Three days before the comet, I slept in. Not on purpose, mind you. I had gotten so used to Toph jerking me awake at the crack of dawn that when it didn't happen, I slept on like a log. Finally, my eyes blinked themselves open. I yawned, bleary and disoriented, until I saw how high the sun was.

Then came the jolt of oh-my-spirits-I-slept-in-Toph's-gonna-kill-me panic as I launched myself out of bed. I rushed around the room, changing clothes, brushing my teeth and tying my hair up. Fast as I could, I ran outside...

... to see everyone just lounging around.

I blinked, perplexed. Well, Aang and Zuko appeared to be training hard. Zuko was drilling Aang on all sorts of forms, his posture tense. Yet, everyone else was just lying on the steps in various positions. Suki glanced up lazily from where she was lounging on Sokka's lap. "Oh, hey Kioni."

I sat down next to Katara, who was making some kind of juice. She smiled at me and I smiled back weakly before glancing down at Toph. She was spread out on the steps, lying backwards with her hands behind her head. I prodded her with one toe.

"What happened to morning training?" Toph cracked one eye open.

"Eh, you got a break this morning," she replied, closing her eyes again. "You're welcome." I opened my mouth to ask if we should be breaking three days before the comet, but then Zuko started yelling.

"More ferocious!" he barked as Aang performed a series of fire punches and kicks. "Imagine striking through your opponent's heart!"

"Ugh," Aang groaned, sounding exasperated. "I'm trying!"

"Now let me hear your roar like a tigerdillo!" Aang spun around and let out a rather weak roar, expelling fire from his mouth and both hands. He turned to Zuko sheepishly.

"That sounded pathetic," Zuko scoffed. "I said, ROAR!" He growled the last word in a way that was quite distracting. In fact, Zuko's whole militant thing he had going on right then was unfairly hot. Was I weird for thinking that?

Aang whirled around and roared again, this time much more ferociously. He let out fireblasts so big that Momo squealed in fear and scampered off to hide behind Zuko, clutching his leg for safety. Zuko nodded his approval.

"Who wants a nice cool glass of watermelon juice?" Katara asked from next to me. I took one, slurping at the juice and enjoying its refreshing taste.

"Ooh ooh me me me!" Aang cried, turning around and starting to run towards us. Frowning, Zuko grabbed him by the back of his robes and held him fast.

"Hey, your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!" Zuko lifted Aang up so that he was dangling above the ground, struggling pathetically.

"Come on, Zuko, just take a break," Suki said. "What's the big deal?" I frowned. Had everyone gotten so complacent?

"Fine," he grumbled, letting go of Aang, who dashed up the steps and grabbed a watermelon from Katara. "If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail sloths all day, then go ahead!" he finished and stormed off.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised at Zuko's sudden anger. "Maybe Zuko's right," Sokka said. "Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy." I nodded encouragingly, agreeing with this, when he spoke again. "But I know just the thing to fix that... beach party!"

My expression faltered as the others cheered, obviously ecstatic at the idea of a beach party. "Guys guys guys," I broke in among the exciting chattering. "Is this really the best time for a beach party? I mean, isn't there training to do and stuff?"

Katara swiveled around to look at Aang, who suddenly looked guilty. She pursed her lips at him and he shrugged. I frowned. "We can train afterwards, Princess," Toph said dismissively and I raised my eyebrows again. "I wanna get my sandbending on!"

The others agreed and started making their way down to the beach, but I hung back, glancing at the spot where Zuko had disappeared. "You coming, Kioni?" Aang asked. "I, uh... kind of wanted to talk to you about something."

"Uh, you guys go ahead, I'll catch up with you," I said. "I'm just gonna go check on Zuko." He had seemed so tense, like even more than usual. I thought maybe I could go talk to him and we could spar and mess around with bending for a while to help him relax.

Thinking about messing around with bending inevitably led me to thinking about other types of messing around. This sent me down a dangerous (but enjoyable) path of thought.

"It's not the hair, is it?"

I broke out of my little daydream (reluctantly - it was a good one) to see Sokka looking at me, a little disgruntled. I raised my eyebrows at the random question. "What?"

"You know." Sokka gestured to his head, miming hair that reached his shoulders, even though his own was in it's warrior's wolf tail. "Suki thinks Zuko grew his hair out and now he's suddenly super hot and that's why you like him again."

I flushed and whipped around towards Suki. She shrugged and gave me a sheepish little smile. "I- That's ridiculous," I scoffed, averting my eyes. "No way. I don't like Zuko."

Suki raised her eyebrows at me. "Okay, I mean we're friends now," I continued, emphasizing the word. "I like him as a friend." From beside her, Katara fixed me with a skeptical and amused look. I glared at her, daring her to say even one word.

"It's okay, Kioni, you can admit it," Suki teased, and the blush rose higher on my cheeks. "His hair is pretty good looking."

"Suki!" Sokka whined, sounding like a four year old. "It's not that great! My hair looks good down too! See, look!" Sokka reached up and yanked the tie out, letting his hair flop around his face. He turned to us, spreading his arms wide. "Eh? Eh?"

There was awkward silence for a few seconds. "Yeah, sweetie." Suki winced, patting Sokka's arm, and the Water Tribe warrior slumped. "It's okay, there are plenty of great things about you."

"Don't worry, Sokka," Toph piped up. "I think your hair looks way hotter than Zuko's!"

Sokka's whole face lit up. "Thank you, Toph," he said, puffing his chest out. He turned to Suki. "At least someone can see-" He broke off, freezing mid sentence, and the rest of us tried to stifle our giggles as he turn to stare at the other earthbender with narrowed eyes. Toph's grin stretched even wider.

"You know, I really hate it when you do that."

