Lu Ten looked out onto the field before him. He had been alone for a long time. He had lost his name too long ago. Lu Ten missed his life that he once had with his father and living in the Fire Nation, spending time with his cousins, just being able to live without fear. Lu Ten misses hearing his name called by his mother and being hugged right before he goes to bed.

Being Teddy was new. It was new like a brand new pair of shoes were new. They were for the same purpose, but they had a new texture, but the older shoes will always be more well loved. Teddy didn't really have a past, but that was okay. No one in jail really had a past, or at least no one talked about it. You could see in everyone's eyes how, even though many were criminals, and some were killers, some were still innocents and you could see the fresh pain in their eyes. Teddy had lost that innocence as soon as his whole platoon were murdered. Lu Ten died, but Teddy should have died too.

It was quiet in Hira'a, and it was one of those rare nights when everyone was asleep before the sun had even set. Lu Ten sat on the ground, in the middle of his aunt's garden taking in the sights of the world around him. For at least 5 years, he hadn't seen grass, or even the sun setting or rising. He knew the sun was there; he could feel its climb every day, but seeing it warmed his soul. "I am lost, father," Lu Ten whispered. "I want to go home, but I don't know how."

Lu Ten brushed at his eyes with his fist, scrubbing at the tears seeping out of his eyes. "Even if I come home, it won't be the same. Everything has changed. I've changed. You have changed. The world is so different, and maybe this horrible war will come to an end, but what will that mean for me? I'm dead," Lu Ten confessed. "I should be dead."

Lu Ten curled in on himself, letting the tears fall freely as his head rested on his curled up legs. "Agni, give me a life to live for," he murmured. The tears dried as the sun set, but Lu Ten could still feel its warmth, as if Agni himself was trying to give him a hug. Lu Ten smiled weakly at the thought. A lot was going to happen tomorrow night, so he needed to be ready and get some sleep. He stretched his sore muscles and got up from the now cold ground. Tomorrow would come, and hopefully a bright future would come with it.

—-

Sokka was petrified of what was coming. Yeah he had a plan; he was the plans guy, but that didn't mean he wasn't scared to face the future. Traveling with Aang meant that they got to do goofy stuff like go to fortune tellers, and get to go to so many unique places. However, Sokka had never really, truly thought ahead of his plans.

First, it was to get to the North Pole, then it was to find an earthbending teacher, to Ba Sing Se, and then kill the Fire Lord on the day of the Black Sun. None of that meant anything anymore except for the memories. If Sokka had to name a favorite place and time, he would have to say going to Kyoshi island to meet Suki is pretty high up there, and getting to eat all that beef jerky that one time, and get training with Piando was amazing, but the best time Sokka had ever had was spending time with everyone these past few weeks.

He and Zuko had thought it would be a grand idea to go shopping together. Sokka was a shopaholic (we all know this, let's move along!), but what he didn't know was how much Zuko loved to go shopping. This man could spend hours, and Sokka means HOURS in clothing shops and food stalls. Zuko was once an impatient man, but once he was calm, he can spend hours just enjoying himself walking the stalls of an entire market.

The time they went shopping together, they had to stay undercover, because you know "fugitives of the entire world at this point", so Sokka came up with this grand plan to dress up as an old couple where he got to wear his Wang Fire beard, and he had convinced Zuko to get into a nice long, white wig and a dress with some tissue stuck into the bodice. Suffice to say, Sokka was very proud of himself.

No one suspected a thing as they walked down the market on Ember Island, arm in arm. Was Zuko complaining the entire time? Yes, yes he was, but he was just denying how much fun he was actually having.

Sokka did get them into trouble, however, when he accidentally elbowed Zuko in the chest. Many of the vendors watched in horror as they saw Zuko's chest suddenly become much flatter than it was a few moments ago. Zuko grabbed Sokka's hand, at the time, and they rushed out of the market so fast, Sokka's beard started to peel off.

Sokka smiled wistfully to himself, remembering the moment. He was going to miss days like that when this was all over. If things worked out, they wouldn't be a group of ragtag young adults anymore (plus a few kids); they would be leaders. That scared him; that scared him a lot.

—-

Everyone was incompetent. How could this nation even run without her? Azula scoffed. She was better without anyone else. Friendship made people weak; love made people weak. Loyalty was just a cheap version of fear. Fear makes people stronger and pushes harder. If the Fire Nation was going to rule the world, the world needed to fear their next Fire Lord. Azula was going to become the most feared and respected Fire Lord yet. Her father had been strong, but he had thrown away his title too easily, but Azula knew she would never tell him this.

