Author's Note: I'm thankful I got something up before the completion of 2022. What a year. I have been working on other projects, slowly tapping away at this chapter. Thank you for the encouragement and comments, Themmvp.

I have been around the horn with seventeen. I went from excitement to dread, hate, and excitement. I am proud that I got all the major elements I wanted to be accomplished. I have buried a little secret treat/tease, comment/guess in a review. Yes, please review! I do go back and re-read them. It gives me a boost when all it feels like my work is caught in some black void. On that pathetic plea...

Disclaimer: I'm thankful for Avatar the Last Airbender and owe everything to the creation of the characters, but I do not own the actual characters.

Warning Explanation - For bunnybaebyun: I established with my rating of the whole work and my chapter 1 initial warning that there is and will be violence and sex. However, bunnybaebyun was so sweet and kind in their request I would be a Grinch roast beast if I didn't acknowledge something of the sort. I will do my best, but one person's tomato could be considered a vegetable when it is a fruit. That said, from now on, I will attempt to tag chapters with suggested warnings...

Chapter 17 has violence and sexual innuendo.

After appearing from the dim underground tunnel, Katara shields her eyes from the stadium's bright lights. Her hand allows her eyes to adjust to her surroundings. What she sees doesn't bode well, nor does the announcer's excited proclamation of a fight. Towering concrete walls surround their group, ringed by rows of concrete bleachers that seem to touch the top of a metal dome. Spectators fill the seats, hungry for entertainment. The faces are a blur due to the massive stadium's distance and breadth. The shouts for bloodlust are evident, with a thirsty need to assuage.

Cold dread descends as their group isn't the only beings in the arena; twenty other people are present, ragged in appearance. There is a hollowness and hopelessness to their carriage and faces. How long had they been stuck in this place?

Fear tempers with a surge that Katara will do what it takes to free herself and her brother; she looks around and amends all of them. No one should be in this situation.

The first step is figuring out how to get out of the stadium. There are no apparent openings. Katara glances back from where they had emerged, and a double gate bars the tunnel opening with metal and wooden bars. A preventive measure against Fire benders and Earth benders.

Sokka eyes the rag-tag bunch close to the door. The interlopers may look haggard and worn, but the sinew bodies reveal these fighters worked out daily. These warriors weren't exercising in a gym but seasoned in battle. Sokka is wary of the arena and how their group will fare.

Aang had heard of underground rumbles; what he had heard wasn't good. He instinctively looks to Katara. She seems somehow so strong and vulnerable in this setting. He steps over to her and grabs her hand, squeezing it. Turning her blue eyes to his grey ones, Katara returns his grip.

Sokka barks out from the side of his mouth, "Toph, find us an opening."

"An opening? I can't manipulate concrete, you numskull." Toph's grimace is even grimmer. She doesn't like being held prisoner; frustration makes her cautious self slip some secret information. "If the walls were metal, perhaps, but concrete and wood are not my cups of tea."

Suki seizes upon Toph's disclosure. The captain had suspected that Toph's bending abilities weren't as limited as their eyesight. "I knew it! There was something amiss with the automobile, and it wasn't the mechanics."

"What; can't hear you?"

Suki raises a painted eyebrow and cocks her hip. "I thought you were blind, not deaf?"

"I can't be both?"

"You heard me just now, so you're not deaf!"

"Are you deaf? I said I was blind." Toph tries to get a surer footing in the sand, but it is too shifting for them to detect shapes. Toph's bending will only work with an exact vibrational location with a solid base.

Sokka doesn't drop his fists, but his tense muscles relax slightly. The news of an advanced bender shows the spirits are looking favorably upon their situation. They need all the advantages they can muster in this stadium with no visible weapons. Sokka backs closer to his sister, and not everyone can showcase their talents in the open. "Metal bender, is that even a possibility?"

"As I said, I didn't say nothin'," Toph speaks through their bangs. The chance to boast and brag about their abilities is too irresistible for Toph. "But when you are the greatest Earth bender in the known world, everything and anything is possible."

Sokka shrugs, "I don't need magic bending to get what I want, especially when you got vengeance and justice right here." Sokka showcases each fist, kissing them as he announces their names.

"How cute, you named your fists," Suki says drolly, "But can we get onto more important topics like figuring out what is happening here."

Toph shrugs, picking their teeth with a rock toothpick. "It seems very simple; we're at an illegal rock rumble."

"All rock rumbles are illegal." Suki crosses her arms.

Toph spits, "You and me both know there is illegal, and then there is…."

The announcer crows, "We've got some interlopers, I say, we switch things up and with the game, Last Man Standing. Players eliminate each other until the last man is standing." The crowd screams joyfully and starts chanting, "Kill, Kill, Kill…."

"This is a whole other level of illegal." Toph spits again. "Hope you all know how to stay alive."

One of the rag-tag bunch pulls a blade from their boot and proceeds to stab the man next to him. The perpetrator twists the knife several times but isn't quick enough, as the one who was stabbed yanks out the knife from his side and jabs the blood-coated blade through the knife owner's eye.

The crowd roars with excitement as blood spurts out, and the man collapses on the sand floor, writhing in pain. The sand turns red around the game's first victim. With the knife still embedded in the socket, the dead player lies forgotten as the other fighters are cautious of each other.

Suki pulls out her fans. With a flick of her wrist, she flips them open. "Now, we only have nineteen to fight."

Aang calms his chi to center himself and prepare for defense. Katara looks at the knife in the deadman's eye and calculates the running distance. The rest of the fighters immediately fan out, crouched and ready for other attacks. No one is moving toward each other, making the crowd angry. A rousing chorus of Boos is rising in contempt.

The announcer appeases the crowd. "We need encouragement for our fighters; what shall we use?"

"Boulders, Boulders, Boulders!"

Giant rocks begin to be lobbed, coinciding with the crowd's renewed boisterous shouts for blood. Katara, Sokka, and Aang separate, trying to dodge the vast rocks flying toward them. Katara tracks the boulder, sailing over her, missing Sokka and Aang, and heading toward another fighter, who did not fare as well. In trying to jump out of the way, the rock lands and severs the fighter's body in half. His lower half is either covered by the rock or splattered in a circle. His upper half flies up into the lower tier of the stadium. The crowd eagerly tears apart his limbs, holding the parts up in celebration.

Katara is sickened by the scene. The city's underbelly is rotten; they were led here like piglet lambs to slaughter. "You tricked us!" Katara calls out angrily to Toph.