"Come on, Kioni, come down to the beach," Katara coaxed. I opened my mouth to refuse again when Suki piped up.

"Oh, if she wants to go help Zuko relax, let her," she said, flashing me a wink and an impish grin. I flushed at how close Suki had been to my true motivations.

"I didn't mean-"

"Mm yeah, he just seemed so tense, I'm sure he could use some cheering up," Toph chimed in, waggling her eyebrows at me. I huffed, my face bright red now.

"You guys are impossible!" I threw my hands up in the air and stalked down the stairs, past them and down the path to the beach. Suki and Toph chortled behind me as the rest of them followed.


Considering how close we lived to the beach, it was surprising how little we'd actually been there. The lack of going to the beach did not correlate with Sokka's lack of enthusiasm. As soon as we stepped foot onto the sand, he ripped off his shirt, whooped loudly and charged towards the water. Jumping in with a yell, he disappeared under the surface for a few seconds before emerging with a mop of seaweed on his head and a huge grin on his face.

Katara laughed and cried, "Wait for me!" She shimmied out of her clothes and ran in after him, leaping into the water on an ice board.

Suki and I watched them splash each other and scream like a bunch of five year olds. The Kyoshi Warrior shook her head, smiling fondly. "Water Tribe." She lay out her towel to sunbathe and I crouched at the edge of it before flopping down in the sand and digging my toes in.

"So." I glanced over to see Suki's sly expression. "You still have a thing for Zuko," she said matter-of-factly, and I sat upright, horrified.

"What!? Did Katara tell you that? That nosy, gossiping little brat, I am going to kill her-"

Suki's laughter cut me off. "Katara didn't tell me anything, but I think you just did." I paused, meeting her smug look.

"I hate you," I grumbled, a dull flush creeping up my neck. "We're friends," I added emphatically. Suki gave me a unconvincing mhmm and lay back down, looking pleased with herself.

Scowling, I looked away to watch Aang, who was building a giant Appa sand sculpture. Sokka was standing nearby and offering constructive criticism. I stood and walked over to join them.

"-I'm just saying, I think you're making his head a little too round," Sokka was saying, a thoughtful hand on his chin. Aang looked up, annoyed, and then smiled as he saw me.

"Like you could do any better, Sokka," I scoffed, walking up to them. Sokka turned around, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Bring it," I smirked. "Whoever makes the best sand sculpture gets bragging rights into infinity."

"You're so on!" Sokka turned and ran off to the water to collect buckets of wet sand.

"That should keep him occupied for a while," I grinned, before turning to Aang. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something earlier?" A nervous look flitted across the airbender's face, and he glanced out at Katara, who was still iceboarding in the ocean.

"Uhh, yeah, after I finish my sand sculpture though?"

"Sure, take your time," I shrugged. I glanced over at Sokka who was running back and forth and dumping huge buckets of sand by Suki. She watched with a confused and concerned expression. She met my eye with a questioning look and I just shrugged back innocently.

"And, done!" I turned back around just as Aang stuck two pieces of driftwood in for Appa's horns. "Check out my Appa sand sculpture!"

"Not bad, Baldy." We turned to see Toph behind us. "But I've been working on my sandbending. You're gonna love this!" She cracked her knuckles before taking a stance and pushing her arms forward. Both of our jaws dropped as a miniature version of Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring rose out of the sand, palace and all.

"Wow, you even made a little Earth King and Bosco!" Aang said, pointing down at the tiny king and his pet.

"I want to try!" Concentrating hard, I pursed my lips and pictured my hometown. I bent my arms down in the same way Toph had, grinning as a smaller scale Omashu rose from the sand, complete with towering structures and mail delivery chutes.

"Awesome!" Aang cheered. I laughed and waved my arm, causing a tiny sand Bumi to rocket down one of the mail chutes.

"Way to go, Princess," Toph chuckled. The three of us walked over to Sokka, who was furiously working on his sand sculpture.

"Try and top that, Sokka," I challenged. He paused for a second before whirling around, his arms outstretched.

"Ta-daaa!" I cocked my head, studying his sculpture. It looked like a giant blob of sand, with a mop of seaweed hair, two haphazardly-placed seashells for eyes, and a drooping smile of sea stones.

"Is that a... blubbering blob monster?" Aang asked. Sokka frowned.

"No, it's Suki!" There were about two seconds of shocked silence before the three of us exploded into laughter. Sokka crossed his arms over his chest, not amused.

"Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this," Toph chortled. Suki gave him a placating smile.

"I think it's sweet," she said. Sokka rushed over and hugged her, planting a huge kiss on her cheek.

"But it doesn't even look like- aaah!" Aang cut off in a yell as a huge blast of fire exploded the Suki-scuplture. I glanced up in shock to see Zuko standing atop one of the cliffs, an angry expression on his face.

"Oh boy," I muttered as he leapt down, shooting three more fireballs at Aang, who panicked and dove out of the way. "Oh, come on!" I complained as the fireballs destroyed my Omashu sand sculpture. "Once wasn't enough?"

Aang ran towards the Appa sand sculpture and hid behind it as Zuko landed and chased after him. "What are you doing?" Aang asked, incredulous.

Zuko scowled. "Teaching you a lesson!" he shouted back before bringing his arm back and slicing the Appa sculpture in half with a wave of fire. Zuko shot blast after blast at Aang as the airbender leapt up the side of the cliff. Zuko dashed forward and scrambled up the cliff behind him.

"My sculpture!" Sokka moaned, falling to his knees and clutching at the remains of sand Suki.

"What happened?" Katara ran up to us, her hair still dripping, as the rest of us watched with wide eyes.

"Zuko's gone crazy!" Sokka cried in despair. "I made a sand sculpture of Suki, and he destroyed it!" I stared at him for a beat. "Oh, and he's attacking Aang."

