And so the trilogy of Tara Alone has ended, but a new period has begun! May I present to you…

The Earth King

Tara awoke to find herself lying in a patch of grass. For a moment, she was downright confused. Then she remembered what had happened the day before.

Jet was dead. She picked up his fork that was lying near her. It seemed sort of stupid now, keeping their forks in an act of defiance. It's not like it ever worked except for that one time. But it was enough to make them so happy. Of course, that didn't last long.

Shoot. Tara should get going. Sokka would be wondering where she was. But she didn't even know where they lived. Did they save Appa? She assumed they did. Jet had remembered her which could only mean two things. One: she had been wrong about how brainwashing worked. Two: the gang had managed to snap him out of it.

Spirits! Did Aang and Katara know about her? No. Jet wouldn't tell and Sokka hadn't revealed her yesterday. Suddenly, Tara's stomach growled and she remembered not eating anything the day before. She dumped out her bag, hoping to find something useful.

Let's see. Bow and arrows: check. Box of coins: check. Water pouch: check. Water in pouch: not check. Fruit: check. Rottenness of fruit: check. Jet's fork: check. Gauze: check, oh. Well, that wouldn't have helped anyway. Piece of paper: check. Wait, what?

She unrolled the scroll to find the ad for the Upper Ring apartment that the foxy knowledge seeker had given. Wow. That seemed like a long time ago. Tara thought for a moment. That was a long time ago.

Maybe this meant something. The fox gave it to her for a reason. That's it! It must be where the gang lived! Yes! Thank you, super smart fox! Oh, everything was turning around. She just needed to find some food.

So, Tara walked across the fields, grateful to be back in the daylight but sadly wishing that Jet were there. She pushed the thought away and tried to focus on the positive. Finally, she made it to the middle ring, no longer happy to be outside but instead just wanting to rest her legs, and find breakfast.

It was lucky that there were small booths and carts filled with fresh fruit with pushy merchants jumping on you at every corner. She bought a couple apples and started to head towards the Upper Ring. As she bit into the red flesh, she read over the address of the apartment.

Finally, she came upon the wall separating the Middle Ring from the Upper one. Tara scaled along the edge until she found the entrance. It was a small door with a man in uniform and a long line of various people. She managed to get to the back of the line and waited for about a half-hour which, on the bright side, gave her time to finish the two apples.

During her wait, other people who finally got to the man were mostly shooed away disappointed and a few were allowed to enter. Tara began to wonder whether she would even be able to get inside. Soon, it was her turn.

"Passport." The man stated.

"Uh, I don't really have one. Is that a problem?"

"Well, how could you possibly get in the Upper Ring without a passport, little lady?"

"I didn't need one to get in the Middle Ring."

"Hundreds of refugees like you reside in the Middle Ring. High-class people with ages of ancestors living in Ba Sing Se live in the Upper Ring."

"That's kind of unfair, don't you think? What if I'm like super rich, huh? Then I would belong behind that wall."

The man leaned forward so that he was nose to nose with her, his hands neatly behind his back.

"But you're not rich, are you, little lady?"

Tara looked at him and pushed his forehead up with her pointer finger.

"As a matter of fact, I am not. However I have some wealthy friends who have invited me to their apartment this afternoon which just so happens to be in the Upper Ring."

"Do you know how many times a day I get that story? Next."

The guy behind her tried to move up, but she stayed in place.

"I'm going to guess a lot. Come on, sir, you've got to let me in."

"No. I don't. Next."

"Oh, well. Your loss."

Without thinking, Tara pushed the man aside and dashed through the small tunnel that led to the Upper Ring.

"Hey! Stop her!" she could hear him yell.

Soon, the sound of running feet came from behind her. Tara sped up as she left the tunnel and began sprinting through the streets. She risked a glance behind her to see two Dai Li agents after her. Oh, no. Not again.

She swiftly turned down an alleyway and then another as she tried to lose them. It was harder in this ring than it would've been in the other one, though. The Upper Ring had much wider roads and more elegant people walking around who seemed appalled at the chase scene taking place.

Suddenly, one agent had a hold of her arm but one knee to the stomach made him let go. The other agent wasn't far behind and the one closer began to earthbend. Shoot. Shoot! SHOOT! So Tara did the only thing she could think of: firebend.