Ambition was the fuel to Azula's fire. In less than a few hours, she would have all she ever wanted. She was going to be the Fire Lord. No woman had ever been the true Fire Lord. Her father trusted her and her alone. Zuzu was too weak for their nation, and Iroh, the once great dragon killer was nothing but an old man. Azula was young and fierce. Anyone could see this by the way she held herself and the control of her fire. Developing lightning at as young as 14 was a sign to anyone that she would be the greatest leader of the Fire Nation.

Azula was alone in her own chambers, sitting listlessly on her bed, her eyes wide as her thoughts raced across her mind. Across the room was a broken mirror shattered on the ground, the pieces of glass glinting in the failing light. Azula caught glimpses of her appearance, but all she could see were images of her mother. Her mother was there in the arch of her eyebrow, in the tilt of her nose, in the lengths of hair spilling across her shoulder. Azula sneered at the image, kicking her foot at the closest fragment. From a distant place, Azula saw the tip of her toes begin to turn red, but she could feel no pain where she knew there should be.

She ran her fingers through her hair, feeling the uneven lengths with shaking fingers. This wasn't how things were supposed to go, she thought distantly. Alone in the palace, Azula curled up on her bed, staring blankly at the ground, desperately pushing her thoughts away. Instead she focused on one sentence: I deserve this.

—-

Katara and Suki sat in the dimly lit kitchen, both nursing a cup of tea in their hands. "Soooo-" Suki said, tapping her fingernails on the rim of her cup. "You and Zuko?"

Katara shot a glare at Suki. "We are just friends," she said icily.

Suki shrugged, her lips quivering like she was definitely trying to hide a laugh. "Are you sure there isn't anything else you want to tell me?"

Katara groaned, her head falling onto her arms on top of the kitchen table. "That play was a lie," she sighed dramatically. "Why is everyone so fascinated with us?"

Suki laughed at Katara's response, patting her shoulder. "Sun and moon; fire and ice; opposites attract? I don't know. I've only seen you guys at each other's necks until recently."

"Exactly," Katara said. "I guess we're friends at this point, but why does everyone assume that means we are 'together' together?" she complained.

Suki shook her head, still laughing. "People are delusional sometimes." She looked at Katara carefully. "No, but seriously; nothing between the two of you?" When Katara shook her head, Suki continued. "Then what about you and Aang?"

Katara shot her a look from under her waves of hair. "How about you and Sokka? How's that going?" Katara countered.

Suki pursed her lips. "It's going well, but don't think I don't know what you're doing." Suki wagged her finger. "Aang is devoted to you, and he looked upset earlier so-"

"He was upset when I told him I'm not quite ready," Katara cut Suki off, folding her arms over her chest. "He was upset about Zuko and I, which makes no sense," Katara huffed. "I just don't want to think about it till after the end, you know? We don't even know what tomorrow will bring," Katara explained.

Suki nodded in understanding. "I get it. It's the same with me and Sokka. None of us want to name it anything because we know that the future will be different. For both of us, it matters that we're together now without thinking about the future."

"That makes sense," Katara said, staring into the depths of her tea cup. "I just don't want to get his hopes up. He already has to deal with so much."

Suki walked around the table and gave Katara a side hug. "Sorry for bringing it up. I didn't mean to make you worry more than you already are. I know you two will be alright with whatever you guys decide. Can you promise me something?" she added.

Katara looked at her skeptically.

Suki poked Katara in the side playfully. "Promise me you'll stop taking things so seriously. You love him, but that doesn't mean you need to give him all of you. You've got to keep some 'hope' to yourself." Suki clasped her hands together, blinking her eyes furiously like the Ember Island Players Katara had done.

Katara rolled her eyes, but smiled. "It's just welling up inside me," she said in a flat voice before cracking up with laughter.

That was how Sokka and Toph found them several minutes later, rolling on the kitchen table laughing their heads off in the middle of the night.

Toph huffed and Sokka looked at them grumpily. "You know some of us are trying to sleep?" he grumbled, his hair sticking up in all different directions. That only set them off into another round of giggles.

—-

Momo did not like this creepy alternative reality place. Everything was super wiggly and there were so many scary, stalking animals staring at him. Momo liked home. Why did Momo's master decide to go galavanting across on a turtle thingy? Momo liked normal earth where there was water, earth, air, and fire without any weird magicy things. Momo did not like it.

Momo miss Katara. Katara give good head scratches. Momo like Momo's Master, but Momo could taste the anxiety coming off of the boy. Everything would just be simpler if Momo could run things. Momo would save the world and be made its ruler! If only Momo had sword. Sadly Boomerang wouldn't give him one. It's okay, Momo had earthbending.

What was the weird magic turtle doing now? How dare it touch Momo's Master's forehead! Momo would like to attack turtle thing, but whatever the larger being did, it calmed Momo's Master down. Maybe touching foreheads was a thing everyone was supposed to do, Momo wondered. Momo would have to try this, but later, later. Momo Master was saying something. Did Momo have any clue what he was saying, not at all, but Momo got the gist. He wanted to fly, and that was Momo's specialty.