"Come on," I muttered, rolling my eyes. Toph, Katara and I started running towards the house, Suki dragging Sokka along behind us. It wasn't hard to follow them back to the house, considering the wake of destruction and burning trees they left in their path. We ran into the side yard just in time to see Zuko get blasted out of the side of the house, hit a palm tree, and fall to the ground, groaning.

I ran up to him, concerned yet annoyed. That looked like a pretty nasty fall. "You okay?" I asked, offering my hand. He muttered something unintelligible and took it, helping himself up.

"What's wrong with you?" Katara cried as Aang leapt out of the hole in the house and landed gracefully. "You could've hurt Aang!"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with all of you?!" Zuko shook off my arm and we turned to face them. He waved his hand, frustrated. "How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's Comet is only a three days away!?"

The others were silent. "While I don't agree with Zuko's methods," I shot him a quick glare, "he does have a point. It seems like we should be spending a little more time training. Are we really prepared?"

Still silence. I furrowed my brows as I took in their confused and blank expressions. "Why are you all looking at us like we're crazy?" Zuko asked, voicing my thoughts.

"About Sozin's comet..." Aang stepped forward. "I was actually going to wait to fight the Fire Lord until after it came."

I blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"After?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"I'm not ready," Aang explained, looking down. "I need more time to master firebending."

"And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too," Toph broke in.

"So, you all knew Aang was going to wait?" Zuko asked.

I folded my arms across my chest. "And this didn't seem like something you might mention to us?"

Aang shot me a guilty look. "We only decided yesterday. I wanted to tell everyone individually... that's what I wanted to talk to you about earlier."

"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's going to lose," Sokka said, wincing as Aang's face fell. "No offense." Dread started to creep up inside me, and it must have showed on my face, because Katara stepped forward.

"The whole pointing of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war," she explained. "But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. Things can't get any worse."

"Oh no." I turned to Zuko, who looked as worried as I felt. "You have to tell them."

Aang frowned. "Tell us what?"

Zuko sighed, resigned, and turned away. "You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine."

As Zuko told the others about what had happened at the war meeting the day before the eclipse, I sat down on a rock next to him. I couldn't help but think about how even though Zuko and I were technically part of the group, we still weren't fully integrated. It hadn't been a coincidence that we had been the last people to know. Granted, we had kept things from them too.

This couldn't keep happening though. If we were going to take down the Fire Lord in three days, we had to be a fully functioning team, a well-oiled machine. That couldn't happen if we kept hiding things from each other and not communicating.

"I wanted to speak out against his horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't," Zuko finished. "My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I had lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was." I stood and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking at everyone's shocked expressions.

"I can't believe this," Katara whispered, falling to her knees.

"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but his plan is just pure evil," Sokka said, his arm around Suki, looking uncharacteristically somber. Suki shook her head sadly.

"What am I gonna do?" Aang asked helplessly.

"I know you're scared." Zuko walked over to him. "And I know you're not ready to save the world. But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

Zuko's words, while a touch dramatic, had the intended effect of spurring everyone into a sense of urgency. Aang stepped back, looking put out now instead of just stunned. "Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan sooner?" he cried, storming off a short distance.

"I didn't think I had to!" Zuko protested, following him. "I assumed you were still gonna fight him before the comet! No one told me you decided to wait!"

"Yeah, that can't happen anymore, by the way," I added, folding my arms across my chest again. "We're supposed to be a team."

"This is bad." Aang fell to his knees, putting his head in his hands. "This is really, really bad." Katara frowned and walked over to him, the rest of us following behind.

"We are a team," she said firmly. "Aang, you don't have to do this alone."

"Yeah!" Toph piped up. "If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down!"

"Alright, Team Avatar is back!" Sokka cried. "Air, water, earth, fire-" he pointed to Aang, Katara, Toph and I, and then Zuko before pulling out two strangely shaped leaves and thrusting one into Suki's hand. "-fan and sword!"

"Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together," Aang said, but his face softened as he took in our determined faces. "But I wouldn't want to do it any other way."

Despite my lingering annoyance, I couldn't help but laugh as Suki threw her arm around me and pulled me in for the group hug. I glanced back and Zuko who was standing to the side awkwardly.

"Get over here, Zuko," Katara coaxed. "Being a part of the group means being a part of group hugs." Zuko made a face but walked forward. I lifted an arm and allowed him into the group hug between me and Toph, wrapping an arm around his waist. Katara smiled and squeezed us all; I couldn't help but smile in return, leaning into Zuko.

A loud rumble alerted us that Appa also wanted to be a part of the group hug. Before we knew it, we were all flat on the ground with a ten ton sky bison licking our bodies. I found myself face flat on Zuko's chest. I peeled myself upwards with a groan to come face to face with the firebender less than two inches away.

"Uh, hi," I smiled. I tried to wiggle myself upright, but Katara was crushing my legs. Zuko rolled his eyes but smiled back, his face pink. I could feel his heartbeat hammering like crazy, and I blushed a little too.

"Okay, we need to make a plan," Sokka said once Appa finally got off of us.

"First, I need to teach Aang one more thing," Zuko said. "It's important."

Sokka nodded, in full plan-guy mode now. "Okay, you teach him that, and Suki and I will start discussing strategies. But you know the most about the capital, so you should come as soon as you can."

Zuko nodded back. "Kioni, I could use your help with this actually." I turned towards him, eyebrows raised. "I need to teach him what Uncle taught me in the desert."

Realization dawned. "Of course."


Zuko, Aang and I went out to the back courtyard. Katara wanted to watch as well, so she sat down on the steps while Zuko and Aang faced each other with me standing nearby.

