Oh my goodness. I stopped by my friend, Talaina's house after work today to see her puppies…THEY ARE SO CUTE! They're Boxer puppies and they're only four weeks old and I just wanted to steal one and sneak it home. In other animal news, Danielle, a girl I carpool with, is taking a vet tech. course at the college I go to. Today they ended up getting out a little late. Why? Some students got the hamster out to play with when they noticed it kept falling over and was breathing really heavily. Then it died. Then it came back to life. Then it died for good. So the teacher dissected it. It was funny, I guess the teacher pulled the heart out with a pair of tweezers and it was still beating. She said something like: "oops, well, if he wasn't dead then, then he is now." Don't worry, the hamster really was dead. Also, another story about my college is that in the last two days I've seen this guy a few times with a Zuko scar! It's not exactly like Zuko's, and I can't tell if it's a burn or road rash or something, but half his face is purple! Too bad he doesn't look like Zuko, then I woulda glomped him.

Well, to write this story I've had to watch the season finale about fifty times (dangit) and has anyone ever wondered about that one face Koh puts on? The blue demon one? Does anybody else think it looks like Zuko's blue spirit mask? I just found that odd. And if anyone is wondering about why I put an owl in this as the pet, watch the episode again. Oops, I just gave something away! Oh well, you'll find out anyways in about a minute.

Aang had finally reached a place deep in meditation when something smacked into his body. Aang let out a startled yelp and opened his eyes to see the girl who had fought Iroh. She grabbed him roughly by the arms and half dragged him from the stone clearing into the safety of the trees.

"AANG!" Maki yelled and jumped to her feet, but something appeared in front of her blocking her path. It was huge, with the body of a centipede the size of a small whale. It circled around her, the white human face grinned down at Maki who stared back in horror.

"Hello." It said in a soothing, deep voice. Then it lunged forward. The face disappeared, replaced with a gaping hole which closed over Maki's head before she could do so much as flinch. There was a sickening scream that resonated throughout the depths of the creature before it released its hold on her. She fell to the ground, her hands scrabbling helplessly at the blank flesh where her face had once been.

"MAKI!" Aang screamed and tried to run to her, but Zula yanked him back into the trees.

"Be still you little fool!" She hissed. Aang turned and tried to punch her in the face but she caught his fist easily and pinned him to the ground with her body. Aang struggled for a moment more, but then he caught sight once more of Maki. She was crawling around, her chest heaving but unable to take in air. Koh watched her with her own eyes and smiled at her plight. Then something screeched and dove at him from the sky. It was Aisha. The large bird shrieked and tried to shred Koh's face with his deadly talons. But it only took a glance. The hole was there again and it swallowed Aisha's body whole. A second later the hole opened up once more to spew out a crushed pile of feathers. Maki wasn't giving up. With her remaining strength she punched the ground as hard as she could. The earth shook and split, but Koh had already slithered to safety. Aang wrenched around in Zula's grip trying to get free. All the while he screamed Maki's name with tears streaming down his face. Then he was silenced when Zula slammed her palm into the back of his head. The last thing he saw before the world faded into darkness was Maki, on her knees, her whole body quivering in the attempts to continue functioning. But then she fell forward and stopped moving altogether. And everything was black.

Koh skittered over to where Aika was leaning casually against a tree, his face carefully blank.

"There is a boy here as well, and a girl if you need her. She's of no further use to me." Aika said. Koh circled him, peering closely at his face in search of so much as a muscle twitch.

"The boy is of no concern to me. Not yet anyway. He still has a great part to play. Just bring me the man." Koh said and disappeared into the darkening forest. Aika smirked at his retreating form and slipped over to where Zula was crouched over Aang's unconscious body.

"This borders on treachery you know. And after I was so kind to you." Zula turned and glared at Aika.

"The boy is nothing to you, there is no reason to kill him." Zula said, rolling Aang onto his back.

"Do you really think that matters to me? The boy is here and he is not loyal to me. There is no reason for him to stick around." Aika said and pulled a water skin from beneath his hooded robe. The water floated from the opening and drifted like a snake towards Aang's still body.

"What are you doing?" Zula demanded.

"They say that drowning is the most peaceful way to die." Aika said softly. The water snake slid up to Aang's nostrils and began slithering down to fill his lungs. "It is how I hope to die someday." Aang began to cough and sputter as water continued to enter his body.

"NO STOP!" Zula yelled. Aika did stop and he watched her with a small smile. Zula didn't like that smile. She knew she had done just as he wanted. Aika was curious about who this boy was and why Zula was so concerned with him.

"You still need him. Only he can tell the avatar what happened here." Zula said carefully. Aang's eyes fluttered open briefly and he gazed up at Aika. Neither of Aang's captors noticed he had awakened, and he passed out within a few seconds.

"Actually I don't. But since you insist..." Aika said with an indifferent shrug. He turned with a flourish of robes and stalked away into the trees.

