Author's Notes: So, not much to say I just want to let everyone know though that regardless of how long it takes to update, I won't forget about this story. If I ever end up quitting it I'll let you know - unless I'm dead and no one posts here about that - but yeah, you shouldn't worry about it. I'm just busy is all. Please leave love on this, I'm really conceited and love reading your comments

2019 edit: See, I never quit the story….of course not. Would I do such a thing? Yeah, yeah I would. But at least I came back. Though I do – God willing – have a surgery coming up so that'll mess with updates.

. .

"Are ya'll sure ya need to leave so soon? Ya only just got here!"

"We need to go to Omashu, it's been captured by the Fire Nation."

"Aww, that's too bad," Mooz states. "Will you come back an play sometime?"

Aang smiles as he throws the last bag onto Appa's back, "Sure."

. . .

The wind whips through Katara's hair and Zuko finds himself staring at it absentmindedly as he thinks about what Huu pulled him aside to tell him before they left. 'I know yur goin to Omashu an I don't want ya to loose sight of who you are now. Yur on the right path, remember that. Travelin' with the Avatar, teachin him fire bending, that's the most important thing you can do righ' now.' What did he mean by that, Zuko knows he's on the right path, what could possibly be in Omashu that would make him question that? He knows that the Fire Nation is in the wrong and he can't help but think that seeing a conquered city will only remind him of that.

"How much farther?" Katara asks over the howling wind.

Aang looks over his shoulder, "Only a few more hours. We'll keep going into the night if we have to, it's not too far away."

"Okay. What about when we get there, what do we do then? We have to get into the city and to King Bumi. You said he's locked up somewhere?"

"Yeah," Aang nods, "They had him in a metal box hanging up somewhere. I don't know how we'll get in though."

"Why don't we just fly Appa up to him and get him out that way?" Sokka suggests.

Zuko scoffs, "Appa's huge, there's no way we could go over the city without being spotted."

"Well what about disguises? That worked last time," Katara comments.

"No, we're both a bit too recognizable." Zuko gestures to himself and Aang.

"There's another way into the city. The sewers lead from the base of the mountain into the main city," Aang states.

Zuko and Sokka both shake their heads emphatically, "There's no way I'm going in a sewer just to help some crazy king. We can find you another earth bending teacher."

"This isn't about finding a teacher, it's about rescuing a friend."

"Still, I'm not going in a sewer."

Five hours later they're standing in front of a sewer pipe. Aang pops the cover off and a wave of slime and muck spews out. Sokka looks at it in disgust and sighs. Zuko doesn't even want to look. He may have gone through a sewer as the Blue Spirit but that was nowhere near as gross. "Okay, let's get going," Aang says and heads into the pipe, bending the sludge out of his way with his staff. Katara heads in next, bending the waste away from her, steeling her nerves against the new hatred of enclosed spaces. There's a way out, she keeps telling herself, this isn't permanent. She still can hardly breathe but she tries to blame the smell.

Sokka and Zuko exchange a look. "After you," Sokka gestures for Zuko to go first.

"No, after you. I insist."

"No, after -"

"Are you guys coming or not?" Katara shouts over her shoulder, keeping the shaking out of her voice.

Zuko makes no sign of moving and so Sokka sighs, "Yeah, we're on our way." He climbs up into the pipe and Zuko gets in after him. Sokka gets close enough to Katara that the grime swishes against his thighs but thankfully doesn't come up to his hips like it does for Zuko.

Katara makes it the first five minutes before she starts shaking. Within ten the others are talking her through it. Aang has her hand, pulling her forward. "Only a little bit more."

"We should just turn around," Sokka comments.

"No, it really isn't much farther," Aang replies, entirely unsure.

Eventually they reach fresh air, the four scrambling out of the sewer and Katara taking deep, renewing breaths. There's open sky above her and soon her breathing slows. He vice grip on Aang's hand loosens as Zuko squeezes her shoulder. "Okay everyone, if anyone asks we're just travelers looking for a place to spend the night," Aang reminds everyone.

Zuko rolls his eyes but adds, "And my name is Lee, and no prince jokes, Sokka."

Sokka grins, "Of course not, your highness." Zuko glares.

"Sokka, you've got some purple pentapi on your face," Aang comments.

"Some what!" His hands fly to his face to discover little creatures suctioned to his cheeks. "Get them off! Get them off!" He tugs but they just attach more.

