Hello! I'm back with another chapter! So this is where things really start to diverge from the show's plot. This chapter is largely just to set up the next chapter (which I am really excited about and already halfway through!) and introduces a new character. Please do tell me what you think! I'm working on writing my own characters and I would really love some input.

I still don't own A:TLA!

Please please please let me know what you think!


Aang kept his eyes to the sky as he stumbled over harsh terrain, following the flying bison that would lead him to the airbender Avatar before him. He scrambled over boulders and twisted roots that protruded from the dry cracked earth under his feet. The bison was leading him to a mountain, towering over the landscape, its peak shrouded in clouds. When he finally reached the base of the mountain, he started the long, arduous climb up the steep rocky slope. While the sun maintained its place directly above him, he could not feel its heat. However, he was still blinded whenever he looked up. Squinting into the light, he reached up with his left hand to grasp at a rock above and, much to his dismay, his hand grasped at empty air. Cursing, Aang felt gravity take over as he began to fall backwards. Could he die in the spirit world? He closed his eyes and said a quick goodbye to his friends. Suddenly, a hand grasped his own and his falling body slammed against the rigid face of the mountain. His eyes shot open and met with a vivid, inquisitive gaze, green as summer leaves scattering golden sunlight. Long strands of dark mahogany hair swayed in the breeze that he could not feel. A feeling unlike any other came over him; as if he were flying, drowning, and burning all at once. The girl wore a fur-lined mossy green robe with billowing sleeves over a floor-length dark brown dress, cinched at the waist with a honey colored rope. In her free hand, she held an animal-skin drum.

She placed her drum on the ground so her other hand could grasp his and, with all her strength, she pulled. Aang slid up the rocky slope and onto the ledge he had been heedlessly reaching for. Exhausted from hauling his dead weight up the vertical mountainside, his savior flopped down on her backside, eyeing him suspiciously. Aang met her stare. She didn't look like an airbender.

Zuko scaled the side of the building and swiftly dropped down to the ground, ensuring none of the palace guards noticed. He stole off into the shadows towards the palace wall, keeping his face concealed under the hood of his cloak.

The prison stood between two large rock formations, towering over Zuko in a foreboding manner, as if suggesting that this could have been his fate had he chosen differently. He shrugged off the notion and continued onward.

When he reached the floor he was sure his Uncle was being kept, he encountered a guard in the corridor. The guard, surprised to see someone there so late at night, took an offensive position, pulling his sword out of the sheath at his belt.

"Stop where you are!"

Zuko lifted his head, revealing his scowling face to the man standing guard.

"Prince Zuko." The man mumbled, dropping his sword.

"I'm going for a visit," Zuko growled, grabbing the guard and slamming his back against the wall, "You're going to stay here and stand guard. And no one is going to know about this."

The guard opened the door for him and he entered the dingy cell.

"Uncle, it's me" Zuko approached the bars and Iroh shifted his position so he was facing the opposite way. Zuko clenched his jaw at the disrespect. "You brought this on yourself, you know. We could have returned together. You could have been a hero again."

Iroh did not respond, but in the darkness, Zuko could see the subtle shake of his head.

"You have no right to judge me, Uncle. I did what I had to in Ba Sing Se and you're a fool for not joining me." Still no response. "You're not going to say anything?" Zuko yelled, "You're a crazy old man! And if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter somewhere!"

He kicked up a stool in the corner and flames erupted from his fist when he punched it into the wall, smashing the stool into a million pieces. Turning back to his Uncle, he realized the old man hadn't even budged, his back still turned to him. He grunted out of frustration and crouched down to the floor.

This wasn't at all what he had expected from his Uncle. He thought that Iroh would at least say some convoluted proverb that he would have to ponder over later to truly understand what the old man was trying to tell him. Instead, he was giving him the silent treatment. Perhaps he was still mad. Zuko looked up at his back again; he was definitely still mad. Zuko sighed, trying to quell his anger. It wasn't getting him anywhere.

"I admit it. I have everything I always wanted but its not at all how I thought it would be… The truth is, I need your advice. I think the Avatar is still alive… I know he's out there. I'm losing my mind. Please, Uncle, I'm so confused, I need your help." Zuko was grasping the bars of the cell in his fists, but his desperate plea elicited no response from the old general. Zuko scowled again and stood up; this was pointless. He sauntered back over to the door, turning to give his Uncle's back one last longing stare, hoping in vain that the old man would just look at him, before exiting the cell.

