Chapter four, after a bit of... sigh tiring work. I'm gonna be honest with y'all. I don't really feel this story anymore. It just feels like I'm spitting something y'all have already seen and retooling it a little. It doesn't have the same fire as the stories I really put my heart and soul into, and while I enjoyed writing chapters 1-3, I'm not feeling anything past it. So here's how it's gonna go down. I'm doing three more chapters after this. Toph's field trip with Zuko, and DOBS two parter, might merge it into one. Then I'm quitting this fic. However, I am willing to put it up for adoption, for anyone who has... a better vision for this than me. If you want to mess with this whole schtick, DM me and I'll compress it into a DocX and shoot it your way.

Sorry for the downer beginning, I just had to get that off my chest. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The Awakening

Aang felt a pain in his head as he stirred awake. Rubbing his forehead and eyes, he looked around the room he was in. It was… made of metal, for some reason. This doesn't look like a palace hospital room, he thought. Aang turned his head, then noticed a foreboding color on the edge of his vision. Red.

"What happened?" he asked no one in particular, then his vision cleared up. A Fire Nation banner. Above his bed. Did I get captured? "Oh no!" he exclaimed, leaping out of bed. Quickly grabbing his glider, Aang carefully creaked the door open and left. Using the glider as a crutch, he stumbled through the hall, pausing every now and again to catch his breath. As he turned the corner, Aang noticed two Fire Nation soldiers chatting idly with each other.

"Did you hear something?" the bigger of the two asked his partner, turning towards Aang, who ducked behind a wall. A determined look crossed his face and he stepped out again, weakly blasting them with air and moving past. "He's awake!" the big one yelled, causing Aang to hobble away faster. The guards began to chase him. "Stop! Wait!"

Still in pain, Aang managed to reach the top deck, but he stumbled on the stairs, dropping his staff. It slid over to two more Fire Nation soldiers, who, to Aang's surprise and confusion, were petting Momo. "Momo?" he asked in confusion. As his lemur came running to him, Aang saw that the two soldiers weren't Fire Nation, but Water Tribe. He recognized Bato's face, though hidden by the helmet, and the other man had to be Sokka and Katara's father.

Momo started licking Aang's face after he jumped on the boy's shoulder. Aang, still quite confused about everything, was quite thankful for his lemur's comfort. Then another familiar voice rang out.

"Twinkle Toes! That's gotta be you!" Toph exclaimed as she and Katara raced over. "Aang, you're awake!" she said as she pulled him into a hug. Aang looked at her quizzically. "Are you sure?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes. "I feel like I'm dreaming." Katara pulled him closer. "You're not dreaming, you're finally awake," she replied gratefully.

Two more Fire Nation soldiers walked over to the three of them, the one on the left giving him a hug. "Aang, good to see you back with the living, buddy!" he said in Sokka's voice. The second guard nodded and pulled off his helmet, revealing Zuko's face, his hair now pulled back and done in a tight topknot and an eyepatch over his scarred eye. "You had us all really worried, Aang. Especially after we had to leave," he added. Hakoda patted Zuko's shoulder, causing the teenage firebender to flinch just a little. "We wouldn't have been able to leave if it wasn't for you," he said enthusiastically.

"Sokka? Zuko?" Aang breathed, then felt his eyelids grow heavy and his balance begin to shift. "Uh oh, somebody catch him, he's going to-" Toph said quickly as Aang fell, his last sight being Katara reaching out to catch him. Aang passed out, and the entire group surrounded him and Katara, Appa lumbering over from where he was standing on the deck.

Azula stood on the deck of her ship, doing stretches. In the past few weeks since her injury, she healed up nicely, in her own opinion. Of course her father would tell her to have the physician check her over in case there was anything missed.

Testing her limits, Azula tried doing a cartwheel into a backflip, only for her shoulder to cramp and mess up the flip. She landed on her side instead of her feet. Biting back curses, she heaved herself up from the deck, blasting the spot she landed on with her signature blue flames.

