This was not how she imagined her first official day as the future Fire Lady to be; sitting in the living in a house that was not her own, consoling two grieving parents alongside her frien- fiancé. Yet, here she was. Funny: how life can drastically change in an instance; a war can begin with one act, an entire generation can die in one bad night, and an entire person can change with one bad day.

Katara always thought she'd marry the airbender who saved the world. She always thought their relationship would last and transcend lifetimes. She always thought they'd remain together, forever.

I guess some things aren't meant to last, she thought.

She never wanted this or sought this out, it just… happened. She tried to fight her father on it as she couldn't reach her boyfriend at the time, but he wouldn't budge. She knew dating the Avatar would come with its downsides, but for him, she was willing to endure it all. What she wasn't willing to do however, was sit idly by in the South Pole while her now ex-boyfriend flirted with and sought out other girls – as she was told. At first, she couldn't believe it, then she didn't want to believe it, however, as time passed, she had no choice but to believe it.

Katara had sent Aang many letters during the time they spent away. He, however, never responded to any of them – as her father had told her. She doubted it and questioned if they were even reaching him, but her father assured her they were. So, the only logical explanation was that Aang was either ignoring her, or he had already read all her letters and just didn't care. Katara just hoped that he read the letter in which she declared she was leaving him to become the next Fire Lady; Hakoda had offered her the opportunity to finally move on from the Avatar and marry a friend, one whom she still felt slightly awkward being intimate with – yet, she gave it a try, nonetheless.

Sitting in that strange grief-filled living room, Katara hoped that her and Aang could remain friends – after not seeing him and having no news of him for nearly 2 years, she hoped he was alright. She may have declared them officially over, but her heart hadn't…

"H-he was a g-g-good k-kid. He d-did nothing w-w-wrong." The woman continued to sob into her husband's chest while Zuko sat awkwardly across from the table, not knowing exactly how to console her.

Knowing Zuko, Katara understood that she'd have to be the one doing most of the talking, and for once, she didn't actually feel like attempting to inspire baseless hope. Yet, it was now her duty to at least try. "Miss, we understand your pain. We've all lost someone we've loved. But we assure you, the Fire Nation will deliver justice."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" The husband suddenly spoke, catching both Zuko and Katara off guard with how stern he sounded. Both Katara and Zuko glanced away, either staring at their feet or the wooden floor, both unable to meet the grieving father's eyes. After their non-responsive response, the man grew angrier and declared, "You're not fit to be Fire Lord", while glaring at Zuko.

Both were taken back by the remark, however, Katara was the first to respond as she was unable to hear someone questioning the integrity of her frie- fiancé…. Funny how she continuously had to remind herself she was engaged, to Zuko.

"How could you say that? What's wrong with Zuko's reign?"

The husband scoffed in response while his wife silenced her sobs, her expression matching her husband's as he spoke with disdain, "Say what you want about the man, but Ozai knew how to keep his Nation in check. Nothing like this ever did or ever would have happened under his rule. He was cruel, sure, but he was competent. What's your excuse, Fire Lord?"

Zuko didn't exactly know how to respond; he couldn't disclose the real reason as to why they couldn't act sooner or why things were the way they were in the Fire Nation as that fell under 'Council Only Privilege', and he couldn't exactly tell them he was an incompetent Fire Lord either. For one, it wasn't true as his hands were simply tied down, and two, no one could ever predict a freak accident like this occurring.

"The Fire Nation is still healing from the 100-year war, and because I'm taking a more different approach as the Fire Lord as opposed to just being a cruel tyrant, circumstances such as these were expected." Zuko sighed heavily before he continued, speaking on touchy subjects that included feelings was never his forte, "I know it seems like things are only getting worse, but we're handling the situation." Lies. "We will investigate and charge the murderers." Lies. "This could not be foreseen, it was no one's-"

"Fault!?" The father suddenly yelled, again, catching both Katara and Zuko by surprise, "Stop lying to me! You just said situations like these were expected to occur! So, why wasn't there any security or protocol or protection or… just… fucking… ANYTHING! Why wasn't there anything in place to handle this sort of situation?!"

