"Katara! Break past your limits and keep pushing forward!" Kyojuro boomed at the very exhausted girl who had just finished running twenty laps around a custom made track that he begged some of the female waterbenders to craft for them.

"I'm…*huff…trying!" Katara forced out as she could feel her legs begin to turn to jelly as she collapsed across the finish line.

Kyojuro rushed over to help his pupil up off the ground as they did not have time to waste. Time was of the essence and unfortunately for her, this was something she felt she desperately needed. That old man had it coming for talking to her like that.

One day earlier

Sokka still had yet to come to after passing out from something pertaining to his Water Breathing and Kyojuro was checking on him in order to make sure the boy was alright, however, a certain onlooker was not happy about the way things were going.

Katara and Aang rushed over to check on Sokka as well, but not before Pakku bended the ice surrounding their feet, immobilizing them from pursuing. Katara tried to reverse the frozen ice away from them, but that only caused him to increase the pressure and bend it completely around their bodies. Try as they might, Pakku had stopped them in their tracks and started his walk over to Kyojuro with venom in his eyes.

"Of course you are involved. It wouldn't have made sense otherwise. I don't know what goal you hoped to achieve with this little commotion you have drummed up, but I will not let this go on any longer. Leave this place and never return! The longer you stick around, the worse things get for all parties involved," Pakku had gotten eye to eye with Kyojuro who only simply stood there and took it. He was the one who let Sokka fight the boy to begin with.

Kyojuro bowed his head in an attempt to appease the man, but Pakku would have none of it, "My apologies, Pakku! I should have stepped in to stop things from escalating like they have, but you see Sokka here was on the cusp of-"

"I do not want to hear your excuses, fool! You bring nothing but chaos to those around you and misery will surely never be far behind. If it was up to me, I'd have all of you bar the Avatar himself locked up for this idiotic and potentially dangerous incident. You all do not deserve to be allotted the freedom of walking amongst us-"

*Smack*

Hearing enough of this old prick's rambling, Katara had managed to free herself while he was momentarily distracted and smacked him in the back of the head with a large chunk of snow. Suffice to say, Pakku did not find it amusing.

"Hey! What the hell is your problem with us? We haven't done anything to you and yet you've treated us like dirt ever since we got here! I already don't like you and your pompous, stuck up, sexist attitude, but I will be spirits damned if you think I'm just gonna stand by and let you insult Kyojuro like that," Katara glared at Pakku who continued to sneer at her.

Pakku found it somewhat amusing that she truly thought she could stand against him. It would not take much to put the girl in her place and he figured this would be a good opportunity to teach an insolent brat like her the natural order of things in the North Pole.

"I don't understand your attachment to this walking disaster, but if you do not stand down I will have to teach you a lesson you will soon not forget," Pakku took a stance and smirked as Katara took one of her own, "Of course, this would be less of a lesson and more along the lines of a master discipling his dog."

Pakku watched as the glare she was giving him turned into outright fury. He readied himself knowing she would rush at him, sloppy with her technique and he would put her down in front of the tribe. Not kill her or anything of that nature, but give her an injury that would take quite a long time to recover from.

Before their fight could begin, Kyojuro dove between them holding his hands out on both sides, hoping that they would both see reason, "Katara! Please calm yourself and think about the consequences of your actions! I understand what this man is saying to you is hurtful and not good in the slightest, but take a moment to understand the hole you are diving into! He's a Waterbending Master who in all honesty would mop the floor with you as it currently stands and deep down you know this to be true!"

Pakku crossed his arms with a smug expression covering his face, "Well…it seems like the fool has some brains after all."

"But!" Kyojuro turned to the man and held one finger out towards him.

"I know for a fact that my pupil would be able to bring you to your knees if she was given the proper training! While my initial goal was to keep them out of trouble, it seems that some of you are in need of attitude adjustments! All I need is one long week to whip her into shape and she will definitely have you rethinking your opinion on not only her, but the rest of my family as well!"

Katara stood stunned hearing the rather bold declaration of endorsement that Kyojuro was giving her. One week? To beat a master? She did not even try to hide the pride budding within her that someone as strong as Kyojuro truly felt that she could potentially beat Pakku. Of course she had to join in on the fun.

"Yeah! You heard him right!" Katara turned to the crowd that was filled with women and little girls who had been watching the incident unfold, "All I need is a single week of training and I'd have this sexist old prune begging on his knees for mercy!"

That did get a few giggles and smiles from the crowd as she could see Pakku almost turn red from anger and annoyance. Now normally, someone as strong willed and firm as Pakku would have never taken such obvious bait from someone who so obviously is trying to rile him up…

Luckily for Katara, he was in such a foul mood that he could not find it in him to deny their challenge.

"Fine, if that's the game you wish to play then so be it. I will show you the difference between a master such as myself and a poor, naive, foolish little girl. Just don't blame me for whatever may happen to her."

As Pakku walked away and the crowd disbursed, Katara knew she'd have her hands full for the next week until their clash. If only she remembered that Kyojuro's ideals of strength were levels above her own.

As she tried to regain the feeling in her legs, Kyojuro pondered that maybe this was not the best way to go about training. She didn't have Sokka's boundless stamina thanks to Total Concentration Breathing nor was she adept at using any breathing techniques. While she was much more proficient in combat thanks to him, she was still levels behind everyone else. As much as it pained him to think about, Kyojuro knew she was walking into an execution in a manner of speaking in her current state.

"So…*huff*...what's next?" Katara forced out. Kyojuro gave the girl a worried look realizing that this current regiment would do nothing for her long term besides wear her body out for the coming battle. She needed someone who could hone her Waterbending to new levels entirely and that was something that Kyojuro could not do.