"That brings back memories," a monotone voice drawled. Azula turned to see Mai leaning by the door a few yards away. Azula scowled. "How much of that did you see?" she asked aggressively. Mai shrugged. "The last five minutes or so," she replied, checking her nails. "I know I probably haven't said it enough, but thanks for busting us out of there. I don't know how long I would have been able to hold out in that dank cell. Or maybe Ty Lee's said it enough for the both of us."

Azula's scowl lessened. "Of course I wasn't going to leave you there. That's one less thing Father would complain about. And besides, I don't think the Earth Kingdom will be able to pull that kind of stunt again, wouldn't you agree?"

Mai smirked a little. "Well, you were terrifying," she answered, with no indication she was terrified. "No matter how many troops we had there, you topped their count in terms of…" Mai pantomimed a slitting motion across her throat. "A shame the Earth King got away, though." Azula's scowl transitioned to a self-satisfied smirk. "It doesn't matter. With what I have planned, there won't be an Earth Kingdom for him to rule."

Mai gave her an inquisitive look, but said nothing about Azula's plan. "Ty Lee did offer you those gymnastics lessons," she mentioned offhandedly. "She'd probably jump at the chance to help you." Mai turned back towards the door to head back into the ship, then paused. "You know, with the way she acts, I'd expect there's something else going on in her head," she said, then entered the ship.

Azula was quite confused. What on Earth was Mai going on about?

An hour later, Aang finally woke up, a robe around his shoulders and his friends around him. "Why are we on a Fire Nation ship? Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?" he asked Katara, as all the others split up and went their separate ways. Katara looked at him, concern in her eyes. "You need to take it easy, okay? You got hurt pretty bad." Then she smiled. "I like your hair."

Aang jerked in surprise. "I have hair?" he asked as he reached up and felt it. "How long was I out?" Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "A few weeks, almost a month," she replied, then a look of annoyance crossed her face when her father came over. "Everything okay?" Hakoda asked. Katara sighed in exasperation. "We're fine, Dad."

Hakoda looked toward Aang and reached out his hand. "I'm Hakoda, Katara and Sokka's father," he said. Aang smiled and reached out to shake his hand, but Katara's hands on his shoulders stopped him. "He knows who you are. I just called you "Dad", didn't I?" she questioned, annoyed. Hakoda's smile faltered. "I guess you're right."

Aang removed Katara's hands from his shoulders as he shook Hakoda's hand. "Nice to officially meet you, Chief Hakoda," he said. Hakoda smiled. "It's an honor to meet you."

"Great, great, so now you guys have finally met. So would you mind giving us a little privacy?" Katara asked, now definitely annoyed. Hakoda raised his hands in surrender. "Of course," he answered, then walked away.

Aang threw a glance at Katara. "Are you mad at your dad or something?" he asked gently when he noticed Katara's annoyed look at her father. She threw him a confused look back. "What, not at all. Why would you say that?" she asked back.

Aang was about to shrug and reply "I don't know," but suddenly, pain surged through his body and he gasped. Katara pursed her lips. "Maybe we should go upstairs," she said as she helped him up. "You need a healing session." Katara helped Aang up and the two headed back to his room, where Aang plopped on his bed and Katara pulled a barrel of water over to him, then she bent it towards his back wound.

"Tell me where the pain feels most intense," she said. Aang grunted, then said, "A little higher." He yelped again as the pain spikes and a flash of light blinds him momentarily, returning to the moment he was unlocking his last chakra. Another flash of light later and he was back in reality. Aang chuckled weakly. "Wow, you're definitely in the right area there," he said.

Katara pursed her lips. "I can feel a lot of energy twisted up around there," she replied as she began to bend the water away from him. "Let me just see if I can-"

Her thought was interrupted by Aang jerking backward and he flashed back to the moment he was struck. The vision changed, to now Aang being comatose in Katara's arms as she teared up, Kuei shouting for guards and nurses running in with a stretcher.

"I went down!" he exclaimed. "I didn't just get hurt, did I? It was worse than that. I was gone! But you brought me back." Katara shrugged. "I just used the spirit water from the North Pole. I don't know what I did exactly," she replied. Aang turned to look at her, gratitude in his eyes. "You saved me," he breathed. Katara put a hand on the side of his face. "You need to rest," she replied, laying him back down on the bed.