Toph digs their feet in the sand, finally creating a solid base. They are determined to stay in their spot. Toph is beginning to understand the physics of sand and how to filter their ability to see. It is another form of Earth. "Sweetcakes, do you see that I'm being attacked as well."

Sokka figures Toph cares only for Toph, but the Blind Bandit has a valid assertion; they are also caught in this bloodsport scenario. "Toph has got a point, Katara."

Katara screams in horror as a boulder is fired directly at the Blind Bandit. "Toph, move!"

"I ain't movin', Sweetcakes." As the boulder speeds toward the determined unshakable Toph. They scrunch up their shoulders and lower deeper into their stance.

The crowd rises in anticipation with the 'crush 'em, crush 'em, crush 'em" chant echoing around the arena. Toph's mouth turns from the defiant line into a huge grin. They bring their hands together, and the bolder separates in half, splintering into a shower of sand. A chorus of cheers snuffs out the small amount of booing.

"Sokka!" Katara calls out again in alarm as he is beneath the fine dust cloud floating downwards.

"What, I'm stating the facts about Toph; no need to…." Sokka's mouth fills with sand. He sputters out the rock dust, wiping his tongue feverishly.

"I was trying to warn you." Katara giggles, even though the situation does not warrant merriment.

"Maybe a little more information than your usual sisterly horrified utterance of my name." Sokka's face streaks with dust like his wolf war paint markings.

"You look like you are the General of the Wolf Batallion."

Sokka can't miss a fighter screaming 'Attack!', running towards him. Striking a pose for the bleachers, Sokka lifts his fist in the air in time to hit the man under the chin, knocking him out. The crowd roars their pleasure.

Katara said disgustedly. "Sokka, don't entertain this rabble."

"Just because we are in a bloody death match is no reason not to add a little flare to the proceedings."

"Nice one, Sokka." Suki smiles with her black-lined lips. "But can you fight two people at the same time?" She flies up in the air, slices at one fighter with her fan, knocking him flat, and then lands upon another man. The prostrate fighters groans add to Suki's triumphant pose as she flutters one fan in front of her face.

Aang speaks extra loudly in hoping of catching Katara's attention. "I'm rounding up these little cow-piggies." A whirling cloud of dust starts on the base of Aang's palm and then spins off, engulfing four fighters who unsuccessfully try to out-run the mini tornado. It sucks them into the whirling air funnel and promptly deposits them in a pile. The men are dizzy and pass out in a lump on top of each other—the crowd roars. Aang waves at them and checks to see if Katara has seen his show. She is otherwise occupied.

Katara had watched the fighter who had first been stabbed. Not trying to retaliate but coercing another warrior with words of solidarity that go on deaf ears. Each person is vying for the knife in the dead man's eye.

Now is her chance to get the weapon. Katara runs to grab the blade from the dead man's eye. As she does so, the fighter, the first to be injured, whips around, but he is tackled from behind. As he fights off the man on his back, it gives Katara time to retrieve the knife, successfully grabbing it.

The man manages to knock out cold his attacker in time to face Katara. "Nice move, but I will get that knife back. My wounds say I have first rights." Blood stains the man's shirt. A green headband keeps his long black hair out of his face. His stare is intense as he waits for another chance to attack. His mouth is an angry line between his mustache and goatee.

"I only took the knife as a means of protection. I don't want to hurt you."

"Says the woman with the knife in her hand."

Turning the knife on its side, Katara flings it into the stands. The crowd roars as someone catches it. Raising it into the air, he jumps up and down. Another bystander tackles him, and a bloody fight commences.

"Now, look what you have done."

Katara grimaces; it wasn't what she was aiming for…Wait, aiming for…oh spirits, did I say it out loud; no, I didn't. Furoc, Sokka will never believe me that I thought of it.

Sokka yells out. "Hey Katara, was that what you were aiming for?"

Katara growls as she watches the man circling her and calls back to her brother. "No, fair; I literally was thinking just that."

"Sure, you were." Sokka punches a warrior in the jaw. Sokka speaks to Suki beside him while the guy Sokka has hit moans and holds his jaw. "These warriors aren't that talented. We're clobbering them."

"I would say a steady starvation diet gives us the advantage, but yeah, I was expecting more, frankly." Suki flicks out her fan, knocking out the warrior that Sokka had hit. He falls face forward into the sand. Sokka kicks him with his foot, rolling the prone warrior onto his back.

Sokka turns to face Suki, watching over her shoulder for any would-be attackers. "What will we do after we get out of here?"

"I'm going to furoc you." Suki runs her tongue along the top of her lip with a suggestive glint in her eyes.

Sokka returns his focus to the Kyoshi warrior. "I like your thinking, and I fully support a woman in control who gives her consent to their lover. However, I was thinking more about these people in the arena and the warriors that are..." Sokka looks at either the mangled dead and charred bodies or the unconscious. He tallies up the number. "It looks like all we have left is Katara's guy and one more." Sokka scans the arena. "I can't find him. Toph, do you see the last person?"

"Blind and kinda occupied with the boulder shuffle."

"He'll turn up." Suki shakes her head. "I will ignore your archaic moon-cheese comment about being my lover and inform you that I managed to radio in my coordinates with specifications before we started on this underground excursion with Toph. If, after thirty minutes, there is no response from me, the police will conduct a raid from my coordinates."

Heat floods Sokka as his voice deepens. "I love a well-thought-out plan."

"For the cabbages!" A man runs up behind Suki.

"Excuse me for a moment." Sokka steps aside and proceeds to battle with a man very committed to his cabbages. "You were right; he did turn up." Sokka dodges and gives the cabbage man a sleeper hold. The man manages to squeak out 'my cabbages' before sinking to the ground passed out.

Katara hopes to plead reason as she circles the fighter with the green bandana. "My name is Katara." "You don't have to do this."

"But I do." He tries to leap at Katara, but she avoids his grasp. "Everyone is out for themselves. I learned that today." He shows his blood-soaked shirt.

Katara pauses and says with every ounce of sincerity to persuade him to believe her. "Not everyone. I'm a daughter of the Southern Water Tribe. We believe in helping each other."

"My name is Haru, and I don't need help. I'm trying to survive."

Katara holds out her hand. "Haru, I don't want to fight you."

"If we don't fight, I don't win the 10,000 denarians promised." Haru pauses, "I need that money to save my family." Haru runs at Katara. "Besides, girls shouldn't be here to fight."

"Girls can fight." Katara hunkers down in a more stable position.