Luckily for them, there was someone who had been watching from afar for quite some time now and decided it was time to properly introduce herself.

"Well it looks like someone is working very hard," The older woman stated as she made her way over to them, "It was very courageous for you to challenge a master such as Pakku, so I thought I'd come to observe just how you plan on preparing for your fight."

She stopped in front of Katara and held out her right hand for Katara to grab it, which she did and helped the girl up off the snowy ground.

"My name is Hama and I'm from the Southern Tribe like yourself. We haven't met before, but I have heard so much about you from Kanna."

"Wait, you know Gran Gran? How do you know her?" Katara asked as she was still catching her breath.

"I…was one of the people who was taken from our home during the initial raids, decades before the one that came for your mother," Hama could see the anguish flash on her face, "I spent years trapped within a Fire Nation prison thinking about how I had been snatched away from my home, friends…even the ones I loved…"

"I grew up with your grandmother and held her in high regard even though she, herself, was a non bender. If I'm being honest…it was honestly Kanna who got me through those decades behind enemy lines. I knew she never lost a single spark of hope even when things grew bleak, so I had no choice, but to hone my bending to its peak while I was locked away until it was strong enough to break out and escape."

"Although, it was not without its own sacrifices," She motioned to her missing left arm knowing the girl surely would want some sort of explanation as to why it was gone.

"I'm…so, so sorry you had to go through that," Katara said while touching the necklace that reminded her of her mother. "I'm guessing Gran Gran told you about how I lost my mother in the raid?"

Hama nodded her head, "She did and your mother was a brave woman for making such a difficult and scary choice on the fly. I can only imagine how devastated your family must have been when you lost her. You have my condolences."

"Thank you," Katara answered in kind.

Hama locked eyes with Kyojuro before turning back to Katara, "I believe your teaching style is…incompatible with the girl?"

Kyojuro looked taken aback, "How could you tell? Was it that obvious?"

That caused Hama to chuckle, "Very much so. In fact, I gauge that if you continue down your current path, you won't be able to land a single hit on the man. Of course, if you take me up on my offer to train you, I'm sure things won't end up so bleak for you."

Katara took one look at the frail old woman who was…missing her left arm and had some serious doubts about that. She looked like a small gust of wind would be able to knock her over.

"You want to train me? But-"

Faster than Katara could finish her sentence, Hama waterbended a small concentrated burst of snow that wrapped itself around Kyojuro's body turning him into a very large snowman. She even added a little top hat on it to complete the look much to Katara's amazement. She managed to do something so precise and swift with a single arm.

"Whoa…that was incredible!" Katara said, still stunned at the incredible bending feat she just saw.

Both of them could hear a small muffled laughter coming from within the snowman as it soon melted away leaving a very energetic and impressed Kyojuro in its wake, "Amazing! The fact that even I had trouble reacting to that is incredible on its own, but the inside of it was surprisingly sturdy as well! If I did not have my Flame Breathing, I'm sure I would still be contained within my snowy prison!"

"I'm glad it was acceptable to your standards," Hama smiled.

Kyojuro had more or less dug Katara a hole that she could no longer back out of without being seen as a coward and as much as it pained him to admit it, he was a hopeless teacher for someone like her. Yes, he could teach her basic hand to hand combat skills, but her bending needed someone of this woman's caliber to truly allow it to evolve.

"I have made up my mind! Katara, until further notice, this kind old woman will become your new teacher! As it stands, I have nothing more that I can teach you and it is time for your bending to reach the next stage!"

Katara found herself worrying about training with someone completely new in such a short amount of time, "Really? Just like that? I mean I can see where you're coming from, but I don't know…"

Hama placed a warm hand on her shoulder and gave her another smile, "I promise you are in great hands. If you give me a chance, I promise I will turn you into a fierce waterbender, capable of smacking that old fool down a peg or two. Of course, if you want to embarrass yourself in front of the entire tribe…" Hama could see Katara's eyes flash briefly, imaging it along with a small vein popping up on the side of her head in annoyance thinking about Pakku looking down on her.

She grabbed the woman by the shoulders quickly;y, "I'll do it! Please train me!"

Exactly the answer she was looking for.

"You have nothing to fear," She glanced at Kyojuro and for a reason he didn't understand…

His blood ran cold and head became cloudy as Hama smiled at him yet again.

"She is in very capable hands. Why don't you meet up with Kishna seeing as you've been the only thing she has talked about ever since you all arrived here."

Kyojuro had to shake his head briefly to get rid of the cobwebs that were there, "y-Yes! That's right, I have so much to inform her of! Katara, train long and hard today! Listen to whatever Hama tells you to do and push past your own limits!"

Saying his goodbyes and leaving, Katara and Hama started their training immediately knowing time was not something they could afford to waste.

For Hama, this was yet another crucial part of the invasion plan that had to be accomplished if it was to go as smoothly as it possibly could. She had her eye on Katara for quite some time and now the girl was hers to mold without outside interference.

Shooting up out of his bed, Sokka had only one goal on his mind. He had a very lengthy talk with Sabito and Makomo inside his head and it honestly left him more questions than answers.

Looking around his room, he saw that he was entirely alone, "Man…I have gotta talk to Kyojuro."

Deciding to get dressed, he left the medical tent hoping to run into Kyojuro while he was walking about and made it through a good chunk of the city before stumbling across Ty Lee doing some acrobatics tricks on an icy guardrail. She was smiling and giggling as usual and Sokka was about to pass her by as he had to urgently talk to Kyojuro, but something the girl said caught his ear.

"Oh! Y…can do…too!"

It looked as if she was talking to herself which confused the boy. He knew she was a bit of an airhead, but he'd never known her to talk to herself even if they might consider the North Pole boring. He didn't see Mai either which was also odd.