Aang laughs. Katara's still too shaky to even snicker. Zuko just rolls his eyes. "Here," Aang grabs them gently and rubs the tops of their heads. They detach easily, raising their tentacles happily at the attention. "They're not dangerous, just ornery." He puts them back in the sewers and closes the manhole. The cover just settles into place when two guards round the street corner, torches in hand. Aang quickly covers his head tattoo with some spare fabric and stuffs Momo into his shirt and Zuko ducks his head.

"Hey! What are you kids doing out past curfew?" The very Fire Nation men demand.

Katara's the quickest thinker, even in a crisis. "We were just on our way home, sorry!"

She grabs Sokka's and Aang's arms and start to guide them away when one of the guards stops them. "Hey, what's wrong with him?"

"Huh?"

"The red dots, what's wrong with you kid?" They all turn to Sokka. The suction cups from the pentapi left ugly red marks on his cheeks.

"Uh, he has pentapox sir," Katara quickly supplies. The guard steps forward but she hurriedly adds, "It's highly contagious. We only accidentally got exposed and he's already covered!"

The man steps back and Sokka groans pitifully, understanding. "It hu-u-urts." The guards both step back even farther. "I'm dying!"

"It's also lethal." Katara adds as an afterthought.

"I think I've heard of pentapox!" The previously silent guards says and turns to the other, "Didn't your cousin die of it?" Sokka begins to cough and the guards tense. "We'd better go wash our hands."

"And burn our clothes!" They quickly retreat, leaving the four kids alone.

"Spirits, Katara! That was awesome!" Sokka claps her on the back and she shrugs smugly, momentarily distracted.

Zuko cuts it. "That was great, but can we get out of the middle of the street? More guards could come at any minute and Sokka and I reek."

"Oh yeah, good point."

"Let's find King Bumi and get out of here. Where would they be keeping him?"

Aang thinks for a moment. "Somewhere where he couldn't earth bend. I saw him in a metal box above the city so let's try above the palace." They set off in that direction, Sokka and Zuko trying to shake off as much waste as they can while walking. Katara eventually rolls her eyes and bends water from a nearby drain onto them, cleaning them before pulling the moisture off again.

"Thanks," the boys mutter in almost unison.

"Everyone quiet, there's someone up ahead." Aang crouches under some scaffolding and advances. The others follow suit. A small party comes into view.

Zuko's forehead furrows in confusion at the tall lanky girl in the middle of the group who looks around with an absolutely bored expression. "I don't see why the rebels are such a concern father," She drawls, monotone. The scarred prince hisses in surprise. The girl's head turns and she squints in their direction a moment before shrugging and returning to her conversation with her father. They keep walking.

"What was that about?" Katara questions.

"I know that girl, I'm not sure how bu-" the ground opens up underneath them, effectively cutting off Zuko's sentence. The group drops down into large cavern with throngs of people milling about. Many are dressed in civilian clothes but others wear the Omashu uniform. The men that now stand in front of them are some of the military. "Avatar Aang, I'm glad you decided to come back to Omashu." A large earthbender steps forward, he obviously recognizes them even if his face is foreign to them. Katara's heart jumps - unpleasantly surprised to find that large earthbender men with beards make her uncomfortable now too, until she sees his eyes. They're like Iroh's - old, tired, and surprisingly gently.

Aang stands up before the others and brushes himself off, bowing. "I heard that Omashu was in trouble. I'm here to free King Bumi!" He states and the older man's shoulders slump along with the other troops'.

"Don't bother with him. The day of the invasion we readied our forces, we were going to defeat the Fire Nation and drive them back away from our homes!" Zuko looks at his feet. "We were ready to fight for our homes and for our freedom but before the enemy even crossed the bridge that old coot surrendered."

"No, he wouldn't do that!" Aang gasps.

The man just sneers, "Well, he did. That day I asked him what he wanted to do and he just said 'nothing'! Now we're stuck fighting a loosing battle against an enemy entrenched in our own homes. Fighting them and running them off, that's the only path to freedom."

"You can't fight them." Zuko - much to his surprise - says. The soldiers turn to him and he sighs, he's never going to get away with being Lee is he? "They'll have supply lines and reinforcements coming in for the first three months and by the time they've stopped coming the people here will have taken over your food sources and be self sufficient. Then Fire Nation civilians will be moved in. Earth Kingdom citizens will most likely end up being taxed heavily and any who aren't deemed productive members of society will have to work the fields."

"And you know this how?"

Zuko shifts uncomfortably but his voice doesn't betray him. Here he goes again. "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation and I'm trying to end this war."

