Made a few minor changes and republished the last chapter (much love to SokkasInstincts for the help there. We'd all be better off following the advice of Sokka's Instincts. lol... ok, that really wasn't that funny. whatever, i'm closing these parenthenses now) so if you're subscribed to this or something, you can reread the last chapter, but not really necessary, and I apologize for the extra e-mail that it undoubtedly sent out.

Now, on with the new chapter.

Ohh, don't own Avatar.

--

"Alright, little guy, where were we?"

"Twinkle Toes just beat up the bad guy and took away his bending, then you all had a party and drank tea. But, he was kissing Katara." Darru sounded very confused by this.

"Don't worry, I got my turn as well. Just, not that day.

"So, after the party, we all went back to the Fire Nation to see Uncle Iroh finally get his crown. It was a visit that none of us would forget, and not for good reasons. You remember how I told you Sugar Queen and Sparky beat the crazy princess?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, that crazy princess was such a good firebender, and so powerful that the prison they put her into couldn't hold her. No prison could. She managed to sneak back into the capital shortly after the coronation –"

"The what?"

Toph regularly forgot how young the boy was. A lot of time was spent back tracking to explain long words. "Coronation. It's kind of a celebration of a king getting his crown. It's where everybody gathers around and celebrates their new leader and hopes that nobody has to go and beat him up like they did to the last one."

"Ohh, ok."

"Well, shortly after the celebration, we were all heading into town, and all split into pairs. There was Sparky and Sunshine, Sugar Queen and Twinkles, and Snoozles and Fan Girl."

"I still don't like Fan Girl."

Toph smiled and patted Darru's head. "Thatta boy. Don't worry, though, I got over it, and she's actually a pretty cool person. Her name is Suki, by the way. Anyways, we were all heading into town to get a few drinks (on the house of course, as we just ended the war), and some free food for the pit that is Snoozles. It was a very crowded street. I guess that's why I didn't notice her coming until it was too late. The crazy princess must have followed us, and right when we turned a corner, her feet hit the ground at the end of the road. Before I could do anything to protect us there was a bolt of lightening heading at us. I'm not sure who it was aimed at. Could've been Sparky, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was aimed at the one it hit. Either way, the lightening struck Sunshine right in the chest."

"But, Katara was there! The gloomy girl didn't die, did she? She was so nice when she wasn't trying to kill you."

"A lot of people are nice when they're not trying to kill me, actually, but, unfortunately, Sweetness didn't have any water with her. She wasn't expecting to fight anybody. She tried to get water out of the air, but the Fire Nation capital is a pretty arid place, and –"

"Arid?"

"Dry. There's not much water in the air."

"Sounds awful."

"For you, yeah, it would probably be really annoying. Well, because it was so arid, Sweetness couldn't save Sunshine." A tear tried to form in Toph's eye. She refused to add more water to the room, though and held onto it. "They did, however, catch the princess again."

"And they killed her?"

"Nope."

"But, Zuko's girlfriend?"

"Yeah, but Twinkles spent weeks convincing Sparky to banish her instead, after her bending ability was removed of course. She might still be alive in the Earth Kingdom today. I'm not sure. Maybe she even came here to the north pole."

--

"What are you talking about? It can't be your birthday. Wasn't it right near the end of summer when you were… wait… It's near the end of summer already?! We're going to miss the reunion! All that free food, and we don't get any of it?!"

"Ohh can it, Snoozles. I'm sure Suki will save you some. Thanks again for the new wig, Zuko! If I have to wear a disguise, at least I can wear one that's my own hair color."

"It was Katara's idea, actually. She said it'd even be long enough to put up in a bun like your mom's."

"If I had known I would've gotten you something too, Jung." Da Shan was packing all the baggage they couldn't carry onto Appa's back. The sun had only been hanging above the horizon for about an hour, but everybody was already moving around. Sokka only managed to climb out of his sleeping bag due to the alluring scent of the sausage his sister was in the middle of cooking. "Tell you what, you want me to do anything for you today, you name it, alright?"

Jung's face brightened as her lips curved into a menacing grin. "You're gonna regret saying that, you know?" She said cheerily.

The young earthbender's shoulders slumped forward a little. "I already do." He looked over at the day's breakfast en route to the group. They stopped their packing for a moment to sit down for the meal.