"I didn't say they couldn't fight. I said they shouldn't be here." Haru pulls a rock toward Katara, and she manages to dodge it out of the way.

Katara looks up from the sand floor. "You're a rock bender?" She believes she has found a way to Haru and his trust. "Why haven't you used it before, until now?"

The announcer declares, "More fighting, less talking!" Burning rocks start flying at the fighters, landing on one of the nameless other fighters in the middle of a battle.

Aang can hear Katara talking to her opponent. Every time he tries to send a gust of wind at the man, another boulder is thrown. Aang is using all his chi to help direct the boulders away and hopefully not on another person. If only people stayed in one place, it would be easier.

"Fire rocks?!" Both Katara and Haru simultaneously declare.

Katara gives one last plea. "Haru, we all have to work together."

Haru hesitates and realizes he is the only one from his group standing. He stares at Katara but then curses. "Furoc, I can't do it. It is one to kill when attacked, but I didn't sign up to be some gladiator. I was tricked, and possibly so were you. I tried to convince the other migrants if we worked together that, we could split the pot." Haru points to his blood-stained shirt. "You see where that got me."

"Haru, we will work together. We only met Toph tonight, and they are the Blind Bandit."

"Wait! The Blind Bandit is here." Haru rears back. "They are a legend." He relaxes. "If you have the Blind Bandit, I'm definitely in."

Katara deflates. Really? Toph is what gets Haru to trust them. Katara had thought she had been full of such beautiful persuasive prose.

Toph casually sweeps away fire boulders, burying the rocks deep into the arena's walls. "Sweet cakes, you are dealing with a bonafide Earth bender star, don't let your ego get in the way."

Katara grumbles and stands up. "What about your ego?"

"I heard that!" At this point, Toph barely moves her hands, fully embraced in her element and her little solid sand disc.

"Good!" Katara brushes off the sand from her clothes.

Haru tries to diffuse the situation. "It won't be easy to get out of here. The rumble wants a show."

"Then we will give them a show." Katara smiles. She holds out her hand, and Haru shakes it.

The crowd is agitated and jeers. "We want their heads!"

Toph has learned how to maintain their sand base, moving it as a disc beneath them. Toph travels on their sand disc between Katara and Haru. "Can we do this Touchie Feelie circle later when we don't have a whole arena literally calling for our heads?"

Suki's uniform is torn, and her makeup is smeared, but she barely seems spent. "We've got to get out of the arena. Any ideas?"

Katara turns to face the only person inside who might have an idea. "Haru?"

"The crowd is getting too unruly. Sand benders will come out in a few moments to take back any survivors. They will use metal whips to contain us when that gate opens."

Sokka turns to Toph, but before he can say something, Toph cracks their knuckles and half grins wickedly. "Can't wait."

Haru shakes his head. "The Sand benders will be riding komodo rhinos."

Sokka turns to Suki. "Up for the challenge."

Suki wet her lips and said with a low tone. "You know it."

The announcer tries to appease the rabble. "Our contenders seem to like to talk. This is a fighting arena, not a theatrical play." the crowd cheers in response. "I can assure you we are only entertained with fighting."

Katara glares up at the dark booth and squints her eyes in annoyance. "Toph, can you…"

"On it!" Toph swivels their body but remains rooted to the compact sand they have created beneath their feet. The latest boulder aimed at her is directed to the booth. "Duck!"

"What say you…." An utterance of surprise is peppered with the announcer's last proclamation. "What the furoc…." The boulder smashes into the box and knocks it off the facade of the upper arena. There are screams in the crowd as the boulder comes down. Crushed bodies beneath a general carnage of scrambling people, one person falls from the bleachers down into the arena on top of another interloper. Splitting bones and splatter of brains and guts add a grotesque flair to the general chaos.

Katara is horrified and feels guilty; it was her idea. "Toph! I didn't mean for you to kill anyone."

"What? I said duck." Toph flips her bangs toward the chaos. "Sweet cakes, I wasn't about to listen to that cockheaded rear-end of pig-goat gloat anymore from their lofty perch."

The doors crank open. Behind the rising gate, the komodo rhinos blow out steam from their snouts. The Sand benders sit on the saddles of the agitated beasts and crack their metal whips as a warning. The chaos from the crashed announcer's box is quieted as the crowd waits to see what will happen next. The rink is peppered with rocks, some blackened from the fire that has burned out, broken, squashed, and beaten bodies are scattered around the stadium floor, including random piles of alive but knocked-out migrant fighters.

Haru backs up from the gate, "Get ready; they will come in fast."

Toph cracks her neck, "I'm always ready."

Sokka directs, "Aang, you use a windshield to keep the komodo rhinos from charging us. Toph, you…"

"I know what I need to do!" Toph's fingers twitch in anticipation.

"Alright, Toph knows what they need to do, but for the sake of humoring the rest of us. Toph, you get rid of those metal whips. Suki and I will take the komodo rhino on the left. Katara and Haru, the komodo-rhino on the right. The last one is for you, Aang."

Aang glares at Sokka. It is like the spirit realm is constantly denying him. Sokka pairs up Katara with Haru, really a way cock-pig block him. The group is positioned and waiting as the doors open. The komodo rhinos' protruding horns thrash and poke, trying to force the gate to rise faster. Aang centers himself and draws in breath to ensure he can contain his energy.

The door groans as the first rhino on the left push past the opening that is barely large enough for its bulk. The metal bends as the komodo-rhino shoves his way through. There is a crack of the whip to make people stand back. The Sand bender on the saddle makes the sand solid for the rhino to charge.

Toph doesn't move from her solid sand disc; their fingers curl and wiggle. The sand bender's whip wraps around the Sand bender. As he falls to the ground, Suki flips into his place on the saddle. Sokka grabs the metal-tied Sand bender and tosses him from the stampeding komodo rhino from the fray of hooves. Suki starts galloping the rhino away from Toph and the group as Sokka runs along the animal. He grabs the side of the saddle and hoists himself up, slinging his leg over and resting behind Suki.

The crowd stopped panic-screaming and moved into general awe that transferred into a chorus of cheers. The rabble is getting fed a spectacular spectacle.

The next rhino has been contained with Aang's wind, but with Suki and Sokka out of the way, Aang moves his air current to the last komodo rhino. The rhino is rather timid and hangs back. The Sand bender on its back keeps whipping and yelling at it to get angry.