"Are you… Yangchen?" Aang probed, bemused. He had seen Yangchen's statues in the Eastern and Western air temples, but this girl was too young and bared no resemblance to his previous life.

"What? No…" She responded, her tone equally perplexed. "I'm Miku."

Aang was thoroughly confused. Was this another one of his past lives?

"What kind of bender are you?"

The girl frowned at him, "I'm not a bender."

"Are you a spirit?"

"No..." The expression on her face told him that she was just as puzzled as he was. "You are…"

"I'm not a spirit, I'm Aang. Thank you for saving me." He gave a toothy grin and held out his hand, determined to break the awkward tension of their initial meeting. The corners of her lips turned up into a shy smile and she placed her hand in his. Suddenly, they were being hurdled through time and space, their grasping hands the only thing keeping them from flying off into the void around them. Images flashed by as they spun around the focal point of their touch; A burning sun, shadowed by the moon; A storm raging over the desert; A bustling crowd of people, dressed in every color imaginable; Autumn leaves on the breeze; A gray atrium being taken over by new growth, green plants twisting and rising through cracks in the stone; the Southern Air Temple, encircled by soaring gliders; Then the glowing eyes of past Avatars, spinning and spiraling outwards around them into the void. The girl gasped with sudden realization, and her hand slipped from his, sending them both flying backwards to land on the rocky ledge of the mountain again.

Aang shook his head, an attempt to stop the dizzying feeling of the world spinning underneath him. His new acquaintance, Miku, was breathing heavily and unevenly, also trying to regain her balance.

"What the hell was that?"

"I- I don't know…" She breathed.

"I saw the air temple… was it the past?"

"You…" She paused, staring at him with wide eyes. "You're the Avatar."

"Yes, I am."

"It all makes sense."

"What does?"

"You're the Avatar… I can see you."

"I can see you too."

"But I'm not in the spirit world. Or…" She looked down at her hands, then lifted her gaze to their surroundings, "I wasn't."

The spirit world. Suddenly, it all came back to Aang and he remembered what he had been doing. "Oh! I have to go!" He declared, jumping up.

"Wait! Where?" Miku jumped up after him, brushing the dust off her floor length skirt.

"I have to find my past life before it's too late. Come with me."

He grabbed her by the waist and without even thinking, propelled them upwards towards the mountaintop. During their ascent, it dawned on him. He was bending. In the spirit world. He looked down at the girl clutching onto him for dear life, eyes clenched shut, as the wind whipped her hair around. Who was she?

Sokka shielded his eyes as he walked out onto the deck from the dimly lit iron corridors of the Fire Nation vessel they had claimed as their disguise. They had just crossed from Full Moon Bay through the Serpent's Pass yesterday and were heading west towards the Fire Nation. Aside from Aang's extended unconsciousness, everything was going according to plan. They would make their way towards the Mo Ce Sea and meet up with reinforcements on the southwestern shores of the Earth Kingdom, before heading over to the Eastern Islands of the Fire Nation.

He looked around the deck, trying to locate his father and Bato for their next invasion meeting; they still had to go over some details and reach out to Teo and his father, the Mechanist, for a progress report. Sokka located Hakoda and his friend standing near the front of the ship and started towards them. The sound of a loud ship horn stopped him in his tracks. Hakoda and Bato spun around and Sokka ran to the starboard side of the ship to locate the sound. Another Fire Nation vessel was approaching them head on. Sokka cursed under his breath before yelling to his father, "It's Fire Nation!"

Hakoda and Bato approached him, placing their Fire Nation helmets on their heads. "They have no reason to know we're not Fire Nation," His father said, placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder, "Stay calm and get inside, Bato and I will take care of this"

Sokka helped clear the deck and cover Appa, before grabbing Katara and Toph to stand with him near the door to the deck in case they were needed. The other vessel pulled up along their portside and lowered a ramp onto their ship for an Admiral and two of his crew to cross over.

"Commander, why are you off course? All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving towards Ba Sing Se to support the occupation." The Admiral addressed Hakoda.

"Actually, we're from the Eastern Fleet," Hakoda responded, "We have orders to deliver some cargo."

