The Gaang had plenty on their mind after the incident at Roku's temple and the cliffhanger Kyojuro had left them on was racking their nerves. Before he could reveal what these demons were and how he knew of them, Katara insisted that she heal the injuries he had sustained against Upper Rank Four which he agreed to after some very stern stares from the girl.

Kyojuro eventually closed his eyes and fell asleep after the healing process was over as even though he wouldn't admit it, the fight with that woman took a lot out of him physically and the fact that he barely escaped death once again definitely didn't sit well with any of them.

That was almost a full day ago and Kyojuro had slept throughout all of it while Katara continued to tend to his wounds throughout the day. Aang figured it'd take at least a week or so before they made it to the Northern Air Temple, so until he woke up, the only thing they could do was sit in anxiousness and anticipation with what he was going to share.

"What do you think demons even are?" Sokka asked, deciding to break the silence with the question everyone has been thinking.

"I honestly have no idea, but whatever those freaks are, it has to be tied to Zhao," Katara said. "We know for a fact Kyojuro killed him back at the North Pole and instead of being gone, he showed up helping Jet and killing an entire town."

Zuko remained silent as he had plenty of thoughts of his own. For starters, one of these creatures had single handedly wiped out the Fire Sages which was unprecedented. Furthermore, these demons could regenerate like monsters and fight like they were spirits. But the thing that nagged at the back of his mind the most was-

"That woman made Kyojuro look like a child compared to her. She was toying with him," Zuko hadn't even realized that he'd said it aloud.

The air grew grim as the implication of someone as strong as Kyojuro not even being a threat to her was extremely distressing.

"I know...Kyojuro is the strongest guy I know and if those monsters can play with him like that, I don't even like my own chances," Aang admitted.

"But that's no reason to get depressed! That only means we have to get stronger if we wanna be able to support Kyojuro when he needs it. It's obvious that he won't be able to beat those things on his own."

"You're right. If Kyojuro is going to start opening up to us, then we should at least lighten the load he has to carry, right?" Sokka joined.

Katara nodded her head in agreement as Zuko grunted showing his very reluctant support to their noble cause.

Katara looked at Zuko clearly annoyed that he was still being this hostile towards them even after he'd been traveling with them for quite some time now.

"Ok, what's your deal?" She started.

Zuko looked startled that she'd target him directly, but held his scowl towards them, "What?"

"Don't you what me. Don't you think it's time to stop the whole dark and brooding act already? Kyojuro already doesn't buy it and frankly, neither do we."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Zuko half turned away from her, but she refused to let this go.

"Oh really? Well explain the time you helped save Kyojuro when he was stabbed by Jet? You could've ditched us the moment he went down, but instead you stayed with us and helped stabilize him. Heck you even offered to help close his wounds with firebending!"

"That...none of that matters. I only did that on a whim, nothing more, nothing less. Now for the last time, leave me ALONE!"

Sokka looked at Zuko with a small grin flashing the grumpy boy, "Buddy I don't know if you've ever been taught this, but what you did for Kyojuro isn't something someone does on a whim. That's genuine kindness and I doubt he'd view it as anything less than that."

"I agree with Sokka," Aang joined. "You even helped us back when Katara was kidnapped by that spirit. If you don't care and saved Kyojuro on a whim, then why did you stay and help me enter the Avatar state?"

All eyes were on Zuko who continued to scowl at everyone, hoping they'd leave him alone.

"How many times do I have to say it!? There was no particular reason behind me doing that other than I wanted too! Nothing more and nothing less!" Zuko was starting to reach his limit with these annoying questions they were grilling into him.

Aang smiled at Zuko who turned away from them fully trying to hide the growing heat in his face. He didn't care about them and he definitely didn't care about Kyojuro. Nope. No way. Not even a little…

"Zuko, there is nothing wrong with caring about other people. It only means you have a big heart," Aang reasoned.

"It also means you're a giant softy under all that grumpiness and other hot headed qualities you got going on," Sokka offered knowing it'd get a rise from the boy.

"For...the last...time...I am NOT SOFT!" Zuko roared in anger, but failed to notice a man twitching in his sleep below.

Katara put her finger to her lips, signaling for them to be quiet. It wasn't much movement, but it was enough to put her on edge to quiet them all down from their argument/teasing session. It was only for a moment and he soon went back to stillness as his breath continued ever so softly. She sighed in relief that he most likely was dreaming about something and not having convulsions. She didn't know much about the human body, but was pretty sure that if that happened then something was seriously wrong with him.

"Can you boys keep it down? I want him to be able to heal in peace. At least until we get to the Northern Air Temple, then you can resume your pointless macho bravado to your heart's content," Katara said.