Getting closer he stopped completely as more of the conversation became clearer to him. She was talking to someone.

"I've never known anyone else besides my sisters that are as flexible as me! The fact that you're also so strong is really cool! You must've really been the total package back home!" Ty Lee beamed as she continued to do acrobatic techniques as Sokka continued to observe.

She would wait and look like she was listening to someone before responding in a manner that resembled one having a conversation with someone who wasn't even there.

He wasn't the smartest person around, but even he knew something fishy was going on. Moving out from behind his hiding spot, he made himself known as Ty Lee turned around and blushed as if she was just caught doing something she had no business doing.

"Who were you just talking to?" Sokka asked, crossing his arms. He stared directly at her which caused the girl to turn away in embarrassment.

"I wasn't doing anything. Why would you think I'm talking to someone who's not even here?" Her manner of speaking reeked of indecisiveness. Ty Lee was many things, but a good liar, she was not.

Sokka decided to press more, "I heard you talking to someone just now. My hearing is really good so don't lie to me."

She tensed up and looked over to something before turning back hurriedly, "I…" Racking her brain, she came up with the perfect excuse, "Sometimes I talk to myself when I practice since it helps me focus! I know it's weird, but I can't help it!" She gave Sokka a smile that looked like a kid giving their parents when they got caught red handed.

He wasn't convinced in the slightest, but he had a way to confirm his suspicions. If this girl was as airheaded as he thought, then his hearing would pick up on it.

Feigning satisfaction with her answer, Sokka informed her that he was heading to find Kyojuro which caused Ty Lee to look to her right again as if she was reacting to something before turning back to Sokka hoping he did not pick up on it.

Once he was seemingly gone and far enough out of earshot, Ty Lee breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her secret had been kept safe. Plus everyone would think she's crazy if they knew she had her own personal ghost following her around.

She turned to her new friend and beamed, "That was a close one, Mitsuri! You almost got me caught! If I wasn't such a quick thinker our secret would've been blown!"

Mitsuri Kanroji A.K.A. The Love Hashira looked at her new friend and joined in on sharing her anxiety, "I know, I'm so sorry! I tried my best to keep quiet, but when I heard that boy mention Kyojuro, I just had to yell! I don't even understand how I got here, but….to think he's alive and well here makes me so happy!"

"Well even if we both don't understand why only I can see you, I think it'll be best if we both keep this on the down low. I'm already from the Fire Nation, but being able to talk to spirits would get me labeled a mad woman!"

The two girls were so engrossed in their conversation about not getting caught, they were completely oblivious to Sokka sneaking up on them.

"So you have one too?"

His sudden reappearance caused both girls to jump in shock as Ty Lee once again looked like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar.

"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Ty Lee tried to feign ignorance, but Sokka knew she'd been caught red handed.

"I'm not as stupid as you guys think. I also don't exactly trust you, given that it hasn't been that long since all three of you ambushed us back at the Northern Air Temple, but this is not the time to start harboring more secrets. I know the person you're talking to is real even if I can't see them."

"I've got two of them that only I can see, so now's the time to be open and honest about what's going on."

She took a moment, looking at Mitsuri who gave the girl a confused shrug before making a decision, "Mai and Zuko really undersold how smart you can be!" The girl facepalmed as she sighed knowing she'd have to explain herself, "I've always been in tune with spiritual stuff like spirits and chi energy, but it was only recently that my friend decided to make herself known to me."

"Do you mind if I tell Sokka your name?" Mitsuri gave the girl a thumbs up, "Her name is Mitsuri Kanroji and apparently she knows Kyojuro."

"She knows Kyojuro! How?" Sokka asked.

"She won't tell me, but she said spirits swore her to secrecy. The only person who can tell us the connection between the two is Kyojuro himself and we all know that's not likely to happen anytime soon," Ty Lee replied.

"I mean…we could always ask Aang for help. He is the Avatar, so maybe he can help us out with this. Personally, my spirit is awesome! She's even super flexible like me, but if both of us have spirits, I wonder if anyone else has them too?"

"That's…actually not a bad idea. Until we know more about why this is happening, I think it may be best to keep this between us." Sokka stuck out his hand as a sort of truce between them.

Ty Lee on the other hand hugged the boy, excited that she now had someone to talk with about how awesome Mitsuri was.

"This is gonna be so much fun! Did you know that Mitsuri has a bunch of siblings too? I mean seriously! What are the odds I got someone who's like a mirror version of me! Except she's one hundred times cooler than I am. Oh and her hair is pink and green, how crazy is that! And her muscles! Her body is so curvy yet her muscles are huge when she flexes, I'm super jealous-"

Sokka groaned as the girl continued non stop about how cool her new friend was and he only hoped she could contain herself long enough for them to find Aang.

Because of how engrossed Ty Lee was with her fangirling and Sokka wrapped up in figuring out what was going on for this to happen, they completely missed Mai, who was watching the entire conversation unfold, hidden away with them both.

"Just great," She deadpanned knowing things were about to get even more complicated. She didn't take her eyes off of the two, but could feel her spirit guide bearing into her with a similar expression of his own, "You know you don't have to be around me all the time, right? Go somewhere else and leave me outta this."

The small child who wielded Mist Breathing begged to differ knowing all of this was happening for a reason.

"You know, there's no reason to spy on them when you could just go up and tell them you can see me too," Muichiro Tokito found it hard not to find himself entertained by how annoyed Mai got hearing him speak again.

"Don't you think I know that genius? I don't know why so many of you spirit guides are popping up all of a sudden, but I know I want absolutely nothing to do with it. Just leave me alone. I have more important things to worry about than why you've decided to annoy me."

