Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfiction.

"Aang. Katara. Get up."

Katara moaned sleepily, then turned to cuddle the person next to him.

Aang...

Wait. Then who was calling them? A male voice... sounds annoying...

Her eyes shot wide awake, and so did Aang's, and they scooted away from each other with red faces, knowing they were caught.

Sokka snorted. "Seriously, you two. Get a grip. Adopting that face isn't going to automatically make your lovey-dovey night go away. And yes, I was camping outside your room. You didn't think I was going to renege on my promise so soon after Katara awoke, didja, Aang?"

Katara was confused. "What promise? Were you spying on us? How come I didn't hear any girly screams last night?"

"Hah, hah," Sokka said without any humor. "Just after finding out you were brainwashed, I told Aang I wouldn't leave you two alone, just in case. I heard your door squeak open, Katara - really, you couldn't try to be any quieter? - and so I crept out of my room, saw Aang's door close shut, added two and two together to get four for the first time in my life, and camped outside this room in case something happened. And I've kind of come to terms with you guys, even if it still gives me oogies. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better man to be with my sister than you, Aang. You're like the moon that lit up her life after our mom died, and I don't want to take that away."

Aang and Katara were touched, knowing exactly where that came from: Even though he was with Suki, Yue had always remained a part of Sokka's heart. "Thank you, Sokka. That means so much to me. To us." They all stood there in happy silence until Aang suddenly leapt off the bed.

"Come on, guys! We gotta go! It's time we bring down Azula for good!" he shouted.

And after waking up the others, they grabbed their packs and equipment, and ran outside to the Eel-hounds that were procured by King Bumi and were awaiting their riders. After boarding the Eel-hounds - two people on each Eel-hound, with Aang flying - they began their journey to Lake Laogai.

Suddenly, Aang felt a presence next to him. "Momo... not this time."

Momo chittered in askance, begging his human friend let the flying lemur follow him.

Aang shook his head. "Not this time buddy." He leaned in conspiratorially. "There's a bag of moon peaches in it for you if you don't come." Momo didn't need any more encouragement, and the lemur quickly changed direction to keep his bison friend company.

The sun had just begun to fall, and they were already within eyesight of the Ba Sing Se wall.

In retrospect, it was not altogether surprising, as an eel-hound had once carried three people on its back from the walls of Ba Sing Se to Ozai's airstrip - a distance twice of which they had just traveled - in the same amount of time. That time it was to prevent the Fire Nation's annihilation of the Earth Kingdom, so a sense of urgency had quickened their pace that day. Still, when they finally dismounted, most of Team Avatar - except Iroh and Ty Lee - collapsed to the ground, woozy and nauseous at the neck-breakneck speed they took.

When they recovered, they reviewed their plan. "Alright guys, now all we gotta do is infiltrate the city's walls, get to Lake Laogai, and not die."

Toph snorted. "Easy enough, but we're going to have to wait about an hour or so for me to catch my breath once we're in the city." Before anyone could make head or tails of what Toph meant, she swiftly bent the earth to make an underground tunnel for them to pass undetected into the city.

"Have I ever told you that you're the most awesome earthbender in the whole world?" Sokka gushed, while Suki elbowed him. "Ouch!"

Toph smirked. "You could stand to mention it more. Hop in, guys!" Once everyone had jumped in, Toph promptly bent the way they entered shut.

Silence and darkness reigned.

"Hey! I can't see anything!" Ty Lee said.

"Oh, no, what a nightmare!" a girly voice rang out in the dark.

After an awkward moment of silence, a "sorry" sounded from Ty Lee, and they all grabbed hands on each other so they wouldn't lose track of Toph and her tunnel.