—-

Ty Lee rested her head against her forearm, taking measured breaths in and out. "Mai?" she called out quietly, looking over her shoulder at Mai who was sleeping beside her on her sleeping mat. "Are you asleep?"

Mai's eyelids slid open and she grumpily looked over at her friend in the dark light of the room. "I was," she mumbled, her words slurring together in her sleepiness.

"Oh sorry," Ty Lee whispered back, quickly turning away. She worried her lip, urging her body to just fall asleep alright.

She heard Mai sigh and shift, the blanket on top of her rustling. "What's wrong?" Mai asked in a low, gravely voice.

"Nothing," Ty Lee said with fake lightness in her voice. She quickly wiped away the water falling from the corners of her eyes and she curled closer in on herself. "Go back to sleep; it's nothing."

Ty Lee felt Mai's arms wrap around her shoulders from behind. Mai's thumb rubbed her shoulder soothingly, but this only made Ty Lee want to cry harder. "Don't lie to me," Mai said quietly.

Ty Lee flopped over and grabbed onto Mai, hugging her tightly. "I'm so scared," Ty Lee admitted in the quietest voice she had ever made.

Mai continued to rub her back, not saying anything as she let Ty Lee vent her worries.

"I'm just so scared everything is going to go wrong. It was so scary when you didn't even know who you were and didn't remember anything. I hated it, but it also made me realize what world we live in now. We're in a war, not a game that Azula has cooked up. Our childhood wasn't the greatest, and Azula was cruel sometimes, but it's scary how real this feels. What are we going to do tomorrow? When we get to the capital, what then? What if they kill Azula? She's done awful things, I know, but I don't want her to die," Ty Lee said, sobbing into Mai's shoulders. "I wish-I wish-"

"You wish we never had to go through this," Mai finished Ty's thought in understanding.

Ty Lee nodded, barely moving her head against Mai's shoulder. "I wish we could have just stayed children. The world was so wonderful then. We didn't know what was happening and we could just play silly little games. Even when we followed Azula into the Earth Kingdom, nothing felt real. It just felt like a game, but it doesn't anymore." Ty Lee gasped for air, pushing against her wet cheeks, trying to keep Mai's zhongyi hanfu dry. "Am I making any sense?"

Mai nodded soundlessly.

They were both silent as Ty Lee processed her thoughts, which was what Mai was also probably doing. Ty Lee took a shaky breath in and let out a big sigh. "Sorry for jabbering," she mumbled.

"Thank you for telling me," Mai said quietly. "You are almost as bad as I am with keeping your thoughts to yourself."

Ty let out a huff, but laughed. "You might be right with that."

Mai patted the top of Ty Lee's head like one would do to a young child. "Come on; we need to get some sleep."

Just as Ty Lee was falling asleep, Mai said: "I'm worried too, but I think we're going to win. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to trust the Avatar to end this war."

Ty Lee smiled sleepily. "You're right. I believe in Aang," she said soundly.

Mai let out a breathy laugh, sounding more like a puff of air than an outright laugh, but Ty Lee knew what Mai's laugh sounded like when she heard it. "Go to sleep," she responded.

Ty Lee snickered. "Goodnight."

—-

Aang took a deep breath and swallowed, looking at his hands carefully. The greatest power of the universe was just waiting to be used, and the entire weight was in his hands. If he wasn't scared earlier that night, he was scared now. The weight of the future sat in his hands, but for once he felt ready to carry this weight. He wanted to, that was the difference. Being able to take away someone's bending was an important power that had been gifted to him. The great lion turtle saw something in him that he felt that he could trust. Aang bowed deeply to the large lion turtle. "I will do as you ask. I will bring this world to peace," Aang promised.

When he looked up again, Aang felt like he had aged at least ten years, if not fifty. He was the Avatar. This was his responsibility to take care of the world and keep it in balance. There was no running away this time. The other members of his group may think he ran away that morning when he hadn't been in his bed or anywhere to be seen. They're probably so worried, Aang thought distantly to himself. But I didn't run away. I am ready this time.

Momo sat on his shoulder chittering away, and Aang took a deep breath. His hands trembled. For the first time in the past year, he felt truly alone. He was the last Airbender left. His whole culture had been wiped out. He wasn't directly at fault for causing the war, but it was his fault that he never stood up for what he believed and who he cared about. Moments here and there, he protected Katara, Appa, innocent villagers, but he needed to do more. He could do more. He had to do more.

Aang took a deep breath and turned away from the lion turtle, the real world rushing back to him. "I'm ready," Aang whispered. The comet was coming, and this time he would be there to stop it instead of just letting it pass by.