Muichiro shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't do that. Once you became entangled with Kyojuro, your fate was already changed from that ordinary peaceful life you seek with that little crush of yours," Mai glared daggers at the boy as he paid her no mind, "Look, I'm not saying that you have to get along with me nor do we have to like each other, but for better or worse, I'm stuck with you and you are now stuck with me. Talk to the three of your friends and see if you can make some sense out of everything. You seem much more competent than most people."

Seeing no other answer, Mai decided to trail Sokka and Ty Lee to wherever Aang was training his Waterbending. All this spirit stuff coupled with the fact that she now had an annoying child constantly at her side was giving her a headache.

"The sooner we get Aang to get rid of these spirits the better," Mai thought to herself.

"I heard that," Muichiro replied with a shit eating grin.

Mai really, really did not like this boy.

"I demand to see my Uncle! You have no right to keep me away from him!" Zuko had been shouting at the guards to allow him passage to speak with his Uncle and seeing as they turned him away saying he was busy yesterday, Zuko would not be leaving until they brought him to Iroh.

"Sorry prince," One of the guards said in a rather rude tone, "Unlike the Fire Nation, you have no sort of power here to do anything in your favor. You should be grateful that we're even letting you walk around at all given how bad your people truly are."

"If it was up to me, I'd kill him and say it was an unfortunate accident. Make his Uncle feel what the people of Ba Sing Se did during his six hundred day siege," Another guard spat.

Zuko took a small step back hearing the threat coming from the guard, but he had to be careful not to move Azula too much. She was still dormant, but he didn't know if she was still volatile or not and he'd rather not have her pop out in anger again.

"What's going on here?" Yue made her way over to them, taking a momentary break from making her rounds across her city.

She walked up to a very nervous looking Zuko who was still gripping the straps on his wooden backpack as if he would bolt at any moment.

"Prince Zuko here wants to see his dear Uncle so they can plan to betray us once we let our guard down. We are just doing our duty to ensure that does not happen."

"That's a lie!" Zuko shouted back, "I…don't have any ties to my nation as I am now anyway."

Calming himself, he did the traditional Fire Nation bow in front of Yue hoping she would hear him out and let him speak with Iroh, "Please…it doesn't even have to be long. I just want to make sure he knows I'm ok. It's been months since I've seen him and my Uncle isn't…he isn't like that anymore. Ever since Ba Sing Se, he has always tried to use peace and diplomacy to resolve his conflicts. Traveling with Kyojuro Rengoku has also opened my eyes to some harsh and scary truths about my people and this war that I ignored up until very recently. Part of the reason why I wish to speak with him is everything that has been on my mind has reached a point where I don't know what to do and I need guidance."

"That's all I'm asking for."

Yue looked at Zuko with sympathy washing over her face. He was nothing like what Pakku and the other elders said he'd be like. He was far more respectful than many others, her fiance included, that lived in the North and seeing that caused her to indulge him with his request.

"I don't see the problem why he can't see his Uncle for a short time. Give them twenty minutes together and give them as much privacy as they need. Iroh hasn't been a threat since he's been here and from what I can tell, Zuko here seems similar to that."

She raised her hand before the guards could complain, "And don't make me repeat myself."

Seeing no way around it, they bergudundly moved to the side and opened the door down the hallway that led to Iroh's room. Zuko gave Yue a very awkward, but kind smile as thanks for helping him. As he made his way to where his Uncle was, Yue decided it was time to head back to patrolling the area for any threats.

"Wait…do you feel that?" Kokushibo asked.

Yue immediately felt the sensation that Kokushibo did almost as if it was drawing her to it like a moth to a flame, "And what is this exactly? Is it a threat?"

"No…it's…it cannot be…"

"Is it bad? Hurry up and tell me before I start freaking out here."

"I can feel my descendant in this world as well. I have a special bond with those who share the same bloodline as me and the person I am sensing, I have…wronged in the past beyond measure. The fact that he is here as well brings me shame that the mistakes from my past have followed me even in this far away land."

Yue could feel sadness rolling off of her new friend in waves, "Can I track where he is? If he's here then doesn't that mean he's attached to someone else just like you are to me?"

"That does seem plausible. Since we are now connected, you should be able to track wherever my descendent is attached too, almost like a sixth sense."

Yue walked throughout the city trying to find the source of her spirit guide's sadness and regret. Eventually she stopped as the mental tracker brought her to one of the Fire Nation kids. Yue did not know her name, but it was hard to miss someone silently bickering with someone that should not be there.

Mai was very lucky that Yue was the one who was watching instead of someone else.

"For the last time! I do not need your advice on anything! Can't you just stay quiet like other spirits?" Mai was at her wits end with Muichiro who was finding it quite funny to egg the girl on knowing how similar they were.

"There's no reason to get so angry. I was only trying to help you improve your dart throwing-"

"I throw knives not darts," Mai interrupted.

"Same thing," Muichiro shrugged as Mai internally groaned yet again, "You're talented and if you'd stop being so stubborn, I'm sure that you'd see-"

Muichiro stopped talking as he inadvertently sent Mai into high alert. He explained that he feels what she feels and vice versa so if he was reacting like this then something had to be seriously wrong.

"What's happening? Why are you freaking out?" Mai asked as Muichiro was on high alert, extremely fearful of the man he was sensing.

"I believe your friend was talking about us," Yue walked over to Mai who had a confused look on her face even if she tried not to show it, "My spirit guide led me to you and I think…we need to talk."

"Both of us are in the same boat, huh," Mai inquired, not even trying to lie about her own spirit guide.

Yue nodding was the only sign she needed that whatever headache she now had on her hands was only going to grow worse.

Zuko stopped inches in front of the door that his Uncle was stationed in and was nervous. It'd been so long since he'd seen him and he didn't exactly know what to say. So much had happened to him, not to even mention how he failed to keep his little sister safe from Zhao.