The reaction is instantaneous. Parents hiss and instinctively hide their children behind them. Soldiers fall into defensive stances and earth benders kick up the ground around them. Zuko is brought to his knees, rocks clamping down around his wrists and legs.

"Hey! Stop it!" Katara whips her water out and Sokka draws his boomerang. Aang hates it but for a moment a smile plays across his face, he still doesn't like Zuko and seeing the prince in danger makes him sickly happy. "Aang, say something!" Katara demands.

He opens his mouth but the older man already is already advancing and Katara's water is looking more and more dangerous. Zuko watches like a hawk, not wanting to make the situation worse by bending but ready to do it at a moments notice. "We've heard of you Prince Zuko," the man spits. "You've been all over the coasts searching for the Avatar. Well, I guess you found him, it's just too late for you to take him back to dear old dad. We have you now."

"No!" Aang may not like the prince but he doesn't like the gleam in the earth bender's eyes either. "He really is with us." The commander falters, looking confusedly from Aang to Zuko and back. "You don't have to like him, I don't, but he is trying to end the war which is something we all want."

"Fine, but boy, you watch your step. You mess up at all and we'll send you to meet your precious Agni." The rocks fall away from the prince. "Blindfold him, we don't want him getting any more info about us."

. . .

There are guards outside their door but the hot meal in front of them is all they care about until their stomachs are full and they each stretch out to sleep. Aang and Sokka have by now given up on trying to keep Katara and Zuko from sleeping at least near each other and as much as they hate it, they're thankful because Zuko wakes Katara up before the screaming starts and visa versa. Zuko hardly even screams though, his terrors draw out whimpers and yelps more often than not. Now the pair lay on beds next to each other. Katara still finds comfort in the jacket he gave her and wraps it around her.

"Hey, you awake?" She whispers, trying not to wake up her brother or Aang.

Zuko rolls over, his amber eyes piercing through the dark. "Yeah, I slept on Appa earlier."

She props herself up on an elbow. "Who was that earlier, that girl?" She's not sure why her stomach turns as she asks.

"I didn't recognize her at first but her name is Mai. She's one of my sister's friends."

Katara's nostrils flare. "The crazy, manipulative, little sister?"

"Yeah," he sighs, "That one. We'll have to be extra careful here, don't underestimate her."

"Why, just because she knows who you are?"

"No, because she's Azula's friend. I didn't know her much but from what I remember she was rather blah but she really loved knives." He stops and thinks for a moment, "Her dad was a general or a captain or something. I guess he's stationed in Omashu now and judging from his clothes and the guards he's high in the government here."

Katara smiles, "You know, you're pretty smart. Not a lot of people would have noticed his clothes and made that connection."

He just shrugs, "Stuff like that was part of growing up. You learn to take it in quickly."

"So, you've never told me any stories about growing up." She picks at a thread. "Were there any good times?"

"A few," Zuko sighs, "Most of them were before Grandfather Azulon died. After that not so much." He pauses, collecting his words. "Before the siege of Ba Sing Se, Uncle and Lu Ten would go with us to Ember Island, the whole family would go there to relax and get away from the Capitol during the rainy season. Uncle would take us all to the beach and we'd build little sand castles." She can hear the smile in his voice. "Even Azula had a good time. We used to act out scenes from this awful play Love Amongst the Dragons that Mom took us to each year. That was all - before."

He falls silent, and Katara reaches across the space between them and rests a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you'll go back there again someday."

"Sure. Anyway, we should get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll be getting King Bumi and then leaving."

"Yeah," She scoffs quietly and withdraws her hand, getting comfortable. "Things never go quite as smooth as we plan if you haven't noticed."

. . .

Three hours later the pair sits in Katara's bed, her eyes wild. "We need to get out of here!"

"No, Katara." He grabs her hand as she tries to stand. "It's just the stone getting to you." She looks around at the walls that are closing in on her mind and raises her lips in an almost snarl. "Hey, remember sparring on the ship?" Zuko isn't sure how she'll react to being reminded of her captivity but it's his best idea. "Or even going to sleep in my room?"

"Yeah?"

"Those rooms were a lot smaller than this one."

"Yes, but believe it or not after - everything - the other men worked really hard to make sure I was okay. I trusted them a lot more than I trust these earth benders."

That raises Zuko's eyebrow in surprise. "Nothing will happen. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She snickers, trying to make herself calm down. "Your uncle told me how much you freaked out afterwards." She chokes on the next words, "Thank you." It's easier to talk about the incident here, now. The honey eyes of the prince are so warm and she feels safe, she feels comfortable talking to him.