"Ok, first –"

"I'm not eating the sausage."

"Aww, you wussing out already?"

"No, I just don't see how my eating meat could have any effect on you. I said I would do anything 'for you' today."

Katara sighed softly, having only just heard the deal. She looked at the boy with pitying eyes. "It's going to be a long day for you, Da Shan. Good luck."

The group began shoveling food into their mouths (though, none faster than Sokka, of course) and spoke little while the food was in front of them. When they were finished Zuko insisted on taking care of the dishes, though Katara easily could have done the job faster with her bending.

"Alright, rockhead, your first task."

Da Shan let out a quick breath and tried his best to look forward to his, undoubtedly humiliating or tiring, job. "What you got?"

"I want you to come meditate with me."

The earthbender was surprised at such a simple task being asked of him. "Umm, alright. Guess it's good to know how to anyways, considering I'm going to be training with the Great Master soon."

"Are you kidding? Never tell her you meditate. She thinks it for sissies." Jung started towards a clearing not far from their camp site, Leitha planted firmly on her right shoulder, Da Shan following behind.

The siblings sat alone next to Appa at their camp site. "So, what do think of the name Kuruk?"

"Why is it that you keep thinking of male names? And seriously, Kuruk is a terrible name. It went out of fashion hundreds of years ago."

"But it'd be honoring Aang, only with a water tribe name. And I keep thinking of male names because he's going to be a boy."

Katara shook her head at her brother, bracing for another day full of chauvinism. There are some things even Suki couldn't beat out of him entirely. "Why does it have to be a boy?"

"It's all in the genes. The first born is always male in our family. I mean, I'm older than you. And dad was the first born as well."

"Dad was an only child. Besides -"

"Yeah, but he was male."

"… Besides… We don't even know anything about Grandad, he was off in the war effort before we were born. You have two generations to judge from, Sokka. That's not a great list to base it all off of."

"You know, you could have just said you don't like the name."

"Alright, I don't like the name." Katara shifted her attention towards Zuko, who was just finishing the chore he had undertaken. "I'll go get the kids. We need to get moving. We should reach the coast by nightfall."

"They won't be happy," Zuko intervened as he arrived at his pack, hoisting it onto his shoulder. "They only left a couple minutes ago."

"Are you kidding? Da Shan will be thrilled to see her. You ever try to meditate? Dull stuff, Zuko. I don't recommend it."

"I meditate every day, Sokka." The prince grabbed Sokka's bag and tossed it towards its owner. "You know, for a self proclaimed water-tribe genius, there's a lot you don't know about the people around you."

A few minutes of silent travel preparation passed before the rest of the party returned to Appa's side. "And you waste how much of your day doing that?"

"It's not a waste of time! Just because you couldn't even sit down right. Even Leitha can sit in a lotus position."

"Master Toph is right. It is for sissies."

"I can still beat your butt."

Zuko walked up carrying two bags. "Let's go guys, got to get moving."

"Alright, your next job is to carry my bag for me, boulder brain."

--

Da Shan was panting heavily under the weight of two fully stuffed backpacks. "Jung, please, can you –"

"Who?" Jung looked smugly at the struggling earthbender, who sighed in defeat.

"My Liege, Great Master Jung, Greatest Airbender on the Planet…" He paused in an attempt to remember the rest of the title he was directed to use for the rest of the day.

"… aaaand?"

"And Not Just Because She's the Only Airbender on the Planet, but Because She is Amazing and Powerful and Most of All Lovely."

"Ok, continue."

"Can you please take your bag for a little bit? I need a free hand to drink some water."

"Alright, here, give me the bags." Jung reached out and took both her own bag and Da Shan's bag from off the earthbender's back, throwing one over each shoulder without showing any sign of strain.

"How is that so easy for you?"

"They're light as feathers if you use airbending to support them." The girl giggled at the agony written on her companion's face. "Here, take my staff, I'll carry the bags the rest of the way."

"Sure, now that we can see the shore."

"Alright, enough of the bickering guys." Katara came up behind them, with Zuko at her side, and Sokka lagging behind Appa, panting heavily under the weight of his own possessions. "Let's stop here for now, to make sure we have the plan down."

