdown in the Season 2 episode T is for Trauma. And Phobos said she was the weak link in the Guardians. I didn't realize all this about Hay Lin before I wrote the story. Now I like her even more! She's surprisingly complex.

Hay Lin's violent breakdown is well developed, so we understand why it happened. Unlike some other 'heroes who turn to the dark side' I could mention! Are you listening to me, Mary Marvel ruiners at DC Comics? So Mary gets some power and can't handle it? Wow. She's only had Captain Marvel power for, like, years! So of course she wouldn't be able to handle mystical superpowers! It makes perfect sense! (sarcasm intended)

The beating Hay Lin gives Azula is the main reason this story gets a 'T' rating. (Well, Sokka's death and a couple other things, too). You can't tell a story like this with a K or K+ rating. But there's no reason to go over the top with the violence, which is a mistake too many fanfics make. If you limit the violence, it makes it that much more effective when you DO use it.

If Zuko was spying on Hay Lin, Irma and the others through the Heart, is it possible he was behind the Air Guardian's violent beating of Azula? Although I think Hay Lin is responsible for her own actions, it is a plausible explanation for her uncharacteristic behavior, that maybe Zuko's link to her (through the Heart) enabled him to affect her personality - enough to drive her over the edge, anyway. It's also possible that an attempt by Zuko to mess with Hay Lin's mind gave her that headache. We already know the one who possesses the power of the Heart can get in people's dreams, and Zuko was surely behind some of the dreams Aang had, specifically the fire bending training ones with Avatar Roku (but not the last Roku dream, where he warned Aang).

It's appropriate that Azula failed here, like in the Avatar series, by misreading someone. In the TV show, she didn't think Mai or Ty Lee would turn against her, and here, Azula didn't believe Hay Lin had the balls to fight her. Big, BIG mistake! But it's also sort of a tribute to Azula's evil, that she could make a goody-goody like Hay Lin do something so despicable and under-handed. Ironic, no?

Hay Lin was also targeted as the 'weak link' in the comics' Ragorlang saga.

Friendship is one of the main themes of W.I.T.C.H. So it's fitting that it's lack of friendship (Hay Lin's reaction to Azula's deceptive behavior) that brings one of them down to the level of their enemies (but only temporarily, of course).

What this story shows is that, even though Azula can't fire bend and is a one-legged cripple, she's still the most dangerous person in the Fire Nation. Look at what she did to Zuko with a few letters. Or to Hay Lin with a few choice words.

It wouldn't surprise me to find that Koh told Zuko about the dragons the hidden Sun Warriors had, and then Zuko's henchmen stole some of their dragon eggs.

The dragons are riderless to simplify things (then Hay Lin only has to fight the dragon, and not the rider, too). I postulate that the dragons were trained since birth to perform a series of behaviors through reinforcement (much like dolphins and seals are trained). So, they're like guard dogs let off the leash and pointed to the enemy to be attacked. Also, none of the Fire Nation soldiers were man enough to tame a dragon, unlike Iroh or Sozin. So the dragons Hay Lin faces are barely trained, untamed, nearly wild attack dogs! Yipes! Plus, dragons are smarter than dogs! Double yipes!

Momo was not harmed by Azula. Hay Lin was just concerned for his well-being when she jumped Azula.

Momo represents innocence, the dragons represent knowledge/wisdom/maturity, and Azula represents the choice we all make - good or evil.

Let's see…Will punched Azula out, Irma short-circuited her, Taranee defeated her in an Agni Kai, Phobos turned her into a hogmonkey, and now playful Momo and sweet lil' Hay Lin beat her up! It's a good thing she's only fictional, or I'd be…aghkk! Unh….