"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father," Zuko said seriously. "How to redirect lightning." Aang's eyes widened before an excited grin spread across his face.

Zuko took a few steps back before settling into stance and beginning to show him the motion. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's own energy against them."

"That's like waterbending!"

"Exactly." Zuko smiled a little. "My uncle invented this technique himself by studying waterbenders." Aang began to copy Zuko's movements.

"This isn't just for firebending," I added, starting the process of up-down-in-out. "Repeating this motion and getting it down can get your chi to flow more clearly, which makes your connection to all the elements stronger." Aang nodded, concentrating on the movements.

"So," Aang said after a couple minutes, looking at Zuko curiously. "Have you ever redirected lightning before?"

"Once," Zuko replied, and I swiveled to stare at him. "Against my father." My eyes widened in shock, and I paused in my movements, standing up straight.

"What did it feel like?" Aang asked.

Zuko sighed and pulled himself out of the stance. "Exhilarating," he answered solemnly, and Aang grinned. "But terrifying." The grin fell. "You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make one wrong move, it's over." I was speechless, still stuck on the fact that Ozai had shot lightning at Zuko.

"Well, not over-over," Aang chuckled nervously. "I mean, there's always Katara and a little spirit-water action, am I right?" He looked towards the waterbender hopefully.

"Actually, I used the last of it when Azula shot you," Katara said.

Aang slumped. "Oh."

"You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life before he takes yours," Zuko said, deadly serious. Aang winced.

"Yeah... I'll just do that..."

Toph poked her head out from the courtyard. "Sokka wants to know if you guys are done yet," she said to Zuko. "Apparently he can't finish his super-secret plan without Zuko's Fire Nation knowledge."

Zuko nodded, starting to walk back inside, but I grabbed his arm. "We'll be there in a second," I said, ignoring his confused look. "You guys go ahead," I said to Aang and Katara. They nodded, following Toph back inside. Aang's shoulders were still a little slumped, and I saw Katara put a comforting hand on his arm as they walked inside.

I turned to Zuko, who still looked confused. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

I folded my arms across my chest. "You never told me your dad shot lightning at you."

He cringed slightly. "Oh... yeah. I mean, it wasn't that important."

I gawked. "Not important!? How could that possibly not be important?! You could've died."

"But I didn't," he pointed out. "I redirected it."

"Yeah, but-" I struggled for a second, trying to put how I felt into words. I kept remembering that night on the mountain when Zuko had first tried to redirect lightning, and how scared I had been when I saw the menacing blue flash above his head. "That's - it's not no big deal, Zuko, he-"

Zuko's mouth pulled downwards into a slight scowl. "You and I both know that's far from the worst thing he's done," he said bitterly. I paused, staring at him, and he seemed to hunch in on himself, pulling his arms across his chest.

"Zuko," I said gently. "That's not the point..."

"It doesn't matter what the point is!" he burst out, and I stepped back. "Look, there's no point in talking about it, okay? And I don't want to. Right now we should just be focusing on our plan to take down the Father Lord."

I blinked. "Fire Lord."

"What?"

"I... we should be focusing on our plan to take down the Fire Lord. You said-"

"I said Fire Lord!" he snapped and stomped off towards the house without another word. I stood there for a second, alone in the courtyard, before sighing and following him back inside.


Back in the house, the others were all gathered around a table, upon which Sokka had spread a huge map of the Fire Nation capital. I assume he'd gotten it from somewhere else in the house, along with the several scrolls strewn about the large space.

"Oh good, you're here," he said, looking up as Zuko and I walked in. He caught sight of Zuko's face and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Zuko grumbled. He pulled up a chair next to Sokka and sat down. "What's the plan?" I rolled my eyes and sat down next to Suki on the other side. Sokka glanced between the two of us for a second before plowing on.

"So, Suki went into town to do a bit of scouting and found these." He picked up one of the scrolls. I took it from him and unfurled it, raising my eyebrows at the giant and rather dramatic drawing of Ozai standing in front of a wall of flames.

"'On the momentous occasion of the appearance of Sozin's Comet after one hundred years, here marks the crowning of the Phoenix King,'" I read.

"What? Give me that." Zuko reached over and grabbed the scroll from me, his face growing more and more incredulous as he scanned it. "'From the ashes will rise a new world of superiority, in which the Phoenix King-' oh you have got to be kidding me," he finished with a look of incredible disbelief. "He gave himself a new title?"

"It's ballsy, that's for sure," Toph remarked. "Crowning himself before the battle's even been won."

"He's not crowning himself anything," Zuko scoffed. "There's no such thing as a Phoenix King." Sokka gave Zuko another wary glance before continuing.

"Anyway, you said your dad was planning to destroy the Earth Kingdom from airships?" he asked, and Zuko nodded, still scowling. "So, I think we need to get to him before the airship fleet takes off. It'll be impossible to take him down from the air, especially if there's a whole fleet."

"Hold on," I broke in. "You're not suggesting we try to break into the Fire Nation palace? Won't that be swarming with guards and firebenders? Firebenders who, may I remind you, are going to have 'the power of a thousand suns' or something like that."

"We can't attack the palace," Sokka agreed. He glanced around at us, his eyes lingering on Zuko again, before taking a deep breath. "That's why I think we should move in when he's en route to the airships."

The rest of us fell silent, looking at Zuko. "There's a traditional pathway taken when leaving to battle," he said finally, staring down at the table. "From the palace gates to the edge of the city. The royal procession will head down that way. I'm sure the Fire Lord will make some kind of speech." He looked up, his eyes hard. "That's when we should attack."

"Won't the place still be crawling with troops?" Katara asked.