Everybody looked towards Sokka. "Haha! Now you all want to hear what I have to say, don't you?"

Jung offered a trade. "Give us a plan and I'll let you ride on Appa for the rest of the trip to town."

"Sweet! Alright, here we go. The city is 100% in support of the Northern Water Tribe. The proximity makes it tough not to be. They'll have posters up everywhere warning of our arrival. Everybody has to know where we're heading, so we can't buy tickets to the North Pole. So, we throw them a curve. Since Da Shan and I are the least recognizable of all of us, we'll go in there and buy four tickets to the Northern Air Temple. Katara will have to ride on Appa under water for the first leg of the trip so she can stay out of sight, and keep a bubble around the fur ball's head." Appa roared with distaste at the insult. "Hey, I'm keeping you alive, buddy. Also, Leitha will have to travel with them. Lemurs aren't exactly the most common pet in the Earth Kingdom. Da Shan and I will be able to get onto the ship easily enough. Zuko and Jung, you're going to have to come up with something to get on board."

"Don't buy me a ticket." Zuko looked out from the cliff side, scanning the path down the mountain and into the town.

"Appa can only carry one person in that air bubble. Otherwise we'll be risking not having enough air to get out of sight."

"I'll be fine. I'll be on that ship with you guys. Jung can disguise herself pretty easily. Make sure she wears that blindfold to keep the scar hidden. I'll stow away on the storage deck. My scar is too recognizable."

"You sure you'll be able to get on board?"

"Absolutely. It's just a matter of remembering the old Blue Spirit days."

"Ok, so we're heading to the Northern Air Temple first?" Jung asked.

"Yeah, Teo will be thrilled to see us, and he's always got some useful new invention. Plus from there, it's only a two day trip on Appa with no cities to pass over."

--

"Wait, who is she?"

Da Shan was struck dumb, unable to make an excuse for the tall, slender girl with the blindfold on. Sokka, however, came up with a quick lie that he knew he would be punished for later. "She is my son's betrothed. We are taking her to the Air Temple with us to invite a few friends of the family to the wedding in person."

Jung struggled against the rising wave of laughter that wanted to come out at the comments, and succeeded. Instead it just pulled the corners of her mouth into what could be interpreted as a shy smile.

"What's with the blindfold?"

"Unfortunately, she is blind, and her eyes dry up very fast when they are exposed. It's heartbreaking, for my son of course, but you know what they say: You get what you pay for."

Jung no longer wanted to laugh. In fact, Jung wanted very much to airbend her not quite uncle, and currently fake father-in-law, into oblivion. The smile, however, remained as strong as ever. When her eyes weren't showing it was tough to tell the difference between a real smile and one of maniacal plotting. Through all of this Da Shan stood blushing with Jung's arm laced through his own.

"Please, sir, we're in a hurry. That ship is the last one that would arrive at the temple tonight, and we're already a day late according to the message we sent to them," Jung said, trying to get away from the interrogation as quickly as possible. The sooner they were on the ship, the sooner she could kick Sokka's knees in.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they wait for you." He took a step closer to the airbender and seemed to be examining her hair. "Hmm… That headband. It looks like it's of Fire Nation origin. Where did you say you were from?"

"It's a family heirloom. It's all we have left of my mother's grandmother, and her heritage. She was disowned by her family in one of the western colonies after she fell in love and married an earthbender during the war. She was wearing the headband when she left. My mother gave it to me upon the finalizing of my engagement." She knew all those bed time stories Aang told her would come in handy someday. "My family is now living on a farm, a few furlongs south of Ba Sing Se."

"Ahh… Well it's a lovely piece of finery, and a wonderful story to pass on to your own daughter some day, right guys?"

The young couple faked a laugh and agreed before being allowed to pass onto the ship. As they did so they got a quick glimpse of the lower decks being loaded by Earth Kingdom workers. Sokka pointed them out and whispered over to Jung, "Which one of those oil barrels do you think the old jerkbender is in?"

--

Zuko, clad in black leather from head to toe, managed to get into the storage facilities of the shipyard without incident. Now, however, he needed to make sure he was getting on the right boat. He methodically dug through package after package, doing his best to stay in the shadows and remain silent. Thankfully, the guards were loud and liked to make their presence known. They patrolled in pairs and talked perpetually to each other to stave off the boredom that comes with a job like watching boxes not get stolen. Zuko climbed up a pillar and stuck to the rafters as he heard one such pair approaching.