The komodo rhino, marked for Katara and Haru, stamps the compacted sand with frustration and thrashes his head. The Sand bender tries to aim the whip at Toph, but ever ready with the sneer and metal bending; the whip is ripped from the Sand bender's hand. The rhino bucks and throws the Sand bender from the saddle. Rearing up on his hind legs, the komodo-rhino sharp nails paw at the air. He lands with a thud and barrels straight toward the pile of passed-out fighters.

Sokka calls out as he throws out the fan at the Sand bender. "Katara, get that rhino!"

Haru rips off his bloody shirt and waves it at the rhino, who turns. Katara chases after it, pumping her legs to catch it. Haru moves a rock in front of him, blocking the rhino. The komodo rhino's tail thrashes about and slaps the ground in anger. Katara dashes up the tail and onto its back, landing on the saddle. She grabs the reins and pulls hard to the right. Haru runs along and puts his foot into the saddle, swinging up behind Katara.

The final komodo-rhino barrels out, fuming and snorting angrily from being whipped the whole time it was waiting. The komodo-rhino is blind with rage and riveted upon Toph.

"Stand down!" Toph commands.

The komodo rhino tosses its head and snorts out his derision. He lowers his head, paws at the compacted sand, and charges straight for Toph.

Katara yells as she tries to control her galloping komodo rhino. "Aang, help Toph."

"Ain't nobody helpin', Toph." Toph moves the sand disc around and can faintly pick out the vibrations. With a deep squat, beads of perspiration pop out on Toph's forehead. As the komodo rhino points its head down, its horn poised to gore Toph, a solid wall of sand is thrown up. The rhino pierces the wall and remains stuck. Toph comes over to the stuck rhino. "You gotta understand manners, buddy." The komodo-rhino snorts in reply. With a flick of her hand, Toph throws the Sand bender from the saddle, and the whip is hurled farther away. Toph rubs the calmer komodo rhino's horn. "Nobody gonna hurt you no more, not on my watch."

The sand bender stands up, furious he had been knocked from his perch. Raising his hands, a wall of sand curls into a giant wave, rolling toward Toph. Aang doesn't care what Toph says; that wave would swamp them. Aang runs up to Toph and grabs them by the waist.

"What are you doin' grabbing me?" Toph wiggles in Aang's grip.

"Saving you from being buried in the sand."

Toph settles, "I'm glad I can't see the indignity of this."

Holding Toph by Aang's side, Aang produces a ball of air beneath the duo. The ball of air with two occupants manages to dodge the incoming sand wave. The riderless komodo-rhino stuck in the sand wall isn't so lucky; the wave crashes on top of the komodo-rhino. Its head pokes out of the dune. With its horn now free, the komodo-rhino starts digging itself out.

The crowd is excitedly chanting, "Sand 'em, sand' 'em!" The Sand bender gladly acquiesces. Another sand wave begins to build behind the Aang and Toph.

"Have you ever been surfing?" Seeing the whip, Aangs conjures a plan.

Bangs fall to the side; as Toph turns their head, giving Aang a skeptical look. "Do I look like a person that would go near water?"

Aang agrees that Toph doesn't even look like they bathe that often. "Well, no, actually, but so you know, you are about to go Sand surfing."

Toph drops their head and shoulders with resignment. "Sure, why not." Muttering to themself, Toph gripes. "I could have been getting a nice toe picking about now."

Looking behind him, Aang judges the sand wave and sees it rising in the swell. Poised on the air ball, Aang, with Toph on his side, begin to take the wave. The sand rolled over a crumbling reef of rocks, jacking up to twice its previous height because of the sudden change in depth. The crowd roars in excitement. Aang glances over his shoulder as the golden sand is above his head. He lowers his stance and switches back and forth through the wave tunnel. The periodic sprays of sand flutter in the air; Aang nears the lip of the wave before pitching forward to explode in a foaming mass of golden sand. He leans over and grabs the abandoned whip. The air cushion dissipates as the sand wave settles back into the stadium's floor. Aang and Toph have landed in front of the sand bender who had cast the giant wave.

Aang hands Toph the whip. "I thought I would save the best for last."

Toph takes the metal whip with a pleasant smile. "Thanks, Twinkle Toes." Raising the whip above their head, Toph releases it, concentrating; the whip bends and contorts and then separates into hand and leg cuffs. The braces clamp onto the sand bender, who falls backward onto the sand.

The komodo rhino, who had been buried, finally dug itself out. It shakes its body, spraying sand everywhere. Then he trots over to Toph; the contrite komodo rhino rubs his face against Toph's shoulder.

Toph reaches behind them and strokes the komodo rhino's horn. "Alright, you are forgiven, but don't charge me again." The komodo rhino taps his feet on the ground. Lowering its head, Toph grabs the horn and is tossed on top of the komodo rhino's back. "Come on, let's go home." The komodo-rhino prances through the broken gate into the underground.

Sokka stands up behind Suki on their komodo rhino and bows. "That's all, folks."

"Will you get down and put your arms around me." Suki tosses over her shoulder.

Sokka drops down and shoves himself right next to Suki. "Yes, ma'am." Suki moves her bottom against Sokka's crotch in an appreciative answer.

Aang levitates up to Katara, "Are you ready?"

Katara snaps the reins, "Let's get out of here."

"I can take you." Aang offers hopefully.

"Thank you, Aang; I'm fine here." Katara looks behind her. "Haru, you can ride with Aang."

Haru glances down at the airball and decides he feels safer on terra-firma. "I'll walk." He jumps off the rhino and runs after Toph.

Suki steers her jointly held komodo rhino with Sokka, pressed against her backside, toward Katara and Aang. "If nothing else, we gave this crowd a show."

Sokka boasts. "As if the Southern Water Tribe could do anything less than a Spectacular of Spectaculars."

Suki looks behind her, shifting against Sokka's hardening member, smirking at Sokka. "Do you do everything spectacular?"

Sokka's voice gets meaningful, "Yes, everything."

Katara, oblivious to her brother and Suki's interchange, asks perkily. "What are we going to do next?"

Sokka coughs and moves away from Suki. "We're getting out of here."

Suki sits up primly. "Yes, but we'll have to return to the station. I need to impound these komodo rhinos; they are evidence of sorts."

Katara wailed, "But my necklace…."

Suki tries to pacify Katara's fear that the necklace isn't completely lost. "No fear, the police are in the process of a raid on this facility and shut it down permanently." The distant sound of whistles, shouts, and screams can be heard. The Imperial Police pour into the tiers of the stadium; Suki points to the crowd trying to find the nearest exits, which are all blocked by mongoose lizards. "Toph wouldn't have taken us here if the necklace wasn't here…" Suki holds up her hand. "Whether it is still here, we will find out."

