I said before that this story would come. Kazon and an Earth Kingdom woman. I chose that end, and the story is here.

It will be a little different from the other two. You could consider a sort of quasi-prequel. You'll see.

Anyway, I do not own Avatar. I'm just a fan of this property of Nickelodeon.

Enjoy!

"Why did it have to be a desert?"

Kazon could have worked with a forest easily. Maybe even a jungle. But a desert was just too much. It was hot and arid. While he could deal with heat, but the dryness of the air was not helping with his mood.

Then again, his mood had been nothing by dour for the past week.

Why did his dad have to question his officers? Why couldn't he have just followed his orders like he was expected to?

Kazon already knew the answer. It was the same way he wouldn't be able to go through with orders like that. He didn't hate his father for what he had done. In truth, he couldn't hate his father at all. Not with the options they had after how things ended. He had come with his father to the Earth Kingdom because his father had described it as a trip. A way to see a new culture up close.

He never expected this country to be the last place he would ever see his father.

The only piece of him left now was the mission he had given Kazon. He had to return home. Make it to the place that grandfather had built. A place is hidden from the rest of the nation. A place that he had gone to a few times in his youth a place that he could survive in.

But the first thing he needed to do was escape the Earth Kingdom. And that would be only would earth soldiers be looking for him, but so would Fire Nation warriors. The army did not look kindly on those who betrayed them. And the family of traitors was not shown any more mercy.

He needed to escape discreetly. Thankfully, he knew a place. The tip of the Serpents Pass. Rumor had it that not only was there a road to Ba Sing Se but there was also another road that led to a secret harbor. One that transported illegal goods to and from the Fire Nation. And you had something to offer, they would secretly transport people too.

Thankfully, Kazon had something to trade.

All he needed to do was make it to the harbor. Which meant making it through this desert

"Ah. Ugh."

And hopefully avoiding whoever it was that he had just heard. Noticing a fairly sizable rock, Kazon crouched down and hid behind it. And he waited. Whoever had made that sound couldn't be too far away, judging by the volume of what he had heard. It was clear, so the person had to be at least reasonably close.

So he waited. He waited until he could get a good look at the person and determine whether or not there was a threat. Just like his father had shown him when he was younger.

So he waited. It took some time, but a figure did appear out of the distance. The closet it got, the more Kazon was able to make out.

And the final figure shocked him.

It was a woman. She was a native to the Earth Kingdom, judging by her clothes and demeanor. The large hat on her head was not something he would find on any Fire nation woman, that was for sure. He didn't think all Earth Kingdom women were like this, but the ones he had seen tended to seem homely and simplistic feel about them. Not in an insulting way. They just seemed like the sort of people who were happy to live decent lives in good villages.

Which made the fact that she was traveling in the desert, seemingly by herself, confusing. And the closer she got, the more Kazon began to question why she was here.

She was a pretty-looking woman. Not necessarily a picture of beauty, but certainly a pleasant face. One that was red from the heat and what seemed to be exhaustion. She didn't have anything with her, so perhaps she wasn't supposed to be alone?

But before Kazon could question things too deeply, he noticed something.

Cracks were beginning to form in the ground underneath the woman. Cracks that, the more the woman walked, grew bigger. Until they were large enough to break.

And have the woman fall under. To where he didn't know.

And Kazon didn't know if he should care. Technically speaking, this wasn't his problem. The woman might not have been a threat to him, but that didn't exactly make her his ally. If anything, she was just a stranger who had bad luck. So why should he care?

After all, his father-

His father had...

"Agni help me."

Kazon walked away from the rock and approached the hole that had appeared in the ground. Cautiously, as to not fall in himself. He looked down.

Ying had never wanted it to come to something like this. She had expected herself, Than, and his sister to be able to make it to Ba Sing Se together. She had thought that perhaps their wedding could take place once they made it to the city. That they could start the family they had talked about once they reached the walls.