He looks away, his free hand fidgeting. "You were my responsibility and I wasn't there to protect you." He clenches his fist. "I should have killed him."

She scoots closer to the young man, trying to focus on him instead of the tempest inside of her. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I hurt him, badly. It's just the sounds that bother me."

Katara 's other hand falls on his clenched fist. "You don't have to do that anyone again." It's simple words but he melts, the fist softening and letting her fingers twine around his and his head pitches forward slightly and she rests her forehead against his. "I mean it." It's not a promise she can keep but she can try.

Eventually they fall back asleep - not on purpose, they just don't move when they start to get tired - Katara nestled up against him, and him leaning against the wall. Their hands are still holding each other. A moment before sleep takes her completely a smile flickers across Katara's lips. Zuko actually managed to distract her well enough to stop the panic attack. She snuggles closer against him and closes her eyes.

. . .

Sokka stumbles out of bed, the green luminescent rocks giving him enough light to navigate by and hopefully it isn't too terribly far to the bathroom. The sight on his sister's bed is enough to stop him cold, his bladder temporarily forgotten. Zuko's there, his head tucked uncomfortably against his chest - obviously he's the source of the snores - and his arm wrapped protectively around Katara whose head is also on his chest. Their legs are tangled up in each other and the blankets twist around them. Sokka gets mildly sick. He knew it would happen eventually, he'd seen the way they look at each other but he's still not entirely sure of the prince. It's seems like he's come over to their side but he can't be entirely sure. Besides, Katara's his baby sister! She's way too young to be doing anything, she still shouldn't even be interested in boys! Maybe in twenty years or so he'd think about letting her date but now - no! He sighs and the pressure in his bladder reminds him of why he got up in the first place. He'll deal with this later, once they're one the road again. Right now he has other stuff to worry about like making sure they get out of this city safely and how much he has to pee.

. . .

"So, you say we can't fight them because of the reinforcements." The resistance leader - General Yung - states after a breakfast of bread and gruel of some sort. Zuko was given a significantly smaller portion than the rest. "How are we supposed to get them out then?" Yung may not like the Fire Nation Prince but he knows enough to take advantage of any resource he can find.

"My father and most of the politicians are dead set on world domination. The soldiers though are tired. The problem is that a lot of them have families that bad things would happen to if they did anything. The only way to permanently solve it is to -" Zuko swallows and starts again "- is to kill Ozai and make sure that none of his supporters can take the throne. We already got rid of one at the Northern Water Tribe but there needs to be a full re-haul of the government. My suggestion would be to flee."

"What happened at the Northern Water Tribe? We haven't had any news from outside for the past two months."

Aang starts, "They didn't attack! The Fire Nation just backed off." Yung's forehead furrows in confusion.

"There was a coup," Zuko adds. "My uncle, General Iroh, was able to find enough commanders that were against the war that they overthrew Zhao. There's now a tentative treaty between the Northern Water Tribe and the rebels."

"And where are they now? Are your rebels hurting the Fire Nation now or what?"

"I don't actually know. I haven't heard from my uncle." Aang doesn't mention that he saw Iroh at the banyion tree. Honestly, he'd all but forgotten about that.

"Well, their actions haven't affected us here, the Fire Nation is still here in full force."

"No, they're not. You said about two months, normally there would be a lot more soldiers and they would still be more heavy handed in enforcing their laws. What I saw last night wasn't normal."

"They have our king, maybe they think they don't have to be as strong."

"They haven't killed your king, that says something! My guess is that the soldiers here heard about the North Pole and aren't trying as hard anymore."

Yung sniffs, not wanting to admit that he sees the prince's point. "Wouldn't fighting them be the best idea then if they're only here half-heartedly?"

"No, because then they'll have to retaliate. Getting your people out is the best idea."

"You just want us out so your nation can control this city!"

"No!" Zuko stands angrily, slamming his hands on the table. "I want what's best for everyone and hauling ass would be the safest course of action!"

Katara interjects, "General, I think you should trust the Avatar's judgement." Aang scowls at her but she continues, "If the Avatar says he's trustworthy then he is. After all, he has the experience of a thousand lifetimes behind him." Of course that would never work on her, she knows Aang personally, but on Yung it works like a charm.

"General," another soldier speaks up, "We're tired too. They took our homes but so many of us are dying, I'd rather live to fight another day." Murmured agreement ripples through the tables.

