Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is my OC.

The Six Rules:

Rule Number One: Alec won't warn the Gaang about things in advance or solve their problems for them, with a few rare exceptions.

Rule Number Two: Only Alec has the right to tell people his true origins, and he will mostly limit this to group members. He will tell new group members his secret as soon as they join the Gaang.

Rule Number Three: There are some changes Alec wants to make, and he will use his knowledge of the future to make those changes.

Rule Number Four: Sometimes, to make a change, Alec will act in a way that doesn't make sense. If that's necessary, he'll tell the Gaang "I need you to absolutely trust me." After he says that, the Gaang has to either do whatever he asks or leave him to do what he needs to do.

Rule Number Five: After a change happens, Alec will tell the Gaang what happened in the original story, in the interest of transparency.

Rule Number Six: If a major change happens that Alec doesn't expect, the Gaang will have a meeting ASAP. In this meeting, Alec will break Rule One and tell them all relevant information that will help them figure out how to respond to the change.

Chapter 27:

The Warrior, the Pass and the Decision

Alec POV

The morning was awkward after I told the others what happened in the original story. You try telling your friend, 'hey, your lifelong companion was almost taken from you.'. I bet it puts a damper on their morning. Aang was thankful that we didn't lose Appa, but he was also scared that he came close to losing him.

After I explained what happened, there were several minutes of silence as we sat around the campfire eating breakfast. Katara suddenly remembered something. "What was in that letter that you wrote yesterday?" She inquired.

I swallowed a bite of my breakfast before I answered. "It was a backup plan." I explained. "If Aang told me that Appa couldn't stay in the air for the rest of the day, I was gonna ask you to give that letter to Wan Shi Tong, while I stayed outside with Appa and Toph."

"So, the letter was just you offering the same deal you made with him in person?" Katara asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I was pretty confident the deal would work, even though it was a risk. I figured if we replaced all the knowledge that Zhao burned, Wan Shi Tong would be willing to work with us."

Sokka narrowed his eyes. "Wait, if you were outside with Toph, what would you have done about the sandbenders?" He wondered.

I set down my bowl of food. "First, I would've explained to them that they were trying to steal from the Avatar, probably the second strongest waterbender alive, a strategist who's also a crack shot with a boomerang, the greatest earthbender the world's ever seen, and a firebender that isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty." I answered. "That might have made them back off, but the ten thousand gold bounty on my head might have made them brave enough to fight anyway."

Aang looked up at me, Momo sitting on his shoulder. "What would you have done if they fought?" He inquired in a low voice.

"First, I would've burned their sand sailers so they couldn't get away with Appa." I said. My expression turned serious. "Then, I would have killed as many of them as I could."

Everyone turned towards me. Aang's eyes widened. "I…see." He said with concern in his voice.

I shook my head. "I'm glad it didn't come to that." I admitted. "I'm not sure if Toph and I could've taken down between ten and fifteen sandbenders in the middle of the desert."

Toph gave an annoyed grunt. "What, you think I can't handle myself?" She snapped.

I looked at her. "I know you can handle yourself, but I also know your senses aren't as good on sand. It makes everything seem fuzzy, doesn't it?" I challenged.

Toph frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "Fine." She admitted.

"Um, you're also glad you didn't have to kill any of them, right?" Aang asked hopefully.

I shook my head. "Aang, there's a very short list of people in this world that, if I killed them, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it." I said gravely, looking him in the eye. "Ozai is at the top of that list, and those sandbenders are right behind him."

Katara looked at me. "You really hate them that much?"

I nodded. "Those sandbenders saw us at the Misty Palms Oasis. They knew we were a bunch of kids. Even so, they were still going to steal Appa and leave us to slowly die of thirst in the desert." I said, getting angrier with every word. "And for what? Money." I spat bitterly. "They were going to leave a group of kids to die for money." I calmed myself down and looked at Aang. He seemed scared and confused. "Aang, I know you think that all life is sacred. I don't forgive people who hurt kids."

Aang looked at me and swallowed. "I think I get it." He said softly. "I don't agree, but I think I get it."

The rest of breakfast was filled with an awkward silence.


Ty Lee POV

We arrived in a port on the shore of a massive lake. There were no civilians in sight. This had to be a military port. Azula strode out of the cabin, with Mai and me following closely behind her. Azula's face was calm, but something about her aura was troubled. The flecks of black indicated stress. I'd never seen her like that. Normally her aura was very suppressed. It had been like that since Lady Ursa disappeared.

My thoughts were interrupted when a man in formal red robes stepped forward. He was older, with a short beard, gray hair and a topknot. He prostrated himself before Azula. "Princess Azula." He greeted formally.

"What is the status of the siege weapon, War Minister Qin?" Azula inquired.