A crowd of Fire Nation troops stood in the Royal Plaza, watching the tower Li and Lo stood up, listening intently to their speech.

"Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's Capital. In Ba Sing Se, despite being betrayed by her co-conspirator, she persevered and escaped her captivity," Li began. "Her first act upon being freed from her cell was to face the Avatar…"

"And the Avatar fell! And the Earth Kingdom fell!" both elderly twins declared. Cheers erupted from the crowds below. Li cleared her throat. "She regrouped with an army, then re-infiltrated the city. She claimed the agents as her own, and then had them advance on the walls…"

"And they brought them down!" the twins declared. "The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the walls and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory," Li continued. "Azula personally led a force to secure the palace, only for her treacherous brother to attempt to set a trap for her!"

"The palace was brought down!" the twins yelled again. "But Azula escaped, and now, our hero has returned. Your princess, Azula!" The crowd erupted into cheers once more, chanting her name at the top of their lungs, as the dark haired princess approached the crowd, proud as a peacock. She blasted twin jets of blue flames skyward, eliciting louder cheers and chants from the crowd below. Then Azula shut off her flames and held her hand up to silence the crowd.

"If any of you discover my brother within the Fire Nation's borders, or anywhere else" she began, examining her fingernails. "Capture him and bring him to the palace. My father, your Fire Lord, would like to have words with him," she ordered. "And he has to be alive, though not uninjured."

The crowd nodded intensely. Azula turned and snapped her fingers. "Now, more cheering," she ordered. And the crowd obliged.

"After what happened at Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chameleon Bay where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men," Sokka said as he held a map. All of Team Avatar stood around him, including the adults. "Soon, the bay was overrun by Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then we've been traveling west. We crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

"So what now?" Aang asked. Hakoda looked at him. "We're going to use a modified version of the invasion plan," he replied. Katara huffed. "It's Sokka's invasion plan," she corrected sharply. Hakoda looked a little surprised by his daughter's sharpness. "Yes, Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

Sokka cleared his throat. "So we're planning a smaller invasion. Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke," he said, and Pipsqueak looked up from his noodles. "Good to see you again, Aang!" he said jovially.

Sokka grinned. "And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage! We have a secret…" he whispered, then glanced over his shoulders. "You!" he exclaimed, pointing at Aang, who looked surprised. "Me?" he asked.

"Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead! Isn't that great?" Sokka asked as he stood and raised his fists triumphantly. Shock gripped Aang as he stood and staggered to the side of the boat. "The world thinks I'm dead?" he asked hollowly. "How is that good news? That's terrible!"

Sokka approached Aang. "No, it's great!" he corrected. "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore! And even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun!" Aang shook his head and looked at Sokka. "No, no, no, no, no. You have no idea. This is so messed up!" His train of thought was interrupted by Aang noticing another Fire Nation ship approaching their boat. A determined look crossed Aang's face. "I'll handle this. The Avatar is back," he declared, only for pain to strike him when he opened his glider.

Katara quickly jogged over to Aang. "Aang, wait!" she yelled. "Remember, they don't know we're not Fire Nation!" Aang sighed, and put his glider down, sweating. Hakoda stepped forward. "Everyone just stay calm," he said as he, Zuko and Bato put their helmets on and Zuko straightened his eye patch. "Bato and I will take care of this. Oh, and you, too, kid."

Pipsqueak and The Duke covered Appa and Momo, while Aang, Toph, Sokka and Katara hid in a square hole. "I hate not being able to do anything," Aang complained. Toph scoffed. "Hopefully, you won't need to," she replied as part of the crew from the other ship boarded Team Avatar's ship.

"Commander, why are you off course?" the officer in charge asked bluntly. "All Western Fleet ships are supposed to be moving toward Ba Sing Se to support the occupation!" Hakoda coughed lightly. "Actually, we're from the Eastern Fleet. We have orders to deliver some cargo," he replied. The other officer rubbed his forehead. "Ahhh ... Eastern Fleet. Well, nice of Admiral Chan to let us know he was sending one of his ships our way," he said sarcastically.