"Ah, the Eastern Fleet," The Admiral replied, "Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way."

"I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect, Sir." Bato added.

"I mean, how hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?" The Admiral complained.

"Next time, we'll send two hawks to be sure you get the message." Hakoda said, bowing respectfully and turning to walk back towards the door.

Sokka ducked behind the door with Katara and Toph, listening to the conversation on the deck, when he noticed Toph's eyes widen. She could hear the men talking through the vibrations in the metal.

"They know!" She yelled, jumping up, running through the door and slamming her palm to the metal deck, knocking the ramp down and the Admiral and his men with it.

"Damn it!" Sokka cursed, moving out of Katara's way as she joined Toph on the deck. They had been so lucky up until now.

When they landed on another ledge farther up, Aang put Miku down. She looked up at him, flustered and disheveled. "You could have warned me before you picked me up and flew up a mountain," she brushed off her dress again.

Aang rubbed the back of his head, giving her a sheepish grin, "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Anyways, I'm not supposed to be able to bend in the spirit world, so I'm surprised that even worked."

"Well, now that we're on solid ground again, we can just take the path," She moved to the side and Aang saw a winding path appear behind her.

"Oh," he laughed at his haste and foolishness, "Sorry." But he didn't regret it; there was something very satisfying about having her in his arms. The thought made him blush.

"Let's go," Miku smiled sweetly at his red face and held out her hand to him. Aang followed obediently.

"So, Miku… What are you doing here in the spirit world?"

"I wasn't in the spirit world until I grabbed your hand… But I come here, to the mountain, every day," she smiled shyly, "I take care of the temple up top."

"There's a temple up there? An air temple?" A sudden hope filled him.

Miku looked down; having seen his face light up, she dreaded disappointing him. "No, Aang… I'm sorry. It's just my grandmother's temple. But it was founded by Avatar Yangchen."

"Really?"

"Yep! Hundreds of years ago. It's an important part of my people's story."

Aang waited, expecting her to continue. "Ok…"

"The story of my people is long and complicated."

"Well, how long do we have until we get to the top?"

"A while."

"Then tell me," He met her gaze, intrigue in his eyes.

Miku quickly averted her eyes and turned away so he couldn't see the telling redness rise up her cheeks. Since her grandmother's death last year, she had always made this journey up the mountain alone, remembering her grandmother's stories and singing the old songs. Now suddenly the Avatar himself was walking by her side, asking her to tell him the story of her people. She sighed, trying to calm her heart rate.

Katara rushed out onto the deck of the vessel, cursing under her breath. She was exhausted. Her nights were plagued with weird, ominous dreams about Zuko and her days had largely been spent by Aang's bedside: healing, watching, and waiting. This approaching Fire Nation ship had snapped her out of her trance. She couldn't allow them to find Aang; she refused to put him in any more danger while he was still unconscious. She rushed over to the portside of the deck and took her waterbending stance. Crouching down, she pulled up water from the sea below into a huge wave between the two ships and then pushed it away, slamming into the other vessel. The wave pushed the ships apart and washed over the deck of the enemy ship, knocking down the Fire Nation soldiers on the deck. She hoped that would be enough to get them a decent head start in the inevitable chase that lay ahead.

As they accelerated forwards, the enemy ship changed course to pursue. The crew took no time at all to start loading the catapults with flaming projectiles. The first shot barely missed the portside of their ship and Katara gathered a wave of water from below, freezing it into a wall of ice just in time to block the second projectile. Toph slammed her foot on the ground and sent her own projectile flying at the deck of the enemy ship, successfully taking out one of their four catapults, but they kept shooting. Katara blocked another flaming projectile, when she saw that they were aiming a harpoon gun at the hull of their ship. She cursed again and ran back towards the stern. The harpoon punctured a hole in the hull and she could feel the water flowing into the cargo hold below. She rushed to the back end of the ship and froze the water in and around the newly punctured hole, hoping it would hold up long enough for them to end this.

"How are things looking?" Toph yelled to Sokka, as she shot another rock at their pursuers.

Katara ran over and blocked another ball of fire from colliding with the starboard side. The enemy vessel was gaining on them.