But all of those hopes had been dashed once the Fire Nation made their way into their village. They had demanded as many supplies and as much food as possible. What they wanted was more than they could give. That was what Than had tried to explain to the captain.

That was why the fireball had been thrown.

It didn't take long after that for the soldiers to find their house. The Fire nation seemed to believe that the sins of one person would also fall on their family. That was why Than's sister had been attacked too.

Ying barely managed to escape. She had been Than's fiancee, but they weren't married yet. Maybe that was why the soldiers didn't chase her. But she couldn't go back home, not with them still there.

She had hoped to run into another village to hide in. But after hours of running and more hours of walking, she hadn't run into anything. Any hope that she had felt of being found was beginning to wane.

And now she was stuck underground.

Thankfully, she wasn't too hurt. Her legs were sore, but that was mostly from walking. Her back also felt bruised, but not too badly. There was. And a tear on the side of her shirt, but it wasn't noticeable if her arms were down.

As for where she was now, it didn't seem too dangerous. She seemed to be in some sort of tunnel underground. Crystals were giving off green light, letting her take in her surroundings. So the environment might not be a problem.

Her main problem was the fact that she was trapped. And she didn't know any way out.

"Hello? Is there anyone down there?"

Frowning, Ying looked up. There was some sunlight coming through a hole. Likely the one she fell through. There was also a moving shadow.

"Hello?" She called back.

"I was walking ahead of you. I heard something falling, and I came to check. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Do you have a way out?"

"No. None that I can see."

The voice, obviously a male and possibly young as it sounded to Ying, paused for a moment.

"Alright. I have some rope. I'll try to see if I can drop some. Maybe I can reach."

Ying let out a sigh in relief. "Thank you."

It took a few minutes. The person above had to be looking for their rope. That's when the shadow returned.

"I have some rope. I'm going to start dropping it. Be ready."

True to his word, the stranger began to slowly drop bits of rope. It took about two minutes for it to be at a length that she could hold onto. And once it was close enough, she grabbed on. Tightly, with a firm grip.

"Did you grab on?"

"Yes!"

"Alright. I'm going to start pulling up. Hang on."

He started yanking. It was difficult at first, but he managed to get used to the new weight. And when he got a rhythm set up, he was able to pull Ying up at a decent pace. She would like to be out quicker, but she didn't think complaining would help here.

The more the stranger pulled, the better she could see outside the hole. The sunlight was particularly nice to see.

"You're almost here. Come on."

She could see two hands pulling up rope. There was effort put into rescuing her, and she appreciated it.

Suddenly, she saw one hand outstretched. She reached for it. When the hands clasped together, Ying felt hope. She was going to be free. She wasn't going to die alone in a cave. She could finish her journey. She could start again somewhere.

She looked up to see the sunlight...

And a pair of golden eyes.

"No!"

Ying fell back. Her hand slipped out of his. But that was when the unexpected happened.

He reached out to try and grab her again. To save her.

"No! Don't fall!"

He tried to reach out to her. To stop her from falling again. But he failed. And worse.

Because his knees slipped. Making him fall into the hole with her.

Ying landed the same as he had before. She fell on her rear, and she didn't feel much pain. Though her skirt did receive a bad scratch.

The same could not be said for the one who fell with her. He landed on his right shoulder. And immediately lost consciousness after that.

Leaving Ying stuck in a cave once again. Only this time, she wasn't alone. She had company.

Fire Nation company.

No one else could have eyes like that. Gold like a burning sun. The last time she had seen anyone with eyes like that, they had been burning down her village.

But him being here did make her question. Why would he try to get her out? Was it a ploy to make it easier to capture her? But if that was true, then why was there no one else? No soldier ever went alone, she knew that. So maybe he wasn't one.

But could he have been trying to help her? That seemed unlikely. Even when they weren't fighting, people from the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom didn't exactly get along. The war had made that almost impossible.

Almost...