For the first time, not Zuko nor Katara knew how to respond as she had the same exact question in mind, if Zuko saw all this coming, then why didn't he prevent it? She questioned in her head as she glanced at him, noting his defeated expression; he didn't have an answer.

Calming down somewhat, with the help of his wife, the man continued in a softer yet still mostly stern voice, "All my son and his friends did, was be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't their fault that criminals can hold dealings out in the open due to incompetent soldiers and Fire Lords."

Katara felt the need to defend her frien- fiancé, again, but she couldn't think of a response - just like Zuko. So, the man continued, "You'd be better off resigning and making the Avatar the Fire Lord instead. At least he had the backbone to do what was necessary to end corruption."

Upon mentioning the man who the both of them had silently agreed to not speak of, the betrothed individuals froze, all for separate reasons. Katara, due to her unresolved feelings for the Avatar, and Zuko, due to his mixed feelings regarding his best friend. However, both knew they were also speechless because of that one reason, and they'd still rather not speak of it.

"Look I-"

"I think you should leave." Zuko was about to fire back but was interrupted by the mother, who now seemed just as angry and grim as her husband.

Nodding in agreement, Katara and Zuko both stood and took their leave, neither acknowledging the comment the man made before as they entered their chariot. They both sat in silence for a while, both contemplating on exactly what to think and how to feel about the situation. Sure, it wasn't Katara's fault; she had arrived at the Fire Nation only 2 weeks ago and was still unfamiliar with the political and social climate. Zuko however, knew something like this would happen some day if things didn't change, and now, he was regretting ever cutting ties with the Avatar as he could truly use his help right about now. He just hoped Aang didn't hold grudges and would respond to Zuko's scroll; hopefully he'd show for the engagement party so they could enjoy and discuss ways to stabilise the Fire Nation along with Sokka.

"Why exactly did this happen Zuko?" Katara ended the silence, growing tired of the question that was lingering in both their minds.

Sighing in annoyance, Zuko replied dryly with some disappointment in his voice, "They were in an abandoned area, there were no guards or soldiers around and that place is known to house criminals of those kind… those kids shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"They were in a park, Zuko." Katara spoke annoyed, "In the middle of a fucking park! How do we allow kids to be gunned down in a fucking park?! Furthermore, why the hell do we allow drug and weapons dealings to occur in public places like those anyways?!"

"We're stretched thin, Katara…" Zuko retorted, unwilling to look her in the eye while he continued, "Most of our soldiers are either helping your Father in the South, helping rebuild the Air Temples, or sailing the seas to stop pirates from robbing us. And those who are still here are either rotting in a cell because they're still loyal to a dead man…" Zuko paused, noticing a grimacing and knowing expression floating around Katara's face, "or they're at the Palace, keeping it safe and secure for us and the generals."

"So, why can't we just call our soldiers back? It's not like anyone's stopping us. They're Fire Nation after all, we should have the liberty to call them back home."

"Only in the state of an emergency."

"This is a state of emergency, Zuko. Children are losing their lives, wives are being left widowed, families are scared to leave their homes. Criminals are shitting all over the streets and we're allowing them to simply because we don't have the manpower to keep them at bay. We are in a state of emergency, Zuko." Katara responded firmly, however, after her frie- fiancé, did not reply, she sighed, and said the first thing that came to mind when hopelessness settled in: "If you don't do anything, I will send a letter to Aang."

Raising an eyebrow in suspicion and interest, Zuko asked, "What makes you think he'll help us?"

"He's the Avatar. His duty is to the world, that includes the Fire Nation. He'll come." Katara stated while folding her arms across her chest.

"No one has seen or heard of him in almost 2 years, Katara. What makes you think he'll actually show or if he's even alive?" Zuko knew this line of questioning was baseless and a waste of time as he had already sent a letter for the Avatar, wherever he may be. Zuko knew the Avatar could help him solve this but hearing his fiancé's reasoning as to why couldn't be too bad either; for he needed to know if she still held feelings for the airbender. She acted like she didn't, and he doubted it.

