Chapter 12

"Hey Feng, could you get up here for a second?" Sokka yelled, earning Feng's attention as he moved from his spot in the back of the saddle, walking to where Sokka was currently pouring over a map alongside Aang and Katara.

"What's the issue?"

Sokka frowned slightly as he looked back down at the map, circling a particular section of the map.

"It's about Ba Sing Se. None of us know where to land, and if it's as big as they say it is, it'll take forever to go anywhere if we fly to the wrong spot."

Ah, Feng could see the issue. While they were currently flying on top of Appa's back, they couldn't do so forever. At some point, they would have to land, and from there the gang would travel on foot. While Feng had never personally been to the last stronghold of the Earth Kingdom, he had talked to other people who had.

Those people, the rare few that there were, had brought back many a story about the city, about its vast collections of buildings that stretched as far as the eye could see that was only impeded by the walls that protected Ba Sing Se from the outside and divided up the inner sections.

The section that they were aiming for was the one that contained the king, who would likely be in the central ring.

"Due to its size, right? What have you got so far?"

"Well, our first plan," Sokka said, gesturing between himself and Aang who nodded, "was to just fly all the way to the Earth Kingdom Palace, landing in front of it to have an audience with the Earth King. We figured that he'd want to see the Avatar and that it would be an easy and simple solution."

Sokka must have seen the twitch that formed in Feng's eye as he continued to speak, a pout appearing on his face.

"Unfortunately, someone heard our plan and decided it was stupid."

"Yes," Katara drawled, "because it was stupid. Still is, actually."

"Hey!" Sokka yelped, pointing an accusing finger at his sister. "It's a great plan and you know it!"

"Yes, because potentially being shot down by the Earth Kingdom guards, or arrested, or earning the ire of the Earth King is such a great plan. 10 out of 10 would do so again." Feng drawled sarcastically.

"Thank you!" Sokka declared before realizing what Feng had just said. "Hey!"

"At least someone other than me can see the issue." Katara sighed as she looked at Feng with only a hint of hesitation, getting a nod from the man.

"Yeah, it is kind of...basic, and the Earth King is a figure like none of you have ever met. It's not the same as the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, as important as he is. The Earth King is the ruler of the largest continent in the world and has a population of almost 25 million under his reign. The only figure who can even compare is the Fire Lord, and I doubt any of us want to meet him."

"Yeah." Aang sighed, looking at the wind as it flowed past them, causing his clothes to ruffle.

Feng tried to not let it get to him as his teacher turned away from him, choosing to keep Feng out of his sight. Their relationship had become…not strained per se, but weird over the past few days. Aang still gave him direction on his bending, but during that time he acted more…professional, Feng supposed.

He didn't act like the carefree boy he used to, which Feng knew to be his fault. The three of them had indeed been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days, and none of them had come to any decisions as of yet.

But Feng didn't feel like rushing things yet, so he was content to pretend that everything was alright just like the others were, setting his sights on the Earth King and news of the Solar Eclipse.

But to do that, they actually had to meet the Earth King while at the same time avoiding getting skewered by spikes of earth. That meant that instead of just showing up without warning, they'd have to do what everyone else did as they arrived.

Obey the rules.

"Well, as it stands, I know of two ways we can go about this. One that's dangerous, and one that's not. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Ooh! Ooh! The Dangerous one please!" Toph yelled from the back of the saddle, earning a sigh from the others. Toph had always been quite direct with her words and had a love for adventure.

"Very well, dangerous one it is," Feng said, ignoring the cursing Sokka uttered as Feng moved into a seated position, crossing his legs as he placed his hands on his lap in a meditative position, a habit that he had inherited from his training with Aang.

"Since we don't want to be attacked by the Earth Kingdom soldiers, we can't just show up unannounced on Appa, we actually have to be granted entry, of which we have two ways we can go about it. The first, which is the dangerous one by the way," Feng said for Toph's benefit, "is to go through the Serpent's Pass, which I believe is labeled on the map."

He pointed on the map the pass he was talking about, making Sokka squint a little as he read the tiny font.

"For a long time now, this was the only path Earth kingdom Refugees could use to make the trip to the Earth Kingdom Capital, as all the other entrances are blocked. Unfortunately, the path is quite treacherous, filled with rocky terrain and a few sections that become slippery due to their proximity to the water. Not to mention the Fire Nation Armada stationed on either side of the pass. As I said, Dangerous."