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Ying, turned the unconscious body around. And was surprised by how young he looked. Judging by his face, he couldn't even be eighteen just yet. His features were a little too soft, his frame a little too lithe. Even if he seemed taller than her, she wasn't that tall herself. he had to be a teenager.

So why would a teenager, Fire Nation or otherwise, be down here? She needed answers. And a way to ensure that she could safely retrieve them. Looking at the bag that had fallen off of him, she might have a way to do both.

When Kazon woke up, the first thing he felt was a burning sensation in his arm. When he opened his eyes, he realized that his arm might be the least of his worries.

There was a rope tied around his body. It was keeping him attached to a large rock, and he couldn't move all that much. The knots weren't too tight, whoever did this had to be an ammeter. But they were good enough to keep him down.

"Who are you?"

Following the trail of the voice, Kazon turned his face left. Where he saw the same woman he had tried to help out of the hole. Up close, she was a lot prettier than he remembered. Her brown eyes were very warm and inviting, even as she tried to look intimidating with a scowl. Even her face was still pleasant.

But that wasn't important.

"Um, hi? I'm Kazon," he said as he tried to shuffle out of the ropes. "Do you know why I'm tied up?"

"Because... I used the rope."

"What? Why would you do that?"

The woman still tried to look angry. But the way Kazon voiced his frustrations was making her hesitate.

"You're from the Fire Nation. I can tell from your eyes."

"So? I tried to help you."

"You could be working for the military. Coming here to capture me."

"Capture you?" Kazon asked. "Look, I promise I'm not with the military. They wouldn't want me anyway."

Ying was a little confused by that last comment. But she couldn't budge yet. "Can you prove your claim?"

"I... not like this," Kazon admitted. "Look, think of it like this. Even if I was part of the military, why would I attack you? I wouldn't get anything out of it."

That was true, reluctant as Ying was to admit it. But he wasn't done.

"Besides, being a soldier would mean not being alone. If I was enlisted, I would have been followed, and we both would have been caught falling here. They would have sent soldiers here to get us."

Ying noticed something.

"You said that they would capture both of us. What do you mean by that?"

Kazon's eyes widened as he realized his slip. That was more information than he wanted to share. "I- I don't want to talk about that."

"How do you expect me to do that?"

"Please. I really, really don't want to talk about it. Is there any way for me to prove I'm not a threat to you?"

Ying was silent. Contemplative.

"I need to do something before I decided. Wait right there while I make a choice."

"Do I have a choice?" Kazon deadpanned as he watched Ying walked away behind a pile of rocks. One that was stationed behind Kazon. Leaving him alone. Mostly.

And bored. And when Kazon was bored, he tended to do two things. One was fidget, which his foot was already doing. The only way he could stop it was by doing his second thing. Exploring. His options were limited while he was tied up, but he did figure out another thing he could do.

Rotate.

While he could move away from the rock, Kazon found that moving around it was an option. Lifting himself up slightly with his legs, Kazon was able to change the position he was sitting and facing from the rock. So he did that, as his options were limited.

Rotating ninety degrees wasn't all that interesting. Just more cave.

when he went to one-hundred and eighty degrees, he saw...

A crack.

The pile of rocks the woman had gone behind was closer than Kazon had expected. And just a little shorter. Lifting his head up slightly, Kazon was able to see past the pile and to the woman behind it.

A woman who was changing out of ripped clothes.

She started with the shirt with a tear. She had already placed her hat on the rock, and she pulled the shirt over her head. Kazon could see a smooth olive back, and breast binding being the only garment she wore. Then came the skirt, easily sliding off of her short but plump legs.

Plump. That wasn't a word that Kazon used all that often. But it perfectly fit the woman, whose legs were as full as her rear. And her rear was very, very full. It almost seemed to be bursting out of her bottoms, each slight movement making ripples.

Kazon was entranced as he watched her but soon realized that he would have to move. She was already putting regular clothes back on, and she would be back with him soon. So he quickly rotated back to his original position.

And took many deep breaths to try and undo the tightness in his trousers.