"It's our best point of attack," Zuko answered her. "There's plenty of earth around for Toph and Kioni, and it's close enough to the water for you. Between the six of us, and with the element of surprise on our side, we should be able to hold off the troops long enough for Aang to make his move."

We all nodded and murmurs of agreement filled the table. After a second, all gazes turned to Aang, who hadn't said a single word during the entire discussion. "Well?" Sokka prompted. "What do you think, Aang?"

"I..." Aang looked troubled, which caused me to frown. "I'm not sure... this is all happening so fast." He put his head in his hands, slumping forward, and my heart ached for him. It was so much for one kid to handle.

"Well, we can practice it, right?" I encouraged, looking around the table. "I'm sure we can find some place to simulate it as best as we can, run through it a couple times so you feel more confident when it comes."

"That's a great idea," Suki said. "I'm sure there's somewhere on this island that resembles a Fire Nation procession path."


We flew around for Appa for a while before Zuko pointed out an old lava tunnel that was roughly the length and width of the procession pathway his father would likely take. Appa let us all climb off before flying off somewhere to wait - he's not a huge fan of fire. Sokka climbed to the top of the tunnel and stood there for a second with his back to us, cradling a melon and an old bedsheet he'd brought along.

"What's the melon for again?" I whispered to Suki, who shrugged. Sokka seemed satisfied with the location, because he grabbed a nearby stick and stuck it in the ground. Then, he draped the bedsheet over it and stuck the melon at the top of the stick. I raised my eyebrows when I saw the face he'd carved in the melon - complete with goatee and all.

"Gather around Team Avatar!" Sokka called, and the we circled around him and crouched down. "In order to defeat the Fire Lord - or in this case, the Melon Lord - our timing has to be perfect." He dropped to his knees in front of us and picked up a smaller stick, starting to carve patterns in the dirt. "First, Suki and I will draw his fire, then Katara and Zuko charge in with some liquidy-hot offense. And when the Melon Lord is distracted, Aang swoops in and - bam! He delivers the final blow!"

I frowned. The plan sounded fine, but - "Uh, what about me and Kioni?" Toph asked.

"When the time comes, you two should be up on the ledges, where you can wreak the most havoc via earthbending." Sokka pointed to the tall walls lining the tunnel. "But for now, you're the Melon Lord's forces."

"So we get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?" Toph looked worringly gleeful at this prospect.

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic," Sokka answered.

Toph's grin was downright devilish. "Sweetness." I couldn't help but crack a grin myself.

Zuko set a couple of fires in a ring at the top of the cliff, guarding the Melon Lord. Katara and I used earthbending and waterbending to create some holes in the ground to pull up oil deposits from. Katara bent the oil onto several large boulders that Toph had lining the perimeter. The rest of them got into position a few thousand feet away while Toph and I got into stance in front of the Melon Lord.

"Muahahaha!" Toph cackled, throwing her hands in the air.

"I guess that's one way to do it," I muttered under my breath, before narrowing my eyes and looking for the attackers. Sokka and Suki ran out first, sprinting towards us with determined looks on their faces. I smirked the tiniest bit before bending several Fire Nation stone figurines in front of them and then sending the stone soldiers rushing towards them.

Sokka sliced one in half with his space sword easily and Suki kicked down the other one before they continued running. Toph stepped forward and pushed one of the rocks outwards, setting it on fire, before she flung it towards them. It crashed inches from them, but Suki leapt over it with astonishing agility. Sokka wasn't so lucky however; he fell flat on his face before jumping up.

"Watch it, Toph!" he cried.

"I am not Toph!" Toph yelled back maniacally. "I am Melon Lord! Mwahahahaha!"

"I knew the melon power would go to your head," I said, shaking my head, but amused nonetheless. She shot a wicked grin at me in response before sending another flaming rock flying towards Zuko and Katara, who had just come out from behind their rock.

They dodged the rock easily and I concentrated again, bringing up another circle of stone soldiers to surround the two of them. Standing back to back, they took down the stone soldiers in an impressive display of water and fire, but I wasn't done yet. I popped up a half dozen more in front of and behind them and sent them rushing towards each other.

Katara froze four of the soldiers at once before kicking them down and running forward. Zuko punched a fireball at one, blasting his head off, but I made the solider continue to follow him even without a head. Frustrated, he blasted it down with a flaming swivel kick, but I waved my hand and the soldier's head rose again from it's shoulders, staring back at Zuko with a stonefaced look.

"Really, Kioni?" he shouted up at me, annoyed, and I bit back my snickers.

Toph was still shooting flaming rocks over their heads when Sokka cried out, "Now Aang!" I glanced up to see Aang, who had been running along the eastern perimeter, jump off the wall and fly towards the Melon Lord. He soared through the air with his staff outstretched, a fierce look on his face - and then stopped inches from the Melon Lord's head, frozen.

"What are you waiting for?" Zuko called from his hiding spot. "Take him out!"

"I can't," Aang said softly. Dumbfounded, I walked up to him.

"What are you talking about, Aang?" I asked. "You were right there, you had him!"

The others walked up behind me. Sokka stormed up in front of Aang, looking angry. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded, and Aang's shoulders slumped even further. "If this was the real thing, you'd be shot full of lightning right now!"

"I'm sorry," Aang sighed. "But it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."

My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. Didn't feel right? What on earth was Aang banging on about? Sokka seemed to share my disbelief, because he raised his sword and brought it down swiftly on the melon, slicing it in half. Aang winced and Momo ran up, devouring the inside of the melon.

"There," Sokka said grimly as Aang stared at the sliced melon, horrified. "That's how it's done." Aang kept his back turned.

"There has to be another way," he mumbled, so quietly we could barely hear him.

"Another way?!" Zuko sounded incredulous. "What are you talking about? There is no other way, Aang. The Father Lord is going-"

"Fire Lord," Sokka broke in. Zuko scowled further.