They only had a brief meeting upon his arrival and nothing after that. Would his Uncle be mad he waited this long to come and see him? Zuko could not know the answer to that question without taking the first step forward.

Deciding to swallow his fears, Zuko knocked twice on the door, "Uncle? Are you in there? It's me, Zuko."

The door swung open and Zuko became swept into a warm and tight embrace from Iroh who held the boy as if once he let go he would disappear again.

"It's so good to see you again, nephew. You do not understand how worried I was about you nor the numerous restless nights I spent lying awake wondering if you were truly ok."

Although hesitant, Zuko returned the hug as he could feel tears coming from his Uncle which also caused his own heart to stir, "I'm…glad to know you feel that way. I missed you too, Uncle."

After letting go, Iroh got a good look at how Zuko looked now and was impressed with how different the boy truly was now. No longer wearing the shaved head and ponytail, his hair had grown quite shaggy and unkempt. His face no longer held the unbridled rage and darkness within it as it normally did during their travels. There was a sort of uneasiness about him, but Iroh could tell his nephew was in a much better place mentally than when he was with him.

He said a silent prayer of thanks to Kyojuro Rengoku as he had somehow managed to pierce through the steel wall that his nephew had managed to build around himself after the incident with Ozai.

Iroh ushered the boy to sit down as he prepared two cups of tea for them. Moving to hand one of the hot cups to Zuko, he was completely caught off guard as his niece emerged from the wooden box that he was carrying around. She remained in his miniature size as she gazed at Iroh with curiosity on her face.

"That wouldn't happen to be-"

"Yeah, it's Azula…I take it, you already know what happened to her?" Zuko replied.

Iroh moved slowly towards the girl not wanting to scare her, but Azula could feel that he held no animosity towards her and was friendly. She leaned into him as he embraced her as well. Iroh cursed himself for not being able to protect another one of his relatives from the Fire Nation's dangerous grasp.

"It's going to be ok, my niece. I swear to you, on my life, that we will find some way to reverse this effect on you. You have been very brave for holding up as long as you have," Iroh promised the girl as she remained in his embrace.

Zuko looked on still unsure on how he was supposed to go about the conversation and eventually decided to break the ice, the best way he knew how to.

Awkwardly and unorganized.

"I lost my bending. And I think our nation is on the wrong side of this war. It's also my fault that Azula ended up a Demon and I should've listened to you more. The other nations aren't savages or terrors like I was led to believe, they're people like me or you or Azula and what we have been doing to them is monstrous," Zuko ran his hand through his hair, still trying to come to terms with the things he was saying, "He's strange, but Kyojuro has one of the kindest hearts I've ever seen and I don't want you holding grudge against him for kidnapping me. I invaded Katara and Sokka's home first so whatever happened to me, I deserved it."

"I just…really need some of your guidance."

Iroh smiled, seeing the growth his nephew had undergone while they were apart from each other, "Zuko you do not know how long I have waited for this day. We have so much to discuss and it makes me happy that you have opened yourself up to broaden your horizons, but I'm afraid more pressing matters are at hand."

"What could be more pressing than us finally talking?" Zuko asked.

Iroh pulled out a letter from his back pocket, "I'm afraid I have some horrible news," Zuko could tell that whatever was in that letter was pretty bad if it caused his Uncle to hesitate on letting him read it.

"What's in the letter?"

"It's about Mai and her family," Iroh stated. "They…something terrible has happened and I did not know how to explain it to the poor girl."

Zuko took it from him and started reading. His eyes darted from word to word until the full weight of what he was reading became apparent to him and his blood ran cold. He felt sick. This couldn't be right.

"This is impossible! Whoever wrote this letter is lying!" Zuko tried to make sense of what it was he had read, but the look on Iroh's face said all it needed to say. Everything in that letter was the truth.

"Her entire family is dead? How could this have happened? I thought they were well guarded!"

Iroh nodded solemnly, "They were, however when the wreckage was found, there was very little remaining of them. You having traveled with Kyojuro must know what that means."

"Demons?" Zuko asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm afraid so. Whoever did this was as ruthless as they are powerful. It was clean yet you could tell the person tried to make it look like some sort of accident. Had we not known of their existence to the world, we would've thought some kind of wild animal got them. This Demon slaughtered her family in cold blood."

Zuko sat and read over the letter again, still trying to process the new information he had just gained and without warning he shot out of his seat in panic, "I have to find Mai." He burst through the doors and down the hallway leaving Azula and Iroh behind.

Iroh did not try to stop him as he knew this was something that needed to be done. He just hoped the truth would not break her spirit.

Aang was on break from training with Pakku and his students as they had started practice extremely early in the morning and he was only giving them a moment of reprieve before they were to return to him ready for more rigorous training. He was glad that he finally had a Waterbending Master showing him such advanced techniques, but it did make him feel bad that he had to leave Katara to train on her own.

Before he had time to think anymore about the issue, he saw Sokka and Ty Lee making their way over to him with a very annoyed look on Sokka's face. Ty Lee was talking to him about something and whatever it was, she was going a mile a minute with her excitement level.

"Sokka! Ty Lee! What brings you here?" Aang rushed over to them finally excited to finally have something to take his mind off the growing issues that had been surrounding him lately.

Sokka gripped his shoulders, "We have a problem and we need your help."

"What's wrong?" Aang wondered what had Sokka so serious.

"Less like a problem and more like stuff that only the Avatar can handle. Don't mind Sokka, he's just mad that his spirit guides are two kids," Ty Lee giggled.

"I'm not mad about that-"

"Spirit guides? What do you mean by that?"

"Oh! We can see people who are invisible to everyone else. For Sokka it's two kids who can also use that weird water trick of his, but mine? Mine is super cool and pretty, not to mention strong and flexible just like me!"