A second later, the Dai Li agents were shot full of flames. It was enough to faze them and give her time for a getaway. She didn't stop running though, not until she saw the street sign that read the same as the one on the ad. Tara grabbed a hold of the sign and leaned against it, breathing heavily. Great. Now she was probably wanted or something.

She walked down the lane trying to identify the right building. Soon, she found the one that looked correct and made her way to the top floor. Moments later, she was standing in front of the door. She stuffed the ad in her bag and put her fist in knocking position. But some unseen force kept it in the air.

Tara couldn't just knock on the door. What would she say? Hey, remember me? Of course, you don't! Then they would laugh and ask her to come in. Sure. That sounds plausible.

Oh, what was she doing? Spirits. This was ridiculous. She knocked swiftly and then pulled back and began punching the air. Why did she do that? No! Should she run away? No, it was too late now. Oh, spirits, this is bad. So bad.

"Be right there!" a gentle voice called from behind the door.

Huh. That wasn't anybody from the gang. This was a random person's apartment. Except, the voice sounded achingly familiar. Who was that? Suddenly, the door opened, revealing the owner of the voice. Tara smiled. Now it all made sense.

"Tara?" Iroh asked, obviously unsure if it was actually her.

She nodded enthusiastically and the old man's face lit up.

"Please, come in." he said, gesturing the universal signal for 'come in'.

"Actually, I don't think that's the best idea. Isn't Zuko here?"

"Ah, well, it's a bit complicated."

"Uh, is he here or not?"

"I'll explain it to you, if you come in."

She narrowed her eyes, but smiled wider.

"I see how it is."

She took a deep breath and stepped inside. Ooo, this was going to be weird. Zuko will be all like 'Hey, I know you! You're the girl from yesterday and from before too!'

Iroh told her to sit down in their kitchen while he put on a pot of tea. Good old Iroh. You can always rely on him. Tara felt like starting asking questions, but he seemed very concentrated on his tea. She sat patiently playing with her fingers. Finally, he poured two cups. He handed one to her and kept one himself. She took a sip and immedietly felt better.

"So, where's Zuko?" Tara asked.

"He should be waking up soon."

Iroh carefully placed his teacup on the table and grabbed a bucket of water and a ladle. He opened a door near them.

"Stay in this room." He instructed.

She nodded, confused. Iroh went inside and she could hear the sound of the bucket being placed on the ground. Thinking she would still be in this room, Tara stood up and tip-toed to the doors. She opened one door slightly, peered inside, and gasped lightly, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock.

Zuko was lying in the ground with blanket covering him. It was clear he was terribly sick as his forehead was drenched in sweat. Iroh was sitting next to him and he picked up a cloth from the bucket. The prince moaned softly, signaling that he was coming awake. Tara tried to hide herself better as Iroh began talking.

"You're burning up. You have an intense fever." He gently dabbed his nephew's forehead with the wet cloth, "This will help cool you down."

"So thirsty." Zuko said hoarsely as he tried to sit up.

Iroh pushed him back down and brought the ladle of water to his lips.

"Here's some clean water to drink. Stay under the blankets and sweat this out."

Zuko grabbed the ladle from his uncle's hand and drank it greedily. He tossed it away and went for the whole bucket, dumping it over himself and drinking as much as possible. Tara couldn't watch anymore. She shut the door and went back to her seat, completely dazed.

She could hear the clang of the bucket being thrown from the room and his coughing, so she shut her eyes tightly and clamped her hands over her ears. A few minutes later, Iroh emerged back into the kitchen. Tara opened her eyes and removed her hands.

"He's going to be okay, right?" she squeaked.

He looked at her and smiled grimly.

"He'll be fine, but for now he must rest."

"Well, yeah."

She took her teacup from the table and drank a huge gulp, letting the warm herby liquid fall down her throat. Iroh sat next to her and sipped his own cup.

"I don't want to be a problem, Iroh." Tara blurted out all of a sudden.

"Now, now, that's nonsense. You could never be a burden."

"Well, then I want to help… in some way."

"Introducing yourself now would just conflict him further. It is best if we wait until his sickness passes."

"So I can't do anything?"