"I said Fire Lord," he gritted before continuing. "He's going to come at you with everything he's got, and he's not going to hesitate to kill you."

"I know killing feels wrong, but in this case, I think it's justified," Katara tried reasonably. Aang's eyes hardened.

"You don't get it!" he said harshly. "It's not that easy!"

"Nobody said it was easy, Aang," I said, a hint of annoyance creeping into my voice. "We all know how difficult this is, but you have to do it. It's your du-"

"My duty, I know," he snapped, crossing his fingers. My eyes widened, taken aback, and then they narrowed. I opened my mouth again, but Suki cut me off in a gentler voice.

"It's getting dark now. We should head back to the beach house." Aang stalked off, brushing past me without a word, and I stared after him disbelief. What on earth was going on? I started to follow, but Zuko caught my elbow.

"Not now," he murmured, and I sighed.


Back at the beach house, Sokka and Katara put together dinner. Both of them whispered under their breaths and kept glancing over Aang while they were getting it ready. Aang himself was sitting away from the rest of us, sulking on the porch steps. I hoped that they could come up with a way to talk some sense into Aang, since they had known him the longest.

Dinner was served, and we ate in uncomfortable silence, Aang still sitting by himself. Suddenly, Katara announced that she had something to show us and rushed off. I glanced after her curiously, then continued picking at my rice.

"I have a surprise for everyone!" she announced upon her return, holding a scroll.

"I knew it!" Toph perked up. "You did have a secret thing with Haru!"

Haru, as in Haru from the Western Air Temple? We were all dumbfounded for a second, Katara included. "Um... no," she replied awkwardly, and we all continued eating. "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic earlier, and I found this."

She unfurled the scroll, and I couldn't help but grin at the painting. It was a chubby-cheeked toddler waddling down the beach on his adorably tiny legs, looking happier than I'd ever seen the firebender behind me. "Look at baby Zuko!" Katara cooed, while the rest of us giggled. "Isn't he cute?"

I turned to grin at Zuko and tease him a bit, but his face was solemn, not amused in the least. "Oh, lighten up, I'm just teasing," Katara said, thinking Zuko was embarrassed.

"That's not me," he snapped, opening his eyes. "That's my father."

Oh. Awkward.

"But he looks so sweet and innocent," Suki said while Katara hastily rolled up the painting.

"Well, that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster," Zuko grumbled. "And the worst father in the history of fathers." I put a sympathetic hand on his leg.

"But he's still a human being," Aang spoke up, and we all turned to stare at him in disbelief. Wait, what? I couldn't believe my ears. No way Aang was actually trying to defend Fire Lord Ozai, not after everything he'd done.

"You're going to defend him?" Zuko asked incredulously.

"No, I agree with you," he said, standing and facing the rest of us. "Fire Lord Ozai is a terrible person and the world would probably be better off without him. But there's gotta be another way."

"Like what?" I had rarely heard Zuko sound so exasperated. I was starting to reach the end of my rope as well.

"I don't know," Aang sighed before his face brightened. "Maybe we can make some big pots of glue and then I can use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore!"

My eyebrows could not rise any higher. I had some choice words for what I thought about Aang's gluebending plan, but Zuko spoke up first. "Yeah, and you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again!" he said, more sarcastic than I had ever heard. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Do you really think that would work?" Aang asked eagerly.

"No!"

Aang heaved another sigh and walked over to us. "This goes against everything I've learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like!"

"Sure you can!" Sokka piped up. "You're the Avatar! If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm sure the universe will forgive you!" He said the words lightheartedly, but they rang with truth. Aang didn't appreciate his jesting tone however. He whirled around, eyes blazing.

"This isn't a joke, Sokka!" he yelled. "None of you understands the position I'm in!"

That was it for me. "Aang, we do understand," I said firmly, but trying not to raise my voice. "This is an incredibly difficult position, and I wish it were any other way, but it isn't. I know it's hard, and I know it goes against who you are, but you're not just an airbender. You're the Avatar, and that means your job is to protect the world, even if it's at this cost."

Aang turned on me. "You don't get it! You have no idea what it's like for me!"

Katara broke in. "Aang, we do get it! It's just-"

"Just what, Katara? What!?"

"We're trying to help!" Katara cried.

"Well, when you figure out a way to beat the Fire Lord without taking his life, I'd love to hear it!" Aang shouted, before throwing his hands in the air and storming off.

Katara stood frozen for a second before starting after him. "Aang, don't walk away from this!" She stopped as Zuko stood and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go," he said. "He needs time to sort it out by himself." Katara scowled, but didn't follow Aang. Instead, she turned on her heel and stormed back into the house. The rest of us sat in tense silence.

Sokka sighed loudly after a minute and stood. "I think we should try to work out some backup plans, just in case."

I stared. "You don't honestly think we can end this without taking the Fire Lord's life?"

"No, I don't," he said grimly. "But it's up to Aang now." With that, he turned and walked back into the house, followed by Suki and then Toph. It was just me and Zuko then, and I turned to him in disbelief.

"What is going on with Aang?" I asked, still taken aback by what I thought what a severe lack of reality on his part. Zuko sighed, sitting back down on the steps. I sat down next to him. "He's known about the comet for months. What did he think 'taking out the Fire Lord' meant?" Zuko shrugged, looking worn. "How are you not more infuriated at this?"

He looked over at me, giving me a sad half-smile. "I don't see him the way the rest of you do," he replied. "You all see your savior, the world's last hope for peace - especially Katara." He sighed again, looking out. "I see a scared, unprepared kid who's in way over his head. So, yeah, this is frustrating, but not entirely unforeseen."