Aang looked confused, "You're telling me the both of you are seeing spirits? That is kind of concerning, but I dunno if I can do something about that right now. If they aren't evil then they probably have some sort of spiritual reason for being here."

"That's not the main issue here. I mean yeah, being able to see spirits isn't exactly high up on my list of things I wanted to be able to do, but it's the things they are saying to us that's concerning."

"What are they saying?"

"They say they know things about Kyojuro," Sokka answered.

"They do!" That caught his full attention as the boy got eye to eye with Sokka, "What have they been saying about him?"

"See that's the thing…they can't tell us anything, because some higher up spirits swore them to secrecy meaning they could only tell us the bare minimum. My spirit guides haven't actually met him, but they know about Flame Breathing and my Water Breathing given that they can use it too."

Ty Lee raised her hand to interrupt, "My turn! My turn! Ok so, my spirit guide actually knows Kyojuro and from what she's been telling me they were extremely close, kinda like how he treats you guys. She looked up and admired him, but they were separated early on from what she said. Mitusri wouldn't elaborate on it much."

Aang looked at her confused once more, "Who's Mitsuri?"

Ty Lee did a pose signaling to someone standing to her left, which was Mitsuri herself and since nobody could see it looked like she was pointing to nothing at all, "My super cool, pretty, flexible and powerful spirit guide, that's who! She's so much like me it's honestly uncanny!"

Aang looked between the both of them before starting. He figured he might as well come clean too, "Since we're coming clean, you remember the time when I started glowing back at the Northern Air Temple?" Sokka nodded, giving Aang reason to continue, "Well I sorta went into my own headspace to talk with Roku and someone who was connected to Kyojuro introduced himself to me as well."

Sokka grabbed the boy's clothing and yanked him back and forth, "And you didn't think this was important to tell us back then!"

"I didn't know you all would start seeing people connected to him too. I thought it was just Avatar stuff that I had to deal with alone. I guess not," Aang tried to joke. Sokka was not amused.

Sokka let him go and paced back and forth, "Well now that that's over with, we need to figure out how to talk to Kyojuro about it,"

"Didn't he say he'd answer any and all questions about his past when he's ready?"

"Aang, I think we are way past the point of waiting for him to come to us if literal ghosts from his past are starting to pop up."

"I have to agree with the idiot on this one."

All three of them turned around and noticed Mai and Yue popping out from behind one of the tents.

"And please don't bother trying to act like we didn't just hear your entire conversation, because we did. We wouldn't be here eavesdropping if the both of us weren't in the same boat as you," Mai said.

Yue walked forward first with a gentle expression covering her face, "Please friends, we didn't want to do this, but we had to be sure and hearing your stories confirms our suspicions. It seems like each of us has received someone connected to Kyojuro's past."

"And mine won't shut up," Mai stated with annoyance in her tone. "The little brat says he definitely knows your spirit guide Ty Lee."

She could hear Mitsuri scream loudly once again, "What's his name?"

"Muichiro," Mai deadpanned.

She squealed even louder in happiness and the emotion almost gave Ty Lee a sugar rush.

"So they know each other? What's the connection there?" Aang wondered.

"Dunno, but whatever connection it is, they're all connected to Kyojuro himself. If he won't give us answers then maybe it's time we make him give us a few. If spirits are coming out of the woodworks then I get the feeling something big is coming," Mai was no longer in the mood for his beat around the bush tactics.

Yue felt the need to step in, "Actually…my spirit guide says that may not be the best idea, Mai."

"And what's his connection to Kyojuro?" Sokka asked.

The worried look on Yue's face gave them a pretty good indication that whoever was connected to her was definitely not a friend, "In the past, he was what's known as an Upper Rank Demon."

Everyone went wide eyed at that. Sokka, Aang and even Ty Lee took a few steps back, cautiously and not even really knowing why.

"Before you cast judgment, please let me explain. In his previous life he was the second strongest Demon among their ranks and now that he has died, the hunger he's always known has faded. Koku isn't the monster that he once was, instead now he only wants to help us fight back against their growing power."

"He says that a strong willed man such as Kyojuro may still attempt to refute these facts as evidence given how long he has tried to hide his past. Gaining more and more evidence of his true history before confrontation may be much wiser than heading there now. Let's assemble as much evidence as we possibly can from our spirit guides together before we confront him. That way he has no leg to stand on anymore regarding hiding himself away given how much we would know about him."

" I know I may not be explaining things the best, but I assure you, he will not corrupt me nor will he cause harm to any of you," Yue finished hoping that they would understand her point of view.

Aang was the first to take a step forward again, "I believe you, Yue. I can't sense any outward hostility from you or your spirit guide."

"You can sense him?" Yue asked.

"I can sort of sense all of them given I'm the Avatar," Aang rubbed the back of head sheepishly. "I just need to concentrate and I can get a feel for where they are. They all have vastly different auras so trying to tune into them right now is difficult. If I had more time, I'm sure I'd be able to communicate with them with the Avatar State."

Mai was not about to let this opportunity slip up, "You're skipping the rest of your practice for the day. I don't want anything to do with him and I want him gone. Figure out what he wants and make him go away. This family squabble has nothing to do with me."

"I don't think that's how it works," Aang said. "Once a spirit is connected to you, it's not something that's easily broken. I'm sorry, Mai, but you and Muichiro are gonna be stuck with each other for a while."

Mai didn't even have to look at Muichiro to see he was giving her another shit eating grin. If she could, she'd toss the brat into the ocean and be done with it. Unfortunately she couldn't touch him even if she wanted to.

"So what do we do now? Get to know each other?" Mai asked sarcastically.

