Thanks you guys for clarifying the whole PLO and PLF thing lol! I feel so aloof and un-edumacated xD! And I will agree that Jet was pretty much a terrorist, but in this fanfic I have decided to make him a descent boy! Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed: 45 comments so far, that's awesome! I do have some slightly sad news: This fanfic is slowly coming to and end. There will be about 4-6 chapters left and then the story will be completed :( But, I will make those 4-6 chapters the best chapters evar! :D Enjoy this chapter:
~th3rdhal3~

I rose with the sun that morning. Anticipation stirred inside of me. I was extremely nervous; I had never attended a war meeting before, and I didn't know what to expect. My General's outfit hung up in my closet, ready to go. I slipped on the uniform equipped with shoulder pads. It seemed like forever ago since I had worn my father's uniform. I felt more connected with his spirit whenever I had it on. I took a quick look in the mirror to make sure that I was presentable. Using a hair tie, I pulled my luscious locks into a ponytail. That way, I looked more professional. I breathed in deeply to still my beating heart. I was ready.

Besides Azula, I would be the youngest to attend the meeting; but the guards stationed outside of the war room knew me and didn't give me any problems on the way in. I was not the first to arrive but I wasn't the last either. There were already a handful of Admirals, Commanders and Generals like myself present. There was a large table in the center of the room. A full scale map of the world lay across it entirely. The room setup was similar to the throne room, only smaller. Ozai sat in the back on his own throne and Azula sat cross legged to his left. Zhao approached me. "General Sankari. He acknowledged me. I respectfully returned the greeting; he was older and had more experience after all. He lead me over to a seat on the left hand side of the table. "This is where your father used to sit." Zhao pulled out the chair for me. "It can be your place now." I thanked him and silently took my place. A few minutes later, the meeting began.

It started off on how the war was going so far; opinions, facts and things like that. Then it transitioned over to weapons and tactics. I decided it would be best if I stayed quiet; I needed to listen in to what they were planning, not provoke more ideas. I was glad that I had brought a small pad of paper and a pencil with me. I could jot down things and paraphrase certain highlights of the discussion. One of the Commanders was explaining the pros of having armed tanks in battle, when the Firelord interrupted him. "Sankari, are you writing all of this down?" His tone wasn't stern or forceful, it was full of wonder. I sheepishly looked up from my notepad.

"Yes sir. I don't want to forget anything crucial that we've covered." I answered honestly. O Ozai nodded, mulling things over.

"Hmm. Very proactive." He praised. Then the Firelord cast a stern glance at the rest of the military officials. "Why aren't any of you doing the same?" There was a great scramble as the men desperately searched for parchment to write upon. Azula rolled her eyes at me from her place next to her father. I wasn't the best lip-reader but I could understand her subliminal message. "Suck up." I glared at her, then made sure that no one else was looking. "Kiss ass!" I mouthed back. After all, she was a 'daddy's girl.'

The meeting continued on. My legs went numb from sitting down for so long. It felt like we had been there for days when it was really only a couple of hours. It was so hard to focus on everything due to my short attention span. I had never expected the majority of war meetings to be so dry. Underneath the table, my knee bounced up and down; I was a hyperactive kid, I needed to constantly be burning off energy. Lucky for my attention span, the talk turned over the Earth Kingdom.

"I believe that we should reinforce the number of soldiers in the Earth Kingdom." Zhao suggested. There were a few murmurs of agreement and opinions from the table.

"General Zhao," Ozai began, hands together at his throne. "The matter has already been taken care of by General Sankari." I blushed discreetly. I hoped that none present thought of me as a suck up then. I knew Azula did.

"Yes my lord, of course." Zhao bowed his head. "But I think you may have misinterpreted what I had meant." The Firelord waited for the General to go on. "You see, in order to take complete control over the other nations, we need to always show superior-ship. By increasing the amount of soldiers in the Earth Kingdom, it will plant a seed of fear into the people." Zhao explained metaphorically. "With the larger numbers controlling the cities, there will be no rebellions and we will ha their obedience." There were a lot of impressed murmurs in the room. I had to admit, Zhao had a way with words. The proposition might have even been a fair idea if there weren't as many faults with it. He was wrong in his idea. Numbers were irrelevant. Before even realizing what happened, my voice cut through the air.

"Fear alone is not enough to project our dominance over the Earth Kingdom." All eyes were on me; the fourteen year-old warrior girl. I did not know how I had managed to make my response sound so sophisticated and mature. I wanted to kick myself for speaking up, but I couldn't stop myself from going further. It was as if an invisible force pushed me to go on. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are strong willed, I've seen them." The citizens that I had meet were very much like how I had described. "They have resisted before and they can do it again. You cannot use sheer force and numbers to frighten and keep them at bay. They will keep fighting because they believe in a better tomorrow. You have to destroy what they stand for; give them nothing and take everything from them." I wanted to bite my tongue so badly, but the words kept spilling out uncontrollably. "You have to make them believe that they have nothing worth fighting for anymore-break them. Then the Earth Kingdom will be ours." I could feel my heart beating heavily inside my chest. It was so loud that I was sure just about everyone could hear it. No. What had I done? The whole room seemed very intrigued by my insight. Ozai sat grinning upon his throne. My stomach dropped.