I bit my lip, looking at where Aang had disappeared. "Yeah," I sighed. "I guess I was a little harsh on him."

"No, you said exactly what needed to be said," he said. "He just needs a bit of time to hear it." I stared at him for a second before nudging him with my shoulder.

"Look at you, all wise and knowledgeable," I teased, and he frowned. "And don't think I missed that bit of sarcasm you threw at Aang earlier. I'm so proud." I pretended to wipe a tear from my eye, and Zuko scowled.

"Shut up."

"What? It's a compliment," I said innocently. "I'm just trying to be nice."

"I liked it better when you told me how attractive I am," he replied, and my cheeks pinked.

"I didn't - that's not what I said!" I protested. Zuko smirked and I huffed, standing. "I'm going to sleep. You have such a big head." I pushed the top of his head lightly, and he snickered quietly.

"Sleep well," he called out mockingly as I walked towards the house. I turned at the doorway, stuck my tongue out at the back of his head, and walked back inside.


The next morning was a rush of activity as we tried to get everything packed up. Sokka hadn't been able to come up with any backup plans that weren't infinitely more dangerous and life-risking than the original plan, so I hoped that Aang had come to his senses. He was still asleep, and nobody particularly wanted to bother him after the bad mood he'd been in last night, so we unanimously decided to let him have lie-in. It was a pretty big day after all.

Anyway, even if he hadn't come to his senses yet, we still had two days until the comet. There was plenty of time to convince him on the flight back to the Fire Nation. And Aang couldn't run far when we were up in the air.

I helped Sokka load the last bag onto Appa and he brushed off his hands looking around. "Well, that's everything!" he said. I frowned, feeling like we were missing something.

"No, it's not," Toph said from her perch on the fountain. "Where's Aang?" There was a brief moment of awkward panic before everyone rushed back into the house.

"Aang?" Zuko called as we ran upstairs. "Aang!"

"Come on, lazybones!" Toph shouted. "Let's go!"

We split up to search different rooms of the house. I tried to push down my worry. Aang was sulking somewhere in the house, right? He had to be. I glanced in a couple empty rooms and then walked back into the hallway to meet Zuko and Toph, who both shook their heads.

We walked out onto the balcony where Katara, Sokka, and Suki were. Sokka walked forward and grabbed something that was leaning against the railing - Aang's staff! "He left his staff," Sokka said, confused. "That's so strange."

"Aang's not in the house," Zuko said. "Let's check the beach."

"Where do you think he went?" Katara whispered to me as we walked down to the beach, looking worried. I put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Look, I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just down at the beach."

"Yeah, unless he ran away again," Toph snorted derisively, and Katara's eyes widened in panic. I slapped a palm to my forehead.

"Look!" Sokka cried, and we turned to see him pointing at a set of footprints that led down the beach to the ocean. "The trail ends here!"

"So... he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki asked.

"Maybe he was captured," Katara said.

"I don't think so," Sokka replied. "There's no sign of a struggle."

"Plus, we would've heard that," I added.

"I bet he ran away again," Toph said.

"Nuh uh, he left behind his glider and Appa," Sokka pointed out.

"Then what do you think happened to him, O Sleuthy One?" Toph asked sarcastically.

"It's pretty obvious." Sokka stood, a matter-of-fact look on his face. "Aang mysteriously disappears right before a big battle? He's definitely on a Spirit World journey!"

"But if he was, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko asked.

Sokka deflated. "Oh yeah. Forgot about that." I rolled my eyes.

"Then he's gotta be somewhere on Ember Island," Katara said. "Let's split up and look for him."

"I'm going with Zuko!" Toph cried immediately, rushing over to Zuko and latching onto his arm. Zuko's eyes widened, startled, and he turned pink, looking confused at this state of events. I raised my eyebrows at them.

"What?" she asked at our looks. "Everyone else went on a life changing field trip with Zuko." She squeezed his arm, showing more affection than I'd ever seen from her. "Now it's my turn."

There was bemused silence for a couple more seconds before Suki spoke up. "Kioni's never been on a life changing field trip with Zuko."

I snorted loudly, and everyone turned to look at me now. "Sorry," I apologized, trying not to grin. "I don't know if I'd use the world life-changing. Life-ruining, maybe. I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" I said quickly as Zuko faced me with a horrified look.

"Suki and I will check the town," Katara said. "Kioni, you and Sokka can fly around on Appa and Toph and Zuko can check the perimeter of the house."

We all nodded and split up to search our assigned areas. Sokka and I went back to the house to find Appa still munching on the large pile of hay we'd lain out for him. We unloaded the bags and took off, flying around the island in search of Aang.

"Do you see anything?" I called from the saddle. Sokka was at the reins, looking around.

"No," he answered as we flew up and around the volcano. "We've flown around the island four times now."

"Where do you think he could be?" I asked helplessly, starting to worry for real now. If Aang was gone, what on earth were we supposed to do? We had no plans, no backup, no nothing.

"I don't know," Sokka sighed. "Let's go back to the house."

We landed in the courtyard to see the others already sitting there with resigned expressions. "Judging by the looks on your faces, I'm guessing you didn't find Aang either," Sokka said as we both leapt off Appa.

"No," Zuko sighed. "It's like he just... disappeared."

"Hey, wait a minute," Toph said, sitting up. "Has anyone noticed Momo is missing too?" I was about to say that he was probably with Aang when Sokka gasped dramatically.

"Oh no! I knew it was only a matter of time!" He jumped down the steps and opened Appa's mouth. "Appa ate Momo! Momo, I'm coming for you buddy!" He climbed into Appa's mouth as the rest of us stared on incredulously.

"Is this how he deals with stress?" I asked Katara, who rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Sokka, Appa didn't eat Momo," she said. "He's probably with Aang."