The disguised Zuko nodded. "Well, uh, I'm sure Admiral Chan meant no disrespect, sir," he replied. The other officer didn't notice, continuing his rant. "I mean, how hard is it to write a quick note and send a hawk our way?"

Bato chuckled uneasily. "Next time, we'll send two hawks to make sure you get the message," he said, glancing quickly at Hakoda. Hakoda nodded. "Well, we'd best be on our way. Good day, officer." The two groups bowed to each other, and Hakoda, Bato and Zuko left the other ship.

A guard leaned to the officer's ear. "Sir ... Admiral Chan has been on leave for two months at Ember Island," he said. The officer jumped slightly. "What? Why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything? Something's not right; they should have known that. I think this is a captured ship." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Just stay quiet until we're safely across the ramp. Then we'll sink this ship," he said, unaware Toph was listening. "They know!" she exclaimed, leaping out of her hiding place and metalbent the bridge between the ships off, making the officer and his guards fall into the water. Katara created a large wave, separating the other ship from theirs. Team Avatar's ship quickly started to get away. The captain and his guards from the other ship clambered back on board theirs when a rope ladder was lowered to them.

The second ship began pursuing Team Avatar's boat, launching fireballs at the stolen ship. Toph got into an Earthbending stance. "Load the Toph!" she yelled, and Pipsqueak set a boulder in front of her, pouring oil on it. Zuko lit the boulder on fire and Toph launched it at the enemy ship. The fireball hit a catapult as it fired another boulder. Toph repeated her motions, launching more flaming rocks at the enemy ship, intercepting a couple fireballs flying towards them.

Within the ship, Aang tried to make a move to help Toph, but Sokka stopped him. Frustrated, the young Avatar banged his head against his staff. The other ship fired a harpoon into the hull of Team Avatar's ship, but Katara plugged the hole with some ice before the boat could be flooded.

"I'm gonna give us some cover!" she yelled as she whipped up a fog screen, obscuring the boat. But a fireball managed to get a lucky hit, destroying Toph and Zuko's artillery. Inside the ship, Aang scowled. "I just can't stand by and do nothing!" he yelled as he ran out. Sokka followed him, grabbing his staff. "Aang, no! You're still hurt, and you have to stay secret! Just let us handle this," he said. Aang sighed and twirled his staff back towards himself. "Fine," he replied, then stalked back into the ship.

Two fireballs managed to hit the ship, but their fire was extinguished by Katara. Toph and Zuko rushed over to her. "How are we doing?" Zuko asked quickly. Sokka glanced at him. "Things couldn't get much worse," he replied, only for the serpent of the lake to rise over their ship. Sokka turned and despair filled his face. "The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?"

"You make it too easy!" Toph retorted. Right as the serpent was about to attack their ship, it was hit by fireballs from the enemy. Now enraged and in pain, the serpent coiled around the other ship, giving Team Avatar time to escape. "Thank you, the universe!" Sokka yelled to the sky.

Aang sat alone in his room, contemplating recent events. Their ship had arrived at a town port for repairs, and that gave Aang time to think about what he should do. Before he could come to a decision, the rest of the gang entered his quarters.

"Hey, Aang! We're going into town to find some dinner," Toph said. Aang clutched his stomach. "Well, I am pretty hungry," he replied. "Maybe dinner's a good idea."

Zuko held out a rectangle of cloth for Aang. A bandana with the Fire Nation emblem. "Here, tie this around your head. It'll cover your arrow," he explained. Aang scowled again. "I'm not going out if I can't wear my arrow proudly!" he snapped, then lied back down. Sokka held out his hands placatingly. "Aang, come on. Be practical. Why do you think Zuko's wearing that eyepatch?"

Katara placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "You guys go ahead without us. We'll catch up to you," she said. Toph, Zuko, and Sokka left the room, and Katara sat on Aang's bed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I think I understand why being a secret bothers you so much. You don't want people to think you failed."

"You're right, I don't," Aang replied angrily. "But the problem is, I did fail!" Katara recoiled a little. "Aang, that's not true," she said. Aang got up. "It is true. I was in Ba Sing Se. I was there! But I lost. And now the Earth Kingdom has fallen for good."