Aang rises on his ball of air. "Katara, we will find your necklace."

Katara smiles at Aang and his comforting words. "Thanks, Aang." Her heart holds onto the hope that it is true.

Suki asks innocently, but her subtle meaning is very pointed. "Sokka, could you come with me to help return the komodo rhinos?"

Sokka smiles slyly. "Of course, Aang, would you mind escorting my sister home?"

If Aang hadn't been floating in the air, he would have soared with joy at being alone with Katara. He promptly forgives Sokka for every time he prevented him being with Katara. With eagerness in his voice and yearning to his face, Aang agrees heartily. "I would be honored."

The group follows Toph and Haru, who are busy exchanging Earth bending stories. Haru is mainly listening enraptured to Toph's hyperbole, which probably isn't that inflated.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Toph can sense the familiar smell and tang of delicious pure rock. With no apparent show of bending, Toph opens a tunnel to lead back to the surface. Glancing over their shoulder, Toph states clearly to Suki. "Don't even think you're taking Komie back with you."

"Komie?" Suki smirks.

"Yes, Komie and me are bonded." The komodo rhino snorts in agreement.

"How about we consider it a fostering for the sake of the paperwork."

"Whatever, Captain." Toph pats the komodo rhino on the head. "Good boy, you'll like our home, no sand in sight." The rhino prances with delight up the tunnel.

Suki knew Toph had a soft spot for lost things. It had been evident in her troop of orphans, but now animals. It was good to know the Blind Bandit's weaknesses; frankly, Suki needed any advantage over the powerful bender.

One by one, the members head out of the underground into the moonlight of the street and surface world of Imperial City. The city was quiet for all that had rumbled beneath its streets. Toph whoops with joy and jumps off Komie. With a thud onto the ground and then collapsing on the street, Toph waves their arms and legs back and forth, creating a rock angel on the street. Using the road to push her to stand, the street returns to its previous condition of cobblestones.

"Well, Losers, I'm outta here. It has been a real experience of kicking butt." Toph cocks her head, "Come on, Komie, you are going to love the posse, and they will love you."

Haru bows to Katara. "I will leave, too."

"Haru, where will you go?"

"I will return to find new fights, of course, less deadly. I should have known that kind of purse had strings attached."

Sokka chuckles, "Strings attached, good one." He sobers as Katara particularly glares at her brother for being rude about Haru's desperate situation.

"Haru, you can't go back to that life."

Haru shrugs. "I must earn enough money to free my family."

Toph smirks, "I can help you with that, join my posse, and you will have all that your heart desires."

"Toph…" Suki warns. "We are watching you."

"Captain Suki, you underestimate me. My posse is a simple group of tradespeople, nothing more and nothing less." Toph strokes Kommie's horn. He almost purrs with contentment.

Sokka whispers to Katara, "That they trade in stolen goods is another story." Katara bites her lip to prevent herself from laughing.

Haru bows with a flourish. "Blind Bandit, I am but a simple and noble tradesperson. I would be honored."

Toph shows all her teeth and guffaws. "Can't wait to tell the posse you said they were noble; they are gonna love you, too, Haru." They point a sharp finger at Haru. "We ain't no charity; I take a cut, of course."

"Of course." Haru and Toph didn't shake on it but merely agreed by walking side-by-side into the night with a happy trotting komodo-rhino wagging its tail behind them.

The rest of the group divides and issues their goodbyes. Suki informs Katara that she sent the car with the evening dress back to the royal palace. Katara is relieved that at least one of her best dresses hasn't been destroyed by the streets of Imperial City. Aang manages to find a carriage cab and ushers Katara into the interior. The clip-clop of the ostrich horse's hooves echoes in the night as it heads toward the Royal Palace.

Aang sits next to Katara, debating whether to take her hand. He wrestles over the pros and cons of such a bold act. Katara is occupied with staring out the window and thinks about how her evening had transpired. She had more adventures in the last two days than she had seen on the Southern tundra since she was a little girl.

The carriage arrives at the palace. Katara and Aang exit and head to the Southern Tribe's Royal apartments. Their walk is quiet. Aang requests Katara's arm, and she agrees readily. It encourages him to vocalize his heart's desire for Katara this evening. No longer delay, but confess and pray to the spirits she feels the same.

Aang sensing his opportunity to speak is slowly evaporating as he sees the door of Southern Tribe's quarters. "Katara?"

"Yes?"

Aang stops suddenly and faces Katara. "These last few days have been transformative for me." He sees Katara's face dim, but Aang continues before she can interject or stop him. "I have never felt this way about anyone else. You make me feel like I could fly. I want to be with you all the time and hope you will let me show you a world that isn't full of darkness but can be full of light and happiness."

"Aang, I don't know what to say." Katara looks down at her hands. She isn't sure if it is from Aang's expression or the shock that he thought of her in a romantic way.

Aang pleads, "Katara, I want you and no one else."

Glancing up, Katara is overwhelmed. "Aang, I like you. I do, but it is hard to think of romance when my brother will be sacrificed two days from now. My family is falling apart, and now my mother's necklace is gone, probably lost forever. Now isn't the time for romantic whims."

Aang takes Katara's hands and pleads with her. "I'm not asking for a promise, only to know that there is a possibility you will let me be with you always."

The door suddenly opens to the apartment, and Hakoda stands in the doorway. "Katara, you're back."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Katara whirls around. "Dad, yes, I am." She moves to the door.

"Katara," Aang almost reaches to stop her but sees Hakoda staring sternly at him and hesitates. "I was hoping we could finish talking."

"Aang, I'm tired." Katara curtsies. "Thank you for escorting me home. Could we discuss this at another time?"

"Tomorrow, when we go flying?" Aang asks hopefully.

"Yes, tomorrow." Katara hastily agrees and slips past her father, almost pushing past him to get inside.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Aang, for escorting my daughter home to me; may the moon precede you." Hakoda grips the door to shut it. As it closes, Aang tries to catch another glimpse of Katara.

"Good evening to you, Lord Hakoda and Lady Katara." The last word is a hopeful call out to Katara, answered with a final click of the apartment's lock.

Running to her room, Katara verifies that Suki has spoken correctly. Indeed, the dress has been carefully put on the mannequin. Katara stands back and admires it once more. The moonlight is streaming through her open balcony doors. Hakoda comes quietly to her room, standing in the doorway. He knocks on the frame, starting Katara from her ruminations.

