So... This chapter took much longer than I planned. School work got insane... Please continue to be patient with me. Thanks for all the reviews and support. Keep them up. They keep me writing. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'll work on it whenever I can.

-Faithy waithy

Chapter 34: Taking Down the Beast

They told me not to be so rash, but I didn't listen. As I ran across the top of the shaking and jerking machine, I heard Aang shout behind me to stop. I didn't listen to him. The spiteful person before me had brought out my anger enough to make me block out all pleas from Aang. Azula grinned as I approached her, and then charged up her fingers producing sparks of blue light. I was ready for her. There was no way I was losing to her again.

As Azula shot the lightning towards me, I threw water straight at the blast. Our attacks collided, and a hot gust of air shot towards me causing me to fly back. Landing hard on the moving machine, I cringed as my body vibrated in pain. How did I end up like this?

Five hours ago, Aang and Toph were scaling us all up the wall of Ba Sing Se with Than and his family. As we ascended to the top of the barrier, we saw the massive drill in the distance trying to break a hole through the wall of the city. Ying let out a sob once we were on the flat surface of the wall, hugging her newborn baby close to her and crying, "We made it to Ba Sing Se, and we're still not safe. No one is."

I spoke up. "We have to do something!"

"And what would that be, Crys?" Sokka pointed to the Fire Nation device. "We can't fight off a strange drilly machine? It's bigger than all of us combined!"

"You know…" I began. "Yesterday you were a boat load of confidence, but now you're acting like we've already lost. Don't tell me everything you did yesterday was just to impress Suki."

Sokka's cheeks turned a shade darker. He went to argue again but was cut off.

"What are you people doing here? Civilians aren't allowed on the wall."

Looking over, we saw a man in Earth Kingdom attire walking over to us with narrowed eyes. His suspicion almost made me laugh. A bunch of kids, one man, a woman, and a baby weren't exactly intimidating in my book.

Aang stepped forward with confidence. "I'm the Avatar. Take me to whoever's in charge."

Toph beamed. "Cool! Let's go kick some Fire Nation butt."

Looking down at the drill, I narrowed my eyes. My thoughts took me back to one of my conversations with Iroh a while back. I'd been told something like this was coming. I hadn't expected it so soon though.

"So Ba Sing Se… It must be a huge city," I stated, placing another tile on the Pai Sho board.

Iroh nodded from across the table, tapping his chin in thought. Picking up a tile, he said as he placed his move down, "Yes. It's the largest city in the world. I fought many times outside of its walls. While the borders are impenetrable, I did manage to break into the city. Each section stretches for miles."

I was surprised. "How did you get into the city?"

He tapped his forehead. "I have my ways. Being able to breathe fire also has some plus sides. They don't call me Dragon of the West for nothing..." He picked up his sacred lotus tile, and went to place it in front of the tile I'd just put down. My eyes widened as he won the game once again. "Of course, if I had known the loss I would receive from the war I would've never participated."

I knew Iroh spoke of his son, and frowned. He had told me about Lu Ten's death, and I was aware it was one of the reasons he retired.

"Do… Do you think the walls of Ba Sing Se will continue to hold out against the Fire Nation?"

Iroh met my gaze. Then he let out a heavy sigh and sat back against his wooden chair. "Unfortunately I do not… I hear the Fire Nation is working on something big. It will only be a matter of time before the wall is penetrated and the city is taken."

I felt dread fill inside me. "Wha- what could be big enough to penetrate the walls of Ba Sing Se."

"I'm not sure. I hear it's a machine of some sort. They've been working on it for years." Iroh leaned forward then. "Of course, there is always a chance the Avatar can stop the machine before it breaches the wall."

A few minutes after Aang had asked to be led to the person in charge, Ying and her family were directed away from us towards the entrance to Ba Sing Se by some other soldiers. Once they were gone, the man who originally spoke to us gestured for us to follow him in the opposite direction. As we headed along the perimeter of the wall, I glanced multiple times at the machine. I was curious to how it was powered, and tried to think of a million ways to take it down.

"This way," the man said, leading us into a barrack area with a roof and multiple crates and barrels. Men were lying on the ground covered in bandages and groaning in pain. Other men were seated on the wooden crates looking weary and exhausted. At the end of the barracks was a large desk with a man seated behind it. He stood once we approached, appearing to have a slight hunched back. The man who led us to him walked over whispering something in his ear. The leader's eyes widened, and he stepped around the desk quickly.

"Greetings young travelers," the man spoke. "My name is General Sung. It is an honor to welcome you to the outer wall young Avatar, but your help is not needed."

Aang was bewildered. "Not needed?"

I looked around at the men who were injured or unconscious. "Are you sure…? It looks like you're running low on men."

The man nodded to me. "Not needed. I have the situation under control. I assure you the Fire Nation cannot penetrate this wall. Many have tried to break through it, but none have succeeded."