Zuko scowled at them before turning to glance at a now peaceful looking Kyojuro and it made his head hurt when truly thought about why he did what he did. In Zuko's eyes, Kyojuro was a genius level firebender whose combat prowess rivals his Father, Uncle and Azula, but there was something special about him that all of them lacked. He didn't quite know what nor did he have a clue about why the answer to his question was haunting him so, but from what he could tell, it was the main reason why he returned to help him after being given the option of escaping after he was stabbed.

Maybe he was always soft and a coward like his father told him years ago. Maybe his sister was right about him always being indecisive about everything. Maybe his uncle was right about him not knowing his path in life and needing to sort things out if he wanted to move with all these different thoughts weighing down on him, the more he thought of Kyojuro, the more clearer his head became and the feelings that followed it is one he longed to understand.

How can a madman who kidnapped him cause him to feel something genuine that not even his own family made him feel? Until Zuko reached an answer to his growing question, the least he could do was stick around and find out just what it is he's feeling.

Sensing the need for the topic to be dropped, Aang decided to lighten the mood a bit, "Zuko, if it makes you feel any better, the Northern Air Temple should be a very relaxing place for us to stay in while I figure out a way to contact Roku. It seems like you've got some issues you need to work out and it'll be the perfect place for you to do some thinking in!"

Aang couldn't see his expression as the boy had turned away from everyone again, but he hoped that it put his mind at ease until they reached their destination.

Katara could see Aang was grinning ear to ear while speaking of the place but while she was happy that he was still able to smile with all they'd been through, there was this little nasty fact that continued to creep inside of her head. The last time they visited an Air Nomad Temple, it was absolutely ravaged and skeletal remains were scattered everywhere. She couldn't bear to see Aang look that hurt again.

Deciding to wait until nightfall and everyone else fell asleep, she stayed awake as she and Aang took turns flying Appa. The only ones who did not have a turn flying Appa were Zuko and Kyojuro. The man was good at almost everything, but his hot bloodedness tended to make the rides...bumpier than usual while Zuko still wasn't trusted enough to not fly them into enemy territory while they were asleep.

"Aang…" Katara called to him as he was currently sitting on Appa.

"What is it, Katara?" Aang asked. He didn't even turn around to respond to her.

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok. After...everything that's happened I just didn't want you to get hurt again if the Northern Air Temple is just like the other one," Katara didn't miss how he slightly flinched hearing her words.

"It's all good, Katara! Trust me, there won't be anymore "episodes" like the last time I saw the state of things so rest assured that will not happen again."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," She started. He was not about to try and sweep this under the rug like Kyojuro does every chance he gets.

"You don't have to bottle everything up all the time. Kyojuro does things his own way and while I don't like it when he does it, even he has agreed that there are things even he can't handle on his own. You sure there isn't anything you want to talk about?"

"Positive!" Aang cheerfully responded before continuing to focus on flying Appa as if she wasn't trying to crack open his shell.

Katara was not a fool and could see the expression he was making even if he wasn't turned around to face her. A bright smile that had hidden worries and doubt sitting behind it all and it would only end one way. Finding a way through and when that happened it would not be pretty.

Having received word that a flying bison had been spotted by multiple fire nation brigades, Azula saw it as a no-brainer that the best possible option would be to begin tracking them and gauging where they may be headed. Coming to the conclusion that they were headed to the North Pole to find the Avatar, a waterbending master was easy enough to figure out, but the real issue came in trying to determine whether that was their only goal at the moment.

"Ok, let's lay out all the facts and start from there," Azula began. "If my foolish brother and his kidnappers are headed to the North Pole, wouldn't they need to stop and catch their breaths first?"

Ty Lee nodded, still somewhat confused as to where this was going. Mai while still listening looked completely indifferent to the whole spiel even if she desperately wanted to determine her crush's location.

"And if they need to stop on the way to the North Pole then where exactly on this map do you believe they'd go first?" Azula waited in hopes that her companions would know exactly where to look.

She mentally face palmed at hearing Ty Lee's answer.

"Oooooooh, what about stopping by this really cool town that's in the center of the path they're taking! There's this really cool festival that's going on around this time of year and the fireworks are so awesome! Plus the food there is to die for-"

Mai held a hand over the energetic girl's mouth as Azula gave her a grateful look, "Or...maybe they're headed to the mountains where that old Air Nation temple is located, right?"

Azula always did love how her and Mai could be on the same page so easily compared to everyone else. Another reason why she viewed the girl as an asset too valuable to be expendable.

"Correct," Azula answered.

