A/N. Sorry for the delay, I had some difficulty with the end!

It had taken the whole night, but as Aang touched down next the burned forest, he knew she had to be here. There was no other place Katara could be… It was the only logical place! He had flown in a straight line from the capital to Wulong, and he had not seen the white and brown that would have heralded Appa's presence.

So, she had to be here.

Looking around, it was like a fever dream. Like those things he had dreamt of during his time of the iceberg… It was real, but at the same time, it felt like the most unreal experience he had ever had. The rock formation was there… but it didn't look like it used to…

The pillars were mostly gone, except a few that stood, crooked and melted, clearly having been exposed to so much heat and flames that even the rocks had given away, making the columns look like candles, half burned and used…

She had to be here.

Katara would have been terrified to see this place… She had gone to find him before knowing what had happened… Aang had thought about that during his nighttime journey. That meant that Katara would have flown towards the place that was supposed to be the most dangerous location on earth at that moment… To make sure he was okay…

She had flown, knowing that the battle that had been taking place here would decide the future… And she had still tried to reach him, knowing all the dangers… Spirits, he felt guilty about that. What if… What if something had happened to her, just because she had worried about him?

He had begun to make his way towards the forest. If there was one place people could be sheltering, it was there. The trees looked scorched, and it the distance, the faint ember glow made him think the forest had caught fire once more since they had left this place. It wouldn't be a surprise of course, because his waterbending had only been sufficient to stop the fire that had been visible from the column... but there had been smaller fires, and the airships had burned as they had lifted off towards the Caldara.

As he stepped into the cover of the trees, the airbenders feet sunk into a layer of ash. She had to be here… Where else could she be? Of course, knowing her, he knew she was here! Katara was the kind of person that would see this carnage, this destruction, and she would go straight into it. She would search for them…

She would be trying to find them. Katara would have no news of their survival, and she would be turning every stone, ever branch, upside down to know what had happened to them.

"Tara!" Aang called, only to be met with silence…. Of course! Katara had been here longer, she would be deeper in the forest, searching! Walking through the burned-out forest, it was a sight he would rather forget. It looked like it had snowed, the ash covering everything. But even the ash didn't manage to hide the scarred burned trees, standing black against the grey sky.

The creepiest thing in this place was the silence. When Aang had been here during the passage of the comet, it had been screaming, flames and the crackling of lightning that had filled his ears… But now, there was nothing except the soft cracks underneath his feet, when he stepped on a burned piece of wood.

"Tara!" He didn't know how many soldiers of the airships had survived, but he would prefer not to find one while calling for Katara. Even the stupidest Fire Nation soldier would see through his disguise if he was calling for someone with such a distinct Water Tribe name. So, the name he used while… Well, when they were in a private setting, would have to do. She would know it was him.

Behind the trees, there was an enormous shadow, and, as Aang approached, he saw that it was a part of one of the airships. The balloon, much bigger than the one he had used to come here, hung in the burned branches. As he stepped over a fallen tree, his foot cracked a branch. The sound it made sounded like the loudest thing he had ever hurt in this deafening silence.

"Someone there?" A voice spoke, sounding disctinly male and Fire Nation. If Aang's education didn't play any tricks on him, it sounded a lot like the accent in which Kuzon had spoken when he used the common language… So that meant the man who had spoken came from the Eastern Islands chain.

"Only me." Aang responded. The man, probably a soldier, already knew he was there, so there was no use hiding. And who knew… perhaps the man had some information.

"And who is only me?" Another voice spoke up, this one sounding rather irritated and tired. As Aang stepped past the carcass of the airship, he saw a small group of men stand around a small fire, warming their hands around it. As his eyes scanned the small crowd, the airbender saw that some had bandages around one or more limbs, another was lying down, his whole body covered in burns. There was also a small row… Something. Aang didn't know what it was as each object was covered by a blanket.

Then he realized. Bodies.

The whole row was bodies of people that had died.

Swallowing the bile that came up from his stomach, he managed to speak.