"That's just what Appa wants you to think!"

"Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka," Zuko said. I started pegging him with little stones until he slid out of Appa's mouth, covered in saliva. I made a face. "We have a real problem here! Aang is nowhere to be found, and the comet is only two days away."

We all turned to look at him expectantly. "What should we do, Zuko?" Zuko stood, meeting our expectant gazes with some confusion.

"I don't know," he said. "Why are you all looking at me?"

"Well, you're kind of the expert on tracking Aang," Katara pointed out.

"Yeah, if anyone's got experience hunting the Avatar, it's you," Toph added. Zuko nodded after a second and then went silent, a concentrated look on his face.

"Zuko?" I asked after a couple minutes.

"I'm thinking," he said. A few seconds later, he nodded. "Okay, I've got an idea. Everyone, get your stuff and get on Appa." We obeyed, and Zuko climbed on Appa's head and took the reins. Soon we were soaring over Ember Island, heading west.

"Where are we going?" Suki asked from the saddle. Zuko didn't answer, and we glanced at each other, worried. I climbed out of the saddle and crawled over to sit by Zuko.

"Hey." He glanced over as I settled down next to him, his determined expression softening for a second. "You know what you're doing?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied.

"Hey, Zuko, I don't wanna tell you how to do your job," Sokka called out from the saddle as Ember Island became a quickly vanishing speck behind us. "But why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

"Just trust me," he called back. I raised my eyebrows at him and he looked awkward for a second. "It's uh... kind of hard to explain where we're going. But I think it's our best shot."

"Okay." I leaned back against Appa's neck and watched the clouds turn orange and yellow from the sunset. "I trust you." I smiled over at him and he smiled back, the worried crinkles around his eyes disappearing for a second. "It's a beautiful sunset," I commented.

"Yeah, it is," Zuko replied, staring at me in a way that made me blush slightly. I turned away, watching the sky light up as if the whole earth was on fire.


"Hey, wake up, we're here." Someone was shaking my shoulder and I mumbled, burying my face deeper into Appa's warm fur. My arms tightened around something and I heard faint laughter.

"Kioni, come on, there will be plenty of time to cuddle with your boyfriend later!" Those words forced my eyes open and I sat up to meet Zuko's sheepish expression. Blushing, I unwound my arms from his arm and avoided his gaze.

"Uh, sorry," I muttered. He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "We're here."

"Right," I mumbled. I jumped off Appa and landed next to Katara and Suki, who were both smirking at me. "Shut up," I groaned, pushing past them. I glanced up at the building in front of us, frowning slightly. It looked strangely familiar.

"Come on," Zuko said, leading us into the building. The first thing I noticed was the terrible smell that assaulted my nostrils. It smelled like sweat and beer and just general unpleasantness. I crinkled my nose, looking around.

It was some kind of tavern that reminded me of the one we had been to in the Misty Palms Oasis: full of seedy characters running around, brawling, or gambling. Katara's face scrunched up in distaste. "And the reason you've brought us to a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" she asked.

"June," Zuko replied, pointing. We followed his arm to a tall woman with jet black hair, many tattoos and piercings. As we watched, one of the brawlers rushed towards her, but she gripped his head in a leglock and brought him down effortlessly. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to place why she looked so familiar.

"Oh, yeah, that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole!" Sokka piped up, and I remembered.

"Mole?" Suki asked as June took down two other guys twice her size, still holding onto her shotglass. "Her skin is flawless."

"No, she has this giant mole creature she rides around on," Sokka explained.

"The Shirshu," Zuko said. "It's the only creature that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have of finding him." I had to admit, it was actually a really good plan.

We watched as June continued to fight. One brawler came at her swinging, and her eyes widened before she tossed her cup straight in the air. The brawler lunged towards her, but she grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder, throwing him into a table behind her. The shotglass landed in her hand and she downed it without missing a beat.

I blinked, my eyes wide. "I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her!" Toph proclaimed.

I leaned over to whisper to Zuko. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah, me too," he whispered back.


Yeah, I promised I would update more frequently and then disappear for over a month... I'm the worst, I know. In my defense, it wasn't entirely my fault. I had to rewrite so many sections of this chapter because they kept getting lost/deleted due to technical difficulties.

But we've arrived at Sozin's Comet! Hard to believe how close we are to the finish line. It's truly been an incredible journey, and I want to thank you all for taking it with me. We passed the three year anniversary of this story about a week ago, which is just mind-boggling.

I wanted to emphasize here how although Zuko and Kioni are definitely a part of Team Avatar, they're kind of their own little separate team all by themselves. I don't think Aang would've meant to leave them out of the plan to wait, he just told everyone individually and they happened to be the last two. But they've been through so much more together, just the two of them, that it makes sense that there's a kind of implicit trust there. Even if Kioni's not always willing to recognize it.

So we're getting really close to 1000 reviews and I'm hopeful that we will cross that mark before the story is over! I've been thinking about what kind of reward to do for you guys. How does a little "missing moments" one shot sound?

You guys can send in your prompts/suggestions, and then I'll make a poll on my profile and you can vote. I'll pick the most popular one or two and write one-shots based on those prompts after the story is over! The only requirement is that it happen at some point in the series, since it's supposed to be a "missing moment" that I didn't write in the story, so don't prompt stuff from the past or future.

Send in your prompts in the reviews for this chapter! Be sure to include roughly when the prompt takes place also. You can leave a chapter/episode if you want or just a rough timeline. And please only one prompt per person. I'll take all the viable suggestions and have a poll set up by the next update.

Which should be sooner than this one! I already have part of the chapter written. Sorry about that again, but thanks for being so patient with me as always and for your support!

Next up: The Old Masters.