"Well, things couldn't get much worse," Sokka half-laughed. Watching helplessly as a flaming projectile crashed onto the deck just left of the bridge. Then, as if challenging that statement, the aquatic serpent monster they had encountered in their previous journey across the Serpent's Pass shot up from the sea directly behind him.

"The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" Sokka shouted, in exasperation.

"You make it too easy!" Toph yelled back.

One of the Fire Nations flaming projectiles hit the serpent and, in a venomous rage, the creature lurched towards the pursuing ship, wrapping its long snakelike body around the bow.

Sokka's jaw dropped. "Thank you, universe!" He exclaimed as they continued forward, watching the serpent attack the ship behind them.

"Do you think that it will sink them?" Katara asked.

Sokka turned to her and shrugged.

"What if they get word back to the Fire Nation?"

"Not much we can do about it now," Sokka responded.

Aang watched the girl as she pushed a long strand of loose hair behind her ear and sighed.

"We are descendants of the Ninha peoples that used to live on the mountainous islands south of the Earth Kingdom. We were an independent peoples, but no one in the community could bend. Thousands of years ago, earthbenders came to our island in search of precious metals and discovered caverns full of gold and gemstones, Sah-Shin's treasure. They claimed our island for the Earth Kingdom and forced my people off the mountain and into a small town on the shore. They made us operate a shipping port so they could send the riches back to Ba Sing Se. As no one could bend and our numbers were so few, we didn't stand a chance. We watched for generations as the earthbenders mined our sacred mountain. Then, one summer, they dug so deep that they corrupted Sah-Shin, the spirit of the mountain. He called out to his sister Lona, the spirit of thunderstorms, to help him rid his island of the greed and destruction. Lona heard him and it rained for 20 days."

Aang was listening intently to her story, not taking his eyes off her.

"My people believe that every 58 years a Miyuku, a spiritual guide, is born to our community. The Miyuku back then, was warned by Lona that the island would drown. She told our people to get on the boats in the port and head west, her wind would blow us to safety. The boats landed on a tiny island in the eastern extent of the Air Nomad territory. My people, the Ninhani, lived there for many generations without ever encountering the airbenders, for they lived in the sky and we lived in the forests, far away from the air temples. One day, my people came across a flying bison and tracked it across the mountain, intending to kill it. When they came into the clearing where the bison lay, they noticed it had a saddle on its back. In the saddle, slept a woman with an arrow shaped tattoo on her head."

"Yangchen?"

"Yes, Yangchen," Miku smiled, "She woke to find herself surrounded by hunters. Yangchen stood and began to airbend. The hunters had never seen airbending before and in amazement, put down their weapons, believing her to be a spirit and the savior of our people, as the winds had blown the boats to safety. In the following years, Yangchen visited our villages a lot, she brought other airbenders with her and we shared our customs and stories. The air benders helped us build another temple like the sacred one on our island and Yangchen used her earthbending to create the stone circle, like my ancestors had made thousands of years ago. A shrine in the garden was dedicated to Yangchen when she died. After Yangchen's death, we started losing contact with the airbenders; they eventually stopped coming to our villages. Then, 100 years ago when the Fire Nation came to Air Nomad territory, our hunters, including my great-great-grandfather, went to help defend the Air Temple, a sign of our friendship in the past. My great-great-grandmother gathered the villagers to the shrine to commune with the spirits, but the spirits were nowhere to be found. We lost many of our people that day, and for 100 years after, we lost our ability to commune with the spirits and our ancestors. My grandmother and I would walk up to the temple every day and she would tell me the stories that her grandmother told her; the stories of the our people, the stories of the airbenders, and the stories of the spirits. I still walk up the mountain every day to tend to the temple."

Aang was staring at her, in amazement. "I never knew these stories of Yangchen, though the monks at the air temple always talked about how respected and wise she was. When I found out I was the Avatar, I realized that many of the monks at the Southern Air Temple had been comparing me to her. Needless to say, they were disappointed." He chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Miku could see the hurt in his eyes.

"Why would they be?" Miku tried to comfort him, "You are only a teenager. You seem wise beyond your years."

Aang smiled down at her and she blushed, "I'm not even a teenager yet, just a kid trying in vain to remedy his mistakes. But, thanks."

"I guess I'm just a kid too," She confessed, "Trying to keep the culture of my people alive. But don't be so down on yourself! The task you have is very difficult and for being so young, you are very brave to tackle it head-on."