Toph narrowed her eyes. "What about the Dragon of the West? He got in."

I was surprised she knew about that, but then remembered that she was from the Earth Kingdom. She would've heard about that from her tutors.

General Sung was startled by her perception. "Well...uh...technically yes. But he was quickly expunged. Nevertheless, that is why the city is named Ba Sing Se. It's the impenetrable city. They don't call it Na Sing Se." He laughed. "That means penetrable city."

I crossed my arms. "Looks like it's about to become Na Sing Se. We don't have time for this chatter!"

Toph was irritated too. "Yeah, thanks for the tour, but we still got the drill problem."

General Sung paced over to the side of the barracks where he could look out at the drill below. We followed him with doubt.

"Not for long. To stop it, I've sent an elite platoon of earthbenders called the Terra Team."

Sokka thought out loud, "That's a good group name, very catchy."

Rolling my eyes, I looked down at the drill watching as it continued to break into the walls stone. Tanks were flanked on both sides of the drill to protect the machine from being harmed. As the tanks advanced forward, a group of earthbenders appeared before the tanks, prepared to attack. The next few minutes came with a mixture of lunging boulders, overturning tanks, and burying them below the dirt.

"Hey… Aren't those Azula's minions?"

Katara's question startled me. I'd been so invested in watching the earthbenders and tanks that I hadn't noticed two teenage girls running on top of the drill. One of them was tall and thin, and the other was shorter and more agile. They both slid down the side of the giant drill and landed on the earth. In the process, the tall lean girl had thrown what looked to be knives at the earthbenders who used a rock shield to block her attack. However, the smaller agile girl leaped over the shield and hit every one of the soldiers knocking them all down.

I felt dread fill me. "Azula… As in Princess Azula?"

General Sung, who had been looking through a telescope to watch the scene, dropped the device and cried, "We're doomed!"

Sokka scowled. Turning, he smacked the man on the side of the head. "Get a hold of yourself man!"

The General stared at my brother in surprise. Then he nodded, rubbing the spot he'd been hit. "You're right."

Toph crossed her arms. "Maybe you'd like the Avatar's help now?"

He turned to Aang and hung his head in defeat. "Yes please…"

Aang looked over the wall with thought. "The question is, how are we gonna stop that thing?" He and Katara looked over at Sokka expectantly.

Sokka was surprised by the sudden attention. "Why are you all looking at me?"

Aang pointed at Sokka with expectancy. "You're the idea guy."

Sokka held his hands in the air. "So I'm the only one who can ever come up with a plan? That's a lot of pressure."

Katara added, "And also the complaining guy."

Sokka pouted. "That part I don't mind."

Looking back at the drill, I examined the machine from back to front. As I did so, I watched the two girls clamber back onto the machine and drop down through a round door at the top. My eyes widened as a thought came to me. Memories took me back to the day Zuko and I were almost killed in an explosion. The pirates had been so successful in destroying the ship because they managed to get inside it undetected. They planted their bombs within the vessel to break it from the inside since the outside was too strong to penetrate.

"Crys… You okay?" Katara placed a hand on my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Looking over at her, I smiled and nodded. "Yeah… I actually think I may have an idea."

The group was surprised. Sokka beamed with delight though. "See! I'm not the only one who can come up with plans."

Toph muttered under her breath, "Must be a twin thing then."

Aang was the first to ask. "What's your idea?"

Looking at everyone, I answered, "This may sound crazy, but if I'm right we may have a chance. Clearly, the drill's outside is too tough to break down. However, something on the inside is allowing it to run. All we have to do is sneak into the machine, stop whatever is powering it, and make sure it can never be used again."

"Wait… You want us to break into that thing?" Toph sounded unsure. "From what I can see with my own two feet, the thing is huge. It will take us forever to find a way in."

I shook my head. "I already found it. The two chicks just slipped back into the machine through a door. That means there has to be other entrances along the machine. I can take us straight there… However, we need to stay hidden until we get there."

"Crys… I don't know about this…" Katara seemed worried. "What if we get inside and there's soldiers everywhere?"

"Then we take them down," I spoke with confidence. "We've all done it before."

Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Katara were surprised by my sudden determination. Toph smirked though and said, "I'm with Princess. Let's kick some Fire Nation butt."

Third Person POV

Sitting on the tram, Zuko frowned as he stared out the window at the passing city before him. His uncle sat beside him, cooing at a baby that slept in its mother's arms. Zuko had immediately recognized the woman as the one he had seen on his journey with Crystal. Her name was Ying, and the last time he had seen her she was still pregnant. Her husband sat beside her, talking to a girl around Zuko's age who looked tired from the journey they had come. Zuko lowered his straw hat more on his head, not desiring to be recognized by the family.

