Tara and Leiko reached the campsite of the fire nation soldiers in the middle of the night. It couldn't have been better timing, the soldiers would be asleep or weary, nowhere near ready to fight. Leiko and Tara knew it was their chance. They crept behind the brush near the camp, peering through the leaves to see two sleepy guards and a bunch of tents up. Then there was a cage with four people in it, and one of them was Cera. "Cera!" Tara said, hushed under her breath. Leiko tugged at her clothing to get her attention.

"Listen, I'll take them head on, you go the back way and free Cera. If the soldiers give you trouble, blaze the tents. That will keep them occupied." Leiko explained. Tara nodded and then walked around the back. Leiko took a deep breath and prepared herself for battle. She pulled her black bandana over her nose and then walked out. The two drowsy guards must have recognized her by her red warrior's suit, because they knew exactly who she was.

"Leiko Sikari!" they gasped and then pointed their spears at her. She stood there in front of them and didn't move. Instead, she simply spoke to them.

"Have we met?" she said in a sassy tone.

"Hands in the air! Do it now!" one guard yelled. Leiko drew out her katana and gripped it in her hands.

The commotion aroused the other soldiers and they darted out of their tents and aimed their spears and swords at her. She just stood there, surrounded by weapons. Something in her clicked, as it usually did when she fought, and then a grin spread across her lips under her mask. She shot a flame out at one of the tents and it caught fire! The soldiers jumped back and began to scramble around! Leiko ducked under the smoke and crawled on the ground, around the soldiers and their scurrying feet. She saw two other tents go ablaze and knew it was Tara who had also run into trouble.

Leiko sprang up from the ground and jumped over a tent! A soldier looked up and saw her, flying through the air with her katana above her head, peeling through the blaze! "Take this!" she yelled as she came down with her katana, slicing through the soldier's armor and injuring him. And with one more swipe of her sword she finished the deed. The soldier fell to the ground dead. Then she felt some more coming up behind her, she did a back flip through the air and ended up behind them, then she swung her sword and struck them down. She ran towards the cage with the prisoners but was cut off by three soldiers, and then looking around she saw that she was surrounded again.

Anger filled her veins and she soon found herself spouting flames from her fists. She summoned her chi and all that anger to her fists and flames grew. She threw her arms out in front of her, sending fire shooting out and throwing back the soldiers! Then she lifted one leg into the air and spun around in a circle, sending flames out and knocking them back! Then she ran up to one and began to spar with him. He punched, and punched again, but she dodged and then kicked up her leg, knocking him in the jaw and sending him into a state of unconsciousness.

Leiko looked over and saw Tara punch out a soldier, and grab the keys from his pocket. She ran over to the cage and opened it. The prisoners came running out and Cera ran into Tara's arms! "Cera! Oh thanks the spirits! Are you okay? What have they done to you?" Tara gushed as she looked at her twin sister for the first time in years. There were tears of joy in their eyes.

"I thought I'd never see you again." Cera said weakly.

"I know, but I'm here." Tara comforted and they hugged each other. But their reunion was interrupted when a soldier jumped out of the flames with his sword and went to strike the girls! But he went flying into a tree as Leiko ran in and kicked him in the jaw, he bumped his head and was out cold. "Cera, this is Leiko Sikari." And Leiko bowed.

"Thank you Leiko." Cera said, "For bringing us together."

"Part of my duty." Leiko replied. "C'mon, let's get out of here. When the imperial guards see the smoke they'll come in a hurry." And the girls took off together through the brush and made their way back to the cave.

Upon arrival, Iroh and Zuko greeted them. Happy that they were safe. However Iroh was hunched over in pain, holding his knees and then touching his lower back. Leiko could tell he wasn't in good shape. Soon Cera complained of being weak and on the verge of passing out. Tara and Leiko grew worried and looked at each other, wondering what to do. Surely their family members were in no condition to defend themselves if needed. "They need medicine." Tara pointed out.

"But where are we going to find medicine?" inquired Zuko, "We're a mile or two outside the city and even farther away from the palace. Not to mention the fact that we're not exactly welcome there anymore."

"But we have to do something!" Tara responded.

"There is nothing we can do." Zuko seemed to have given up hope. But where his hope had run out, Leiko's wasn't quite yet depleted.

"I'll go." Leiko interrupted them. "I'll go get some medicine."

"Where?" Zuko asked.

"There's an old hag who does witchcraft just outside the city outskirts. She lives in a run down shack in the woods far east from here. I remember her because my father had tried to capture her for her witchcraft and imprison her. But she always managed to slip away."

"Why would we want help from a witch?" Tara asked.

"Because she can make potions that will help Iroh and Cera. They're family, we have to do something." Leiko pointed out. She grabbed her katana and placed it on her hip. "I'm going. I'll be back by dawn."

"I'm coming with you." Tara offered.

"No, someone needs to stay here and protect the others. Nobody could do that better than you." Leiko told her. Tara nodded and Leiko turned and ran out of the cave.

Leiko snuck around the outskirts of the city, going through the forests and ducking down into the overgrown grass to keep from being seen by the guards who kept watch just outside the village walls. She moved with stealth and utter silence, not allowing a whisper of noise to come from her feet. Going around the outside of the city was a much longer route than going through it, and it took her longer to get to the other side of the city. By the time she reached it, it was already midnight.

But Leiko wasn't about to give up. Her family and friends needed her, and she made an oath to stay true to them, since they were all she had. Her father had taken away everything from her, leaving her only a crumb of faith. But that crumb turned bountiful with faith after her escape from the fire nation. Here it was, she was back in the place she dreaded, the place she ran away from, the place that held so many terrible memories. If things had been different in the past, Zuko would still be on his throne, and Leiko, possibly, to rule the fire nation beside him. If her father became fire lord, all hope would be lost, and the fire nation would go from a place of turmoil and hatred to a place of pure evil and a hell on earth. And she wasn't about to let that happen.