The woman soon came back. By that time, Kazon had managed to cross his legs and hide his... issue. And the woman was wearing a different set of green clothes, though it was mostly identical. Even the hat was the same.

"Do you think you could find a way out of this cave?"

Kazon wasn't sure. But he wasn't stupid either. "I can figure a way out. But not from here."

Ying, not at all comfortably, bent down and undid the knots. Kazon was able to stand.

"Thank you."

"Just show me the way out. This doesn't make us friends."

Kazon nodded. He expected that.

"Follow me."

The next few days (where they days?) passed in tension. Ying was uncomfortable around Kazon, and Kazon did not know how to rectify that discomfort.

"You said we could get out."

"I said that I could find a way out," Kazon corrected. "I will. It will just take time."

Ying sighed but otherwise said nothing. The generals tory of their companionship. Even if Kazon wanted to be friendly, Ying did not want much to do with him. Whether it was his age or his ethnicity, Ying kept her distance from Kazon. Which made their need to walk through an underground cave together quite awkward.

Right now, there was a tunnel the two of them needed to pass. It led somewhere they did not know.

"This way Ying."

The two lost travelers entered a new section of the cave. One filled with... flowers?

Glowing purple flowers that somehow grew underground without any sunlight. This was their first time seeing flowers since they fell in.

"Any ideas what these are?"

"No," Ying responded, equally shocked by seeing plants down under. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"Wonder how they smell," Kazon said as he walked down to check.

"Kazon..."

"It's fine Ying. Just flowers."

Kazon, still aware of where Ying was, walked over to the flowers. They were purple in color. And they seemed to be... glowing? Was that normal?

Getting closer to them, Kazon tried to figure out what sort of flowers he was looking at. He was never an expert, and he certainly didn't know much about earth kingdom plants. Still, these didn't look even slightly familiar.

At least they smelled nice. The aroma got stronger the closer Kazon was to the flowers. Lavender and roses. Two scents that Kazon knew but would never think to mix together.

It was...

It was...

It...

"Kazon? Are you alright?"

He was... lightheaded? Something like that. His body felt like someone else was moving it. Like his spirit was partially pushed out and just watching its vessel move. And moving more on instinct than anything else.

"Kazon? What did those flowers do?"

Ying turned Kazon over, hoping to snap him back. But something else happened. Memories from before flooded in. Memories of a woman undressing. Of a sudden rush of desire. Memories were being relived, as evidenced by Kazon's eyes narrowing at Ying.

"Kazon?" Ying asked in concern. She had let go of his shoulder when he grabbed her hand.

"Kazon! You need to- Umph!"

Ying's order was cut off as Kazon's lips smashed against hers. The initial impact was supplemented by Kazon opening her mouth with his, letting his tongue snake its way to hers.

The kiss would have lasted had Ying not forcefully pushed away.

"Kazon! What do you think you're doing?!" Ying yelled. "There's no time for something like this! We need to... We need... we..."

Kazon's kiss did more than shock her. It also passed on an aroma. The scent that Kazon had taken in was transferred to Ying as well. Making her see things differently.

No longer was there just a Fire Nation boy in front of her. She now saw a young, fit, and tanned young man. A handsome one, with a body open to her.

And Kazon, having gotten a glimpse of the older woman's voluptuous body days before, wanted more than that now. He wanted everything.

And Ying was now willing to give.

Which was why the two were now kissing again, together. And about to do so much more than that.

Just like before, this first chapter is the build-up. The next chapter is where the stuff that you all came for will occur.

As for the cave, I don't think it is canon. This isn't the Two Lovers cave, it's one that I made for this story. So things will work differently in it, as you will all see.

Also, Ying is not pregnant in this story. Make with that information what you will.

Also, like the last two stories, there is a bit of fanart to help you visualize how the next chapter will turn out. A bit of work from a Deviantart user named mastermead. The art is here: mastermead/art/Earth-Kingdom-Brickhouse-213756804

Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.

Bye!