"K-Kuzon." He uttered, still looking at the display of sadness. These people were probably the survivors of the crashed airship, who had spent the time between the catastrophe and now by helping their wounded comrades, and failing…

"Kuzon of where?" The irritated voice, which belonged to a tall, young man with dark hair and burning light brown eyes, spoke. The man had also assumed a firebending position.

"Of…"

Quickly!

"Kirashi." It was stupid, he knew. The real Kuzon had lived there, and it had been the first island his friends and he had visited during their travels through the Fire Nation. But it seemed that was the only place he could think of.

"Kirashi?" One of the men spoke, elbowing his way through the small crowd. This one was even younger than the man that had asked the question, looking close to Aang's own age.

"Kuzon?" The young man spoke, a smile on his face, "What, in Agni's name, are you doing here?" The man laughed aloud, sounding relieved.

"Ehm… Do we know each other?"

"Furzo! The one that warned you about Hide!"

Oh… yes! Spirits… The person in front of looked nothing like the small, shy young man that had helped him out after the fight with On Ji's "boyfriend".

"What are you doing here?" Aang asked incredulously. Furzo had been a year younger than the airbender, no way the Fire Nation would send him to the front… Right?

"Oh, after the whole cave debacle, the Headmaster closed the school, and sent all those he deemed… Instigators… To the army barracks. So, here we are!" Furzo looked at him with a mixture of relief and disbelief. As if he thought that Aang's presence would change their situation…

"We? You mean…"

"Yes! The whole male part of the school was here I believe. Some exceptions, of course. Shoji wasn't taken because of some lung disease, and Hide… well, Hide had the good fortune that his father was named governor of the island." The young man spoke, sounding irritated at the last part of his story.

"And the girls?" Spirits… Had he done this? Had him helping those school kids learning something about freedom cost them… everything?

"On Ji stayed at Kirashi, and some of the others too. But a part of the girls was sent to other schools, or even to the army if they were firebenders."

He… Spirits… he had caused a whole group of people to lose their chance at a normal life. A life where they weren't woken up in the night, screaming, remembering the horrors they had seen. And those would be the lucky one. They would be alive. But his actions… His actions had sent some of those good people to their death.

And he, Sokka, Toph and Suki were responsible for those deaths…

Trying not to be overwhelmed by guilt, he looked up, into the sky, inhaling deeply.

"I'm sorry… I never meant to-"

"Hey, no, it's alright! We all chose to participate! No need to feel sorry about us!" Furzo stepped forward, padding his arm. Aang had to hiss, because the boy had precisely touched one of the half-healed burns on his left arm.

"Hey, are you alright?" The young man quickly lifted his hand, for which Aang was eternally grateful.

"Yeah, yeah... Why are you still here?" That was the one question that burned on his lips, aside from Where is my wife. But he doubted Furzo would be able to answer that.

"Well, one of the airships of the fleet went rogue, and ours was hit by it. The balloon was cut in half, and we had the bad luck of going down exactly into the part of the forest that was already burning… But wait, I have to go back, of course! You see, we were told we were going to the Earth Kingdom, to stop the war! But… Something… Stopped Lord Ozai." Suddenly, fear was quite clear in Furzo eyes, and Aang felt embarrassed. That thing that had stopped Ozai… Well, that had been him. It was weird to see someone he had met, and who had thought him a friend would be afraid of him without even knowing it…

"Yeah, and the worst part was that no one took any notice." The tall man with the light brown eyes spoke up, as he gave the man who was lying down a flask filled with liquid, "They just fucked off, without even as much as a glance towards us."

"Who?" Aang feared he knew the answer.

"Anyone. No one of the army or the navy has been sent to pick survivors up, and we were just left here, in this burning shithole! Our firebenders were mostly killed at the impact, so there was no chance at actually extinguishing the fires!" The man continued, kicking a burned branch away in anger.

Aang bit his lip. Yeah… They had kind of forgotten about the soldiers in the airships… The airbender had been too preoccupied to even think about them when Sokka had told him where Katara had been fighting. And they had left without helping them…

It was their fault that these people were left in this place… To fend for themselves, without anyone to turn to.

But… Well, he was here.