"Thank you for telling me the story of your people. I had never thought about how other Kingdoms must have overstepped their boundaries in the past… it's not just the Fire Nation. I guess I just can't believe I lived at the Southern Air Temple for so long and never knew."

"Well, apparently after Yangchen's death, relations between the Air Nomads and the Ninhani people became more distant. For a couple hundred years, the only time any Ninhani saw the airbenders was when they went to attend Yangchen's Festival every ten years."

"Wait," Aang stopped suddenly. "I remember some none-airbenders attending Yangchen's Festival one year… I must have been 6 or 7."

"I wonder if it was my great-great-grandparents…" Miku pondered out loud. Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized that they had reached the top. "We're here!" They rounded the corner and they were looking down into a basin on the top of the mountain. A white stone temple with wooden accents sat near the shore of a shallow, turquoise lake, surrounded by colorful foliage. Brass bells hung around the roof of the temple and chimed in the breeze, welcoming the visitors. The temple and its grounds were located in what appeared to be a caldera-like crater from an eruption that happened thousands of years ago. A meadow climbed the sides of the basin and a small path snaked down to the temple from where they stood.

"This is a volcano?" Aang asked, surprised.

"It was. Probably hundreds of thousands of years ago. It's extinct now." She replied, leading the way down the narrow path through the grassy meadow.

Aang was taken back by its beauty. Behind him, he could see the ocean below, stretching out for miles in all directions, dotted with distant islands. The rest of the island had been relatively arid compared to this lively green haven atop the mountain.

Miku turned around, "Are you coming?"

A cloud passed over the moon as he entered the industrial district, casting a shadow on the eerie metallic structures that surrounded him. He felt so lost. He had been hoping his Uncle would tell him that he was wrong; that he should have fought Azula, not joined her. That it wasn't too late to change things. But Iroh had remained silent, refusing to even look at his nephew. And Zuko knew now, it was too late to go back and change what he had done. He had chosen his course and now he had to follow it through to the end. He was certain that the Avatar was still out there somewhere, he could feel it in his bones. If he wanted to maintain his honor and his position, he had to ensure that his father would never know of this failure.

A large man stepped out of the shadows, not breaking eye contact with Zuko as his metal leg clanked on the ground. The eye tattoo on his forehead was also staring at down at Zuko.

"You sure you weren't followed?' He asked.

The man just stared in response.

"I've heard about you. They say you're good at what you do… and even better at keeping secrets." Zuko wondered if this man could even talk. Is that why they said he was so good at keeping secrets? "The Avatar is alive. I want you to find him and end him."

The man's frown deepened, but the eye on his forehead continued to stare blankly at Zuko. They both turned and walked away in opposite directions.

For a brief moment, Zuko felt relief wash over him; he would finally be able to relax and stop worrying about the Avatar. He had regained his honor and soon it would be secure once more. The best assassin in the Fire Nation would surely be able to take care of the Avatar once and for all, they wouldn't even see him coming. Then Zuko stopped. They wouldn't see it coming. The assassin he had hired was not known for accuracy, just success. They would be eradicated. All of them. Zuko had nothing against the Avatar personally, he was just a means to an end. But the rest of them… Zuko's hand rose to his face and his fingers lightly brushed the scar tissue. Did he really believe they all deserved such an end? For no more than association? His memory of that night was vivid; the depth of compassion in Katara's eyes, the hurt that the Fire Nation had caused her, that he himself had contributed to. He had just condemned her to die as well.

"Fuck!" Zuko cursed, punching the iron wall next to him. He was being torn apart by his newly acquired sense of morality – or something that resembled it. He had to find the assassin and set things straight: he wanted only the Avatar dead, the friends had nothing to do with it. He broke into a run, hoping to catch up with the assassin before it was too late.


So, please tell me what you think! How do you feel about Miku?

I'm excited to get the next chapter up because I have some more Zutara action planned :)

And yes, this is starting off as a very slow-burn Zutara - but I think that is the only way it makes sense. Zuko had to go back to the Fire Nation and live the life he believed he was supposed to before realizing that it wasn't right; it's the first step in his metamorphose from an angry exiled young Prince into a man. And Katara's feelings have to fester a little bit for things to work out as planned.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to review! I'm hoping to have the next chapter up very soon.