"Fine," Yung sighs, "But how are we supposed to get out of here? If we use the tunnels they're sure to hunt us."

"We could stay in the tunnels," Someone suggests.

A civilian replies, "No, we need food sources. Besides, we've all heard about how sick the people that stay underground get. We'll be just as dead as if we had stayed."

"Wait!" Sokka stands up, his eyes bright, "You're all about to come down with a nasty case of pentapox!" Katara raises her eyebrows and Zuko rolls his eyes but Aang starts to nod.

"Huh?"

"The pentapi in the sewers leave big welts when they attach. We just need a bunch of them and for people to know how to act sick! It's brilliant!"

"I don't know, Sokka."

"No," Yung comments thoughtfully, "That could actually work."

It doesn't take long for the project to start. Momo scurries around, he's already learned that messing with the pentapi is a bad idea. People are getting red marks all over and the ones that accidentally made the pentapi ink look especially awful. "You know, this actually is a good idea," Katara nudges Sokka playfully and he smiles.

"Thanks." He catches sight of Zuko and the memory of last night sours his mood. He knows better than to say anything to his sister right now though, she'll blow up and that's not what they need when they're trying to not attract attention. He'll have to talk to Zuko too, but that requires some man to man time, time where his sister won't accidentally butt in.

"Hey, you alright?" Katara questions.

He shrugs it off, "Yeah, I'm fine." He turns to the throng of people, most of which are finished. "Okay guys, the marks make you look sick, but you've gotta act sick! You've gotta really sell it." An old man stumbles forward on a wooden leg, groaning. One hand is on his back and the other is on a wobbling cane. "Wow, that's fantastic!"

The old man straightens and grins wolfishly, "Thanks, years of practice." Other people who had obviously seen that act roll their eyes.

"Alright everyone, into sick formation out into the city!" Groans and moans start to rise from the crowd as tunnels open up and they wander out into the city. Sokka, Katara, and Zuko head out a little behind the rest of the populace to watch. Aang however heads down a different tunnel.

"Hey, what are you doing? Aren't you coming?"

"No, Katara, I came here to find Bumi. That's what I'm going to do, I'm not leaving here without him," Aang clenches his jaw, prepared to fight her on this but she just nods. He may be a kid, she may feel the need to mother him, but every now and then he shows her that there is steel in him even if he hides it under layers of goofiness. Momo follows after Aang.

The sun shines bright overhead and Katara relaxes almost immediately. They watch from behind a building as the first wave of people shuffles out of their houses and alleyways into the main streets. They advance towards the city center and it's easy to see the guards shift uncomfortably as they get closer. At a little less than a hundred yards the guards start to get genuinely worried. At a dozen yards they start to back up, the grunts from the crowd aren't helping. A young woman in the front of the group lets out a bloodcurdling shriek and doubles over, drooling. The Fire Nation soldiers break and hightail it away from there screaming about the plague. Zuko can't help but roll his eyes. It's great, it's going according to plan but he can't help but feel at least a little let down at the amount of discipline.

People continue groaning and more waves come from their houses. Earth benders play a role in the 'natural' opening of the doors opening into the next tier of the city where more people pile into the streets. Soon a deep gong is banging, sounding the alarm and the Fire Nation soldiers and scrambling to get to the palace at the city center, barricading themselves inside.

"So what now?"

"Now, we wait," Sokka answers as the population of Omashu mills around the palace doors groaning and shrieking. It only takes half an hour for the doors to open. Metal sheets emerge with pikes stuck between them, the men behind them unseen. Sokka grins, the pikes were unexpected but other than that it's going exactly the way he expected. Besides, they'll avoid killing anyone if at all possible. They won't want to deal with diseased bodies. The Fire Nation advances slowly, herding the people towards the gates.

. . .

Aang found Flopsie - Bumi's pet - but couldn't find the king. He's looked everywhere he can think of, but no Bumi. On top of that, Momo deserted him. Aang and Flopsie walk tiredly into camp and plop down next to the central fire where his friends are. Somehow even Appa knew to come here. Katara takes one look at his face and immediately steps forward to comfort him and hand him a bowl of soup. "No Bumi?"

The kid's shoulders slump and Flopsie yowls. "No, no Bumi."

"I'm so sorry Aang."

She almost says more but Yung steps up, an aggravated look on his face. "We've got a problem. We just did a head count and -"

"Oh no, did we miss someone?"

"Did the pikes get someone?"

"No, nothing like that. We have an extra." He points over to Momo who is being snuggled to insanity by a little boy that everyone had assumed was someone else's.