"Don't get me wrong, Azula, I really am glad we're getting a plan together to go and rescue your brother, but shouldn't we be including your uncle in this too? I mean he is the Dragon of The West after all and is super strong!" Ty Lee suggested.

"No!" Azula snapped completely forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be that loud.

Mai raised an eyebrow in confusion, but still opted not to say anything, wanting to see how this played out.

"...Well why not?" Ty Lee meekly asked. She always was sort of fearful whenever Azula had outbursts like that.

Sensing the mistake she'd made with her temper, she placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her dead in the eye hoping that this would be enough to satisfy her, "I...apologize for yelling like that. You are a dear friend to me and I had no right to do that."

Ty Lee started to perk back up hearing her words, but Azula wasn't done yet, "The reason why I'm not including my Uncle in this talk is because I don't plan on staying with him for much longer. We have a lot to accomplish and in the state he is in, he wouldn't be much help anyway."

"What do you mean?" Mai asked.

"A few days ago, he received a letter from presumably someone close to him and to say he is devastated would be an understatement. I could hear him weeping quietly in his room and decided it best to leave him be. I don't know what was in the contents of the letter though since he burned it immediately after having read it."

"He burned it? I wonder what was in it that caused him to get so sad," Ty Lee wondered.

In the back of her mind, Azula had a feeling that whatever was in the letter had bigger implications than she could imagine if it was devastating enough that it would cause her own Uncle to cry. Of course she didn't care, mind you, but still. Her Uncle was a strong man who even as a failure was still part of a great family bloodline so it's not like he's weak willed.

So why? What could've caused him to crumble like this? Azula pondered only but a moment before deciding what she was doing was right. He'd only slow her down in his current condition and she did not have anymore time to waste. After being knocked unconscious by that earth kingdom girl and those ragtag team of warriors she carried around with her, the last thing she needed was another headache to deal with and unfortunately for Iroh, Azula viewed him as an anchor at this point. She had to make her father proud and she'd be damned if anyone else stood in her way.

"Whatever it was is none of our concern. What does matter is us finding my brother and bringing his kidnappers to justice," Azula reasoned.

"But Azula, how are we supposed to search for them when we're still stuck on the ship?" Ty Lee asked.

Azula pondered a moment before responding, "When exactly does yours set sail?"

"Tomorrow morning," Mai answered.

Azula smiled as she felt another plan coming together and knew this was exactly the thing she needed to get away from her Uncle.

"Perfect."

While Iroh grieved over the loss of his friend and the horrific state the other was left in, Azula and her friends were planning to leave him behind. Just like his son, Lu Ten and Zuko did. Everyone always did leave him one way or another.

Five days had passed and they were still flying through the sky without much reprieve. Aang informed them that they would reach the Northern Air Temple soon, but the anxiety they all felt still lingered. Questions that had no answers, Kyojuro still asleep with no indication of when he'd wake up and they still had to reach the North Pole to help Aang learn Waterbending.

"How close are we to the temple?" Sokka groaned. He really really really had to pee and they weren't going to stop again until they reached their destination.

"Almost there, I promise just a little more flying and we'll be done," Aang assured him.

"I know Dad always did say you had a weak bladder, but this is embarrassing," Katara giggled.

"My bladder isn't weak! Dad didn't say that!" Sokka cried.

"Oh really? Then I wonder who used to wake up in the middle of the night saying his sheets were wet?"

"That…well that was..." Sokka flushed red as Katara had hit an extremely sore spot and caused him to stumble over his words in embarrassment.

"Sokka you used to wet the bed?" Aang asked curiously.

"No! It was just me spilling water at night that Katara thought was me meeting the bed."

"Yeah, you crying to dad saying you had another accident was definitely not you wetting the bed," She teased again.

Sokka by this point was in full on denial mode attempting to lie and talk his way out of the situation to no avail. Zuko slightly smirked at the sight of Sokka losing his composure and simply turned away once again trying to hide his growing smile.

Unbeknownst to them, another person on board was listening to the entire conversation and eagerly wanted to join in and it seemed like his body was finally ready to respond to him again.

They could hear small chuckling coming from someone, but failed to pick up on who. Looking around, they noticed Kyojuro still laying there with his eyes closed, but something was different about it this time. Little did they know that the man in question was about to make the situation even worse for Sokka than it already was.

Shooting his eyes open and grabbing hold of Sokka, he brought the boy close to him, "Hahahahaha! Sokka, do not fret over such minor inconveniences like bed wetting! Why, I myself used to wet the bed on numerous occasions and my mother always made me feel better afterwards! She said that many kids do this as we are still growing and not in control of our bladder so it is nothing you should be ashamed of!"