Qin stood up. "The weapon is almost ready." He reported. "I estimate that we will be ready to attack Ba Sing Se tomorrow. We've put the siege weapon on the other side of the lake. We're putting the final touches on it now." He smiled triumphantly. "The war will end with Ba Sing Se's fall."

Azula narrowed her eyes. "The war won't end until the Avatar is captured." She countered sharply.

Qin realized his mistake and bowed in apology. "Of course, Princess."

I was worried, but I kept a fake smile on my face. Would I have enough time to decide what to do? I hadn't made a decision yet. What should I do about Alec? I noticed Mai give me a glance, which I returned. I knew that look. She'd given it to me a lot when we were growing up. That look meant 'keep your mouth shut, we'll talk later'.


Azula POV

I made my way to the command tent that they set up for myself. Mai and Ty Lee were given a tent to share, but I wanted them close by when we weren't sleeping. The plan of attack seemed simple enough. We just needed to bring the weapon to the wall, and it would do all the work for us. The Avatar and his friends were giving me pause, though. They were definitely a threat.

The flap opened up behind me, revealing a messenger. He prostrated himself before me.

"Rise." I instructed.

The messenger stood up, holding a scroll tube with a red ribbon. "This arrived for you, Princess."

I took the tube and nodded. "You may leave." I opened the tube and pulled out several sheets of rolled-up paper.

Ty Lee looked at them curiously. "What's that?" She wondered aloud.

I smirked. "I asked Fire Nation Intelligence for all the information they had about the Avatar and his group." I replied. "These are the dossiers they came up with." I always enjoyed reading reports from Fire Nation Intelligence. They were the only group allowed to speak the complete truth to the Royal Family without fear of reprisal. No fluff, no sugarcoating, just the unvarnished facts, and their analysis based on those facts.

I opened the scroll and began reading.

"Princess Azula,

As per your orders, we at Fire Nation Intelligence have compiled all the information we could find about the Avatar and his companions. Attached are our reports, along with a threat assessment of each member of the group.

-Intelligence Minister Rezok"

I discarded the cover letter and opened the first scroll. It contained a picture of the Avatar.

"Name: Aang

Alias: The Avatar

Age: Unknown (Appears to be around 12 or 13, but should be much older)

Gender: Male

Home: Unknown (Definitely one of the Air Temples, but we cannot determine which one)

Summary: Background information on the Avatar was difficult to find. The first concern was his age. Considering the Avatar disappeared 100 years ago, it made no sense that he appeared to be so young. We asked the Fire Sages for their opinion. Their theory is that the Avatar somehow entered the Avatar State (see 'Abilities') and put himself in a kind of trance for a century, before some outside force (possibly one of his companions) discovered him and woke him up. We interrogated King Bumi, the captured king of New Ozai (we didn't torture him, it was too risky to let him out of his metal box). Among the babble and riddles that the King spoke, he indicated that Aang was an old childhood friend of his. Given that King Bumi is 112, this lends credence to the Fire Sages' theory.

Upon his return to the world, Avatar Aang traveled with three companions, a bison, and a lemur throughout the Earth Kingdom, and eventually traveled to the Northern Water Tribe. While there, he and his companions helped the Northern Water Tribe repel the Fire Nation assault led by Admiral Zhao, resulting in the latter's death and the near-total loss of almost half the Fire Navy. After this, the Avatar and his companions traveled to the Earth Kingdom again. After your encounter with them in New Ozai, they added another member to their group. The Avatar is still believed to be in the Earth Kingdom with his companions.

Abilities: From the old texts about the Air Nomads, we can safely assume that the Avatar is a master airbender. Only master airbenders were allowed to have arrow tattoos, according to the texts. Given that the Avatar has left the Northern Water Tribe, it is also a safe assumption that he has mastered waterbending, or at least obtained enough skill that his master believed it to be satisfactory. We have heard reports of him bending earth or fire yet, but given that one of his companions is an earthbender and the other is a firebender, it would not be a stretch to assume that he's on the verge of learning those elements as well. The other ability he possesses is the Avatar State. The Avatar can enter a trance where his eyes and tattoos glow with white light. According to the Fire Sages, in this state he has access to all the knowledge and power of his past lives. In some circumstances, he can even take on the form of one of his past lives. The Sages say it is unlikely that the Avatar has mastered this power yet, but if he does, it would be cause for alarm. The Avatar also possesses a sky bison. This bison was able to wipe out platoons of komodo rhinos with ease during the Siege of the North. The bison is also the Avatar's primary method of transportation. The Avatar also has a pet lemur, but the threat it poses is minimal.