"Interesting..." The Firelord mused, eying me in particular. What had I done? I had basically told them how to take over the Earth Kingdom. What was wrong with me? The last few words echoed in my mind: the Earth Kingdom will be ours... I had lost sight of who I was in those short moments. I was speaking as if I would have thirteen months ago. Whose side was I on? I had known that going to the meeting would be risky. If only I had known that my disorder would kick in like that way it did. Damn it! I cursed at myself. I was supposed to help end the war, not keep it going. I had screwed us all over. Zaida, myself, the Freedom Fighters and the Earth Kingdom people themselves.

A loud thud could be heard as I drove my fist into my wall. Azula was probably going to kill me for that, but I was not concerned about the renovation. I was extremely angry with myself. I couldn't believe that I had slipped; that I had intervened at the war meeting earlier. If only I had kept quiet. Shit! I hit the wall another time. I felt so ashamed, as an Earth Kingdom citizen. I basically sold my nation out. I was in such disbelief. I wanted to destroy things. But anger wasn't the best outlet nor the answer. I lit candles and placed them around me in a circle. I knelt in the center, inhaling and exhaling deeply. The aroma of peaches filled the room and my stress level began to decrease. While humming a sacred hymn, I clasped my palms together. I bowed down on the floor and began to pray to Isis.

Oh goddess, what do I do now? I needed he guidance more than anything. What would I do next? I needed to know.

"Talking to the crocodile?" I glanced up to see red nail-polished feet. Azula. She knew I hated it when she interrupted me whenever I was doing something spiritual. I glared at her while rising back up to my knees.

"Sobek, is the river god." I corrected her. "I don't think I'm having any water or irrigation problems today." I knew she was only kidding but it irritated me slightly how ignorant she could be about other beliefs. Like Azula and most others in the world, I believed in the spirits of nature that brought balance to our world; but I also picked up and collected variations of beliefs while traveling. I also believed in gods. Powerful deities ruling the universe alongside the spirits.

"Oh that's right." The princess shifted her weight onto her right leg. "It's so hard to keep track of your one-hundred and fourteen gods/goddesses."

"One-hundred and fifteen." I reminded her, while leaning into my right leg in the splits. Azula rolled her eyes and sighed heavily as if it didn't matter to her at all. She observed my yoga stretches for a few moments in silence. I happened to be doing a 'salutation to the sun' pose. "Why are you worshiping Re in the middle of the night?" she wondered. I bent my right knee forward and straightened my left leg back.

"It's Ra, sweetheart." I corrected her again. I couldn't tell if she was actually trying to remember or if she simply didn't care. Either way, it was nice of her to pretend to be knowledgeable about my beliefs. I began to blow out the candles that surrounded me. I felt more calm and slightly better. I rose up slowly.

"I love the way you say that." Azula grinned. I had to admit, the sun god did have a pretty cool name. I smiled while gathering up the candles. I was careful not to drip the wax all over the carpet; Azula would have had a heart attack on the spot.

"You have to say the name dramatically, Ra is the father god." I explained to her. Also, it was one of the less complicated names to pronounce so you had to give it some extra gusto to make it sound strong. Azula changed the subject.

"Speaking of dramatic," She took my hands and interlaced her fingers with mine. "Nice strategy at the meeting." She complimented me. "I knew deep down there was an ounce of you that wasn't completely weak." She quickly pulled my arms outward and down together so that they were almost hyper-extending. It was just like the game 'mercy' we all used to play as kids, only much worse. It hurt like a bitch. I had hurt my left wrist in a childhood injury; it had never been the same since it healed. And then, the pain rose the more force she applied. I had to drop down on my knees in order to resist the agony. She let go shortly after. I cradled my sore wrist. She had called me weak. I wasn't. I was strong, willed and determined. How could she say something like that? I felt a burning sensation in my eyes as my vision began to blur. No. I wouldn't. I couldn't. Not in front of her. That would just prove her point. I wouldn't give in.

"Ow! What the hell?" I glared at her from the ground. I shouldn't have yelled at her. I was angry and hurt. It wasn't exactly the princess' fault that she was naturely violent. She was mainly raised by her father, who taught her those types of things were okay. It wasn't her fault that Ozai had screwed her up as a kid. But it had hurt a lot, and I wanted her to know what she had done. Azula could see the redness around my eyes and softened. The girl felt remorse. She practically picked me up off the floor and held me in a comforting embrace.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, a bit bluntly, however. It should have been a historical moment because Azula rarely felt bad or apologized for her words or actions."I'm socially retarded sometimes. I don't meant to be and I'm trying really hard to work on it and I-" For the first time, I caught her off guard with a kiss. Of course I forgave her.