"That's not such a bad idea!" Aang beamed. "We have nothing but time on our hands and I'm sure I can get some sort of exemption from Master Pakku. We can translate what our spirit guides are saying and get information faster that way. The sooner we do, the sooner we can confront Kyojuro. Sounds good?"

Nobody else had any better ideas so they all agreed to sit down and get to know their spirit guides better. Before they could get started with that, Zuko had finally managed to locate them and stopped before them out of breath.

"Zuko? What are you doing here?" Sokka asked.

The boy caught his breath and stood tall, meeting Mai's eyes as she noticed he'd been crying. He really did not want to do this, "Mai, can I talk to you in private?"

Mai looked at him confused, "We're kind of in the middle of something. Can't it wait?"

Zuko clutched the piece of paper in his hand even tighter, "No…no it can't."

That single piece of paper would send Mai's world crashing down around her. No matter how badly he doesn't want to see her hurt from the content of the letter, Zuko knew lying to her would never end well. For better or worse, he would be at her side no matter how she would react to it.

"Hurry it up! You need to get to the North Pole faster!"

Suki was fairly fed up with her spirit guide by this point as he'd done nothing but nag her day in and day out about finding his beloved. Although seeing him get angry was pretty funny to her.

"We're going as fast as we can given the terrain. Best thing for you to do is kick your feet up and relax. We're gonna be here a while," Suki shot back. "If you want to blame someone, blame the waves for being so uneasy right now. When we started sailing, who would've thought it was a bad idea to sail without any experience?"

"Suki, who are you talking to?" One of the Kiyoshi warriors asked.

"Oh nothing! Just talking to myself, that's all." Once the girl walked away, Suki gave her spirit guide a smile in kind, sensing that while he had an outwardly cold exterior, he was nothing more than a massive softy on the inside.

"You really miss her that much to actually try and nag me? That's a first. Then again maybe that's not so surprising given how you coerced me into setting sail to the North Pole in the first place."

"It's not just that. I mean- Well obviously-"

Suki smiled again hearing the man stumble over his words. Eventually he calmed himself and caught her eye, "She's the love of my life and I know she's there. We may be far away from each other, but I can faintly sense her presence, almost like instinct. I told her when we died that I would come find her so we could live a happy life and I will do everything in my power to uphold that promise."

Obanai Iguro, who had died confessing his love to Mitsuri, did not expect to wake up in a world that wasn't his own. He also did not expect himself to be attached as a ghost to a teenage girl, however fate was funny like that.

"Aw! That's super sweet. If you weren't intangible, I'd give you a hug," Suki teased.

"I do not need anyone else's affection besides my future wife. A mere child wouldn't understand."

Suki didn't miss the small wave of happiness that was rolling off of Obanai, "Well don't you worry. I'm gonna make sure you reunite. I've got someone I've been dying to see too. He's kind of dumb, but he's cute. I have no doubt that he's sure to have grown stronger traveling with him."

"You mean Kyojuro."

"He's the only flaming haired man I've seen in my life. Plus who else could be that bright, loud and cheery all rolled into one?"

Obanai softly chuckled, "That does sound like him. I hope he's doing well."

"You never did tell me how you know him. You make it seem like the both of you are old friends."

"If I could answer that question I would. Spirits won't let us say anything until Kyojuro tells it himself. I do wonder why he continues this charade, it's not like he can go back home anyhow."

Suki looked at him annoyed knowing that's all she'd be able to get out of him. She walked over to the ship and stared out into the sea while Obanai stood behind beside her, "I wonder what he's hiding…you make it seem like its bad."

"Depending on your point of view it may be."

Somewhere on a remote island a few miles from the Northern Water Tribe

"My, oh my! Things are really heating up now aren't they?"

"Will you quiet down? I cannot hear myself think with your incessant chattering!" Zhao barked at his very annoying spirit guide.

"That's so hurtful, you're breaking my heart buddy. I thought we were friends."

Doma stood beside his new friend and giggled as Zhao glared daggers at him.

"We aren't friends and if I could, I'd strangle the life out of you and devour your corpse!"

Doma tapped his head as if he just got something, "You're hungry is that it? Well why didn't you just say so silly! There was a nice looking town a few miles back that was definitely full of women and children. The nutrients you'd gain from that should be just the thing you need, big guy!"

Zhao hadn't been with Doma for long, but he already wanted to kill him, "For the love of Agni, do you ever stop talking!"

"Enough," Hama entered the room he was waiting in, given the moon was out and silenced the man before he could continue his banter, "Tell your friend to keep quiet while I am speaking or there will be dire consequences for you."

Zhao did not like the woman, not in the slightest, however he understood the hierarchy between them was far too vast for him to speak out of term, "Nice room you built. It should do nicely to house me until the invasion starts."

Hama nodded at the observation, "At least you're smart enough to understand a few of my methods. Normally you'd whine and complain that I have my own agenda against our allies or the Master."

She could see a small vein of anger pop up near the side of his head which caused her some amusement.

"Everything I have done is for the betterment of our Master and his dream to finally conquer a thorn that has been in his family's side for over a hundred years by this point. I've infiltrated the North successfully and gained the trust of those around me. My unique condition also grants me complete control over when and where I do things."

Zhao hated whenever Hama brought this up. It just made him more envious about the Master picking her as his favorite.

"You mean your ability to walk under the moon as well as the sun? Just because you can do something I can't doesn't mean squat!"

That gained another chuckle from the woman, "On the contrary, it means I'm superior to you and the gap between us will never close. Being able to walk under the sun and moon means nothing can truly hurt me besides decapitation. I am invincible."

"And of course you're wondering why my body ended up being like this," Hearing silence from Zhao gave Hama the signal to continue, "Normally I wouldn't give vital information like this away, in spite of that, I'll give you part of the secret to how I can achieve something not even the Master can do."