Threat Assessment: While still only a child, the Avatar has mastered one element already, and has achieved at minimum an adept level of proficiency in a second element. He only spent one month in the Northern Water Tribe. If he mastered waterbending in that short amount of time, then that is frankly astounding and concerning. Our honest assessment is that the Avatar is an extreme threat, and the longer it takes to stop him, the harder it will be to stop him. If the Avatar masters all four elements, along with the Avatar State, it might not be possible to stop him."

I put that scroll aside. So, the Avatar was already a master of one element by the time Zuzu found him. No wonder that failure couldn't catch him. We couldn't afford to underestimate the Avatar. I picked up the next scroll. This one had a drawing of the Water Tribe Girl.

"Name: Katara

No known aliases

Age: 14

Gender: Female

Home: Southern Water Tribe

Summary: Katara is the only known waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. She is the sister of Sokka and Alec (See attached dossiers). Upon interrogating some of the captured warriors from the Southern Water Tribe, we learned that Katara and Sokka are the children of Hakoda, one of the Chiefs of the Southern Water Tribe, and his wife Kya (Alec is adopted). According to our research, she and her siblings found the Avatar and chose to travel with him. From there, they traveled north, eventually reaching the Northern Water Tribe, where she and the Avatar learned waterbending. She and her siblings still travel with the Avatar to this day.

Abilities: Katara possesses significant skill in waterbending. She can also use waterbending to heal injuries.

Threat Assessment: Katara is a massive threat. According to rumors, her skill with waterbending surpasses the Avatar's own. Also, her progress with it has been astounding. We interviewed the former crew of the Wani, the ship Prince Zuko used during his banishment. According to them, when they first encountered Katara, she literally could not hit a target in front of her with waterbending. After only spending a single month in the Northern Water Tribe with a master, she fought on the front lines against our forces and came out unscathed. She should not be underestimated."

So, the Water Tribe girl seemed to be quite the accomplished bender. Interesting. I opened the next scroll. This one was about the nonbender.

"Name: Sokka

No known aliases

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Home: Southern Water Tribe

Summary: Sokka is the brother of Katara and Alec. As such, his summary and her summary are almost identical, except Sokka is not a bender. I won't waste your time by rewriting a summary here.

Abilities: Sokka possesses a decent level of martial prowess for his age, and has proficiency with clubs, spears, and boomerangs. He also, despite his reputation as a sarcastic jokester, has a gift for strategy (see 'Threat Assessment').

Threat Assessment: Sokka's main threat is not his martial prowess, but rather his strategic mind. According to Prince Zuko's former crew, Sokka, with no advance warning, was able to trick a group of pirates into fighting against Prince Zuko's crew, allowing the Avatar and his companions to escape in the confusion. Recently, one of our ships captured some warriors from the Northern Water Tribe. Under interrogation, the prisoners stated that Sokka was the main architect of the Northern Water Tribe's defensive strategy. According to our analysis and testimony from our surviving soldiers, this strategy was able to inflict 12:1 losses against Admiral Zhao's invasion force, and that was before what has now been colloquially named the 'Giant Blue Fish Monster of Death' appeared and defeated the invasion force decisively. Even if the monster hadn't appeared, any victory the Fire Nation could have hoped for would have been pyrrhic at best. If Sokka had enough resources and information, he could possibly mount a successful invasion of the Capital."

Interesting. I thought the nonbender was a weak link, but perhaps not. I opened the fourth scroll. This had the earthbender drawn on it.

"Name: Toph Beifong

Alias: The Blind Bandit

Age: 12

Gender: Female

Home: Gaoling, Earth Kingdom

Summary: Using the name you overheard during your last encounter with the Avatar and his group, we were able to find some information about their newest member. Toph Beifong is the only child of Lao and Poppy Beifong, a noble family in the Earth Kingdom. Strangely, it appears that nobody in Gaoling outside of the Beifong estate knew of Toph's existence. Toph would frequently take part in earthbending fights known as 'Earth Rumbles' under the name 'The Blind Bandit'. Toph was the reigning champion and won every match she ever fought in less than a minute. We believe that the Avatar recruited Toph to be his earthbending master.

Abilities: Toph is a master earthbender. Every time she ever fought an opponent, she defeated them with ease. The only person ever able to defeat her in an Earth Rumble was the Avatar himself, and we believe he used airbending. Interestingly enough, Toph is blind. How she is able to fight without eyesight is a mystery.

Threat Assessment: Toph is an extreme threat, despite her blindness. Her mastery of earthbending is astonishing for her age. Not to mention the fact that she evidently plans to impart this knowledge and mastery to the Avatar."

So that's who that girl was. The Avatar's new teacher. She packed quite a punch. If I hadn't worn armor during our fight, she might have broken a few of my ribs. I turned to the final scroll. Finally, some answers.