As he gazed back out the window, his thoughts went to Crystal. If only she could see him now, heading to the lower ring of Ba Sing Se to live in disguise as a commoner. He'd lost his title, and was being shoved right in the middle of the very city he was taught to fear as a child. He had no clue what was to come once he got into the city.

"We would've never made it to Ba Sing Se without the help of the Avatar and his friends," Ying suddenly spoke to Iroh, brushing her hand across the newborn baby's forehead. "I was so worried we wouldn't make it, but they kept my hopes up. I named this little one Hope to remember those amazing kids."

Zuko tried not to reveal his identity as he listened to Ying. He had heard her say "the Avatar" and his attention spiked.

"I must ask," Iroh suddenly said. "Among the Avatar's group, was there a young Water Tribe girl with a scar?"

At this question, Zuko looked over at Ying to see her reaction. Ying was surprised that Iroh knew a member among the Avatar's group. She smiled though with reassurance. "Crystal I believe is her name… Yes… She seems to be a strong and wise girl. She saved her friend during our time on the pass, and even helped me deliver Hope."

Iroh sighed with relief. "Good… I'm relieved to hear that."

Zuko let out a sigh of relief as well, glad to hear Crystal was okay. He was also surprised to find that she was so close to him. If they had helped Ying and her family into the city, did that mean Crystal was in the city as well?

The sudden thought made Zuko fill with sudden hope. For the longest time he had dreaded never seeing Crystal again. However, from what he had just heard a new surge of hope blossomed through him.

What about the Avatar too? He'd be with Crystal!

Zuko's thoughts shouted at him to remember his original mission. However, his heart cried out with thrill that he may see the one he loved again. It already felt like a life time since he'd had her in his arms.

You can have her and the Avatar!

Rubbing his forehead, Zuko tried to shake out the thoughts he did not desire. He knew they were wrong. Him and his uncle were supposed to be trying to make a new life. He couldn't jump right back on trying to find the Avatar. It would force him to abandon his uncle, which he'd already done once before. Also, he was aware that if he captured the Avatar he would lose Crystal. She'd hate him for imprisoning the Avatar.

Looking back out the window, Zuko watched as they passed over the agrarian section of Ba Sing Se. As he did so, he saw below some water-buffalo grazing by a pond. He smiled remembering Crystal's reaction when she saw her first water-buffalo so long ago. The creature had stepped out in front of their path during their journey through the Earth Kingdom, and Crystal had gasped and frozen in her step with horror. She'd never read about or seen such a massive animal before. Zuko had taken her hand and led her forward, reassuring her that the water-buffalo was completely harmless. As they passed, the water-buffalo watched them for a second and then turned heading back the way it came. Crystal relaxed once the creature was gone, but her hand had still held firm to Zuko which had made him blush.

"You're such a scared little tiger-cat," Zuko teased, tightening his grip on the small hand in his own.

"That thing was huge…" Crystal muttered, blushing from her reaction. "I was sure it would attack or something…"

Zuko smirked. "I'm sure you could've taken it if it did."

She shook her head. "No… I have a strict rule not to fight animals."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You fought that mouse-rat back on the ship pretty well when we first met."

"I didn't fight that thing! I was trying to get away from it."

He laughed. "I remember how frazzled you were. You were all tangled in your blankets and looked like you had seen a dead man."

"Might as well have… That mouse-rat probably wanted me dead," she muttered.

"Yeah… Nibbling your nose off will kill you in an instant," Zuko said, stopping and turning to her with teasing eyes. He reached his hand up and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Although I'm glad it didn't fulfill its evil deed."

She smiled weakly. "I'm glad you were there to save the day."

A deep sigh escaped Zuko once more as he continued to think about Crystal. He hoped she was safe, wherever she was.

Crystal POV

The world around us was dark and tight as Toph shoved the dirt away to make a tunnel for all of us. I could hear her working in front of us, having to stop every few seconds to shove the tunnel opening further. Each time she would stop, we would all bump into one another. I was at the back of the line, so I would bump into Aang.

"This is crazy!" Katara suddenly snapped. Her voice echoed around us. "Did the Fire Nation inject you with some crazy weird herbs or something while you were under their control?"

"Will you not shout so loud!" Sokka snapped. "I'm right in front of you!"

"Everyone shut up!" Toph ordered. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"I'm just saying…" Katara began. "Out of all the stuff we've been through, this is by far your craziest idea Crys!"

I sighed heavily. "Not really. I'd say agreeing to be Zhao's prisoner beats this crazy idea."

"Crys has a point there," Aang commented.

"Whatever ranking we're giving this one, it's still insane. We're about to break into a drill run by the Fire Nation! There's no telling what could happen."

My brow rose. "Sokka would've probably suggested the same thing if I hadn't."

"No. I would've suggested bombing the thing," Sokka thought out loud.

"With what?" Aang interceded. "I don't think the Earth Kingdom deals with explosives like the Fire Nation, Sokka."