Nobody said anything as they only stared at the man while he continued to beam at them as if he wasn't just in a freaking coma for almost a week.

"Kyojuro!" Aang, Sokka and Katara cried as they dove into him.

Hugging him as tight as they possibly could have only caused his expression to beam even more than it already was, "Come now, if you all hug me any tighter my wounds will reopen!"

They released him while trying to wipe away the tears building up in their eyes.

"Do you have any idea how worried we all were!?" Katara exclaimed.

Kyojuro pondered to himself a moment wondering why she was reacting like this before a lightbulb clicked in his head and he remembered just exactly what happened.

"Right...I was...fighting that demon from earlier and let it get the best of me. By extension of me showing weakness I caused you all panic and worry so for that I apologize," Kyojuro bowed his head as they all stared at him like he was insane.

"Kyojuro please stop apologizing. You had nothing to do with that and you shouldn't be ashamed of getting hurt," Sokka tried.

But technically his job was to stop incidents like that from happening and his weakness caused an innocent person to die once again. The sage was killed right in front of them and he could do nothing to stop it from happening.

"In a roundabout way...I truly did. I should've been stronger, more alert! I should've noticed something was wrong when those ships let us pass earlier! We walked right into an ambush and my incompetence put you all in danger."

"Speaking of that, what exactly were those monsters?" Zuko broke. Everyone turned to him, almost forgetting he was even there. Sure he was worried about Kyojuro too and glad he woke up, but refused to show any emotion over the situation.

Kyojuro looked around and saw no way of getting out of this one. Still he wouldn't reveal he came from another world and brought these creatures with him, but the least he could do is inform them of the coming dangers that lie ahead now that he has confirmation.

"What we came across earlier...is what is called a demon."

"A demon? Like a spirit?" Aang asked.

"Close, but these vile creatures are much closer to apex predators than spirits! Most are human-like in appearance, but some have even more monstrous forms hidden beneath the surface. As they feast on humans for nutrients and in order to grow stronger, they do not age nor fall prey to any injury they may receive since they can just regenerate. The ones that we encountered back at that temple were extremely powerful demons known as Upper Ranked Demons and they have abilities unique to them specifically!"

"So how exactly are you supposed to beat them if they can recover from any injury?" Zuko asked.

"The neck! It is their only known weakness!(Besides the sun, but apparently that weakness is gone out of the window)If you can sever their head from their body then that'll be it and they will die! My sword was forged to do just that and it has never failed me in a time of crisis!"

"How come we've never heard of Demons before recently? It's like they just popped up out of nowhere?" Sokka wondered.

"That's because they did pop up out of nowhere," But Kyojuro couldn't tell them that.

"There's a reasonable explanation for that!" Kyojuro grabbed hold of his katana and pursed it to his chest as if it was guarding his very heart before continuing, "For generations upon generations, people such as I have been tasked to hunt down and eliminate these Demons from the world! We are what's known as Demon Slayers and my family in particular has been around since the dawn of our organization!"

"Flame Breathing is the technique that has been passed down in my family for generations and even now I still have a long way to go before reaching my Father's level of finesse and control!"

Sokka and Katara looked at each other confused before Sokka spoke up and asked the question they both had, "So your dad...was like you?"

"Correct!" They could see him beaming with pride even though his father from all accounts that he had shared was a drunkard who verbally and sometimes physically abused him. Seeing Kyojuro seem happy talking about the man was kind of off putting to say the least. Kyojuro didn't miss the underlying question being asked.

"Before he fell prey to depression and alcohol, my father was arguably one of the strongest Flame Breathing users in history. My mother's passing caused him to greatly lose his way which in turn caused me to step up and take his place!"

"You lost your mother, too?"

Kyojuro turned to see Zuko staring at him with yet more curiosity. "Yes, I did. By the time my brother was born, her body had gotten extremely weak to the point where she had trouble keeping anything down. She passed away peacefully surrounded by me, my Father and younger Brother."

"Kyojuro, we didn't know you had a brother," Katara said.

A warm gentle smile flashed across his face remembering his younger brother and once again his heart fluttered in sadness realizing he'd never be able to see him again. Now wasn't the time for sadness however, they had questions to ask and he had plenty of time to answer them all.

"I...I normally do not like talking about my family, but I now view you as my family too so I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to talk about him. I'll be upfront and inform you that the only other person I told of my younger brother's existence was Kishna and I swore her to secrecy! I was not ready to reopen closed doors when it comes to them, but now's as good a time as any to do it!"