"Furzo. Have you seen an animal, white and able to fly? Anywhere?" He had to ask, before he would help these people…

"Eh… no. Nothing has come here, only that balloon, and I suppose that was you. Otherwise, this peninsula has been quiet. Some went to the higher ground, but they said there was nothing left of the others… We are the only survivors. And this is the safest place around. If someone or something had come, they would be here." The young man looked confused.

"Well… Thanks." Aang sighed. This was not good. Not good at all… But perhaps the soldiers had not seen Appa, because he had never been here? Perhaps Katara had seen Wulong from a distance, and had gathered that the calm meant that there was no one there? That had to be it! She had turned around, and somewhere between here and the Caldara, she had landed to give Appa some rest! If he just turned back as fast as possible… He would catch her somewhere, perhaps around Fire Fountain City!

But… He couldn't leave these people. At least, not without some help.

"Alright, how many of you can walk?" he spoke up, trying to make himself heard. Most of the men muttered something like yeah, I do. Only two seemed too badly wounded to even say something. Aang regretted that he had never asked Katara to teach him healing, but regret wasn't going to help these people.

"Do you have a messenger hawk in there." He gestured towards the burned airship.

"Hah, and sent it where?" The tall man rolled his eyes, "We saw what happened up there, the Avatar killed Lord Ozai. There is no one to send a distress signal to!"

Did… Did they think he had killed Ozai? No… Well, he supposed that from a distance, it could have looked like killing the Fire Lord…

"Ozai is alive." He answered, without thinking, "He wasn't killed, and Zuko is Fire Lord now. Sent your message to him!"

Deafening silence followed his words. It lasted a few seconds, before one of the wounded men on the ground began to gurgle. It took another few instances before Aang realized that the man was laughing.

"Zuko? The traitor Zuko? That one is Fire Lord?" The tall man raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he defeated Azula in an Agni Kai, and Iroh has renounced his rights. Zuko is Fire Lord!" The airbender answered, fearing that he was surrounded by people that were not on his side. But rather, they would be favourable to Azula… he had to show them that Zuko was the only choice.

"Agni, the world has gone to shit." Another soldier, this one older than the others, spoke up, "But if the traitor can get us out of here, I for one will kiss his bare ass if that is what it takes."

Aang, for the first time since learning that Katara was missing, felt his lips twirl up in a slight smile when he imagined that scene.

"Let's just sent a message." The airbender shook his head, as one of the soldiers pulled out a piece of paper, ink and a quill out of a satchel, while the tall soldier went into the airship, presumably to fetch the bird. As silence settled in the group, only interrupted by the soft scratching of the man writing a note, Aang was thinking about how he could make sure Zuko himself would get the message and ensure the safety of these soldiers.

The gurgling sound from the laughing wounded was slowly fading away and the airbender turned to the man, lying on a blanket that was covered by ash and slowly dying embers. Kneeling on one knee beside him, Aang took the water pouch that he had hung over his shoulder before leaving the balloon and opened it.

"I can't do any more than just give you this… I am sorry." Sorry for having been the cause of all the suffering, sorry for not having thought of the wounded soldiers, sorry for being selfish… Sorry for so many things.

"No… No need lad." The ember eyes of the man took on an empty look, staring into the sky, and Aang, with pain in his heart, screwed the pouch shut without a drop finding its way into the wounded man's throat. There was no need anymore.

He could feel tears prick his eyes. His victory over Ozai had supposed to be the end of the suffering, but it seemed it was just a change in suffering… People were still dying, still cursing his name under their breath. Even these people, decent and probably longing for home, were afraid of what that thing had done to their ruler. And Katara wasn't here…

"Kuzon?"

Aang didn't answer.

"Hey, Kuzon… I know it seems shocking at first. But it happens. People die… It gets easier after the first few." It was Furzo. He had probably seen what was happening and had come to comfort him. But Aang didn't need it… At least, not from him. Nothing against the young man, but there was only one person who could pull him out of these kinds of thoughts.