Katara rose herself, then tried to place a hand on Aang's shoulder. "It's not for good. Remember, there's still a plan. The invasion!" Aang whirled to Katara. "And I hate the invasion plan, too!" he yelled as he ripped down the Fire Nation flag covering his staff. "I don't want you or anyone else risking your lives to fix my mistakes! I've always known that I would have to face the Fire Lord. But now I know I need to do it alone."

Katara moved to Aang, trying to comfort him. "Aang…" she was cut off by Aang's hand rising. "Katara, please! Just go ... please," he said tiredly. Katara nodded lightly and moved towards the exit. "Is there anything you need?" she asked. A determined look crossed Aang's face. "I need to redeem myself. I need my honor back."

A while later, Katara creaked open the door to Aang's room. "I brought you some food!" she said cheerfully, then stopped. Aang wasn't in his room. The tray clattered to the floor. "Oh no…" Quickly, Katara rushed out of the room and into the belly of the ship.

In the Royal Palace, Azula knelt before her father. Ozai let out a single, proud chuckle. "Azula, my daughter… is there truly nothing you can't do?" he asked. "Even when crippled by the Earth King's treacherous advisor and his agents, you still managed to heal and escape. Not to mention you slayed the Avatar… that will shine throughout history as your greatest achievement."

Azula smirked. "It was nothing, really. The Avatar was a young boy, and with what he was doing, he was an easy target. He was attempting to use the Avatar state, and I killed him while he was in that power. The Avatar cycle is no more. We have nothing to fear now."

Ozai smirked again. "Good." Then his smirk faded. "I heard what you did in Ba Sing Se… the battlefield. My generals raised concerns that the streets were strewn with bodies, and that you had the highest kill count. Of course, good for you, but it does bring up questions about your sanity."

Azula's smile faltered. "What?" she asked, her voice deadly yet uncertain. Ozai looked at her. "I want you to see the Royal Psychologist. Daily. Explain to him everything you did, everything you feel. A Fire Lord must be mentally sound, and I'm not sure you are at this moment."

"B-But I'm perfectly fine! Perfectly!" Azula stuttered. Ozai glared at her. "Are you… refusing an order from your Fire Lord?" he asked, deadly quiet, flames igniting in his hand. Azula was silent for a moment, then bowed her head. "No, Father. I will go."

"Do that," Ozai said definitively, ending her audience with him. Azula stood and left the throne room, slight anger and fear boiling within her. How dare he treat me like Zuko?! How dare he?!

Katara ran onto the deck in tears, heading towards Bato and Hakoda. Bato noticed her crying and stepped aside. "I'll leave you two alone," he said as he left.

"What's wrong, Katara?" Hakoda asked, concerned for his daughter. Katara choked out a sob. "He left."

"What?"

"Aang," Katara clarified. "He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone, that it's all his responsibility." Hakoda held out his hands placatingly. "Maybe that's his way of being brave," he replied.

"It's not brave, it's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I know the world needs him, but doesn't he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?" Katara asked through her tears, and Hakoda knew exactly who else she was talking about. "You're talking about me too, aren't you?"

"How could you leave us, Dad?" Katara asked as she tried to wipe away her tears. "I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you." Hakoda moved closer to Katara to comfort her as she turned away from him. "I'm so sorry, Katara," he apologized.

Katara pulled her father into a tight hug. "I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? I'm so sad and angry and hurt!" she exclaimed, tears dripping down her eyes. Hakoda pulled her closer.

"I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache," he whispered to her. Katara let more tears drip down as they stood in their hug.

A moment later, Bato, Sokka, and Zuko came running. "We're prepping the ship to change course," Bato said to Hakoda. Sokka nodded and pulled Zuko over. "We'll find Aang, Katara," he reassured his sister. "After all, we have one of the best and most persistent Avatar-trackers in the world with us!" he added. Zuko shoved Sokka off his arm. "Could you not bring that up?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"No," Katara said definitively. "Sokka, Zuko, Toph, and I will go after Aang in the morning on Appa. The rest of you, go wherever you need to go to be ready for the invasion." Hakoda looked at Katara, concern in his eyes. "I don't want to abandon you again, sweetie," he said. Katara looked right back into her father's eyes. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Aang needs to know his friends are there for him."