"His name is Senjuro and he's my extremely cute and talented younger brother! While he doesn't have much talent with the way of the sword, his other many amazing talents make up for this shortcoming! Heck I'd even say he's more talented than I am besides sword fighting!"

They all watched and listened as he gushed and boasted over his younger brother. As they didn't even know he had one before today, everyone wanted to soak in as much information as they possibly could before Kyojuro tries to hide himself away again underneath that unbreakable mask he puts up so much.

"What happened to them?" Zuko asked. "

"Yeah, Kyojuro, where are they? I'd love to meet Senjuro! Your Father…", Aang sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Actually maybe we better leave him alone until he gets out of his funk."

Sokka and Katara exchanged looks once again. There must have been a reason why he didn't mention anything about a younger brother and they had a sickening feeling it wasn't a pleasant one.

"My family…" Brief flashes of hurt, sadness, confliction and a plethora of other negative emotions flashed across his face and as quickly as it came, it went as his bright and beaming expression replaced it.

"They are...no longer with me."

Silence.

Nobody knew exactly how to respond to that, so Kyojuro broke the silence first to follow up.

"Do not worry! Even though we are separated and can never see each other again, as long as this flame is burning within my heart, their memory will never leave me! It gives me strength just remembering them and everyone else!"

"Everyone else?" Aang asked.

"What do you mean everyone else?" Sokka joined.

Oh right, he didn't properly explain the Demon Slayers and the Pillars. He got so caught up in talking about his family he completely forgot the main reason for having this discussion to begin with.

"The group that I once associated with was known as the Demon Slayer Corp whose main goal is to completely eradicate Demons from this world! Now the group that I myself was specifically a part of what's called The Hashira or for a better translation, Pillar. Each Pillar was an individual whose strength far exceeds that of the other regular members and possessed their own unique breathing style like my Flame Breathing!"

"Wait a minute? You mean to tell me that there's an entire group of you guys and some of them are as strong as you?!" Sokka had stars in his eyes trying to imagine an entire group of people like Kyojuro.

"Hahaha! I wasn't even the strongest one there believe it or not! Two of them in particular had strength and potential that put mine to shame!" Gyomei and Muichiro were always astounding in that regard.

"That's insane!" Katara couldn't imagine anyone stronger than Kyojuro and yet here he was talking as if this was no big deal. Multiple people like that, depending on which side they were on, could very easily turn the tide of this war in their favor.

"Where are they and how come we've never heard of you guys until now?" Zuko asked.

"They are...also no longer with me," Kyojuro tried his best to hide it, but they could see the conflicting emotions that continued to come across his face, "As far as I know, I am the only Demon Slayer in this world."

Katara reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Kyojuro, I had no idea...if I had I wouldn't have pushed you like I did for answers."

He had an idea she'd be the first to blame herself and he definitely wouldn't allow her to feel bad about asking questions that he should've answered in the first place. After all, it wasn't her fault he wasn't strong enough to stay in his original world to begin with.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Katara, do not feel bad for asking questions like this! I said I would answer them and have no issue continuing to do so! After all, if I cannot be open to my new family then who else would I be able to open up to?"

"Kyojuro's right. After we went to the Air Temple and I saw what remained...Katara said that you all are my new family and I view it the same as he does," Aang responded.

Kyojuro beamed with pride, "Haha! Of course my pupil takes after my mindset!"

"Well since there aren't any more secrets between us, is it ok if I ask how you got that?" Sokka pointed to his chest which held a giant scar right in the center of his abdomen. When he first saw it years ago, he didn't think it was right to question how a stranger received a wound that size, but now the circumstances had changed.

"Oh this?" He touched his still wrapped chest and could still feel the wound as if it was fresh in his mind.

"I received this wound from fighting an Upper Ranked Demon. His rank was three and as you could tell from our earlier skirmish with the other two Demons from earlier, individuals who are marked are on another level entirely. Even Pillars such as myself need to team up with other Pillars if we hope to stand a chance against them!"

"Unfortunately for me, at the time I was assigned to investigate disappearances that could not be explained and so I set out to investigate it. We didn't have any idea someone that powerful was hiding amongst a smaller Demon, so once he was dealt with, I had to fight Upper Rank Three on my own. Suffice to say, I lost and I got the feeling that he really wasn't trying to kill me, because if he, at any time during our fight, had gotten serious, I'd be dead."

Now this wasn't a full lie since Akaza did kill him, but the part about him not being serious did weigh in the back of Kyojuro's mind throughout their battle. It was subtle and if his instincts weren't as sharp as they were he'd have missed it, but he could tell the man was holding back, severely. Blows that should have killed him surprisingly missed and after a certain point, Kyojuro could tell he was doing nothing more than playing with his food.