"Dad." Katara comes up, kisses her father on the cheek, and then hugs him. "I'm sorry, I was lost in my thoughts from the evening."

"Yes, it was quite eventful." Hakoda's face is grim. "I see your brother isn't home, nor has a necklace been retrieved."

Katara's face is crestfallen. "No, but I have hope." Her eyes are wide with adventure. "Dad, you wouldn't believe what happened after the opera." Katara begins to tell him of the night's escapades. The emotions on Hakoda's face are unreadable, trained to be contained, but internally, Hakoda goes from horror and fear to pride.

"Why am I not surprised my children would get involved with an illegal Rock Rumble." Hakoda holds up his hand. "I won't explain the potential diplomatic nightmare that could have been, nor how it could have proved even more disastrous than the Tribute has to our family." Hakoda comes into the room and hugs his daughter. My only wealth is in my family and friends; losing Sokka or you, I couldn't bear it. Your mother was enough pain to endure."

Katara's eyes tear. "I miss her, too, Dad."

"I know, you do, but the tides are turning for our family and the Southern Water Tribe." Hakoda kisses the top of Katara's head. "By the moon, the goddess has shined her light upon our family and tribe." He claps his hands. "I have secured the funding. We will have the proper funds to pay for the tribute. Your brother's life, Praise Yue, has been spared." The smile on his face illuminates all of his features with joy. "Even more, we have been given a contract to create a fleet of ships. The money generated will create a cavalcade of wealth for the whole tribe."

Katara bursts forth with happiness and relief. She clasps her father's hands. "Dad, that is a…."

"miracle." Hakoda visibly sighs; at last, the worry can be put away.

Katara hugs her father tightly, "A miracle indeed." She whispers so silently. "I knew the Great Blue Orca wouldn't forsake its people."

Hakoda quickly wipes at the corners of his own eyes. "Now, about Lieuntinant Aang, does your dear old Dad need a proper interrogation of Aang's intentions for courting my daughter?"

Katara blushes. "No, Dad, please don't. Aang is sweet, but…."

Hakoda sympathizes with the air bender, and sweet is not the sentiment for a potential courting. "Katara, do you want me to let down Aang for you gently? I can play the overbearing, protective father; it is easy for me, not much of an acting stretch."

Laughing, Katara shakes her head. "No, Aang is nice. I should do it. Honestly, I don't know what I feel. I think I'm overcome by all that has occurred since arriving at Imperial City. It is hard to think about matters of the heart."

"Well, I'm here always if you need a shoulder or a disagreeable father to chase away would-be suitors." Hakoda hugs his daughter again.

Katara rests her face against her father's chest, "Thanks, Dad."

Stepping away, Hakoda yawns. "I must send for an Eagle after your brother. With illegal Rock Rumbles about, I would prefer him to be back here with us." Pausing at Katara's doorway, Hakoda adds as an afterthought. "There is a note delivered to you from the palace. I placed it on your vanity."

"A note? How curious." Katara retrieves it and reads the gold lettering cursive. It would be appreciated if Lady Katara returned Love Amongst the Dragons tome to the Royal Library on the morrow. Katara groans and throws back her head."By the Spirits, that furocing book!" Racing from her bedroom, Katara presses her hands together in a plea. "Dad, I have to go to the Royal Gardens now!"

"Now?" Hakoda snaps the paper closed and pulls out his pocketwatch, examining the time. "Katara, at this hour?"

Katara rolls her head and pleads to the ceiling. "Dad, this is about a book I checked out, Love Amongst the Dragons from the Royal Library." She glares and jabs her finger at her imagined menace of Sir Long Feng. "Which isn't even the book I wanted, but did stop that librarian snob from giving it to me? No!" Katara cocks her head as she reflects upon the shock her brother had read it. "But it turns out that Sokka knew a lot about Love Amongst the Dragons and impressed Prince Zuko; thank the spirits he did, because I was in a seaweed pickle of not having read it, even though I had told Prince Zuko I had." Katara took a deep breath and started running through her explanation; her tongue and logic barely kept up with the deluge of words. "And I keep dropping the book all over the Gardens; it is like this book is allergic to me or I'm allergic to it, and then…."

The hysterical retelling is interrupted by Hakoda; he has been through this scenario before, and it only results in tears from Katara and a headache from Hakoda. "By the Moon, please go, retrieve the book, and be quick about it."

Katara gushes and runs to kiss her father on the cheek. "Thank you, Dad; I will hardly be but a moment." The door closes before Hakoda can reply. Leaning back in his chair, he opens the paper to the article he had only moments before reading about Madame Milana and the Southern Water Tribes' events at the opera. Hakoda chuckles that his children have toppled the snob from her perch. He hopes it means his mother will stop blaring the blasted program now. Oh, spirits, please make it so.

The moon transforms the Royal Gardens at night. While the colors are muted, there is a silver and gold contrast to the surroundings. The moon casts a silver tinge to everything, while the lamps and underlighting create soft golden hues to the manicured areas. Flowers exude a robust perfume to compensate for their lack of visible vibrancy. Compared to her first foray, Katara is more confident in traversing her previous walk. The chiding she rebukes upon herself is mollified by the fact that she had fainted when the book was last in her possession.

Katara scans the area where she remembered she had first felt faint. The book is nowhere to be found. A swoop at her head causes Katara to glance upwards, but she only sees the moon wide-eyed and fully awake in its silvery glory. Katara inhales the light while closing her eyes and almost feels lightheaded with its power. When she opens her eyes, a humming bat hovers in front of her. Its wings beat so quickly that its wing shape is not discernible but a blur of lines. The little brown body dives for the lush moon blossoms tightly closed in the day, but giant petals are open landing areas for the drinking birds at night. Entranced, Katara watches in delight the antics of the feasting animals.

"I knew you would enjoy the humming-bat spectacle."

Katara whirls around and curtsies, "Prince Zuko, good evening." Why does he always catch me unawares? It is disconcerting to be so caught off guard.

Zuko is wearing a suit suitable for an evening stroll. He bows in answer but almost holds his hand to forestall Katara's further attempts at royal protocol. "Lady Katara, may we preclude the bowing and curtsying; it is exhausting."

Katara bit the inside of her mouth as she considered that perhaps this was a trap. "I'm not sure. It is rather insisted upon."

"How about when we are alone in no one's presence but our own that we can be informal?"