"I'm just saying…" Katara spoke again. "We're about to break into a giant machine where anything can happen!"

"I'll tell you what could happen," Toph started. "But it's better to think positive." She stopped walking then, and said, "We're here. Everyone ready?"

Pressing my hand to the canteen that hung over my shoulder, I sighed heavily. "Yeah… Let's do this."

"Wait! One more thing," Katara began. "What happens if Azula's cronies show up? Or the crazy chick herself? Who's fighting them?"

Aang spoke up. "I'll handle Azula. Sokka… You keep the crazy girl with the chi blocking occupied, and the rest of you can handle the knife girl."

"You all better be quick," Toph ordered. "I can hold the machine back, but not for long."

"What?" Sokka was surprised. "You're not coming?"

She answered, "No way am I going in that metal monster. I can't bend in there. I'll try to slow it down out here."

I nodded, although I was aware no one could see me in the pitch black tunnel. Toph shot the dirt from above her out, and light seeped in. Cringing, it took me a moment for my eyes to readjust after being in the dark for so many minutes. Sokka gave us all a boost up, and we were soon back outside right underneath the giant shaking machine.

Aang pointed at an opening where a long pipe was going through, and rushed forward jumping up and grabbing onto it. He quickly hooked his legs and hung upside down holding his hands towards us. I quickly got the message and rushed forward grabbing onto his hands. He hoisted me up and I was thrust forward managing to land shakily onto the metal floor of the machine. Stepping aside, I turned in time to see Katara and Sokka emerge with Aang following a second later. Momo remained outside with Toph to give her company. Once we all were on the large machine, Sokka took initiative and led the way through the narrow passage of metal.

We ended up arriving in a room lit by burning pieces of coal and torches. There were pipes everywhere that creaked and groaned as the machine continued to advance towards the wall. I looked around with uncertainty, realizing I had no clue where to start.

"So…" I began. "From what I remember about Fire Nation stuff, the machine is powered by fire… These pipes have steam in them that creates enough pressure to make the thing move… Or something of that matter."

Aang tapped his chin in thought. "So we just have to figure out the point in the machine that keeps everything in harmony."

Katara grimaced, noting with sarcasm, "That shouldn't be too difficult if we find some type of map or something… Which I'm just sure the Fire Nation leaves lying around."

Rolling my eyes, I looked over to Sokka for help.

He looked thoughtful. "I need a plan of this machine. Some schematics that show what the inside looks like. Then we can find it's weak points."

Aang worriedly asked, "Where are we going to find something like that?"

Sokka whipped out his machete which he kept tied to his back with his boomerang. He then slashed the machete forward and punctured a pipe in front of him. Steam immediately shot through the room and a horrible hissing sound occurred.

"What are you doing!" Aang cried. "Someone's gonna hear us!"

"That's the point," Sokka spoke with a grin. "I figure a machine this big needs engineers to run it, and when something breaks..."

Katara's eyes widened. "They come to fix it!"

"Crys," Sokka said. "Position yourself by the door. Knock out the engineer when he gets here."

I obeyed his order and positioned myself by the door. Pulling water out from the canteen tied to my waist, I prepared for my attack. I only had to wait a few minutes for the giant buff man to walk through the door. When he entered, he started straight towards the steaming pipes. He stopped though when he noticed Aang, Sokka, and Katara standing beside them.

"Wha-"

My water smashed into the back of the man's head, and the impact sent him falling forward and hitting the ground with a thud. He was knocked out as I pulled my water away from him and into the canteen. I grimaced as I stared at his unconscious body, not thrilled that I'd just hurt the man.

Sokka rushed forward and turned the man's dead-weight over so he was lying on his back. A scroll was tucked between his belt and pants. Sokka grabbed it and turned back to the rest of us. He then unrolled the scroll and looked down at it.

After examining the diagram of the drill for a few seconds, he smiled with an idea. "It looks like the Drill is made up of two main structures. There's the inner mechanism, where we are now, and the outer shell." He traced his finger along the drawn diagram while he spoke. "The inner part and the outer part are connected by these braces. If we cut through them, the entire thing will collapse."

Nodding, I insisted, "Then we best get a move on before Azula and her cronies notice we're here."

They nodded and we all raced through the drill, up some stairs, and into a very large opening with large metal braces parallel to one another. There were at least ten of them, and I knew then it would take us forever to slice through half.

Sokka inspected the first brace with surprise. "Wow, it looks a lot thicker in person than it does in the plans. We're going to have to work pretty hard to cut through that."

Katara crossed her arms in disbelief. "What's this we stuff? Aang, Crystal, and I are going to have to do all the work."

Sokka gestured to himself. "Look, I'm the plan guy. You three are the "cut stuff up with waterbending" guys. Together, we're Team Avatar!"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Technically this was my plan to begin with."