"Did you see that picture of the airbender on the wanted poster?"

"Yeah, man, tell me about it. I wouldn't mind getting in on some of the action when she gets captured."

Zuko already didn't like these guys. What they were saying only made it worse. It took all of his self control to not drop down and pummel the two imbeciles into the ground in defense of Jung's honor.

"Nah, you're too old. What are you now, 35?"

"Hey, 35 isn't old."

"I'm just saying, maybe you should just go for her mom. From what I hear she's still looking pretty good too. Not to mention everybody knows where to find her." The younger guard winked at his buddy. "My brother is a guard in her prison. He talks to her all the time when he's bringing her food. I bet he could get you some alone time if the price is right."

The Fire Prince had heard enough. He slowly descended from his perch and crept up behind the two. Before either of them saw it coming, a single sweep of Zuko's foot brought both men to the ground face first. A few well placed punches and the older guard was unconscious, having seen nothing at all. Pressing his left hand firmly over the younger man's mouth, to keep him from yelling, the prince spoke to the man.

"Do you know who I am? Just nod, don't try to speak."

He nodded.

"Point at the ship that's heading to the Northern Air Temple."

The man's eyes were wide with fear and his body trembled. An arm slowly reached up and pointed to the back of the ship that Sokka, Da Shan and Jung had already boarded.

"Thank you." Zuko looked as if he were going to leave the man there for a moment before balling his fist. "Good night."

--

"Good, you made it. Hope you didn't have any trouble finding the right boat."

"Of course not, Sokka. I did however bring a carry on with me. I hope they don't mind."

"What kind of carry on? Did you pack extra robes or something? Cause, honestly, you should have. It's gonna be cold up there."

"No Sokka, it wasn't extra robes. It should come in handy though. Think you can come down and help me sneak him into your quarters?"

"Him?"

--

Toph slept uneasily. It had been weeks since the dream of Aang, and she could no longer remember if the dream really happened, or if it was just some false memory. She tossed and turned and could not find rest for hours. When sleep finally did come it began with terrible nightmares: visions of the last battle during the comet all those years ago, memories of her last night of freedom as she fought off water tribe attackers with her husband dieing just a few feet away. Then the dreams got worse. Images she hoped she'd never have to witness. Things she prayed to the spirits would not come to pass. She felt the light, but direct vibrations that were her daughters' foot steps, and felt her fall to the ground, dead. She heard Katara screaming in agony as a fire blast struck the waterbender in the face. Wait. Fire blast? These aren't real. These can't be real, fire is no longer the enemy. Then, there was calm.

"Aang?" Toph cried out to the darkness. "Please tell me this isn't real. Please tell me this isn't some crazy spirit world magic showing me the future."

No answer.

"Aang?! I know you're here somewhere."

An autumn leaf falls.

"Twinkle Toes." It's barely more than a whisper. "Jung's still alive right? They couldn't have killed Fancy Feet."

"Yes, our girl is still alive."

The familiar vibrations of the avatar were suddenly beside Toph. She was sitting down, apparently. So was he.

"You skipped all the best parts in your story, you know."

"What are you talking about? All the battle scenes were in full detail, Twinks."

"Yeah, but you barely mentioned our first kiss."

"What are you talking about?" Toph leaned the side of her head into Aang's shoulder. "You were a terrible kisser at the start. That was no where near the best part."

"Well, you also didn't mention when I proposed to you at all. You skipped over Jung's first words."

"Ohh yeah. Grabbing a blind earthbender around the waist and flying hundreds of feet in the air – not real romantic. And, do you really want me to explain 'Dada, splat'?"

"Ok, good point. Even in the spirit world my arm still hurts from that fall." They laugh. "You know, you didn't lie to him when you said there was a happy ending."

"The last moment of my freedom was you dieing, and myself being thrown into an ice cube."

"Trust me. There's a happy ending. It just hasn't been written yet."

"Please, just tell me I get to beat up some waterbenders something fierce before it ends."

"You will. Three days."

Then he was gone, back into the abyss.