"Don't say that…" Katara responded, her voice becoming softer the more she spoke of her lost love, "He's alive… he's fine." Recognising the look Zuko was giving her, Katara glanced away and set her gaze on the passing streets outside the chariot, "He'll come."

I hope so, Zuko added as an afterthought – knowing that things might get awkward if Aang and Katara still had feelings for each other while also recognising that the Avatar may be the only solution here.

"Why the long face Gloomy?"

"Why do you think?"

"Mai, your aura has been tainted for so long – you need to let go if you're to shine bright and colourful."

"You were actually friends with Crazy here? And for how long?" Toph grimaced.

"Please, don't remind me. I don't know how I was able to put up with it." Mai spoke, sounding just as uninterested as always.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you're tagging along Mai." Ty lee commented, completely ignoring both Mai and Toph's previous responses. "After the whole 'breakup, then get back together, then breakup again' thing you had with Zuko, I thought you'd never give him another chance."

"I'm not," Mai replied with a sudden calmness that the cool breeze of the open ocean often brought. "He's the Fire Lord, and I'm of Fire Nation royalty, I have to show up."

"It's gonna be real awkward between you, Sugar Queen and Sparky, I'll tell you that much." Toph snorted, not secretly looking forward to the drama that is bound to unfold in a couple of days.

"I don't care about her… or them. I'll just say my congratulations and I'll be on my way." Mai replied. She was going to leave it at that until a thought came to mind, "Besides, there'll probably be more drama if the Avatar shows up."

"Will he even show up?" Ty Lee asked.

"I don't know… no one's seen Twinkle Toes or heard from him in almost two years. Sokka was the last one to speak to him and he said he was fine – sad – but fine." Toph answered, slightly feeling down from being unable to see her friend for what seemed like an eternity. "He'll be there. If Sugar Queen invited him, he'll be there."

"You sure? I mean… they did kinda date then suddenly breakup – do you really think they'd want to see each other now, during this occasion?" Ty Lee asked.

"That'd be precisely why," Toph replied with a smile, "they may have broken up, and they may still be angry with each other, but at the end of the day – they're best friends. Katara would never miss Aang's engagement party and nor would Aang miss Katara's."

"But don't you think its kinda risky? What if they fight or argue or Katara and Zuko just call the whole thing off?"

"They might talk, but they won't fight or anything. There'll probably be an argument between them but that's expected; they haven't spoken in nearly 2 years; they need to bury the hatchet and get closure." A slight smirk tugged at Toph's lips as they continued to sail towards the Fire Nation, "And I can only think of one reason as to why they'd call off the wedding – especially when its concerning Twinkle Toes."

Standing behind her fiancé, beside her brother and a couple Fire Nation generals, Katara took a couple glances towards the many people who had gathered for the announcement. From the stage, she could see many faces eyeing her every now and then. There was no riot, no argument, no protest – yet, something still felt off. As she continued to analyse the crowd, hoping to find the catalyst of this uneasy feeling, she came across a face. It wasn't recognisable as it was hooded and the man was wearing some sort of make up or face paint: large black patches surrounding his eyes, a red sinister smile – starting from one cheek to the other – and white paint covering all other features. She noted a couple scars protruding from the figure, the largest and most noticeable however, was hidden by the hood – so, she didn't notice it.

As Katara continued assessing the individual, her eyes grew wide once they met his. Even though there was a substantial amount of distance between the two, Katara still caught a glimpse of grey for a moment. And when she did, the man's smile grew wider as he winked at her. She thought she was imagining this as when she closed her eyes to blink, the unknown man had evaporated into nothingness – almost as if he wasn't even there, a figment of her imagination; her brain's way of justifying wanting to see him without admitting the truth. As she continued to analyse the crowd, slightly panicked this time, Katara found no trace of such a face or pair of eyes ever existing between the horde of many other faces. So, she settled down for the time being, not noticing the concerned look on her brother's face as he tried to search for a reason as to why she seemed so anxious.

Gaitonde and Nawazuddin had already delivered the shipment to the warehouse. All that was required now was to wait another day for the buyer to arrive and the transaction would be completed. As they set everything up for a meeting their partner had called for on short notice, all their accomplices also arrived.