"Dangerous? It sounds Awesome!" Toph exclaimed with excitement, a grin splitting her face in two.

"Yeah, I'm just going to ignore her," Sokka replied. "Gotta say, the Serpent's Pass doesn't sound very appealing from what I'm hearing. What's option 2?"

Katara and Aang were also listening, neither of them filled with joy for the first option.

"The second option…is not a very old one. In fact, it's quite new from what the travelers I talked to said, as it's only been in operation since Ba Sing Se's walls were almost breached by the Dragon of The West some years back. The only reason the Fire Nation failed was due to the fact that the General lost the will to fight, leaving Ba Sing Se's walls narrowly defended, so because of this, security was tightened, and a series of ferries were set up to transport refugees to the capital."

"Ferries?" Aang blinked, thinking over what he knew about them. "…don't they require water to work?"

"They do Aang," Sokka replied as he peered at the map closely, eventually tapping it with certainty with his finger. "That's why there's only one place the ferries can be and still go into the city. Full Moon Bay."

"Correct, Sokka." Feng nodded, earning a pleased smile from the teen at his accurate deduction, "the ferries operate out of Full Moon Bay. If we take this option, we can simply land somewhere close by and take a fairly relaxed trip across the sea. So, those are your two options. Which one do you want to do?"

"Gee, why don't I think it over," Katara drawled, tapping her chin with sarcasm to mime the action of thinking, "we could go on a death-defying journey filled with danger and death, did I mention death, or we could go on a nice relaxing cruise along the coast. Man, this really is a hard decision. What to choose? What...to...choose?"

"Hey!" Sokka said, pointing a thumb at his chest as he glared at his sister. "Let's get it straight, missy. I'm the sarcasm guy here, not you. Sarcasm is my shtick, just like complaining is yours and youthful naivety is Aang's and murderous rampages are Feng's."

"I don't know, I feel like I can pull off sarcasm very well. What do you think Aang?" Katara replied, turning to question the Air Nomad.

Not really a fair question Katara, Feng thought with amusement (suppressing the momentary spike of pain at Sokka's joke). Aang is always going to follow you with that little puppy crush of his. At least they'd decided what they were going to be doing though, which made things easier.

"Full Moon Bay it is." Feng sighed, not bothering to stand as instead he just placed his hands on the leather beneath him, flexing his arms with a small burst of wind to part with Appa and float backward, landing gracefully beside the sprawled form of Toph.

"I still think going on the Serpents Pass would have been more fun. Who wants to go on some stinking cruise? No, give me the danger, at least that won't be boring."

"Uh-huh." Feng chuckled as he adopted a similar posture to Toph, placing his hands behind his head. "You do know we're going to be facing plenty of danger soon enough, right? Even if our little foray into Bas Sing Se goes off without a hitch, which I somehow doubt knowing this group, we'll still have the Fire Nation to contend with."

"I gueeeessss." Toph sighed heavily, sinking somehow even further into the saddle, which Feng hadn't thought was possible until she'd gone and done it. "It's still boring right now though."

"Eh, you'll think of something to fill your time with. Maybe you can learn how to play some of the common games that gambling uses. That's one of the things we'll be doing when we get there after all."

"That's true!" Toph cheered as she sat up, turning to Feng.

"Hey, you said you'd teach me, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Then you can teach me now, I don't have anything better to do so we might as well do it now."

"But I'm so relaxed, do we really have to do this now?" Feng asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. Unfortunately, this allowed him to see her customarily stubborn expression, so with a sigh, he sat up, moving to his pack to pull out a deck of cards he had.

Sure, he'd have to verbally tell her what each card said, what with them only being differentiated by the ink drawings on them, but he knew Toph's expression well enough to know that he wasn't getting out of this, even if he wanted to.

And he supposed that corrupting a young girl with the art of gambling was a fun enough way to spend his time Feng smirked as he shuffled the deck, eagerly watched by his young student.

"Alright, the first thing you should know about this first game is that it's called Devil's Gambit, and it consists of 52 separate cards that each…"

…

"Right, Appa's settled and hidden away, and he has a giant pile of hay. He should be good for the next day or so before he needs to move in search of food, but he knows to come back every day or so to check for us. That means we can just focus on seeing the Earth King." Aang said as he came back, joining up with the others as they stepped out of the mountain path that led down to Full Moon Bay.