"Surely you've noticed how I'm the only Waterbender among you. That isn't a coincidence. The answer is right in front of you should you be able to truly comprehend what I'm saying."

"Tch, of course you'd give me a half assed answer like that," Zhao spat. "Fine! Keep your secret. I'll surpass you without it."

"I'm surprised you still don't get it given that someone ranked lower than you already figured it out. It didn't even take him a full hour before it clicked for him," Hama pointed to Jet sleeping in the corner of the room. He had gotten bored waiting for Hama to reappear and hearing Zhao argue with Doma made him annoyed so he took a nap to alleviate his boredom.

"There is no way that puny little runt figured it out before me!"

"Have you known me to be a liar? What I say is the truth," Hama responded.

Zhao turned his head as Jet woke up and waved to him smugly, "She finally told you the riddle you need to crack her secret? Ha! A big dumb ape like you will probably take centuries before figuring it out."

"My Blood Demon Art makes me a super genius so it's a given I'd figure it out! I can't help you out though, Hama made me promise. Sorry, but hey, look on the bright side, at least you have something to think about while you're stuck on this island waiting for the invasion to start."

Jet could see numerous veins of anger popping up over his body and knew the only reason he was not making a move was because of Hama. If she was not here, Jet would probably be in actual pieces teasing Zhao like he was.

"Now that that's over with, I believe it's time for a brief rundown of the Invasion plan."

"We will attack on the next full moon from now and in order for this to be successful, Jet and I will be the ones to kick it off until the sun rises which is where you and your troops will come into the picture. With our combined might, they shouldn't last more than a few hours at most before the entire city falls before us."

She held up three fingers, "There are three key things that must be accomplished in order for the plan to work."

"Princess Yue must be eliminated at all costs. Her connection to the Moon is very dangerous to us and if she is allowed to grow into her power, she may very well become the calamity to us that the Mater fears she'll become."

"Jet and I must weaken their forces considerably before sunrise which would allow Zhao and his men to finish off what we started. If we cannot cause enough damage and chaos before then the battle could be dragged out long enough for the tides to turn and this brings me to my final and most important point,"

"Kyojuro Rengoku."

Jet could feel the outright anger and hatred oozing off of Zhao. He still wanted to get even with him for the last time they fought back at the South Pole.

"That man is at the absolute top of the list, because if he is not taken care off before the Invasion starts, he is enough of a wildcard that's capable of changing the tides to their favor and that under any circumstances cannot happen."

"Leave him to me!" Zhao roared. "I'll finally get even with that piece of shit!"

"No."

Zhao almost looked like he'd been slapped across the face, "No? What do you mean no? He's mine!"

"Kyojuro Rengoku is my responsibility and mine alone. I've gotten close with one of the people he holds near and dear to his heart and have quite the solution to get him out of the way before the invasion begins. With him gone, we will run through them like a fire clashing against a forest."

Seeing as he had no rebuttal, Zhao crossed his arms in reluctant agreement which signaled for Hama to leave the room. Jet did not want to be in the same room as Zhao and his inevitable temper tantrum so he followed the woman out as she headed to another room which gave her a clear view of the moon while also blocking it away from the others.

"You ok? Not that I care or anything, but I could smell your emotions all the way from where I was laying down," Jet inched closer to the woman and took a seat next to her.

"Do you remember the story I told you of how I'm able to walk under the sun and moon?"

"Lady, how could I forget! Knowing something that the high and mighty Zhao doesn't is super funny and makes me feel good! Thanks for that!" Jet tried to lighten the mood, but he could sense Hama was in no mood for his antics.

"The reason I told you that wasn't to make Zhao upset. I told you that, because…I wanted to finally tell someone the thing that's been weighing me down. In order for me to be ready for the invasion, I have to keep my emotions in check."

"So what? You've got some deep dark secret you finally wanna get rid off? Granny I don't think-"

"It's not that!"

Jet stopped completely hearing the woman raise her voice at him. He hadn't known her for long, but he'd heard stories about how calm and collected she was. This was a first for him.

Anger.

Sadness.

Regret.

Hatred.

These were all things coming from Hama and Jet had a genuine hard time figuring out why it would occasionally roll off the woman from time to time.

Calming herself down, Hama focused back on the moon as the waves pushed and pulled themselves under its light, "I apologize for my outburst…it seems that keeping this bottled up for much longer will become a hindrance to me. It's also become clear to me that telling my story now would be worthless as you haven't reached the same peak that I have."

"I'm sure you'll be more willing to listen to my story after you awaken to your own truths."

She gazed over to him solemnly, "After all, you and I are connected in a way unlike the others. You don't know it yet and for good reason, but the things that have been happening like spirits becoming attached to people, Kyojuro Rengoku showing up…even Demons themselves is related to this story of mine. When you are ready, seek me out and I will tell you in full."

"Although you know of my time in the spirit world, you do not know just what it is I saw within such a place that caused me to awaken to my own truths. If it wasn't for a sight like that I'd probably still be just another Demon, power hungry, angry, ruthless and without emotions. That sight I viewed opened my eyes in ways you may not ever truly understand."

Jet hesitated to speak as he was quite engaged with what Hama was saying even if he couldn't understand why she seemed so human. Sure he retained some emotions here or there, but she could fully pass off as a human and in some ways…some that truly irked him…he knew that she wasn't just faking what she was feeling.

"What kinda sight did you see while you were in the spirit world?" Jet asked, not even knowing if he'd get a response.

"A sight so horrifying and beautiful it made my heart ache," Hama answered in truth.

The two Demons remained in silence after that. Jet would've asked more about her answer, but deep down he felt scared by how confused her answer made him.