"Everything ready for tomorrow?" Rishi asked as he sat down with his men hovering behind him.

"Once the transaction is complete, I've got ships ready for us, waiting by the docks. We'll split the take and be on our merry way." Gaitonde answered as he and Nawazuddin took their seats.

"Do we know what he's going to do with all this?" Sarfaraz questioned, leaning back into his seat as he impatiently waited for the man who called the meeting.

"What does it matter? All I know is we'll be mad rich." Bunty responded.

As everyone nodded in agreement, they all waited for the man who called the meeting to speak up – yet no one did. They assumed it was one of them so when no one spoke up, they grew confused. Soon, they all noticed that a seat was empty, and they grew worried.

"Where the fuck is he?" Rishi bitterly asked, it was then that he heard footsteps approaching them in the distance.

All the Indian traders thought it was the man they were expecting, that is until he spoke in a low, high-pitched, menacing voice, "Sorry to say gentlemen but… Raees will not be joining us tonight, he's a bit…" the man glanced away and chuckled at the memory of the trader suffocating to death while he hung from the tree branch, "hung over," the man finished.

As he approached the table, the men all took notice to the various markings carved on the man's face – specifically the scar that ran along the his forehead. Even though most of them were painted over, the scar was clearly visible, so were the patches of black surrounding the eyes and the red painted smile.

As the unknown man took a seat at the end of the table, Rishi was the first to speak up – albeit in clear confusion and annoyance – "Who the fuck are you?"

"I doesn't matter who I am…" the man spoke in the same sinister, deep yet high-pitched voice, "all that matters is my plan. But, if you must know…" the man eyed Rishi as he slightly leaned forward, "you can call me Amon."

"Who told you about this meeting?" Nawazuddin asked.

"It doesn't matter, and I believe I've already mentioned who informed me." Recognising the annoyed and betrayed look on Rishi's face, the Amon turned towards him as he spoke, "Oh, don't worry about Raees, he's still… hanging around." After a few attempts at stifling his laughter, once Amon let in the image of Raees's body hanging by the tree he erupted, unable to contain the laughter that originated from his own dark joke. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA…"

All other Indian Traders glanced at each other, clearly noting that this 'Amon' individual didn't seem to be all there – while Rishi's already low patience was slowly running out of stock.

"What exactly do you want clown!?" Rishi demanded.

Attempting to stifle his laughter, Amon spoke while chuckling, "Wait… just… HA HA HA… give me a second." After clearing his throat, Amon let out another chuckle before he answered, "Well, I'm here to… essentially, help you out." Noticing the confused expressions painted across the faces of everyone, Amon clarified, "I'm here to bring the Fire Nation – and soon, the world – to their knees. And I need everything you have here to do that. So, I'm helping you by asking you nicely."

Suddenly, Rishi stood up in anger and irritation as he yelled, "You think you can just walk in here, steal from us, and walk away?!"

"Yeah…" Amon deadpanned, raising his eyebrow in confusion as the idea seemed so simple to him.

"I'm putting the word out, 100,000 yens for this clown dead, 500,000 alive, so I can teach him some manners first."

"No…" Amon slightly whispered to himself, "no, no, no, no, no…." Once again, the room was filled with confusion and an expression of 'yeah, he's crazy', while Amon ranted to himself as he repeatedly slammed his head against the table. "This was so simple, why did they have to make it more difficult?" Amon asked himself, still banging his head against the table. With his red hair creating bangs that ran down his forehead - slightly covering his eyes – Amon, sat up straight as he spoke to everyone, "Well, I was hoping we could help each other. However, now, while I take your explosives…" the men in the room stiffened as they clenched their fists, mentally preparing themselves for what they knew was coming next, "I'll also be taking your lives."

Within a second, Amon stood up, unshed his sword and cut off Rishi's hand. With his hand and the gun he was holding onto falling onto the ground, Rishi screamed in agony – falling to his knees, he didn't notice how Amon threw three shurikens at Gaitonde; with one now sticking out of his eye, another poking out of his shoulder, and the other cutting off his windpipe. In an instant, Nawazuddin, Sarfaraz and Bunty stood up – with Sarfaraz shooting flames, Bunty earthbending boulders, and Nawazuddin pointing his handgun – all towards Amon.