"Shit," Zuko whispers.

. . .

"Do you really have to faun over it, Katara?" Sokka may be getting more okay with the idea of the Fire Nation not all being evil but he's not to the point where he's okay with her coddling a Fire Nation child - or making eyes at a Fire Nation Prince for that matter. Katara rolls her eyes and continues making cute faces at Tom-Tom. Sokka turns his attention to the hat-wearing Aang. "You do realize we're walking right into a trap, right?"

Aang shakes his head, "No I don't think so. I'm sure the governor wants his son back as much as we want King Bumi." They walk onto a platform in front of scaffolding near the palace. The note from the governor was right, they've made it to the city center without incident. Aang still keeps his hand wrapped around Appa's whistle just in case. Three girls walk up the other side of the platform, one of them Mai. In the shadows Zuko's heart drops. He knows each of these girls. Katara hands Tom-Tom to Sokka, just in case. In the sunlight she can see Mai better, the tall lanky girl looks incredibly bored but under her sleeves glints of metal are just barely visible. The girl in the middle is quite obviously Azula, there's no mistaking the family resemblance or the haughty look that Zuko used to wear. Her eyes are significantly more vicious. On the end a pink clad girl stands, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet with too much energy. She smiles at the group of three and takes them in with her wide grey eyes. She starts to wave but a sneer from Azula stops her and the smile falters slightly before returning in full force.

The creaking of heavy chains surprises the gang but after a quick glance around for the source they relax. A metal coffin lowers from the scaffolding, Bumi's cackling and snorting can be heard from inside it and Aang nods in understanding. He didn't think to look inside the contraction, just around it. It lands with a thud behind the enemy trio and Bumi smiles through a porthole, "Hi everybody!"

Mai steps forward, "You brought my brother?"

"Tom-Tom is right here. We're ready to trade."

Azula puts a hand on her hip, "A thought just occurred to me. Do you mind?"

"Of course not, Princess," Mai steps back, not at all surprised by the interruption.

"We're trading a two-year-old for a king, a powerful earth bending king." Bumi nods at her words. "It just doesn't seem like a fair trade."

"It's not," Bumi adds, giggling.

"You're right, deal's off." Mai raises her hand and the coffin begins to rise again.

"No! Bumi!" Aang shouts and jumps after him, not caring when the hat falls off his head. His glider opens and he's off.

Azula hisses, "The Avatar! Kill his friends, he's mine." She begins to bend, blue lightening snapping between her fingers. She couldn't do that when Zuko left and for a moment he stops before roaring and lunging forward, temporarily drawing Azula's attention away from Aang. "Zuzu?" She smirks, "This day just keeps getting better and better. Take my brother alive, I'm sure Father will want him to rot beside our traitorous uncle." With that she jumps, climbing after Aang.

Katara pulls liquid out of her water skin and sends it in spikes towards the dark girl who darts to the side. She doesn't retaliate, her eyes locked on Zuko who now stands in front of Sokka - who has his hands full with Tom-Tom, ready to attack. She quickly looks over her shoulder, "Ty Lee, where's Azula?"

The pink girl - Ty Lee - had started forward but pauses. "She's already gone."

"Okay." Mai raises her hands. "For you Zuko, I won't attack. Give me my brother and leave." Her voice cracks slightly, emotion almost creeping in.

"Um, okay?" Sokka looks around in confusion but shrugs and steps forward, setting Tom-Tom down in front of Zuko. The little boy sees his sister and grins, toddling forward to her.

"Ty?"

"On it!" Ty Lee springs forward, scooping Tom-Tom up. "Hey Zuko, long time no see!"

"Um, hi Ty Lee." It's an all around weird situation and neither he nor Katara have dropped their bending stances but no one's attacking.

Mai locks eyes with Zuko. "Why would you do this?"

"Mai, the Fire Nation is wrong."

"So? What does it matter, we're still winning. You could come back. Help your sister catch the Avatar and I'm sure your father would restore your honor. You would be a prince again. You can come home."

Katara sees the conflict in his shoulders, drawing lines of stress and tensing his muscles. She should say something, anything, remind him that what he's doing is right. He's on the right course, he's doing the right thing! The words get caught in her throat and her mouth is dry. She can't speak.

He could go home. That's all he's ever wanted. His honor, his home, he wants it back. All it would take is turning around, Sokka isn't as fast, he'd go down in a second. Katara would be harder, but he could go home. Isn't that worth it?