There was quite a number of people Feng noted, seeing scattered groups of poor-looking refuges in groups of one to ten, with maybe five hundred individuals all up.

And only perhaps 5 of them looked like they had more than the clothes on their back.

"There's a lot of people here," Katara noted with a hint of sadness, watching a mother with her child in particular as she carried her along on tired feet. A part of her wanted to go and help, but a larger part of her realized that the woman was just one individual among the masses that needed help.

The Earth Kingdom was full of them, and try as she might, Katara was only one person, she couldn't help everyone. Feng had one thing right she supposed, only by overthrowing the Fire Lord could they actually set things right, everything else would just be a momentary setback to the tyrant.

She still didn't know how to feel about his past as the Vengeful Oni, however, especially as she noted the similarities between the two of them. A mother dying to save their bending child, filled with vengeful thoughts against the Fire Nation. It had been a thought in the back of her mind these past couple of days, more so than what Feng had done. If she was honest, she didn't really have anything against him for what he did. Sure, it was horrible, but the whole war was horrible, what was one more thing to add to the bucket?

No, what had concerned her was that she could very well see herself going down the same path, the same route of revenge if she ever found the man who had murdered her mother. Just the thought of the man was enough to set her blood alight, but something else held her back, even now, that made her just a little less angry.

It was Feng's words that the soldier's actions were just a result of the greater Fire Nation and thus the Fire Lord's orders. That it was what they had been raised to be, rather than what they chose to be.

"Why does he have to be so right about everything? It was easier to hate that man when I thought he was just a monster." Katara muttered angrily even as she followed the team to the gate.

"Hmm? You say something, princess?" Toph asked from next to her, making Katara flush slightly, glad that the younger girl couldn't see it. What she was not so glad at was the name, which despite her best efforts Toph had continued to call her.

"No, nothing." Katara was quick to deny.

"Hmm…" Toph said, giving Katara a quick look before deciding to let it go. If Princess wanted to keep a secret, as long as it didn't affect the group, who was she to begrudge her? So, with a shrug they walked all the way up to the ticket lady who was in charge of the ferry, lining up after a pair of what seemed to be brothers on their way to the city of Ba Sing Se.

Successfully so it would seem, seeing as they happily received their tickets for the ferry.

"Next!" The old-looking ticket lady yelled, staring straight at Aang with a look of disinterest as he stepped forward.

"Um, five tickets for the ferry to Ba Sing Se, please."

"Passports?"

"Um…no one told us we had to have passports," Aang replied helplessly, sharing a glance with the others to see if they had any ideas.

"Don't you know who this is?" Sokka asked as he stepped beside Aang, gesturing at his friend. "He's the Avatar!"

"Ah, I see." The Ticket Lady replied with what Feng could only describe as the direst tone possible. Like a desert that hadn't experienced rain for 100 years. "I see over fifty Avatar's a day, and by the way, not a very impressive costume."

As she said this, the lady pointed to the right, pointing out what seemed to be 10 different interpretations of what Aang looked like, with some of them being more impressive than the others. Hell, one of them was clearly a woman with long hair and a curvy figure, dressed in primarily brown clothes with a shoddy-looking blue arrow on her forehead.

Feng didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed that Aang was considered to not be very good when compared to the others. He decided on amused as he chuckled quietly.

"Besides, no animal's allowed. Do I need to call security?" The lady asked, finally looking closely enough at Aang to see Mom perched on his shoulder.

"That won't be necessary." Aang sighed, moving to step back despondently.

"Next!"

Whereas Aang, Katara, and Sokka had stepped aside at the lady's direction, neither Toph nor Feng had made any moves towards doing so. Instead, Feng just smirked as he crossed his arms, looking quite confident in his black and emerald clothes, while Toph stepped forward.

"Don't worry, I got this Twinkletoes," Toph smirked, slapping her passport open side up down onto the booth. "My name is Toph Beifong, and I'll need five tickets for me and my friends."

"Ah, the golden seal of the flying boar! It is my pleasure to help anyone of the Beifong family." The Ticket lady proclaimed, quickly changing tact from her previous attitude into a far more helpful one. It seems like the prestige made all the difference.