Amon immediately ducked underneath the table and pushed it upwards, creating a cover for himself. Once the cover was created, he kicked the table straight ahead and leapt in the same direction – the table collided with Nawazuddin who was unable to dodge it. When Amon reached a grounded Nawazuddin, he plunged his katana into his heart, ending the Indian trader's life then and there. The several other men in the room quickly moved towards Amon as Sarfaraz and Bunty circled Amon, attempting to shoot a shot from an angle that wouldn't injure their own men. The criminals who had circled Amon fell one by one as Amon would stab them with his katana, dagger and shurikens. After slicing through the men, Amon saw an opening; Sarfaraz was attending to Rishi and Bunty was left alone. Swiftly, Amon leapt over to the side in a spinning motion with his katana sticking out. Upon leaping towards Bunty, Amon sliced off the head of the criminal he was previously battling. Noticing Amon closing the distance, Bunty was about to punch boulders towards Amon however, due to him being distracted by Rishi and Sarfaraz, he was not fast enough as Amon threw his Katana towards Bunty like a spear. It penetrated his heart and as he fell to the ground - with the life depleting from him - Amon reached for the holster holding his handgun and claimed it for himself.

Sarfaraz, noticing that it became awfully quiet, turned around and shot fireballs at Amon, who immediately rolled to the side and evaded his attacks. Growing irritated, Sarfaraz sideswept and shot flames towards Amon, hoping to burn his legs and render him immobile for a moment. Amon however, leapt over the flames and finally reached Sarfaraz. Kneeling in front of a standing Sarfaraz, Amon used his dagger to stab Sarfaraz's ankle. With the blood leaking out, Sarfaraz screamed in pain when Ammon pulled the dagger out and sliced a cut across his thigh while quickly standing up. On his way to his feet, Amon sliced Sarfaraz across his ribs, bicep, shoulder and finally, when he stood tall – with Sarfaraz on both his knees – Amon thrusted the dagger into the side of his head; it ripped through Sarfaraz's right ear, cutting through his insides until the tip intruded out through the other end.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Amon held onto the man's head until he pulled his dagger out - he was planning on leaving until he heard Rishi's whimpering. Turning a corner, Amon saw Rishi hurdled up against the wall – so, he kneeled down and lightly slapped Rishi a few times, enticing him to open his eyes – which he did. Once Rishi saw the massacre, he immediately stopped whimpering and Amon's smile grew ever larger.

Sticking his dagger into the man's mouth, Amon spoke lowly, "You wanna know how I got these scars?"

Rishi guessed he had no say in the matter as Amon continued without waiting for his reply, "My father was… a drinker… and a fiend. He spent every night with his booze by his side, trying to re-live his glory days as a Fire Nation soldier. You see, when the Avatar returned, he was so upset he couldn't fight him himself that he often took all his frustration out on me. So, one night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend me, he doesn't like that… not… one… bit." Rishi hissed when the dagger Amon held slightly cut his gums, though Amon didn't notice – or if he did then he didn't care enough to pay it any attention as he continued, "So… me watching, he takes the knife from her, using his firebending to burn her arm… laughing while he does it. He turns to me… and he says… 'Why so serious?'" Amon tightens his grip around thee back of Rishi's neck as he continues, "He comes at me with the knife… 'Why so serious?'" Amon begins pushing the dagger against the edge of Rishi's mouth, smiling at the blood that starts dripping out, "Sticks the blade in my mouth… 'Let's put a smile on that face.'" Amon then removes the dagger and runs it down Rishi's neck, the tip grazing against Rishi's brown skin while Amon continued, "Aaaaannnnd… why so serious?" In one quick motion, Amon slices through Rishi's windpipe and blood begins spilling out, some of it trickling down Amon's gloved hand.

Not bothering to clear out the space, Amon wipes his bloodstained hand across his mouth before moving to gather the supplies he came for. Using the substance to repaint a red smile across his face, Amon smiled to himself as he caught sight of all the explosives and a thought came to mind:

This is going to be fun…