Katara feels that is fair; honestly, she didn't like curtsying to anyone in the royal family. Katara amends besides Crown Prince Iroh and Prince Lu Ten. "Yes, that is most considerate of you, Prince Zuko."

Zuko is relieved. He detests formality in all of its oppressive forms, and he is so far from the reach of the throne that it is ridiculous how the courtiers demanded it to be performed. However, he realizes that Katara will never accept calling Zuko without his meaningless title, so he doesn't bother hinting at the suggestion.

"Did you come to watch the humming bats as I suggested?" Zuko sounds confident, but inside he is nervously awaiting some returning snarky comment or derision for such sentimental expression as finding an animal intriguing for observation and commentary.

Katara smiles at the sight of the buzzing birds that flit from one open blossom to the next. "I have never seen the like of such. An animal and plant that is both equally entranced by the moon." Katara's face turns upwards, the silvery light highlighting her cheekbones. "However, it isn't the reason for my visit to the gardens, and I mustn't tarry."

Zuko steps forward, his hands laced behind his back. "What brought you out to the gardens, then?"

Katara debates whether to confess the truth of her foolish actions that she has mislaid a book viewed as valuable and prized by the Fire nation. "I have misplaced something, and I was in the act of retrieving it. So if you'll excuse me, Prince Zuko." Katara is looking about the area, peering into plant beds.

"Perhaps, I can be of assistance?" Zuko mimics Katara's actions, even though he has no clue what they are searching for.

Katara stands up and waves her hands away, encouraging Zuko to leave. Why must the Prince be so chivalrous at even turn? Gran Gran's voice tutted a response; you always said that was preferable in man. Katara barks out in an angry response to her Grandmother's reminder. "No, that is unnecessary, Prince Zuko."

"Have I offended you?" Zuko is taken aback by Katara's level of intensity. This girl is the most annoying with her insistence on independence, like Azula, but without the dripping venom.

"No, I mean, yes, I mean, no." Katara's head is shuffling the mandates required for a proper young lady of the court.

"Pardon, so I have and haven't offended you?" Zuko is perplexed by the situation.

Katara throws her hands up in agitation. The long day's events have columnated into a game of wits that she no longer wants to engage in. "I'm exhausted; you win." She slinks over to the gazebo and plops down on the metal bench.

"I win?" Zuko follows Katara, unsure of what game they had been conducting.

"Yes, I have no fight left after endlessly fighting all day. Go on and help me or don't help me or report back to your father or Sir Long Feng about how the Southern Tribe's daughter is a ninny." Katara holds her hands in a pleading gesture, her blue swimming with unshed tears. "But please leave my father and brother out of it. I have no energy to care anymore about protocol, manners, or deception; I'm done for tonight."

Zuko sits down next to her and exhales a grateful sigh. "Thank the spirits! If I never have to bow or perform some stilted conversation again, I would play Uncle's tsungi horn." He speaks to a humming bat that has flown by his face. "I am not a tsungi horn lover by any means."

Katara laughs, "Then you genuinely wanted to help me?"

"Yes, I genuinely wanted to help you."

Katara holds onto her stomach as the mirth bubbles forth. "I thought you were a homicidal maniac ready to pounce and attack upon any misstepped words, but you are, in fact, a gentleman."

The laughter is infectious, and Zuko can't help but join. He says without guard or fear. "You aren't wrong; most of my family are homicidal maniacs."

Incredulous that the Prince admitted what is evident to most of the world is too much, Katara can't contain her gaiety and boisterous echoes out into the night. All the emotions of fear and sadness, joy at Sokka's reprieve, and exhaustion from literal and figurative battles mix and overlap, all are creating this uproarious expression of uncontained mirth.

Zuko has never spoken so freely to someone besides his Uncle, cousin Lu Ten, or Narumi. His mother is kind, but their unspoken understanding is that her true thoughts cannot be revealed. Zuko continues with relief to express himself unhindered. "Azula could murder someone with her words alone. Father wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back. There is Grandfather…"

"Stop, please; I can't take it." Katara holds up her hand. Her muscles ache from laughter. She takes in deep breaths and wipes at her eyes. "Laughter is truly the best medicine. Thank you, Prince Zuko; I needed that."

Zuko feels the joy of making someone happy, filling the empty places inside him. "You're welcome." He looks at Katara's naked neck. "Is what you lost your necklace?"

The sobering reality splashes Katara back to the present of her situation. Her hand finger the spot that held the familiar and loved talisman. "No, my necklace was stolen from me."

"Stolen? By whom?"

Katara spits it out, disgusted that she trusted the blue devil. "The Blue Spirit!"

Zuko is now very confused. "The Blue Spirit, but he…it is a myth, legend."

"He is not a legend but real. He took what was most precious to me, all I had left from my mother, and now I may never get it back." Katara raises her hands to her face and starts crying. This time the tears are of being bereft that she no longer has a tangible link to her mother.

Zuko asks quietly. "When did he take it?"

Katara wipes at her tears with her fingertips, confused. "At the opera's end, the Blue Spirit and his cohorts released a sleeping gas. When we awoke, our items had been stolen."

A whirl of thoughts buzzed in Zuko's mind, especially if there was another Blue Spirit in the city. It complicates his directives from his Uncle. A dread of inadequacy surges. Did Uncle ask another to help him?

Katara knows there was confusion after the sleeping gas, but Zuko had been at the opera. "How do you not know this?"

"I left on an errand for Uncle before the opera had finished. I have been out most of the evening." Zuko's face is pensive.

Katara takes a deep breath. "I thought I knew the Blue Spirit, but I didn't. I used to be a good character judge; since I arrived at Imperial City, I don't know myself anymore."

"Why do you think you know the Blue Spirit?"

"At the opera, it wasn't my first encounter with the Blue Spirit." Katara blushes for her lie to Zuko previously. "I did go to the Festival and was abducted." Katara stared at her hands that had been tied, but she had freed herself. "I wasn't hurt, not really, but well, the Blue Spirit tried to help me." She flexes her hands, remembering how they had battled together as one. "We had this connection. I have never fought so well with someone that wasn't my brother. I thought, at first, the Blue Spirit was my brother," Katara lightly chuckles, "Silly, I know, but my brother is prone to practical jokes, but I realized the Blue Spirit wasn't my brother. What or who, I don't know, but I felt warmth and kindness within him. At the opera house, there was this coldness, especially when he spoke to me."