"I could teach you how to make good tea."

She laughed.

"I guess it's something."

Then Iroh adopted a more concerned face.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Not right now, no. But I'll find somewhere. I always do."

"Rent is expensive in Ba Sing Se, especially the Upper Ring."

"I have a surprisingly large amount of money."

Tara took out her box and set it on the table. She opened it facing Iroh with a broad smile. He just looked at her worried. She frowned and peered inside. What used to be completely full was now a pile of coins in the corner.

"Well, I used to. Maybe I should've only bought one apple."

"Stay with us, I'm sure Zuko wouldn't mind."

She laughed awkwardly.

"I'm sure he would. I couldn't do that anyway. I'll get a job, it'll be fine."

"You will stay here and help out at the tea shop."

"Really? Oh, thanks, Iroh. You're the best. Wait. You have a tea shop!"

He smiled broadly.

"How else could I afford the Upper Ring? My tea became renown in the Middle Ring. The Jasmine Dragon's grand opening is tomorrow."

"That's so awesome! Sounds like life in Ba Sing Se has been great, except for… you know. Also, I saw Zuko yesterday, actually."

Iroh's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"So that's where you were, with the Dai Li."

"Yeah. He let me out, though I don't think that was his actual intention which makes me wonder what it really was."

He nodded slowly.

"My nephew intended to steal the Avatar's bison. However, he ended up letting it go."

"Zuko? Zuko let Appa go? Are you sure?"

Iroh only nodded again.

"Huh."

Tara soon told him where she had been, but left out the more personal parts. They spoke of where the gang might be but didn't come up with a definite answer. She wanted to search around in her spare time, but Iroh insisted that the Dai Li would be on high alert looking for the firebender that was her.

After that, he went back to tend to Zuko while she tried to fix herself up. She found a mirror in Iroh's room. When she came back to the kitchen, her hair was again pulled back in a smooth braid and her outfit was clean and neat. Her face was even free of dirt.

Iroh was already putting on a new pot.

"How's Zuko?" she asked.

"Not much better, I'm afraid."

He poured some tea into her cup and handed it to her. He poured another and went back to Zuko's room. Tara went to her spot by the door and cracked it open. The prince was just waking up and Iroh helped him drink his tea.

"You should know that this is not a natural sickness." The old man told him, "But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea."

Tara smiled slightly at the tea reference but at the same time was confused. Not a natural sickness?

"What-what's happening?" Zuko asked weakly.

"Your critical decision; what you did beneath that lake…it was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body."

"What's that mean?"

Suddenly, Zuko collapsed into a coughing fit. Tara winced at the sight.

"You're going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be."

So this was a spiritual thing. Of course, Iroh would understand that. Yes. This would show Sokka. Zuko was going to be good now. Everything is going to be awesome from now on, she was sure of it. Then again, the last time she thought that she was taken by Long Feng.

Iroh went into Zuko's room for the rest of the night to stand by and make sure he was okay. That left Tara alone in the kitchen with a quickly cooling teacup. She twisted her wrist, making the tea swirl around. Life was so weird. She felt like she should be doing something. After being under Lake Laogai for who knows how long doing absolutely nothing… well, she was feeling a little hyperactive.

So she spent her time perfecting her tea-making skills. Tara took a big swig of her own cup and swished it around in her mouth, trying hard to pick out different herbs. Yeah. It didn't really work. Still, she was determined. She found an extra pot and all of Iroh's herbs and spices. Then began the experiment.

Tara tried brew after brew of different combinations. At first they tasted absolutely disgusting, but after a while they were semi-good, but certainly not Iroh standard. Finally, she came upon the perfect cup, or at least the one that matched her two cups made by Iroh earlier. Now she just had to figure out the other kinds of tea.

Suddenly, a loud-ish yell came from the other room. In the blink of an eye, Tara had set her cup down and was peeking inside Zuko's room. He was sitting up and Iroh seemed to be asleep in a sitting position. The prince touched two fingers to his scar and sighed. Tara bit her lip and made a decision.

She grabbed a new cup, poured her tea into it, and walked briskly into Zuko's room.

"Who are you?" he asked, alarm filling his weak voice.

"I'm a friend." She stated as she sat down opposite Iroh.