"And you say I don't shut up." I teased her gently. The princess smiled and blushed slightly. It was different seeing her as someone sweet and caring opposed to manipulative and tough. But I liked the change. Azula did have a sweet side, you just had to find it under the barbs and sarcasm.

"You're such a kid." She laughed, brushing the hair out of my face.

"You're such a bitch." I grinned playfully, showing her how much of a kid I could be.

I never knew that Azula liked to cuddle. It just didn't seem like her 'thing.' She felt warm and I realized it must have been her chi. I wondered why I didn't feel overheated because I was a fire-bender as well; but I was also and earth-bender. The fact that I could bend two elements could have affected my chi in some way. As selfish as it was, I wasn't living in the moment. I wasn't thinking about Azula, and I wasn't eve thinking about Azula, and I wasn't even thinking about the war meeting or the Fire Nation. The soothsayer's words from months ago took over my mind: Ancient text. Great Best. Pure just and true. What did it mean? I had never really though about it since that night in the alley. I shot forwards in realization. An ancient text- a document! But I moved a little too quickly. My forehead collided with Azula's face. "Ow, my nose!" She exclaimed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Is it bleeding?" She tried to see for herself, but she obviously couldn't tell. I felt sort of bad for that one. Well, we technically are even I guess. I thought to myself.

"No, it's fine princess." I observed for her. "Sorry I just had an epiphany." Azula sat back down on the edge of my bed with me. She raised an eyebrow, giving me a look which told me that she didn't exactly follow.

"You? And epiphany?" She laughed dryly. Another thing I didn't like; she dumbed me down pretty often. I knew it was jut her way of teasing but it still didn't feel too great for my self esteem.

"Yes." I replied, standing up. "Come on, time for a field trip."

We descended the winding and twisting stairs into the palace catacombs. There was very little light, so I had to carry a small flame in the palm of my hand. Azula blasted every single cobweb in her path to fiery bits on our way down. "Do we have to do this now?" she complained. "It's late."

"You're point?" I asked, as we stepped onto flat ground. I didn't seem to care about the time. I was on to something and damn it, I was going to get to the bottom of it.

"I have a curfew, you know." I laughed. Azula didn't seem like the type to abide by the rules. The thought was pretty funny. I picked up a wooden torch fixed to the wall and lit the top of it on fire.

"Aww." I teased. "Daddy's widdle girl needs her beauty sweep?" I mocked in a baby voice as I continued down the darkened hallway. I started laughing even louder at my own joke but then hollered when Azula fire-bended me in the rear.

"Shut up!" she snapped. I jumped up and down, trying to smolder the flames while screaming 'Hot! Hot!' Making fun of the princess was fun, but painful.

We continued down the hallway until it opened up into a vast room with a ceiling nearly twenty feet high. Rows and rows of scrolls awaited my eager eyes. This was going to take a while. My eyes scanned the room. I could be there all night; there were so many papers and documents to sift through. I didn't know where to start. "What are you looking for?" Azula asked, glancing around as well. The amount of documents and files in the room was overwhelming. In all honesty, I didn not know what I was searching for. As I began to walk heedlessly through the rows, I felt a strong force guiding onward. I followed the strong sensation all over the massive room. I eventually stopped at a corner when the feeling died. Azula was close behind me. "Dead end." Thank you, captain obvious. I retorted in my mind. We were staring at large wooden doors. I grasped the handles and pulled. It wouldn't budge. I yanked harder. That didn't help at all. It was locked good. "Well," Azula inquired in the most fake chipper tone I had heard yet. She grabbed my sleeve and turned on her heels. "This grand adventure has gone off to a roaring stop. Time to go back upstairs with the living." I wasn't about to give up. I was down there for a reason; I needed to know why. Maybe if I burned it down...no that wouldn't do any good. The flames would've gotten out of control and I could have ended up burning whatever was behind it as well. I backed up a good six or seven feet, then charged at the door. I jumped up and broke it down with an aerial side-kick. Dust instantly rose up from the ground. I stepped through the threshold. "Or you could destroy my father's property..." Azula groaned after me.

The room inside was small, damp and dark. It was bare except for the gargantuan stone chest in the middle of the floor. I came closer and examined it. It wasn't a normal chest. How did it open? But most importantly, what was inside of it? "You have to fire-bend to open it. You can tell by its mechanism on the lock." Azula informed me. "Watch out." Quite courteous of her to give me a warning. The princess punched forward sending an array of blue flames at the chest. The lock glowed for a moment, then the contraption unhinged. The two of us peered inside. At the bottom, there was a case with silver dragons on it with ruby colored eyes. I bent over to retrieve it. The metal was cool to the touch. As soon as my skin made contact with the dragons, their eyes turned white and the case came undone. I gasped in awe. In my hands was a sacred scroll, perfectly in tact, that had been around for Agni knows how long. I could feel the energy return as I began to unravel the parchment. Once it was open, my eyes fell to the words inscribed at the top:

The White Dragon