Aang scowled a little when he saw it. "A blockade," he said to himself, then he took a deep breath and dove into the water, swimming under the Fire Nation ships. When he broke the surface, he found a piece of driftwood floating near him. Quickly grabbing it, he used his glider with the wood as a makeshift parasailer. The storm around him turned the seas choppy, and he lost his balance, falling into the water. His glider flew from his hand.

Aang clawed at the driftwood, desperately trying to keep his head above the water as the waves pounded around him. A guttural scream erupted from his throat as a wave crashed down and plunged him into the water. Aang quickly swam back to the surface, gasping for breath. "I'm not gonna make it. I failed."

Lightning cracked the sky as he floated along, and within the lightning came the image of a tall man, his form blue with spirit energy. "Roku?" Aang asked.

"You haven't failed, Aang," Roku told his successor. Aang was confused and tired of all of it. "But everyone thinks I'm dead again. They think I've abandoned them, and I'm losing this war. I'm letting the whole world down," he said dejectedly.

"If anyone is to blame for the state of the world, it is me," Roku replied. "I should have seen this war coming and prevented it. You inherited my problems and my mistakes. But I believe you are destined to redeem me and save the world." Aang sighed. "I don't know." A beam of moonlight shone on Aang's form, as the spirit of Yue appeared over him. The waves and storm lessened their pounding of the young Avatar. As Roku's form vanished, Yue descended down to Aang.

"You already saved the world. And you'll save the world again, but you can't give up," she said, and the storm stopped its pounding. Now filled with new determination, Aang looked up at Yue's spirit. "You're right. I won't give up." Using his waterbending, Aang created a tidal wave and used the driftwood to surf away. Yue smiled and ascended back to the moon, watching Aang as he went off into the horizon.

A while later, Aang woke up to licking and saw Momo on him, Appa nearing. He looked around quickly, noticing he was on Crescent Island, where Roku's temple once stood. Once Appa landed, Katara leapt off the bison and ran to Aang, her worry melting away as she hugged him.

"You're okay!" Katara exclaimed, pulling him closer. Toph, Sokka, and Zuko disembarked from Appa and made their way over to Aang and Katara, the former two joining in on the hug. Zuko stood awkwardly on the edges for a moment.

"Get over here, Zuko!" Sokka called. Toph snickered. "Being part of the team means being part of hugs." Zuko huffed and, after muttering something about not liking being touched, gingerly joined in, with Appa and Momo following.

"I have so much to do," Aang said tiredly, realizing his burden. Katara hugged him again. "I know, but you'll have our help," she replied. Toph snickered again. "You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?" she asked. Zuko broke apart from the group. "We're gonna have our work cut out for us, aren't we?" he asked no one in particular.

"What about the invasion?" Aang asked. Sokka smiled lightly. "We'll join up with my dad and the invasion force the day of the eclipse," he replied. Toph left the hug and felt something wash up on the shore. "Hey! What's ... oh, it's your glider," she told Aang.

Aang took it gingerly and held it for a moment. He took a deep breath and made his choice. "It's okay. If someone saw it, it would give away my identity. It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive," he replied. Aang flew up to a lava trail that still hasn't cooled, eyeing the molten rock. Twirling his staff one last time, he plunges one of the last artifacts of the Air Nation into the lava. The wood caught fire as Team Avatar left the island and travelled further into the Fire Nation. Further into the belly of the beast.

Yeah, a bunch of crazy crap happens, it's just the Awakening with Zuko in a different spot. This is why I didn't feel it. The ATLA story is already so perfect it's hard to change it without it feeling soulless.

Forgot to mention this is also being crossposted on AO3, and that's about it. If anyone wants to adopt this fic, change it, trash it and start over, DM me and I'll send it your way. As always, stay safe, healthy, and have cake every now and again. It's good for the soul.