"It is your pleasure. Now, as you can tell, I'm blind. Those three imbeciles there, who jokingly dressed the youngest up as the Avatar, are my valets, while the man behind me is my guard. I'm a Beifong, I need to be protected after all."

Feng was impressed with how quickly Toph explained away their presence, even if he noted the twitch in her body language about needing to be protected. Still, he supposed he should play his part and stood to his full height as he let a deadly smile cross his face, oozing menace from his form as the ticket lady gave him a wary glance.

"That's fine, but the animal-"

"-is my seeing eye lemur." Toph was quick to say, now crossing her arms as she gave the ticket lady a passive-aggressive stare.

"Well…" The ticket lady shifted uneasily as she glanced between the five teens and the passport on her table before sighing as she gave in, "…normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official…I guess it's worth five tickets."

And like that, she stamped five tickets and handed them back to Toph with her passport.

"Thank you very much." Toph nodded, stepping aside as she led the way to the departure area with Feng falling in step behind her, darting his eyes around for any signs of malcontent.

"All right, we scammed that lady good!" Sokka cheered as he moved up to walk beside Toph and Feng, a cheerful smirk across his face.

A smile that had quickly fell off of it as he was harshly grabbed on the shoulder by one of a pair of guards patrolling the area, her brown her seeming familiar to Feng but he was unable to place it.

"Tickets and passports, please."

"Is there a problem?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, I got a problem with you! I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious, and let me guess, your traveling with the Avatar." The security guard deadpanned.

That sounded like an oddly specific description of Sokka to Feng. Like, really specific, which Sokka seemed to note as well.

"Do I know you?"

"You mean you don't remember? Maybe you'll remember this!" The guard said as a mischievous smile crossed her face while she leaned in, pecking Sokka on the cheek much to the other's confusion.

"Suki!" Sokka cheered, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

So that was where he knew her from Feng thought, easing the grip he kept on his fans as he allowed himself to relax, smiling as he watched the byplay between the two.

"Sokka, it's good to see you!"

Together, the two groups walked off, in search of an area they could talk.

…

"You look so different without your makeup! And the new outfit." Katara said, giving the other girl an intent look that spoke of her question.

"Yeah, that wasn't exactly our decision." Suki chuckled, her naturally bubbly personality shining through. "That crabby lady makes all the security guards were them, and while we are used to it now, it was a little weird at first to no longer be wearing the traditional Kyoshi garb."

"You can say that again." Gwin, the other Kyoshi warrior who was traveling with Suki said as she stood stoically beside Suki, doing her best to keep an eye on things while occasionally giving Feng a curious look as if she was trying to figure something out about him.

"And look at you, sleeveless guy. Been working out?" Suki flirted as she playfully grabbed one of Sokka's exposed biceps, his sleeveless shirt doing nothing to hide them.

"Ahh, I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin-ups every now and then. Nothing major." Sokka replied as he flexed, a shameless grin crossing his face as Feng groaned, pinching his nose at the pair's painful flirting.

Seriously, watching Aang and Katara awkwardly dance around each other was better than this, and they were still terrible. His action didn't go unnoticed by Suki however who gave first Feng and then Toph some curious looks.

"And who are these two? New members of the illustrious team Avatar?"

"Yeah." Katara nodded, coughing a little as she gratefully turned her attention away from her brother's flirting. Seriously, was now really the time for it? "The short girl is Toph Beifong, Aang's Earth-bending teacher."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh, but princess also forgot that I'm the greatest Earthbender in the world. Just thought I should mention it bubbles."

"Humble too." Suki laughed as she turned to Feng.

"What about you, tough guy? Are you also a teacher of Aang's?"

Chuckling slightly, Feng shook his head as a grin graced his features, Aang doing the same. "Not quite, Suki. No, I believe it is more accurate to say that Aang is my teacher, rather than I am his."

"You're his student?" Suki blinked, glancing between Aang and Feng for a moment. "What could he have to teach you though, no offense Aang."

"None taken." Aang shrugged, not caring for the slight in the least.

"Well, I can think of one thing…" Gwin spoke suddenly, trailing off as she looked up and down Feng's body, her gaze latching on to the fans at his side, "…and I think it had something to do with those fans at his side."