He blinked a few times before realization dawned.

"You're that girl from yesterday. You called yourself… the Fire Lily."

"Yeah. Here, try my tea."

He looked at her a few more moments before gingerly taking the cup from her hand. She felt like she should help him or something, but the prince seemed a lot stronger than before. Zuko sipped the tea and looked like he was really thinking about it. He sipped again.

"Tastes sort of like my uncle's." he finally commented.

"Yes!" Tara whisper-yelled as she took the cup back, "That's what I was going for. It took me forever to copy it. Uh, let me explain. I'm gonna work at The Jasmine Dragon. I don't want to make any tea that doesn't hold up to the good name of Iroh, or Mushie. That is his cover name, right? It's pretty funny."

"Who are you?"

"Uh, I'll explain when you're better. As for now, just sleep."

She stood up but Zuko grabbed onto her arm.

"What's your real name?"

"The Fire Lily, but you can call me Lily."

She turned and left the room, but not before she saw Zuko smile, if ever so slightly. He didn't seem to be conflicted. Tara hoped Iroh wouldn't be mad. It felt weird talking to Zuko, but it was a good weird. The prince didn't look like he remembered her as that girl he saw a few times before and that one time where he fixed up her arm. That mysterious girl was in his past. At the present, there was only the strange Fire Lily, who he was allowed to call Lily.

It was a slip of the tongue that made her say the Fire Lily the day before instead of her now usual cover name, which was just Lily. Tara found, however, that she liked her mistake. Maybe it was a bit selfish, but she enjoyed being the subject of mystery. Wouldn't anybody? Was that so wrong?

She started thinking and decided that her advice to Zuko sounded nice to her too. Iroh was already sleeping. Tara found an extra blanket in Iroh's room and curled up on the kitchen rug with it. A moment later, she was fast asleep.

When she awoke, it was early. Too early, in her opinion. No one else was awake yet, so she decided to go outside to try to find the gang. Tara found a piece of scrap paper and a pencil and wrote a note saying she went out for a morning walk. She signed it the Fire Lily and hoped Iroh would catch on.

Once outside, she headed towards the royal palace, convinced that it was her best lead. The sky was nice and blue in that early morning way and the air was cool and refreshing. No doubt, it would be hotter later on. There weren't too many people out; the snotty rich people wouldn't dare wake so early. Only the merchants were on the streets, setting up their stands.

Tara could see the humongous palace over the roofs of the other buildings and made her way there at a leisurely pace. Finally, she found the long plaza that led to the stairs that eventually led to the palace. There she found Sokka packing some bags on top of Appa. Along the edge of the plaza were royal guards but she dismissed them, praying that they wouldn't think anything of her presence if Sokka accepted her.

And he did.

"Tara! I was beginning to think I wouldn't see you before we left." He said happily as they sat down in front of Appa.

She gently petted the Sky Bison's cheek, though she was actually thinking.

"Hey, Sokka. Yeah, here I am. Uh, where are you going? Are we really leaving already?"

"We're all kind of splitting up, but only for a little bit. I'm going to visit my dad. Aang's going to see a Guru about his Avatar State. Toph's meeting her mom somewhere in the city, and Katara is staying behind to oversee the plans for the invasion."

"Whoa. Alright then. I guess I'll stay behind too."

"Sure, but where are you going to stay? Maybe it'd be better if you just followed me. I heard you got a Vulture-Griffin."

Tara just looked at him, unsure of how to start.

"Yeah, well, actually I've already got myself a job and an apartment here in the Upper Ring. But-,"

"What? How did you manage that?"

"Well-,"

"Where did you get the money for the Upper Ring? How did you get a job?"

"I appreciate your faith in me, Sokka."

"What am I supposed to think?"

"Alright, here's the truth. I'm roommates with Iroh and Zuko and Iroh even got me a job at his new tea shop in the Upper Ring. We're tight."

"They're dangerous, Tara. Don't go back there."

"You barely know them, Sokka. You don't know a lot. Iroh was never really bad and Zuko is just conflicted."

"No, Tara. No way."

"You don't know anything about what's happened. This is what the spirits want."

"What?"

"I know you don't really believe in that stuff, but it's true. Look!"