—-

Zuko bowed his head, licking his lips and fiddling with the edge of the hem of his tunic. Katara's hand gave him a squeeze on the shoulder, making him jump.

"You'll be fine," she whispered. "He loves you."

"I turned against him," Zuko said bitterly. "He will never forgive me. I don't deserve it."

Katara was silent for a moment. Zuko couldn't reach her eyes, too afraid of what he would see. Finally, she said: "You're sorry for what you did, aren't you?"

"More sorry than I've been about anything in my entire life."

Katara wrapped her arms around Zuko and held him close. Zuko tentatively reached one hand around her shoulders, but his mind felt far away.

"He'll forgive you; I know he will."

Zuko gulped and nodded his head, his heart too heavy to speak.

Now alone, Zuko turned once again towards his uncle's tent. Everything felt wrong right now. Aang was who knows where. Sozin's Comet was coming, he could feel it in his bones. Now standing where his uncle slept felt like Zuko was back at the beginning of his journey. All the changes in his life were due to his uncle. Zuko knew he owed everything to his beloved uncle, and yet he was shaking with fear. His uncle would never forgive him, he would be banished again and he would live alone for the rest of his life. What if he bur-

Zuko stopped that train of thought by pushing open the opening flap of the tent.

Half of Zuko's mind wished his uncle was awake so he could just be done with this conversation and be able to move on, however the other half was thankful for the time to collect himself. Sitting cross legged on the ground in front of his uncle's sleeping body, Zuko took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Zuko concentrated on the flames around him and the campfire just outside the tent. Murmurs here and there could be heard around the tent, as well as the soft snores of his uncle. Zuko's heart skipped a beat. His uncle snored loudly; loud enough to wake up any platypus bear. Zuko forced himself to remain silent and unmoving, listening for any slight difference in the sounds around him. He bat his eyes open, training his gaze on his uncle, watching the older man's side rise and fall with his breathing. Zuko took another gulp of air and tried to calm his anxiety. He had to do this, he had to do this; he wanted to do this.

"Uncle…" Zuko let out a big sigh, his hands shaking in his lap. "I know you may not want to see me, but I need to see you; talk to you again. I-I really messed up, I–" Zuko paused, his words meshing together in his mouth. "I wanted to tell you that I am so ashamed of what I did to you, not just in Ba Sing Se, but for how I treated you for so long. All of those mean words, I didn't know what I was doing, which is not an excuse, but-but I want to tell you I am so so sorry for what I did to you and how I treated you. You taught me everything. I promise I can do better; I am doing better," Zuko pleaded, his head bowing down to the ground. "It doesn't make up for my past mistakes, but I wanted to talk to you one last time, if I may. I want to be a better man. Better than my father, and better for those around me. I promise I will do better. I promise you I will learn from my mistakes and learn from your teachings," Zuko said, his voice catching as tears began to stream down his face uncontrollably. "You don't have to forgive me, I don't expect you to, I-"

In a moment Zuko could barely understand, his uncle suddenly rolled around to face him. Tears ran unbidden down his face as he held his arms out to his nephew. Zuko sat on his knees, frozen. His uncles arms' wrapped around him, holding him tighter than he had been held his entire life. Zuko felt his uncle run a hand through his hair and down to his neck, pressing Zuko tighter to him.

"How can you forgive me?" Zuko asked incredulously, his words coming out between gasps of air. "You must be furious with me, I disobe-"

Iroh pulled away from his nephew slightly, both of his hands coming up to frame Zuko's face. "I was never angry. I was sad and so, so afraid that you had lost your way."

"I did-" Zuko butt in, but stopped when Iroh shook his head.

"But you found your way back," Uncle said with pride in his voice. "You chose your path, and you let it lead you to what you needed." He patted Zuko's cheek affectionately. "I am so happy you have come back to me. You are such a stronger man than the one I last saw. I am so proud," Uncle Iroh said with distinct inflection. He pulled Zuko back into a bear hug. "You are my son; I could never be truly disappointed in you. You found your way, and I am glad you are here."

"Well you have a strong scent," Zuko replied, a laugh cracking through his tears. He nodded to the sandals at the corner of Iroh's tent.

Iroh narrowed his eyes. "Now that's no way to talk to your old man, now is it?"

Zuko sobered quickly, shaking his head quickly.

Iroh let out a big belly laugh, breaking the string of anxiety in Zuko's chest. He hadn't heard that laugh in so long. Zuko, unbounded, wrapped his uncle in a hug he should have given so many years ago.

Hello Readers! Here I am with a new chapter and three more to go! I will be posting every day leading up to the 25th, so keep a look out for new chapters for the next three days. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit different from how I normally do chapters, and it was actually a last minute idea, but I thought it would be cool to get an inside look into how everyone is feeling right before the end. Leave a comment or favorite if you like, and until I write again, TTFN!