It was growing dark when Aang woke up. He rolled to his knees with a groan and tried to piece together the events of that morning. It began coming back to him when he heard a crashing in the trees to his left. Lu emerged into the clearing and froze at the sight of Maki's still body. He took a few cautious steps forward before he realized what was wrong. His muscles began to quiver, but that was his only outward sign of grief as he crouched down next to her body. Lu lifted Maki tenderly into his shaking arms and gazed down at the blank skin. All at once he cried out. The wind picked up and the air was suddenly moist. Lu buried his face into Maki's hair and began to cry, his eyes glowed a faint blue beneath his half closed lids. The earth began to shake in time with the sobs racking Lu's body as though joining him in mourning. This and flames were called to life all around the circle, they licked and consumed the thick foliage as though angry that such beautiful things as trees should still exist when Maki did not. Aang was thrown from his feet, but he couldn't summon the strength to rise again. The sadness he felt was too great, as was the overwhelming feeling of power. Being so close to Lu as he vented his grief sparked so many things in Aang's memory. It unlocked something deep down. When he finally brought himself to at least roll back onto his knees he could feel everything around him. He could feel every pebble and every speck of dust. It was like having millions of arms all around, and when he raised one of the invisible arms a boulder lifted into the air. It was as light as a feather. Aang was elated with this newfound ability, but a sudden jolting shudder in the earth brought him back to the present. Lu was still weeping over Maki. Aang licked his lips uneasily and stepped out of the trees. He made no sound as he walked towards Lu, but Lu turned and glared at Aang, his face streaked with tears.

"I'm so sor-"

"Just go!" Lu hissed.

"I never meant-"

"LEAVE ME!" Lu screamed and the earth beneath Aang's feet began rolling him backwards. Aang managed to stay on his feet. With a final glance at Lu, he nodded and left.

"Aang! Are you alright?" Katara demanded, running out of the cottage "We were getting worried when you didn't get back by high noon. Lu went out to find you, then the earthquakes started and…Aang, are you okay?" The tremors had ceased, but smoke was still visible to the north. Aang nodded blankly and shoved past her. Iroh was standing in the doorway and Aang was forced to look up at the old man when he walked closer. Iroh silently pulled Aang into a hug. Aang let loose his own torrent of tears and the earth trembled every so slightly.

"It is the way things are supposed to be." Iroh muttered. "I know it is hard, but it is how things are supposed to be." He rubbed Aang's back gently until there were no more tears to bring up. Silently, the four of them went back into the cottage where they waited…in silence.

Lu couldn't cry anymore, neither could he summon the strength to rip at the elements in his fit of sadness. He just held Maki close and cradled her head beneath his chin as the moon began to rise.

"I'm sorry, my old friend." A deep voice said softly. Lu looked up at Aika dully, not caring that the man was there.

"Did you do this?" Lu asked.

"The face stealer did. I came here to see you." Aika knelt down beside him and looked sadly at Maki. "It is terrible. I only wish there was some way I could help." Lu ignored him and pressed his face a little more into Maki's hair. Aika placed a strong arm around Lu's shoulders and after a moment pulled him into a hug, cradling both him and Maki's body.

"I don't think I can live without her." Lu sobbed.

"Yes, you can. It's what she would have wanted."

"Get away from me! I know you were behind this." Lu said, remembering who Aika was and wrenching out of his arms.

"Lu, shove aside whatever you think of me now and remember what I was. I was your best friend. I still am. I owe you my life a hundred times over! I only want to help you."

Lu snorted and heaved himself to his feet, still carrying Maki in his arms. He began making his way back to the cottage.

"It was the face stealer, Lu! You can't ignore that! The spirit world is mounting against you! Choose your side wisely!" Aika called to Lu's retreating back. He smirked when Lu's back stiffened every so slightly, and his footsteps faltered.

"Well, I think I've done my part." He said cheerfully to the shadows. Zula stepped forward and glowered at him. "I have another job for you." He said, reaching out and grabbing her chin roughly.

"Go boil yourself." Zula hissed, shoving his hand away. "I'm tired of this! I have my own duties to take care of!" All of a sudden an icy pain shot through her chest.

"Well, that's not very nice. You could have broken my heart with your words. It doesn't feel very good to have your heart broken, now does it?" Zula gasped at the horrible pain in her chest. It was as though something had a hold of her heart and had was slowly squeezing it. She half expected it to pop at any moment.

"Now, was that your final answer?" Aika whispered. Zula shook her head quickly and Aika released his hold on her. "That's better."

Sokka, Katara and Aang watched from the window as Lu buried Maki that night beneath a clump of wildflowers. He stood over her grave for a few moments until the moon had nearly set before he walked into the cottage without so much as looking at his guests. His bedroom was very simply furnished. There was only a bed, a small drawer to hold clothes and a large armoire which was always locked. Lu pulled a key from around his neck and the doors of the armoire swung open with a creak. Inside was an axe. Set in its blade was a blood red gem. Lu took he axe from its place and dug around in the drawer until he found a cloth mask which he pulled over his face. Aang once again felt the eerie clutch of foreboding. He knew that something bad was going to happen if he let Lu leave the house and, at the memory of seeing that rough face on the body of a monster, he figured he had a good idea why.

"Lu, wait!" Aang said, stepping in front of the man before he could leave the room. Aang could feel Lu's piercing gaze behind the black cloth. He didn't know why, but he kept his silence and stepped aside allowing Lu to brush by wordlessly. Iroh placed a gentle hand on Aang's shoulder a few moments later.

"Very good. Now I must do my part." Iroh said. He pulled on a cloak and walked to the door. Before stepping out he turned to the three teens and smiled at them sadly.

"If you see Zuko, tell him I love him." With that, he was gone.

"Should we go after them?" Sokka asked quietly.

"No. This is the way things are supposed to be." Aang said sadly. "Lu was right. Making these kinds of decisions is one of the hardest things about being the avatar."

Is that the end? NOPE! One more chapter ya'll, then maybe an epilogue. I just have to see how things play out when I write them down. I'm going to post another fic soon, hopefully. After writing all this sadness I need to get something out that's nice and spoofy. In fact, the title is going to be: Mmm, spoofy.

Well, that's all for the mo. Now I must go play human foosball with some friends and gorge myself on pizza! Have a good one! AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!