He held up his finger to argue. "Your plan was to get us in and figure out how to destroy the thing. I found the plan to actually crush the machine."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Katara growled and took her water out. "Come on… We better obey Sokka's plans while we're all still sane."

The three of us worked vigorously to slash our water through the braces that kept the machine going. Aang and Katara worked on one together, while I attempted to start on the next one for them. Using a stream, I slid it hard enough on the side of the metal to form a slice through the firm frame. It seemed I used the same repetitive motion for hours, and the brace was only half way done by the time Katara and Aang completely sliced through theirs. We worked for what felt like two hours attempting to cut through as many braces as we could.

When my arms began to tire out, I placed my water back in the canteen and turned to the others. "I don't know I can keep this up much longer… How many more of these things should we cut?"

Sokka stepped away from the wall he'd been leaning on. "C'mon team, don't quit now, we're..."

Katara growled and looked at Sokka with narrowed eyes.

Sokka held up his hands in defense. "I mean, you're almost there."

Katara and Aang finally finished the beam they were cutting a moment later. Then Katara placed her water in her pouch exhausted. "At this rate, we won't do enough damage before the drill reaches the wall."

Aang plopped down on the steel platform we stood upon. "I don't know how many more of those I have in me."

As if responding to Aang's exhaustion, an ominous shudder and low moan passed down the length of the Drill. I gasped and felt the tremor of the drill shake us around roughly.

Sokka believed we won. "Do you hear that We took it down. We better get out of here fast!"

Aang jumped up and him and Katara began to rush off after Sokka who was nearing the door to escape.

"Guys… Wait… I don't think-"

I was cut off as an intercom rang above us. A rough voice stated through an echo, "Congratulations crew, the Dill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se. Start the countdown to victory!"

My blood drained at the man's call. Sokka was horrified and raced back towards the beam that Aang and Katara had just cut. He shoved against it futilely to try and break it with his Sokka-Man-Power.

"C'mon brace, budge!"

Katara was dismayed. "This is bad, really bad."

Sokka stopped looking at all of us with disbelief. "We're putting everything we've got into busting these braces, but it's taking too long!"

After a brief pause, Aang beamed. "Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through. Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't give one hundred percent of your energy into any one strike." He looked over at my brother with inspiration. "Sokka, take a fighting stance. You've gotta be quick and accurate." Sokka took a fighting stance, and Aang hooked his foot around Sokka's ankle pulling him off balance. "Hit a series of points, and break your opponent's stance." Aang proceeded to demonstrate by hitting Sokka with a few pretend blows. "And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow." He bonked him lightly on the head. "His own weight becomes his downfall. Literally." When he finished, Sokka collapsed forward being thrown completely off balance.

I actually smirked, despite the situation we were in. Walking over, I helped Sokka up as Katara spoke.

"So we just need to weaken the braces, instead of cut all the way through."

Aang pointed upward. "Then I'll go to the top of this thing, and deliver the final blow."

Sokka raised his arms with thrill. "And boom, it all comes crashing down!" He demonstrated his words by sweeping his arms in an abrupt downward motion.

"This sounds worth trying… We have to give it a shot," I added. "It's our only hope at this point."

Aang nodded. "Everyone inside that wall, the whole world, is counting on us."

"The whole world, minus the Fire Nation that is," Sokka stated.

I grimaced. Looking away, I said softly, "Not everyone in the Fire Nation wants this Sokka…"

Sokka scoffed. "Really? Name one person. Because I'll tell you right now Crys, that Zuko definitely wants the Fire Nation to win. You're just too in love to see it."

I sighed. Turning back to the braces, I walked away saying, "You don't know what he wants…" Pulling the water back out of my canteen, I said to no one in particular, "I'll start on the next brace. The sooner we do this, the faster we save Ba Sing Se."

No one argued, but I could see from the corner of my eye Katara smack Sokka on the side of the head. He cringed and rubbed the spot, and then hung his head in guilt. He met my eyes momentarily, and I looked away feeling a bit upset by his words. I knew Sokka and Katara would never approve of Zuko, but I hoped that one day they would see he wasn't the man they thought him to be.

We continued for another few minutes in silence, cutting halfway through a total of four beams.

"Good work Team Avatar. Now Aang just needs to..." A gasp stopped Sokka mid-sentence, and he cried, "DUCK!"

We all turned in the nick of time to see a bright blast of blue fire shoot towards us. I shrieked and rushed behind the brace I'd just finished cutting half way through. The hot blast zoomed past, and when it faded I looked around the brace at the cause.

My eyes widened when I saw who it was. Standing high above us on a horizontal pole was Azula and her two cronies. Azula looked down at us with a sneer, the tall thin one looked bored, and the little bouncy one looked excited.

"Wow Azula, you were right, it is the Avatar!" The short girl smiled widely. "... and friends."

Azula looked down at all of us, and then met my eyes. She recognized me immediately and smirked. "Well, well… If it isn't Zuko's pet. Where's your lover boy, wench?"

