35. WE FIND THE AFOREMENTIONED COLONEL YOSHIO UNDER HIS KOMODO-RHINO. His legs are crushed. He can barely breathe. Tears pour from his eyes. Blood dribbles from his mouth. He begs for mercy. We all think of Kimura and find the wreck before us severely lacking. We pull him out from beneath his mount. His face seems very old. Grey flecks his hair. His beard with streaked with grey and blood. We bind his legs. We don't want him to die yet.

We need answers…

My scar aches…

Sokka holds his sword to Yoshio's throat. Hatred pulses through him. There are only the four of us, Toph, Sokka, Yoshio, and me. Katara is treating our wounded. Piandao is getting the men into marching order. There are no boys anymore. Only men, whether sixteen or twenty-six.

Aang won't stop crying…

I light a cigarette. I don't offer Yoshio one.

"How did you find us?" My voice is empty, dull, flat. The words burn in my throat. My throat is raw. Blood dries on my armor.

"Please," Yoshio begs. His voice pleads. "Please don't kill me…"

"We'll kill you when we want to," Sokka growls, "not before."

"Please," Yoshio sobs, "I would've let you all go, I promise, no matter what Ozai said to me…"

I slap him. "Focus!" I shout. "How did you find us?!"

He breathes deep. Air rattles in his throat.

"We got Mori…"

I blink.

My scar aches…

"Lord Mori?" I ask.

He nods. "He was tough. He didn't give in. He died first. His daughters weren't so strong…" A thin smile creases his blood-flecked lips.

I close my eyes. Images flash through my mind. Images I don't want. Yoshio is talking.

My scar aches…

"We hung them all. Then we came for you. Shu Jing burned. We burned it. Then we came for you…" He gasps, please. "Please don't kill me…"

I slap him again. Sokka digs his sword in. Blood drips from Yoshio's throat.

"How did you know?!"

I'm shouting. Screaming…

He gasps. Blood spurts from his mouth. "Your fleet was intercepted. They fought hard. They got away, most of them. We didn't get any big fish. Hakoda even got away. We lost a lot, I heard…but that's Hakoda, I suppose." He gasps again. Blood. "We put two-and-two together, or at least that's what I was told. I didn't ask the details, I never do. Heh…that's why I get these jobs. Ozai ordered Mori's arrest and…questioning." Tears break out anew. "Please…"

I slap him.

"What else do you know?!"

"Only that you made for Shu Jing. That's all Mori's daughters would tell us. All they seemed to know." He blinks. Tears flow. "Please…"

I slap him.

"What about the peninsula? The bunker? What about the eclipse?!"

He opens his eyes. He smiles.

"That was all a trick, or at least, it is now, in case I couldn't catch you. Only Iroh is there. He's to be killed the second you attack." He sighs. Blood. "Ozai's little joke. Azula's idea. The bastards." He coughs. Blood.

My ears roar. I stand. I nod at Sokka. Black steel flashes. Yoshio screams as his throat is cut.

It's done.

Toph scoffs. "I liked Kimura better."

Sokka wipes his sword clean on Yoshio's sleeve. "We all did." He spits on the corpse. "That's for my mother."

I nod. "Mine, too."

We march. We march through the night, through the day. We collapse the next night, and sleep where we fall. Katara wakes me. She drags me away from the camp. She slams me against a tree. We're not that far away, but we don't care. I'm not sure who takes whom. She kisses my scar. We're on the ground, in the dirt. Her legs are wrapped around me. Her lips on my scar.

My scar doesn't ache…

Her lips…

My scar…

I've never let anyone do that…

I've never let anyone even touch it…

And yet…

And yet…

The tears well up. They burn, hot and heavy. They don't fall. They just burn. We bury our faces in each other's arms while tears burn in our eyes.

"Can I keep you?" I ask.

"Only if I can keep you," she answers.

In the morning, we march.

Shit's gotten real, guys, and it's going to stay real. Hope nobody minds.

Before anybody asks, Aang's crying because he just killed a couple hundred people, and everyone's upset because, well, shit just went to pieces. They can't go back, so now they have to go forward. If the chapter seems kind of strange and ethereal, that's because this is right after the battle. No one's slept, and everyone's coming off that adrenaline high. Ask a combat veteran (or anyone who's been through a traumatic, stressful experience) what that's like.

The next few notes are going to be short and sweet, because I think these chapters speak for themselves. I'm going to start taking some risks. I hope you guys are with me.

In the next chapter, the company marches, and Aang and Zuko have a moment. Stay tuned!