About a day's journey from the Avatar's current position, a sleepy Zuko walked a dirt road a few feet from his uncle.

"Zuko, you need rest. You have not slept in three days. If you are to destroy Azula, you will need all of your energy. I know you want to defeat her, but you cannot fight in this condition."

"I know, Uncle. I will rest at the next town. Even if I need sleep, we have to keep walking. We may be ambushed in the night if we sleep here."

"Nephew, you just rest. I will keep watch for attackers in the night."

Zuko shook his head no. He continued to walk.

"The map says the nearest village is that way." He pointed in front of him and to the left slightly.

"Map? What map? I have no map, and we haven't come across a village or any other human in days. Where did you get one?"

Zuko recalled what had happened a few days ago. While his Uncle was sleeping, he had taken his Blue Spirit mask and come across an unlucky traveler. The man was at the time looking at his map and carrying a pole with fresh meat on the end.

Zuko pulled his swords to the man and demanded the map and meat. The man gave him both out of fear. Later that night, when Zuko had returned to his uncle, he had told him that the meat was a deer that he had hunted and cooked.

"It is a map I found while hunting days ago. Did I not mention it before?"

"No, Prince Zuko. You never mentioned a map. But I trust you, and I know you will lead us where we need to go to."

Zuko paused for a second. Uncle's words had slightly touched him. He then checked the map to make sure for the twentieth time that they had taken the correct road.

"Zuko, you need to sleep. Without your sleep, you will become sick. If you become sick, then you will lose more days than you gain by continuing without sleep."

"I will not get sick Uncle. Please, let us just reach the town first, and then we can rest."

Uncle Iroh sighed. Zuko could be so stubborn. Well, there was no sense in arguing with him at this point.

"Fine, young nephew. But if we should be attacked, you must let me fight for you. You must conserve your energy."

So they continued to walk. They were now walking uphill. This slowed Zuko down a bit. He stumbled, but quickly regained his balance.

At the top of the large hill, Zuko took a look in the direction of the town. He saw a small smudge of lights, signifying where the town was. Roughly a day and a half away if they took the road… But if they cut through the forest…

"Uncle, I can see the town from here. If we go straight through the forest, we can reach it by tomorrow afternoon. I say we do it."

"No, Prince Zuko. It is far too dangerous. We must keep to the road. There are many creatures in forests such as these that will kill you without hesitation, the second they see you."

"Perhaps you are right. We will keep to the road. Let us continue."

So the two continued along the twists and turns of the road.

Now Aang and the rest were very close to this new town. Sokka was the only one on the bison awake. He looked to the lights ahead of him. It looked to be a nicely sized city. In about thirty minutes, they would land there and get into some real shelter. Hopefully the people here would take nicely to having the Avatar in their town.

He looked to the others. Aang was lying on his back near the end of the huge saddle. Katara was sleeping with her back to the edges of the saddle and her legs lain out near Aang. Toph was snoring with her feet lying off the edges of the saddle. Sokka was left holding the reins.

Momo flew to his shoulder. He sat there for a few minutes, and then drifted to sleep and fell down onto Appa's back next to Toph. He cuddled next to her and absorbed her body warmth.

Sokka knew he needed to steer Appa, but he felt very drowsy. He began blinking, not because of his own will, but because his eyes wanted to shut. They grew heavier and heavier.

Eventually, they came to a full close, and Sokka fell into a deep slumber. Appa was left to steer himself. Once close enough to the town that he could see clearly the buildings and homes, he landed in a small clearing just barely big enough to fit his enormous mass.

He too then drifted to sleep. His last thought before losing consciousness was that at least they were near a village full of people who could help if anyone should attack.

By this time, Iroh had fallen asleep. Zuko sighed and began to carry him on his back as he had done before. He was heavy, it was true, but he would do it.

The problem was that drowsiness was getting the best of him. Every few minutes, all the colors he saw would fade together and he would have to wait for a few seconds to see correctly again.

As he carried his uncle, he pondered about what he had said earlier. True, Uncle Iroh had told him not to, but going through the forest would save valuable time and he could get his rest in less time.

But what would he do if he did get attacked? He was weaker at the moment anyway, but seeing as the sun was down, he wouldn't be able to draw any extra fire power.

But then, if the danger was so great, why not cut through the forest and get to safety faster? The risk was more, but the rewards were greater.

He then realized how he had been talking to himself. This constant lack of sleep was seriously starting to get to him. He shook it off and continued walking down the road.

As he walked, he noticed a small dirt path going through the forest. He looked at the map and saw the same path outlined in brown. It led to the village and would take off some time. He smirked. The best of both worlds. He began to walk down the path.