I felt my blood boil. When I'd first met Azula, I'd been scared and uncertain. Seeing her now, and remembering the damage she'd done to Iroh, I felt rage. "Being a good nephew to your uncle who you shot!"

She scowled. "My uncle? My uncle died the moment he gave up conquering Ba Sing Se." She looked over at the tall thin girl. "Mai... I don't think I've properly introduced you to this worthless water-worm. You remember me telling you about the girl who stole your crush, right?"

Mai pulled out some daggers, and her eyes bore into my own. "Don't see what Zuko see's in her… She's pretty ugly to me."

I growled. "Speak for yourself." She was pretty physically, but seemed to have an ugly heart as she prepared to attack.

"Aang! Now!"

Katara's shout suddenly brought me from my rage. I was shocked when suddenly a gust of air shot straight at the three girls above. As this happened, Sokka grabbed my hand and yanked me out of my frozen state. As I was yanked out of the room, running along not having a choice, I heard Azula shout orders behind us.

As we rushed through the hall of the drill, we hit a "T" shaped intersection. "Guys get out of here, I know what I need to do." Aang started to head in one direction.

"Wait!" Katara pulled water from her pouch. "You need this water more than I do!"

Aang took her water in the air with thanks, and then rushed off. As he went one way, the three of us went the other. We rushed down the hall for a moment, and then hit a dead end. However, there was a trap door below that I quickly pointed out.

"Slurry pipeline," Katara read from the inscribed characters on the metal. "What does that mean?"

Sokka bent down and opened the hatch to the door. We all peered in and saw a passage of flowing water, rocks, and mud. I grimaced knowing we had no choice but to hop in.

Sokka answered Katara. "It's rock and water mixed together, it means our way out."

As Sokka and Katara began to lower down into the slurry mess, I looked back at the path we had just taken, hearing rushing footsteps. My eyes met the wild look of Mai and the other girl's excited gaze as they came around the corner.

"Found you!" The short girl piped.

"Good Bye," I stated. Jumping down into the slurry mess below, I grabbed the door when I did shutting it behind. Darkness consumed us, but the current quickly caught all three of us dragging us through the pipe.

We rushed through the wet gunk, using our arms to stay above water. I heard one splash behind us over the rushing water a minute later, but by the time it sounded we reached the end of the pipe where light was coming through. As we were thrown out of the pipe by the rush of water, we landed on the ground and slid through the mud hard. Then we quickly got up to our feet and turned ready to fight. Katara, however, beat Sokka and I to the punch, and bent the water up just as the short girl was flying out of the pipe. The water dragged her back up and into the pipe, and she was held their as rushing water pounded against her from behind.

"Why don't you try blocking my chi now circus freak!" Katara held one hand up as she easily kept the girl in the pipe. I watched with amazement. She was stopping a whole current with one hand!

"Katara, keep that up." Sokka was thrilled. "The pressure will build up in the drill, then when Aang delivers the final blow, it will be ready to pop!"

"I hope you're right," I said, looking at the struggling girl anxiously. Where was the Mai chick? I had to ask. Shouting up at her, I asked, "What happened to moody girl?"

The struggling girl looked down at me, surprised I was confronting her. "Oh. She doesn't do sludgy she said." She spoke back to me as if we were having a normal conversation.

"Oh. Okay," I said, kind of relieved Mai hadn't followed. A girl who was mad for me stealing her childhood crush was the last thing I needed to deal with.

"Hey Crys! Go get Toph so she can bend this muddy stuff to stop the flow. I can't hold the sludge back forever."

Nodding at my sister's order, I took off down the line of the drill towards the area where Toph was still bending some earth against the moving machine. "Toph! Katara needs you," I shouted, rushing over to her. She stopped her bending, and then raced past me in the direction I'd come. As she did so, I heard a yelp from above and saw a blast of blue fire shoot out from over the drill.

Aang... I had to help him...

Looking over along the side of the drill, I saw a ladder that curved against the metal. Rushing over, I managed to climb up to the top of the drill where I immediately saw Azula and Aang squaring off. As Aang shot a blast, and Azula easily dodged, I managed to clamber onto the shaking machine and yank the top off my canteen. Pulling water out, I shot it straight at Azula. It hit her in the side and sent her falling on her arm and sliding towards the opposite edge of the drill.

"Crys!" Aang sounded bewildered. "Are you crazy? Stop! Get out of here!"

Pulling my water back, I shouted at him, "Go Aang! Give it the final blow! I'll distract her!"

"No! Get off! You're going to get hurt!"

Azula got up on her feet, but by that point I'd rushed between her and Aang. "Go!"

Aang was astounded by my sudden confidence, and I saw Azula twirl around and stare at me with rage. I made my stance as firm as I could on the shaking machine. Azula scowled, and snapped, "You going to just stand there wench, or are you going to fight me?!"