"No, it doesn't." He stood up, feeling a tear roll over his cheek. He had seen death. Too much. He had seen the temples, had seen the people he loved as skeletons, as dark smudges on the wall… And all that had not steeled his heart against it. Even this man, a total stranger, dying from battle wounds, had an impact. Every life was worth something to someone… But why had the Spirits allowed him to spare Ozai, whose life was objectively a good price for peace, but taken this man? His life seemed to be innocent…

"They told us it gets easier at training." The young man insisted. The airbender didn't know what made him break to be honest. The dead man? The casual way the training had spoken about people dying? Or everything, from Katara and Appa missing to the fact these people considered him a thing?

All that made him snap.

"It doesn't!" He growled, "Death and destruction? It is all a lie. It doesn't get easier, it isn't worth it. All the dead, all the loss? What has the Fire Nation gained? Their culture, their freedom, it's gone!" He was shouting now. From far away, he heard that the scratching of quill on paper stopped.

"And what was it all for? A hundred years of crimes and killing, and it brought you absolutely nothing! Your country is in ruins, the people are suffering! The stupid bitch Azula has escaped and is probably going to start a civil war! And I can't find my wife. After all your people have done to me, why did you have to do that?"

Falling to his knees, he hit the ground with a fist.

"Seriously, was it all worth it? Tell me! What have you, personally, gained from this? You have probably lost fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters! And they have died for truly nothing!"

"K-Kuzon?"

Whipping his head towards the person that spoke, he saw Furzo looking at him with fear. The look in the young man's eyes was enough to calm him down… Spirits… he never wanted anyone to look at him like that.

"Sorry…" He whispered as he stood up. The group of soldiers was silent as the grave, and Aang couldn't meet their eyes. It was not their fault, and he had snapped at them as if they could change anything from what had happened… And Katara was surely somewhere, safely travelling back to the capital… Back to him…

He had to believe that.

"You have seen too much death." The older soldier, who had seemed to have a crude sense of humour, wasn't laughing now. He was watching him with a dark, penetrating gaze, one that seemed to search his soul for whatever horrors he had seen.

"You can say that." Aang laughed humourlessly, rubbing a hand at his neck, "I didn't mean to burden you with my problems." It was true, these people weren't at fault… They were also the victims of Ozai's regime. He had to remember that, instead of yelling at them…

"Welcome to the club lad." The man turned back to look over the shoulder of the person that was once more writing the note.

"You talk like you aren't Fire Nation." Furzo stood beside him, whispering as not to be heard by the others.

Aang tried to think but it was getting hard to lie. Lie after lie, deceit after deceit… It had to end one moment… If no one spoke the truth, there would only be cleverer and cleverer lies to make people do what you wanted.

"No, I'm not." The airbender sighed, "I'm not even from the colonies." That was the lie they had told the Fire Nation citizens they had met on their journey through that country. But it was still a lie. And Furzo had done nothing to actually deserve such dishonesty. He had been kind, helpful and just a person trying to be a good man. And Aang hadn't the heart anymore to lie.

"Sorry about lying to you then… I had a good reason." But before he could continue, the old soldier appeared back next to him, with the message.

"We have finished it. But you said we needed to send it to the traitor… Is there anything that would make him think kindlier on our plight?" The concern the older man had shown for his situation was back, and the eyes still looked at him with that searching gaze.

"Yeah… Give it here." Aang gestured, and he was handed the note and a quill. Unfurling it, he saw that the handwriting was all except good… But that wasn't important. Letting his eyes race over the lines, he couldn't find anything that would offend Zuko, so at the bottom the airbender put down the quill and wrote another sentence.

Sugar Queen not here. I will keep looking. Twinkletoes.

If the message found its way to Zuko, or at least, to anyone familiar with the nickname Toph had given them, they would quickly realize that the soldiers who were asking for help at Wulong were doing so on his advice. And it would keep Sokka informed about his sister's whereabouts…

Rolling it up, he didn't dare show it to the soldiers for approval. They would understand that he actually knew Zuko by reading something with such a familiar tone. He took a step towards the tall man, who was holding the bird on his arm. There was a long dark burgundy case attached to the back of the bird, large enough to put a scroll inside. Letting the message slide into it, Aang nodded to the man, who sealed it and released the bird.

"Alright. It will take some time, of course… Do you have food?" The airbender asked.

"We have some… As long as we ration it, it will last a week. Water is a bigger problem." The old soldier answered.