Humoring her, Feng withdrew one of his fans as he opened it, letting a small blast of wind leave it at the action that ruffled the two Kyoshi warrior's hair as they watched with stunned eyes.

"Yep. Turns out, Aang isn't the last Airbender, not even close. If anything, I suspect there are a lot more out there like me who are just hiding their abilities."

"Another Airbender," Suki breathed out before smirking. "Neat."

"Really, neat? That's all you have to say?" Sokka asked with exasperation as Suki nodded, placing her arms behind her back as she nodded, her brown hair bobbing at the action.

"Yep, neat. Although…" Suki took a closer look at Feng's fan, taking in its width and sturdy construction. "…That fan looks awfully familiar. If anything, I'd say that's a Kyoshi Island War Fan, even if it's not made out of metal like they normally are."

"That's probably because it is a Kyoshi Island War Fan, Suki…or should I say, Lieutenant? You were always so insistent on making sure I used the proper greeting when I was there."

The familiarity in Feng's words confused her for a second, a puzzled expression crossing her face as she pondered his words.

"Feng?" Suki guessed as understanding cleared on her face, her confusion leaving her as her mind pieced together the dots. "That is you, isn't it Feng?"

"Yep."

Until now, no one had actually said his name.

"It's been a long time since I trained you. It's nice to see that you kept up the practice" Suki chuckled as Feng closed his fan, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Why wouldn't I? It took me over two weeks to convince you to even train me, and that was with the constant groveling you made me do and the chores you pushed off onto me."

"Mm, good times." Suki nodded as Feng scowled playfully but otherwise did nothing. Even though it had taken some effort, Suki's training had been well worth the hardship it had taken. Many times since then it had come in handy, both with and without his bending in the mix.

"Still, I'm not surprised I didn't recognize you; it's been like a year and a half since you came to us. You look completely different too, as when last I saw you, you were barely taller than me with short hair and shabby clothes. It seems like joining team Avatar has allowed you to move up in the world." Suki said, gesturing at the general quality of his attire.

"Something like that," Feng replied with a shrug as he glanced at Gwin, noting that a faint pink flush had appeared on her cheeks as she awkwardly looked away from him. The sight jogged his mind as a smirk crossed his lips, winking at the girl when she made eye contact as her cheeks became even pinker.

That had been a fun couple of nights.

"So, as nice as it is to see you, why are you here?" Aang said curiously as he looked around the station. "Ate the other Kyoshi warriors around as well?"

"Yeah." Suki nodded. "After you left Kyoshi, we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting some refugees and we've been here ever since." As she spoke, Momo hopped up onto her shoulder, the girl not breaking stride as she scratched his head. "Hey Momo! So, why are you guys getting tickets for the ferry? Wouldn't you just fly across on Appa?"

"That was my first idea," Sokka replied as he looked between Katara and Feng. "But the others thought that would be a bit too obvious with a slight chance of pissing off the Earth King, so this time we're going to try a more subtle approach."

"Let me guess, it was Feng's idea?" Suki smirked as an embarrassed flush crossed Sokka's cheeks as he nodded. "He always was one to sneak around. I remember him being quite good at it."

Feng smirked at the glance she gave him, not embarrassed in the least. He wasn't ashamed of it.

"Me too," Gwin said softly as she squirmed on the spot, likely remembering the event Suki was referring to. If he had to guess, Feng assumed that Suki had caught Gwin after one of their encounters, as he'd never been detected, but had remembered Suki's being bemused one morning out of nowhere.

"Yeah," Aang nodded, completely oblivious to the by-play even if Katara and Sokka were not, shooting Feng some scrutinous looks, "he is pretty good at that. But showing up to the Earth King unannounced probably wouldn't be a good thing, so I'm happy enough to try it another way if the others think it s appropriate."

"That's probably best." Suki nodded as she tilted her head in thought. "Why do you need to meet with the Earth King anyway? Do you need to talk to him about the Fire Nation?"

"Yes, we do," Sokka said in a serious voice, his tone causing Suki to become serious as well. "We have some crucial information about the Fire Nation that could bring about the end of the war, but only if everyone is ready for it."

"It's really that important?" Suki blinked in surprise, sharing a puzzled expression with Gwin.

"It is, Suki, possible more important than even the return of the Avatar," Feng spoke solemnly as Suki came to a decision.