Rage boiled inside me. She was getting on my last nerves with her insults. "Stop calling me that!" Racing forward towards her, I heard Aang shout behind me to stop. I ignored him.

Azula grinned as I approached her, and then charged up her fingers producing sparks of blue light. I was ready for her. There was no way I was losing to her again.

As Azula shot the lightning towards me, I threw water straight at the blast. Our attacks collided, and a hot gust of air shot towards me causing me to fly back. Landing hard on the moving machine, I cringed as my body vibrated in pain. However, I stood fast with my heart pounding and pulled my water which had dropped on the steel back into the air. Azula scowled at my recovery and rushed forward again. As I shot water at her, she jumped up in the air and with unknown agility flew over my head landing behind me. She was no longer focused on me, but on Aang.

Aang was already racing towards the wall that the machine was currently drilling into. As she went to strike lightning at him, I thrust my water forward and tightened the molecules. Wrapping the end of my stream around her ankle, she yelped as I jerked her off her feet. She landed with a thud, and her lightning missed Aang entirely.

A growl escaped her, and she quickly scrambled back to her feet. As she did so, I pulled the water back towards me and prepared to fight again. She turned and met my gaze with malice. "You little freak! I'll end you!" She shot a hot blast of fire at me, and I threw my water at her. Our attacks hit halfway, and a cloud of smoke fell between us.

Quickly I pulled particles of moisture from the air so I could attack again. However, a shadow jumped through the cloud and I was shoved hard onto my back. Azula pinned me down to the drill, her knee pressing into my stomach and her hand shoving my shoulder down. I dropped my water in the process and struggled beneath her.

She smirked as she saw she had the upper hand. "Don't mind if I add another scar to your face, do you?"

The words came out more from rage than common sense. "Go ahead… It won't make you any better in your brother's eyes."

She cackled. "Who said I'm trying to make my brother like me?"

She lifted her hand ready to fire at me. My blood went cold when I then finally realized what position I was in, and I shut my eyes bracing myself for the pain. It didn't come though. Instead, the whole machine suddenly quaked and a harsh blast of air shot above me. Thinking fast, I grabbed onto a lift in the metal beside me so I wouldn't get flung off. Azula didn't have time to catch anything, and her body flew over me and out of view as she was thrown off the drill from Aang's force. The harsh gust of air hit me and I almost lost grip, but it was soon over and I felt my tight grip loosen.

Mud landed on top of me a moment later, and I cringed from the gross and sticky substance. Sitting up, I felt the machine had stopped shaking as the plan was successful. My body shook and I felt my pounding heart calm. The rage inside me simmered down and my blurred vision began to clear up.

"Crys!" Aang raced over across the drill towards me, and Momo glided behind. Behind him was a giant boulder sliced into a pointed shape that had penetrated the machine. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, I wiped some mud from my eyes. "Yeah... I think so..."

"Good... I'm glad to hear..." He walked towards me and held his muddy hand out to me. "Thanks for the help."

I smiled taking his gesture with gratitude, and he helped me to my feet. "Thanks for not letting Azula burn me to a crisp."

Momo suddenly landed on my shoulder and licked the goo from my face. I bent the liquid off of me, and then did the same to Aang who thanked me. He grabbed me then and jumped us both down from the top of the drill, landing us gracefully onto the sludge covered ground below.

We then looked over at the wall with relief. The drill attempting to break through had been killed. "You did it Aang… Great job."

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "We all did it."

Footsteps suddenly rushed towards us, and we turned to see Sokka, Katara, and Toph approach. They were still covered in mud.

Toph beamed. "Way to go Twinkletoes!"

"I can't believe we actually took this thing down!" Katara looked at the broken machine with thrill. "We won!"

"Yeah!" Sokka added. "We did great!"

My limbs shook then, and I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins fade. Me climbing to the top of the drill had been a spur of the moment. Telling Azula to go ahead and burn me had been rash and stupid. If Aang hadn't hit the drill at that moment, the other side of my face would be scarred as well.

A few minutes later, the five us and Momo found our ways back to the top of the wall. A fleet of soldiers was sent down to the drill to try and capture the enemy, although I was certain they had fled the scene by now. As the general thanked Aang, and Katara washed dried mud off of herself, I fell back against the side of the barracks and sat in exhaustion.

Sokka and Toph walked over to me a few moments later, after I had managed to finally calm my nerves. Sokka spoke enthusiastically. "The General just said he's making preparations for us to have a place in the Upper Ring! We actually can sleep in a building for a change!"

Toph sighed. "The Upper Ring isn't that exciting Sokka. Just a lot of rude people with money."

"Still," Sokka continued. "We're going to get the royal treatment."

Looking up at Sokka, I said, "Don't forget why we're here though…"

Sokka waved me off. "Yeah. I know. We'll get right to contacting the Earth King. For now though, we need a good nights sleep."