She took out the ad for their apartment and shoved it in the warrior's hands. He glared at her for a moment before turning to the paper. He seemed to read it over and then look back at her.

"So?"

"That's Iroh and Zuko's place."

"And?"

"Back when we were at the library, one of those fox things gave the ad to me. When I escaped Lake Laogai I headed straight there. I thought it was your place, but it was their's. Don't you see, Sokka? It's a sign!"

"It's a coincidence."

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think, anyway. I'm going to stay with them until the group is back together and everyone leaves Ba Sing Se together! Okay?"

"Fine. I'm not in charge of you. I'm just saying what I think is best. Maybe you should listen."

"I'm not going to. I'm sorry, Sokka."

He stood up at the same time she did. They glared at each other for a few moments before Sokka broke the silence with two simple words that all but broke her heart.

"You changed."

She took a deep breath and spit out the first comeback that came to mind.

"Maybe it's about time."

He sighed sadly.

"You changed your hair."

"It's easier to handle this way."

"And your outfit."

"Normal girls would do that."

"You're not a normal girl."

"I should've been!

"You wouldn't be able to stand it."

"You don't know that!"

"I know there's a lot I don't know, but I think I know that a regular life never suited you. And it never will. What happened while you were gone?"

Simple as that, Sokka's caring voice broke her down. It always did. He brought it on so suddenly. It was usually just hiding behind his regular sarcastic manner but there was more to the warrior than most people thought. He really did get to know you.

Tara knew how well he knew her. She really did. She knew how much he cared and how he must've missed her. She missed him. So they sat back down and she told him everything, from her kidnapping by the sandbenders to coming to meet him just now. There was only one thing she left out, and it filled her up with guilt for doing so.

She didn't say a word about Suki or the Kyoshi Warriors. Tara would tell him, one day. She just didn't want him angry again. She didn't want him so worried when he was about to go see his dad who he must miss so very much. For that section of the story, she simply said:

"At that point, I finally gained Appa's trust enough to fix him all up. I got rid of all the brambles and stuff and the chains. Then I ran into Azula, Mai, and Tai Lee. They always manage to follow Appa's furry trail. It was a pretty narrow escape."

Tara felt even more terrible when he seemed to believe every word she said. She could tell how much he felt bad for her, which of course just fed her guilt. Afterwords, he looked deep in thought.

"What do you think the creepy girl meant when you were leaving the circus?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know. It was weird."

"You said you thought it sounded like a prophecy."

"At the time. Now It just sounds like babbling. I mean Burijji was pretty coo-koo."

"It talked about a lily, and that was your stage name and the name you gave Zuko. Maybe there's some truth to it."

"Wait a second. This is coming from the guy who will never ever admit that anything spiritual is real?"

"Well, I've decided that after all of these months traveling with the Avatar, I should start considering those options at least."

"Oh, at least."

"You know what? I think I should really be getting back. They're going to come looking for me soon. Or they're going to come outside and have a lot questions."

"Alright, you convinced me. But we're continuing this conversation when you get back."

Sokka laughed before they said their goodbyes, hugged briefly, and went their separate ways.

This was basically a setter-upper for the next one… which is more important and provides super awesome relationship detail. But if you're one for the intense action-y chapters these two might not exactly be your thing. But they are extremely important, so read them!

I'm happy with this chapter. I like the Sokka scene and I can't wait for more Zuzu! Did you? Cause if you did, or maybe you didn't, or perhaps you enjoyed something else, or even if you hated absolutely everything… please review!

Presenting a super special shout-out to Sokka is my main man D (btw, love the name). Congrats! Your review made me jump up and down in a happy manner! I absolutely loved everything you said! Tara feels real? Like really real? Awesome! Yeah, people who read this either like or dislike the canon thing. But that's just their opinion cause people like different things. YAY! YAY! The fact that you went into withdrawal makes me happy… sorry. But here is your cure! But, HA, I just snatched it away again. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too long until the next chapter. I originally was going to put them into one but I figured you would've rather had this smaller dose of awesomeness than waiting longer for more.

Alright. I've talked long enough. Please review! I greatly appreciate any! I welcome all constructive criticism! Thank you to all readers! And… goodbye! 3