"Right, if that's the case I won't hold you up any longer. It's been really great to see all you guys again, especially you Sokka, and I suppose you as well Feng."

"Yes, it is…nice…to see you, Feng." Gwin agreed as she seemed to argue with herself for a second before coming to a decision and stepping forward, reaching up to force Feng to lean over as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I wouldn't mind having another go of it if we ever meet again, Feng." She whispered into his ear before releasing her hold as she stepped back, ignoring the surprised looks the rest of Team Avatar was giving her.

Not one to be outdone, Suki chose to step forward this time, wrapping a hand in Sokka's shirt and forcing him forward, smashing their lips together in a deep kiss as the rest stood there awkwardly.

For like a minute.

"…are you guys going to stop anytime soon? I'm pretty sure the ferry is meant to leave in the next ten minutes, and I don't want to wait for the next one."

…

Setting off, the Ferry smoothly glided over the calm waters of the coast, the cool light of the evening sun giving it an idyllic presence, the gentle lapping of the water at the edge of the boat giving it a gentle rocking motion that seemed to soothe the soul.

Unfortunately, all this was ruined by the general cramped conditions and lack of proper food.

"Well…this blows." Sokka summarised accurately, staring down at the squalid-looking bowl of porridge in front of him. "Eh, free food is free food." He declared before swiftly forcing it down.

Yeah…Feng didn't think that would be the greatest idea as he believed Sokka would be just as likely to throw it all back up afterward. As for his portion of food, he decided going hungry would be the better choice.

It wasn't the first time, and the ferry would only take a couple of days. Really, he could use this time to perform the practice of fasting just as Aang sometimes did.

"You would think they'd have better food than this." Katara sighed, pushing the slop in her bowl around with a spoon, not eating any of it.

"Yeah, well, it's not like we paid for any of it." Toph shrugged as she tossed her own over the side of the boat, instead sneaking some of the food she had tucked away into her bag into her mouth, careful not to let anyone else on the ferry see it as they were similarly disappointed with the food choice.

In fact, things had almost gotten violent for a second before the threats of the ship's captain to throw them overboard were heard, and seeing how serious he was about it, they'd believed him and settled down.

"Yes, but I'm not sure many other people could pay for it, Toph. Just look at their clothing, most of it's rough and patched up. They're clearly in a bad place, and it just makes me feel bad that they live in such a state." Katara said, her compassion showing throw as she frowned, clenching her hands at her side.

Feng sadly had to agree with Katara. It did make him feel bad, and it made the weight of the two bags of gold coins on his hip feel even heavier, their contents weighing heavily on his soul. He easily had enough to give a coin to everyone on board, and even just that single coin would be enough to ease some of their burdens.

It'd likely not go as far in the city as it would outside of it, but a single gold coin was enough for three months' worth of rations for a family of four in the outside world. Unfortunately, that thought didn't make him actually give out the money any more than he previously had, not with how they might need it someday.

For armor, weapons, or even just rations of their own. Unlike the people on board, team Avatar couldn't just get a job, they were all fugitives in the eyes of the Fire Nation, each with bounties. Bounties that even the Earth Kingdom citizens might be tempted to spring for if the opportunity was right.

So no, he didn't suddenly start giving out his material assets, but that didn't mean they had to do nothing, especially when a number of the people on board were sporting injuries from travel on the road.

"Hey, Katara, do you think you'd be able to help these people? You know, with your healing? I know it's not much, but it'd still help them a little bit."

"My healing?" Katara blinked before a wide smile graced her face as she lit up. "That's a wonderful idea! But what if we get attacked? I might not have enough chi to properly defend myself even if we're on the ocean."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Feng smiled, sharing a glance with a nodding Sokka and a cheerful-looking Aang. "We got that covered. Unlike you though, we can't heal anyone."

"Yeah, princess, go do your magical princess healing, these bozos will keep you safe," Toph stated, pointing a thumb at the others as she smirked. "And me as well I hope if the opportunity comes up. I'm kind of useless here without anything to bend."

That was a good point Feng thought, noting it for later as he rubbed his chin in thought even as Katara made her way over to the center of the boat, followed by Aang and Sokka.