"But the wound is so big!" Katara reached out and tried to touch it, but felt herself waver.

"It definitely was not pleasant to say the least! Hahaha!" The smile he gave her calmed her just a bit, but now another question made its way out of her mouth.

"How did you heal from that?"

"That's...one secret I cannot tell you just yet,"

He saw her open her mouth to protest and cut her off before she could say anything.

"But! I promise you this, here and now! When I tell you exactly how I healed from this wound, it will open your world to an entirely new horizon that you all once thought impossible!"

So he would eventually tell them this too. Fine. Katara felt herself relax, glad she wouldn't have to go all motherly on him again. He'd tell them when the time was right and she was sure if he was hyping it up as he is, it has to be something massive in scale.

"Well, if you lost to that Demon then I'll be the first one to cut his head off when I get strong enough! I won't let anyone who hurts my family get away with it!" Sokka was furious having heard about someone strong and evil enough to toy with Kyojuro like that. It was absolutely infuriating trying to imagine how that all played out.

Kyojuro chuckled a bit seeing his pupil so fired up wanting to avenge him and a thought popped into his head as if everything clicked. He knew what was going on with the young man before him.

"Sokka! I have been meaning to talk with you about your breathing technique and I finally understand what has been happening to it!"

"Oh, you mean that weirdness I've been feeling? What of it?"

"What you are feeling isn't just weirdness nor a mistake of any kind! Your breath is changing!"

"What do you mean it's changing?"

"Allow me to break it down for you! When I first started training you, I trained you the same way I was trained, which was one of utilizing fire itself, but somewhere along the way, your body decided that the two were not compatible! So instead of learning Flame Breathing your body went in a completely different direction!"

He pointed to Katara, "Your breath is becoming that of water instead of fire like me!"

"That doesn't make any sense. He can't just become a water bender out of nowhere. He wasn't born a bender like us," Katara said, clearly confused as to what he was implying.

Kyojuro's bright expression never changed since this next revelation was surely going to blow their minds, "Well normally that would be the case, but I, myself, was not born a bender either!"

"What!?" Everyone screamed in unison.

"That's..that's not possible," Zuko tried. "You can't wield fire like that unless you are a firebender or the Avatar! What you are implying is impossible!"

"And yet when have you ever known me to lie?" Kyojuro stated.

"But what you are implying is unheard of," Aang looked as if he had heard something illogical and impossible, but knew it to be true deep in his heart.

"I promise you on my honor as the Flame Pillar that I am what you may refer to as a non bender. My breathing technique not only enhances my physical abilities to their limits, it also allows me access to the ability to generate fire, but in my case, I can only channel it through my sword! Tell me throughout our tenure together over these past two years, have either you or Katara seen me use actual fire without my sword in hand?"

"..."

"No."

Both of them couldn't believe they never noticed that. Something so simple went right under their noses.

"I know what I am saying goes against the very nature of what you have been taught, but breathing techniques allow one to replicate the elements in a way. Of course this isn't always the case as sometimes different variations or something entirely different may occur and that's where you come in, Sokka!"

"Instead of the flame, your breath has changed into Water Breathing which is one of the easier ones to learn, but extremely difficult to master! If I'm being honest, I've only known two master level Water Breathing users and one of them was a Pillar like me while the other was just a pupil like you all."

"Exciting!"

"Once we touch down at our next stop, I shall begin training Sokka in the ways of honing his breath so it can finally manifest! You must've felt it by now right? Like a rippling wave of energy dwelling within you, just waiting to escape? It may feel different for each user, but the general gist is the same. You are on the cusp of awakening to a great power and as your master it would be my honor to help you unlock and master it!"

Sokka took a moment to fully process what Kyojuro was telling him. One he may be a waterbender of some kind and that was already weird enough, but Kyojuro not being a bender definitely surprised him. If he could get that strong with just breathing funny and hard work then doesn't that mean he could reach his level too?

"I won't lie to you and say this isn't weird and confusing, because it really really really is, but if you think I have some sort of power in me like you do then I'm all for it! Let's get started!"

"Hahaha! That's the spirit, Sokka!"

"There's just one problem though," Aang interjected.

"What would that be, Aang?" Kyojuro asked, still fired up over his pupil's readiness to begin training.

"We still have over a day left until we reach the temple. Plus we have to find another way to contact Roku since he said he had something important to tell me."

Kyojuro took a moment to ponder something before responding, "That is quite alright! I am sure we can find a way for you to contact your past lives while also juggling training Sokka!"