I looked over at Aang and Katara, who were approaching us now. Standing, I turned away from the group and looked out towards the sunset in the distance. Sokka's words rang through my head loud and clear. They could focus on the Earth King... My focus was finding Appa...

Sokka spoke enthusiastically from behind me. "I just want to say, good effort out there today Team Avatar."

Katara scowled. "Enough with the Team Avatar stuff! No matter how many times you say it, it's not gonna catch on!"

Sokka tried again. "How about..." I looked back to see him whip his boomerang out. "The 'Boomerang Squad!' See it's good cause it's got 'Aang' in it." He put his hand on Aang's head. "Boomer-Aang."

Aang beamed. "I kinda like that one."

"Don't encourage him, Aang," I begged.

Katara grabbed my hand and began to pull me away from Sokka. "Let's talk about this on our way into the city."

As the others followed behind us, Sokka continued, "The "Aang Gang"?"

Katara shook her head. "Sokka…"

Sokka tried again. "The "Fearsome Fivesome"?"

Toph shook her head. "You're crazy!"

Sokka stopped walking, and I heard him whine, "Why? We're fearsome! Crys, help me out here!"

"Let's just stick to Team Avatar for now," I said, looking back at Sokka to entertain him.

He sighed. "Fine… Just for now." He started to follow us again as we made our way towards the General who was waiting to congratulate all of us.

As the night continued on, the General set us up a place to sleep just until morning and provided us with some dinner. As we sat in a circle in one of the small rooms on top of the barracks, I ate my steamed fish absently. We were all given mats to sleep on, and the General was setting up a personal escort to take us through Ba Sing Se that next day. Looking out of the small stone room window, I saw the moon above that covered us with soft white light.

"By the way, Crys… I'm sorry for earlier," Sokka suddenly said. Meeting his eyes, I was a little uncertain to what he referred to. "Back in the drill… I didn't mean to upset you about Zuko… I… I just still don't see good in him…"

I sighed, placing my plate down. "I know… I don't expect any of you to ever trust him." Looking back up at the moon, I smiled weakly. "He has a good heart though… I hope you all can see that one day…"

"You really think you and that dude have a chance of being together in the future?"

Toph's question drew me back to the room. Looking at everyone's curious expressions, I thought about my answer for a moment. "Fate is a strange thing. However, mom once told me that when you find that someone you're meant to spend the rest of your life with, you'll just know…"

Katara smiled weakly. "Fate does appear to have a weird agenda these days it seems."

Sokka sighed heavily. "Let me ask you just one thing, Crys… If Zuko were to capture Aang, and the only option for us to stop him would be to destroy him, would you let us?"

His question made me cringe. However, I met Sokka's eyes with confidence. "Zuko had the opportunity to capture Aang back at that ghost town, and he chose to save his uncle instead… He's not the same man you all met at the South Pole. If it came to choosing his honor or love, I know he'll make the right decision in the end."

"You don't know that though…" Sokka shook his head. "How could you possibly know he'd choose such a thing?"

I smiled. "Because I've seen him do it before… He's had numerous opportunities to capture Aang, but every time he's chosen to save the ones he loves instead. When we were in the Earth Kingdom back before the invasion at the North Pole, Zuko had to choose between pursuing Aang and saving his uncle from Earth Kingdom soldiers… He chose Iroh."

Aang nodded. "I agree with Crys… I believe there is good in Zuko. He saved me once from Zhao, and he's never actually physically hurt me."

Katara scoffed. "Speak for yourself. The dude knocked me unconscious at the North Pole."

Sokka added, "And he bonked me around with my spear when we first met."

I grimaced. "I didn't say he's perfect… And that was before he learned that his family doesn't want him back… Azula tried to take him and Iroh prisoner…"

"Speaking of Azula… That was brave what you did earlier today," Aang suddenly spoke up, trying to change the subject slightly. He must've decided things were getting too tense. "We wouldn't have won if you hadn't have jumped in."

Katara sighed, nodding her head. "Yeah... You had me worried sick when you didn't come back with Toph earlier, but Aang told me how you took Azula down long enough for him to make the final blow. You've gotten stronger."

I blushed. "I still have a lot to learn from you though. I'm no master..."

Toph spoke up. "Even the greatest masters still have to learn. We're all still just kids. We have years of training ahead."

Momo chattered in agreement and then stepped over to my plate taking my leftovers. I pat him on the head, saying, "At least we know Momo's a master at eating."

The group laughed and the tense air lightened. As the night went on, I looked back at the moon one last time. Shutting my eyes, I pictured Zuko in my mind. Deep down I knew he was the one… I just had to fight the obstacles keeping us from one another.

I wouldn't give up the fight though. I would save Appa, help Aang stop the Fire Nation, and then I would find Zuko and never walk away from him again. I would win the battles that were to come.