"If I could get everyone's attention for a second?!" Katara exclaimed, raising her voice as nearly a hundred pairs of eyes settled on her. "I'm a waterbending healer, so if anyone wants me to heal them just tell me and I'll do so."

"For real!?" A male voice in the back yelled, their voice cracking like that of a teenager.

Smiling, Katara waved her arm towards the ocean before drawing it back in a fluid motion, a tendril of water traveling up and winding around her arm before settling across her hands, glowing a faint green.

"For real."

Katara's display and words were enough it seems, as fairly soon there was a small line in front of the girl as she started on a woman with a sprained ankle, kneeling before her even as Aang and Sokka made sure everything stayed orderly.

Feng and Toph just stood there, leaning against the barrier that kept them from falling into the ocean.

"It's times like this that I become jealous of Twinkletoes ability to bend all the elements," Toph admitted from Feng's side, the pair of them leaning against the banister as the smell of the ocean washed over them. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my Earthbending for anything in the world, but I can never use it to do anything like what Katara's doing. I can't heal people as she can."

"True," Feng nodded, "but that's not unique to just you. That's not even unique to all Waterbender's either, as not all of them are able to heal as Katara can. But just as Katara's ability to heal us is valuable, so is your ability to defend us, to raise fortifications around us and detect our enemies, of which we have many, so chin up Toph. Besides, if you really wanted to, you'd be able to raise study housing in a few quick stomps, providing shelter against the elements that can stop people from getting sick in the first place. All bending is like that really, able to help just so long as their user desires it."

"What do you mean?" Toph asked curiously as she turned towards Feng, her hair swaying in the ocean breeze over her clouded eyes.

"Just what I said," Feng said confidently. "All bending, no matter what type, can be used towards any purpose their bender desires. Each and every element can be used to heal. To protect, or to hurt, to wage war against one another, just as non-benders do. Just as the doctors and soldiers do. Everyone has a choice, Toph, it's just up to them to make it."

"I can see that it would be up to the user on how their bending is sued," Toph agreed, "but do you really think every bending style can be used both peacefully and dangerously? I somehow doubt Firebending can really be that useful outside of attacks."

"You wouldn't be the only one," Feng supposed as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting his thoughts flow through his mind. "But even Firebending has its uses outside of battle. Fire…has its uses. For example, every time we go camping, what do we use to keep us warm?"

Toph blinked. "A campfire."

"Mm-hmm," Feng nodded, "and I know this isn't quite the same for you, but what do the rest of us use to see when it gets dark, to illuminate the world around us?"

This question took Toph a little linger, a fact Feng did not begrudge her for as she answered.

"A…torch?"

"Yep, a torch, which is also fire. At its heart, Fire is the cradle of civilization. Without it, we wouldn't be able to cook our food. We wouldn't be able to light up the dark tunnels that we mine resources from. We wouldn't be able to light the forges that we use to make our tools. Don't misunderstand me though, of the four elements, Fire is the easiest to misuse, to cause pain and suffering. But it is far more than just what the Fire Nation use it for."

"A wise philosophy, my young friend." A new, wizened voice spoke, causing Feng's eyes to snap open as he looked around for the origin of the voice.

"Over here, my boy." The man chuckled, drawing Feng's eyes to the left, away from where everyone else was gathering for Katara's healing. This person didn't seem familiar to Feng, but looking over him he couldn't help but think he seemed familiar. He didn't know why though, as not many were quite as round or happy-looking as the balding older man dressed in dull green clothing was, his grey hair showing his age even as a wide smile graced his lips.

"I have to say, it is nice to hear words like that from someone who is so young, it is not often that people your age become so introspective."

"Well, I guess you can say I'm a special individual." Feng shrugged.

"On that, I think we can agree," The man said, leaning forward to bow in greeting, "Hong Mushi, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Seeing no harm in it, Feng returned the bow.

"Feng."

"Well met, Feng." Hong nodded as a curious expression graced his features, the man stroking his beard. "Although forgive me if I overstep, your words have made me curious. That all bending styles can be used to help and to harm. While the examples for Water bending, Earth Bending, and Fire Bending are clear to see, especially with your young friend over there," Hong gestured towards Katara, "it makes me curious as to your thoughts of Airbending, on both how it can help people and how it can harm them."