He turned over to Zuko, "Zuko! I am going to need your assistance when we settle down at the Northern Air Temple!"

"Why?" Zuko did not want to be dragged into whatever shenanigans Kyojuro had in store.

"I need you to use your firebending to help me craft something! It's something that was once used to train my breathing and will be necessary if he is to master the next stage of Total Concentration Breathing!"

"Will you release me if I agree?"

"Haha! Of course not! But I will teach you one of my techniques that you should be able to replicate with your bending. I'm sure it'll be a welcome addition to your arsenal!"

Seeing no other upside to this very one sided negotiation, Zuko figured it'd be best to accept. As much as he disliked it, the prospect of learning one of Kyojuro's fire techniques was extremely promising.

"Fine," Zuko relented.

"Excellent!" Kyojuro snatched the boy up in a hug as thanks for agreeing to help him.

"Ok, I get it! Just let me go already!" Zuko was fuming while everyone else began laughing at his temper that Kyojuro continued to ignore. Eventually he released him and the air around him grew serious once again.

"Now do not take these happy times for granted as I can feel a storm coming and a nasty one at that," Kyojuro stated.

"A storm? I don't see any rain clouds," Aang said.

"Not that type of storm, Aang. A less literal one, but something that I feel all the way to my very core! Demons running amok is never a good sign and combining that with whatever the fire nation is doing to this world, it's just a recipe for disaster, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's as if there is something even greater than them lurking beneath the surface just waiting to be released and my intuition as a Pillar is almost never wrong!"

"You all need to get stronger! Much stronger if you are to be prepared for the growing threats and I promise you I will do all I can to push you to your very limits! Stand strong and never look back, because from here on out, expect danger to lurk around every corner!"

Not really knowing what else to say after that, they all just sat back and enjoyed the rest of the ride for as long as it lasted along with the momentary peace it brought them. In the back of everyone's minds however was Kyojuro's warning to them about danger. He meant well and told them to keep them alert, but if these were threats that not even he could deal with then what chance did any of them stand?

"The moon sure is beautiful tonight isn't it?"

The snow white haired girl was far too preoccupied with her thoughts to even really process his question.

"I wonder what they're like? I mean it has been quite a long time since we've opened our borders like this haven't we?"

Yue, Princess of the Northern Water Tribe slowly began to fidget at the thought of meeting members from the Southern Water Tribe. Chief Arnook placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder hoping that'd be enough to reassure her.

"I know this is a big change to how things have gone, but our brother tribe has been completely whittled down in numbers thanks to the Fire Nation's continued attacks and I feel it is time we welcomed them to our home with open arms."

Standing alongside the edge of the water, each member of the Northern Water Tribe awaited their visitors to finally come into view. They didn't understand why her Father changed his mind regarding opening the border to them, but regardless of how they felt, the decision to reopen the border to them was passed down.

Yue worried about what they must think of them for abandoning them like they had once the war truly kicked off, but she didn't have time to think about it any longer before two Northern Water Tribe ships came into view. They had been dispatched months ago to retrieve every last member from the Southern Water Tribe and thanks to the master level benders aboard, using waterbending to manipulate the currents and propel the ships had more or less cut the trip time down in half. What should have been a three month trip back and forth, had been done in under half the time.

"Relax, I promise you, everything will be alright. It will take some time to rebuild the lost and damaged trust we once had with them, but this is the only path to build a better future for us all," Arnook assured her.

"You're right. This may be the best chance we have at reconciliation and it's probably best we don't waste it," Yue agreed. Sure, she still had her doubts on the whole thing, but growth had to start from somewhere.

"How exactly did these people contact you anyway?" Yue asked. It was only recently that her father informed everyone that they were coming.

"Well...it was from one of the former captives that was snatched away during one of the raids from a few decades ago. She apparently escaped and traveled all the way back to her home which was the Southern Tribe and ever since then, she has pushed them into coming here and trying to rebuild the bond between us."

"Not only that, she also managed to inform Chief Hakoda about her plans and he, along with his feet, got permission from the Earth Kingdom General to join her here as soon as they possibly could."

"A woman? If she was taken that long ago then she must be very strong willed for having escaped and travelled halfway across the world in order to get back home," Yue responded.

"Indeed. From the little she told me about herself in her letter, she was one of the last waterbenders that was snatched away from her home and endured hellish conditions beyond what we could possibly imagine. I don't think I need to go into great detail about what that truly means…"

They both knew that the fire nation was capable of some truly evil atrocities when they really wanted to dish it out and there was no telling what on earth this woman would've gone through in order to find a way to escape.