"There is a waterfall behind the rock formation. It is a few miles, but it is better than nothing." Aang gestured towards the north-east. He had used that waterfall to stop Ozai's attack, not to great effect… but at least, he knew where it was.

"Thanks… Is there anything we can do for you? You helped us, so…" The tall man seemed slightly embarrassed, as if he felt guilty about being irritated with him when they had first met.

"Just… If Zuko sends help, help him too. He is going to need it."

Don't swear allegiance to Azula. If you know what is good for you, don't turn to her.

"Thank you. And I hope you find your wife." The old soldier bowed politely, making Aang uncomfortable. He had shouted at these people… And they were still concerned for him… And for Katara…

"Thanks." He whispered, turning around. There was no point at staying here… He would retrace his steps, go back over the Mo Ce Sea, and stop at each island from Roku's temple to the Caldera. Sure, those were the eastern islands, and Sokka had said that those were being silent about their allegiance. They had not responded to Zuko's messages… But that didn't mean they were answering Azula! Perhaps… Perhaps he could find out while searching for Katara what the islands were thinking.

"Take care. And for Agni's sake pray the traitor sends help." Furzo said as Aang began to walk away. It occurred to him that these soldiers could easily have tried to knock him out and steal the balloon… But they had not done that. So… Perhaps there was still hope that even Fire Nation soldiers had honour…

"No one knows where the young waterbender is." Kuruk sighed as he appeared next to Roku. The Fire Nation Avatar, overlooking the sad scene in front of him, watching how Aang walked away from the group of soldiers, shoulders hunched and clearly trying to remain hopeful, nodded.

"It doesn't make sense. You have asked everyone?" The old man spoke softly.

"Anyone with the power to find her. The Water Tribe spirits can't locate her, which is weird by itself considering she draws her power from the water and the moon." The tribesman sat down on a burned tree, "I sent Wan to talk to Koh, but even he doesn't seem to know."

Kuruk's face turned dark at the mention of Koh, but what surprised Roku was that the Water Tribe's Avatar had even considered that option. But then again, Kuruk had seemed particularly open to helping Aang. Which was understandable… because he knew how the airbender must be feeling…

"And Szeto?" The previous incarnation as Avatar from his own Fire Nation, Roku considered him to be a sly man. During the time of great civil strife under Fire Lord Yosor, he had been the Avatar that had chosen to be a bureaucrat instead of a true servant of the people of the world. And even if he had been revered as a holy man in the Fire Nation, that had been a masterfully crafted image Szeto had given himself… In Roku's own opinion, the man was vain, cunning and capable of anything to achieve his goals.

"Send all his spirits spies into the Fire Nation. If they can't find her there… She won't be in the Fire Nation." Kuruk rubbed his temples with his tribal tattooed knuckles.

"At least he is helping." Roku rolled his eyes. Szeto had been opposed to granting Aang access to the Avatar State to defeat Ozai.

"Yeah, don't let him hear you. Convincing him to just help out was difficult enough." The Water Tribe Avatar sighed, "Kyoshi is already trying to find out if the waterbender has gone into the Earth Kingdom. She promised she would not stop looking until she had found anything of use."

That was good… Most Avatars were trying to help Aang, with only a few exceptions. Some were angry they had gone to Raava directly to defeat Ozai and had refused to help Aang. But most were trying, in their own ways… Granted, most Avatars were not very useful, stuck in the ways of their own era. But between himself, Kyoshi, Kuruk, Yangchen and Szeto, it could be done…

And to be honest, he couldn't contact Aang. Not now. How could he? Roku had asked so much of the young man… And now that he could finally have everything he wanted, that chance had been robbed. Roku felt ashamed of his own role in how the airbender was acting now… And couldn't look the young man in the eyes.

Answers:

Jjsmith103: Yeah, I kind of hate their new system to be fair lol! Exactly, On Ji is miserable and Hide is certainly not a good man. And indeed, On Ji is a good person in her heart, but she has been educated with propaganda her whole life, which may be dangerous. Having seen how she acted around "Kuzon", I suppose she would not blindly trust what has been said to her for her whole life, but such an education is hard the shake off. So, we'll see what she will do with what she suspects.