Looking closely at the man, Feng could see nothing but earnest interest from the man, so despite how a part of his mind yelled out at him to be cautious, Feng found himself answering the polite man's question.

"Well, Airbending is another tricky subject, just like Firebending. While it is true that most commonly recorded descriptions of Airbending show it to not be more than an evasive bending style, I believe otherwise. Air…air is many things. It is free, unrestrained by any boundaries as it flows through any and all resistance. But as storms show, Air can also be vicious and biting. It can chill you, just as it can erode the very building we live in if you give it enough time. But above all else, it is the absence of air that can destroy you, as without Air you cannot breathe. If you cannot breathe, you cannot live, as anyone who has experienced drowning can tell you."

"Yes," Hong nodded sadly even as he kept stroking his beard, "that is true."

To be honest, Feng had mainly focused on the destructive side of Airbending these past few years, but that didn't mean all aspects of it were.

"But Air can also nurture you. It is the medium by which plants travel, moving their seeds from place to place to allow for new growth. It is Air that cools you down on a hot summer's day, and it is Air that allows us to sail, to move across the ocean in boats of our own making. So, as I said, any bending, no matter which of the four, is only what their wielder decides it to be."

"I couldn't agree more." Hong chuckled, his face becoming more cheerful at the optimistic end of Feng's thoughts. "I only wish my nephew was as wise as you. If he was, I feel like our troubles would not be as bad as they are."

"Your nephew?" Toph asked, breaking the silence she had taken as Feng and Hong had spoken.

"Yes, my nephew. Actually, I'll introduce him. Now, where did he run off to…"

Hong glanced around, keeping his eyes peeled as Feng did the same, even though he didn't know who to look for. But if he was a nephew of the middle-aged man beside him, he would likely be close to Feng's own age, if not a little older. That meant he had to look for a boy his own age who looked like he didn't belong and wouldn't you know it, there was one standing over by the back rail.

"Is that him?" Feng asked, drawing the old man's attention to the figure Feng had spotted.

"It is indeed," Hong said cheerfully as he raised his voice and waved his arm like a lunatic. "Nephew! Nephew, come over here, I'd like for you to meet my new friend!"

Feng internally chuckled as he saw the slumped sigh the boy gave, but he otherwise complied as he moved over toward him, allowing Feng to see that the boy was wearing similar clothes to his uncle, if in a darker shade.

That was not what drew his attention, however. No, what drew his attention was the giant red scar that covered much of the upper portion of the left side of his face, barely covered as it were by the boy's medium-length black hair. It was quite a distinctive scar…and was very unique.

Too unique in fact, as it sounded just like the scar of the Team's reoccurring foe from before they met, the infamous Prince Zuko. Still, there was no need to act suspicion just yet, not until he had gathered some more information.

"Yes, Uncle?"

"Come, introduce yourself to my new friend here, Feng. He has quite the interesting philosophical view on the four elements."

"Hello, Feng," the nephew said blandly, "my name is Z-Lee. It is…nice to make your acquaintance."

Well, wasn't that suspicious Feng thought, crossing his arms as tension filed his form, a fact not unnoticed by Toph.

"You too. Hey, that's a nasty-looking scar you got there, you want me to get my friend to take a look at it?"

Sure, it was a bit rude to say something like that so bluntly, but it did make Lee follow his finger to where Katara was currently finishing up with a small child who had a skinned knee, their mother gratefully thanking the water bending.

"Oh…crap."

Yep, this was definitely Prince Zuko Feng noted as he let his eyes trail to Hong, or as he was otherwise known as…General Iroh, the Dragon of the West met his eyes with the understanding that their identities had just been uncovered.

"Oh, crap indeed nephew," Iroh murmured as he continued to stroke his beard, staring at Feng intensely.

AN: And that's another Chapter, and now we're beginning to get into the divergence which I've slowly been building toward. First up, since Appa didn't get taken, the Team traveled faster to Full Moon Bay, while not actually flying to Ba Sing Se for the reasons stated. This means that they don't meet Ying and Than, nor will they meet Jet and his gang. They do, however, meet Zuko and Iroh, as since they never battled Azula, he never got injured and this didn't need to rest, meaning they traveled faster.

It also means that Iroh has yet to get around to teaching Zuko Lighting Redirection, and there are a few other changes happening in the background that will eventually show themselves.

That's all for now, Ervin.