"She also mentioned the years she spent in that fire nation prison did something to her skin, so it hurts her to stand in the sunlight. That's the main reason why we're meeting them at night. That and because it'd be easier to deal with any invaders since waterbending is at its peak now."

"Not being able to walk in the sun…" Yue felt her heart crack at the thought of how long one must be kept away from sunlight before their body permanently adapts without its need, "How awful that must be for her."

"And even with all that, she still found it necessary to try and rebuild from the ground up," Arnook added.

"Her drive to help her people in need is a commendable one and we'd be nothing more than cowards if we didn't attempt to reach back out to her as well."

As the ship came closer and closer to the docking area, Yue felt a bit of relief in her heart thinking about the possibility of a greater future. She also had her curiosity piqued on this mystery woman that came from halfway across the world just to try and rebuild. Whoever she is, she must be a remarkable woman on the level of a Tribe leader if she was able to convince her Father in a single letter.

Finally docking and letting everyone off, women and small children all got off the ships soon being led to their housing for the time being. It was late and negotiations could begin tomorrow when everyone is well rested and without the long standing fatigue from travelling.

Two women remained on the ship with one trying to convince the other to join them.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Kanna asked. "I know how tired your body must be from making another long journey."

"I'm fine, Kanna. Please go and attend to anyone else in need of help. I'm sure this will be quite the shock to them seeing a place so big," The woman responded.

"I still need to speak with the one's in charge so please, allow me to handle this. I know you just got me back, but I promise you I'll be ok."

Relenting after hearing the woman's reassuring words, Kanna left the boat and made her way over to where the other members of her tribe were located.

However,

There was one individual who was the last to leave the ship and began making her way over to Yue and Arnook. The moonlight's illuminating glow shined down upon the frail old woman who was...missing her left arm. Strangely enough, that wasn't the weirdest thing about the woman.

"What's this feeling?" Yue thought. As the woman drew closer, her senses were running rampant trying to tell her something, but she shoved the feeling away, not wanting to ruin the talk they were about to have.

Why was she feeling like this? Who knows, but the time for questions was over as the woman was now standing in front of them with a warm smile on her face. She lowered her head in a bow before speaking.

"I am humbled to meet you, Chief Arnook. I hope Tui and La's light has shone upon your family continuously."

"There is no need for such formalities. Raise your head," Arnook stated. "You are our guest and I want to make things clear that even though we come from two very different parts of the world, we are all Water Tribe, the same."

Lifting her head while never dropping that kind expression, she looked over at Yue who felt a small chill run down her spine for yet another reason she didn't understand. This woman seemed nice enough, so why was her body reacting like this?

"Ah, so you must be Princess Yue. I have heard so much about you and your beauty is as illustrious as the moon itself. It is so nice to finally meet the both of you," The woman stuck her right arm out as a sign of peace between the two hoping Yue would take it.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but who might you be?" Yue asked.

"Where are my manners? This is the woman I was talking about from earlier. She's the one who organized this meeting with us," Arnook nudged his daughter on the shoulder hoping she'd pick up on the formalities.

The woman in front of them kept her warm and kind expression, but as the moon shone down upon her, Yue could almost see something...sinister about the way this woman looked at her.

"It's been so long since I've had to introduce myself to someone so forgive me if I come off as a bit crude."

"My name is Hama and I hope we all get along well."

Yue reached out to return the Water Tribe handshake gesture and was met with a grip weaker than anyone she'd ever felt before. This woman barely had enough strength to grip her hand, so what exactly was she so afraid of. As far as she can tell this woman was harmless and only wants reunification between the two tribes.

How could Yue know that the woman in front of her was just as dangerous as any other Demon roaming this world and would soon bring devastation to the Northern Water Tribe that has never been seen before.

And what Yue was feeling wasn't just her body making her feel afraid, it was the moon spirit within her weeping for what was surely to become a tragedy.

After all, they had no way of knowing the woman in front of them was Upper Moon One.

I want to start this off by thanking everyone who has read this little story of mine and been patient waiting for the next chapter. School is annoying, but I also want to graduate on time so unfortunately I had to take a brief hiatus.

However! That is now over and the creative juices are now flowing extremely well. Expect another chapter next week!

Hama has been revealed as Upper Moon One and as a strange twist of fate, cannot walk under the sun. What is the reasoning behind this? Who knows, but the fact that she waited until Kyojuro left to assimilate back into the South Pole most likely will end just about as good as you think for anyone involved. We are almost at the start of Shibuya- The Northern Water Tribe arc and I assure you that it will have you on the egde of your seat!

But first, gotta do all that set up and other stuff first lol. I will answer any questions you may have in the comments as long as it is not a potential spoiler.