It was a quiet, peaceful night. The streets were beautifully lit by lamps that held darkness at bay, and were overseen by the benevolent moon But as with all things, perfection is marred. Banners with Azula's face on them decorated every lamp on every dusty street in Ba Sing Se, and the streets were deathly silent. No one dared to stir nor make a sound, lest they received Azula's swift and cruel retribution. Incidents had happened before, and the terrified, tortured screams in the night were not sounds to be forgotten for a long time. It was this that made the otherwise cheerful city seem so much darker.

Three pygmy pumas were scouring an especially dark street, desperate for some food to eat. Fortunately for them, one of the shops on the street had forgotten to close up, with the owner having turned in to bed long before, and hungry eyes greedily latched onto the fruits and foods that lay before them.

They pounced, tackling their prey. They began to happily relish their prizes when a rumbling sounded. Spooked, the pygmy pumas slunk off, but they did not relinquish their hold on their food. They had just disappeared with their prizes into an alleyway when the earth where the pygmy pumas last were suddenly shook. A small hole was created, that got larger and larger until seven distinct figures were coughed up out of the darkness. The party quickly went into the shop, covering their mouths to muffle their coughing.

"That... was..." Iroh choked out.

"Horrible," Toph panted, leaning on the wall for support. "I know... I said... it... as a joke... before... but now... I'm starting to think... that being down there... really was... a nightmare... If it wasn't... for Aang's... quick thinking of... condensing... the air before... we went... in, we... would have suffocated and died... a miserable... death down there... in the dark... Let's not... consider... the alternative if... we got to the surface and... were caught and turned in... to... Azula."

As the group paused to catch their breath, Sokka shakily got out his map and valiantly tried to ignore the slightly blue color of his skin. It was traumatizing to be stuck underground, disoriented, having to rely on a blind girl to get them out safe and alive. They almost had not made it out as it was...

"O-okay guys," Sokka stammered. "W-we got inside the city." Everyone else nodded with jerky movements, the effects of oxygen deficiency having not fully worn off yet. "Lake Laogai is-is about an hour's walk... hour's walk from here. Let's just crash here for an hour or two, and then we'll be on our way. I'll take first... first watch while you guys nap, Iroh will take second. H-hopefully we won't need a third before we can be on our way."

The others opened their mouths to protest, but their eyes simply rolled up and they collapsed where they stood. The strain the intense traveling had taken on them was great, and Sokka knew they had to be in top-notch condition when they infiltrated Lake Laogai.

Sokka, for his part, went around to everyone, adjusting their position so they would be able to sleep the best they could. Although he inwardly cringed, he allowed Aang and his little sister to cuddle up against each other; if there was ever a time not to complain about oogies, it was this. Then, after finishing his rounds, he leaned against the wall and kept his eye out for any disturbances.

Iroh was woke up by an arm shaking his shoulder. "Iroh. Your watch."

He nodded at the young swordmaster. Iroh had infinite respect for the young, spirited warrior who had captured the admiration of the entire Order. He was intelligent, skilled, and a great leader, and Iroh hoped that within time Sokka would become a great Grandmaster in the order, if not the Grand Lotus himself.

He sighed as he kept a lookout for anything unusual. Azula was his niece, yes, but a tyrannical niece that had to be put down as soon as possible. He shook his head at the unfortunate development in the Fire Nation's royal family.

To think that he had, at one point, sympathized with the likes of Azula. Always wanting to dominate, always wanting to destroy, to rule over all - it was this very reason that he had attempted to destroy Ba Sing Se and its legendary walls. He was eternally grateful to the Spirits for their punishment for his evilness - for the death of Lu Ten, while shattering, did much to open his eyes to the real world, to the real people, to the real happenings outside the gilded, sheltered, palace walls he had grown up in.

He became so engrossed in his thoughts and his complicated past that he did not notice a man peering into the shop and seeing the motley crew unconscious on the floor. The man turned around and swiftly and silently walked away. In the soft glow of the moonlight, a circle with a dot clearly stood out on the back of the man's garments.

Please Review. I know it's kind of rushed, and some parts are seriously underdeveloped. Maybe I'll do a remastering someday...