Zuko is stunned and afraid to speak. He had felt the same way with Katara, almost a partner. Her honesty, with no guile to her words, makes him experience tenderness and protectiveness again. Zuko is feeling anger at the impostor, breaking Katara's trust. The realization that this Blue Spirit had spoken is verification that his Uncle hadn't betrayed and gotten another. His Uncle had been emphatic about Zuko never speaking while in the Blue Spirit uniform. We can't risk any recognition or the crown being associated with or expected to be involved. Do you understand, my boy? During the first few missions, Zuko had been repeatedly grilled about whether he had spoken.

"What did the Blue Spirit say to you?"

"That we're evening the playing field." Katara shivers.

Zuko records the words and will dissect them later. Taking off his jacket, Zuko places it around Katara's shoulders. "If Uncle knows your necklace is missing, he will see you get it back."

Katara pulls Zuko's coat tighter around her. His body had warmed it, and there was a faint whiff of rosewood and sea salt. "The necklace doesn't have a monetary value, but to me, it is priceless. It was my mother's and all I had left of her."

"Uncle has a saying that something isn't ever lost; it has merely not been found."

Katara nods her head. "I hope that is true; it is all I have left of my mother now." She shrugs and sighs with bitterness. "I thought we would have gotten the necklace back tonight, but it wasn't meant to be, and there you have it. Along with my not found book, Love Amongst the Dragons, I'm Queen of the not found things."

Zuko's voice softens. "The memory and love of your mother can never be stolen from you."

Katara smiles at Zuko, staring at his face. The scarred side juxtaposition against the handsome side, and yet the look upon his features moderates both, so he is not two halves but whole. "Is that another of your Uncle's sayings?"

"No, it is mine."

"I like it." Katara stares into Zuko's amber eyes. She can feel a pull and energy between them. What seems like mere moments feels much longer to Katara. Finally, blushing, Katara looks away and stands up. "I told my Dad that I wouldn't be gone long. I must return to our apartments. I don't want him to worry."

Zuko joins Katara, not wanting their moment to end. "What about the book?"

Katara half-smiles and shrugs. "I shall resign to the notion that I will be banned from the Royal Library."

Zuko wants to solve this small endeavor for Katara, find the book. It is a simple request, but out of his reach. His eyes catch the corner of red illumined by the moon. Brushing past Katara, he leans forward and lifts a moon blossom petal, revealing Love Amongst the Dragons.

Katara isn't sure what Zuko has been planning, but she releases her breath that she hadn't known she had been holding. She gasps with delight. "You are a wonder; you found it!"

Zuko's face relaxes in the most pleasing expression. "Your missing book, I believe."

Katara takes it, holding it to her chest. "I can't believe it, but your Uncle was right; it was only waiting to be found." Her blue eyes glow with relief and happiness; she reaches up and kisses Zuko's scarred cheek. Her lips feel the scars' roughness and ridges. Katara hears the intake of Zuko's breath at her impromptu gesture. Katara's senses are even more enveloped with Zuko's smell of rosewood and sea salt. Stepping away from Zuko, her eyes are cast in sudden embarrassment at her rash response. "Thank you for finding the book, Prince Zuko."

Zuko wants to put his hand on his cheek. No other girl had kissed him on that side; even in his relationship with Mai, she avoided his scars. He maintains his composure, but inside, a burning begins at the base of his belly. His voice is low and deep, full of something else, desire. "You're welcome, Lady Katara."

Katara starts to curtsy and then blushes, remembering their bargain to forgo such formalities. She looks about her in confusion to get her bearings and then remembers she still has Zuko's coat around her shoulders. "Your coat," She takes it off with one hand and hands it to him.

Zuko takes it, leans forward, and returns Katara's kiss on her cheek, equally impromptu. Katara's eyes flutter close. Zuko's lips touch the smoothest skin on Katara's cheek, and he can feel the gentle sweep of Katara's high cheekbones. As Zuko steps away, he runs his hand along the place he kissed, and Katara almost cradles her face against his caress.

Opening her eyes, Katara backs up. Her cheeks are aflame. She mumbles a goodbye and turns to rush down the path.

Zuko's voice is husky as he calls out to stop her retreat. "Did you ever read the book?"

Katara pauses, clutching the book tightly to her chest. She finally turns around slowly. "No, I didn't." She lifts one corner of her mouth; her eyes twinkle. "I still have tonight to try."

Zuko grins. He had suspected that Katara had been lying, but the fact she admitted to him emboldened him more than his rash kiss. "It is a good book. Read chapter eighteen; you'll like it." His amber eyes burned brightly with mischief and a hint of more.

"Perhaps, I will. I have the rest of the night." Katara moves to exit but looks back. She steps further into the unknown. "Zuko, I hope…." Fear chases away what she would have said, and Katara resumes her leave.

Zuko's heat rises to his throat. She said his name without a title without prompting. "Katara, what do you hope?"

Not looking back, Katara keeps her back facing him. She is shaking from her bursting confession, especially when she has already risked so much with her honesty. "Zuko, I hope this evening of truth isn't merely the moon's trickery. I felt a true connection with you."

Zuko strides forward and stands only inches away. He longs to stroke her hair and body; Zuko's breath catches, and he calms himself. "Katara, I felt more alive with you than I have felt in a long while. I don't believe it was the moon's trickery, but the moon found the truth lost between so many."

Katara reaches back and indicates with open palm for Zuko to clasp Katara's hand. He reaches for it and takes it, stepping closer but not pressing against her. Katara's voice is breathy, "Your Uncle isn't the only one who knows how to comfort with words."

"Until next we meet." Zuko almost rests his forehead against the back of Katara's head.

Katara resists the urge to lean against Zuko. She gives his hand one more squeeze. "May the moon precede you."

Katara leaves, hurrying up the stairs and into the palace. Turning to face the moon, Zuko stares up at the silvery orb. It had never been more significant to him than this moment. The light highlighted his whole face, and he smiled a genuine expression of delight and pleasure. "Thank you, Yue." Threading his arms into his jacket, Zuko could feel Katara. He was glad that he decided to walk the gardens. He gained more than a clear head, but some of the jagged pieces within him felt like the edges had been rounded.

Author's Note: What a ride. I had to end with Zutara stuff. It had been a while, and this is a Zutara story. Zutara forever! I hope it meets your expectations. Likes, follows, and favorites are appreciated, but reviews, even a line, make me happy. I have been blessed with favorable ones and aim to write you a Zutara-worthy journey that will delight, entrance, and surprise you. I appreciate all my readers; thank you! I truly mean that!