"Name: Alec

Alias: Hand Slicer

Age: Unknown (Assumed to be 15 or 16)

Gender: Male

Home: Currently resides in the Southern Water Tribe, original home unknown.

Summary: Alec's origins are a complete mystery. Fire Nation forces managed to capture a few warriors from the Southern Water Tribe. Under interrogation, those warriors assert that they never met Alec before. Allegedly, Chief Hakoda's children, Katara and Sokka found Alec wandering through the tundra of the South Pole last year and took him in, eventually adopting him as their brother. Before his appearance in the Southern Water Tribe, there is no record of him. He allegedly claimed that he was from the Fire Nation colonies, but we cannot confirm that. We searched through twenty years of census records, both in the Fire Nation and the colonies, but we found no record of his birth. He lacks the golden eyes of most firebenders, which would indicate mixed heritage. However, despite our nation's meticulous record-keeping (all firebenders must be registered in the census, to prevent firebending from falling into enemy hands), we couldn't come up with any indicator of parentage or origin. Alec began traveling with the Avatar when his siblings did.

We did investigate what you told us about him telling someone that he killed someone in self-defense. We sent some investigators to a town called Gaipan, which hosts a small garrison of Fire Nation soldiers. We found out that a small group of children and teenagers had been harassing the local troops, ambushing them, stealing weapons and supplies. We inquired why these transgressions were never reported, and the soldiers admitted that they were embarrassed that they were defeated, on multiple occasions, by a group of children, and they reported the missing supplies as a simple paperwork error. Needless to say, these soldiers have been disciplined. Harshly. The leader of this group was named 'Jet', and allegedly had an obsessive hatred for the Fire Nation in general, and firebenders in particular, which matches up with what your source told you about him. We searched the forest near Gaipan and found a massive complex of crude treehouses. One of the treehouses contained the body of a teenage boy. The corpse was almost fully decomposed, but we determined that he died from a stab wound likely inflicted by a dagger we found near the body. We believe that the body is this 'Jet', and it lends credence to your source's story.

Abilities: Alec is a firebender, but there's an interesting fact regarding his bending. It is possible that Alec did not know he was a firebender until recently. Testimony from the former crew of the Wani states that when Prince Zuko first fought against Alec, he seemed just as surprised by his firebending as Prince Zuko was, and he displayed, and I quote, "A complete lack of skill. He just threw fireballs wildly and couldn't hit the broadside of a komodo rhino." Him being a late bloomer is odd, considering that children are tested for firebending abilities as soon as they are able to walk. Alec's skill with firebending has improved considerably since the start of his journey. You said in your letter to us that Alec claimed to have met Jeong Jeong the Deserter and received a set of firebending scrolls from him. We believe that Alec has been learning from said scrolls.

Threat Assessment: Alec's actions have significantly hampered the Fire Nation's war efforts. He claimed to have given his firebending scrolls to the Northern Water Tribe so they could copy them. We have received numerous reports of soldiers finding copies of firebending scrolls, along with analyses of potential weaknesses, being carried by enemy soldiers in the Earth Kingdom. In addition, the expected casualty rate for firebenders in the military has increased from five percent to twenty percent since the failed siege of the Northern Water Tribe. We believe that the intelligence Alec leaked is directly to blame for this increase. In addition, his skill growth has enabled him to defeat experienced firebenders, including Admiral Zhao and Colonel Mongke. Our assessment is that Alec is a serious threat, and should be dealt with immediately."

What? That was it?! No explanation for where he came from?! No explanation for how some random firebender knew about Zuko's Agni Kai?! Father only invited military personnel there and told everyone to keep their mouths shut. Even the Fire Sages, who are normally present for formal duels, weren't there that day. That was a strange order, now that I thought about it. It didn't matter now. How did Alec know so much?!

"Azula…" I heard Ty Lee say in a worried tone.

I quickly pulled myself together. "I'm fine." I said firmly. I picked up the dossiers. "Read these, they're analyses of the Avatar and his friends. They should come in handy the next time we run into them."

Ty Lee tilted her head curiously. "Next time?"

I nodded. "I left standing orders to have all reported sightings of the Avatar reported directly to me." I explained. "As soon as we take Ba Sing Se, we're back on the hunt for them."

Ty Lee nodded. "All right." She took the dossiers from me. She and Mai left the tent to go read. I tried to calm myself. Getting rash and angry would not help.

"You and Zuko both have that problem." The annoying voice in my head said.

"I'm nothing like Zuko." I denied quietly. "He's weak. I should have let him die when Grandfather ordered Father to kill him."

"But you warned him, and you told me." The voice said. "I wonder why you did that."

"I didn't warn him, I taunted him." I insisted.

"If you really wanted him dead, you would have kept your mouth shut." The voice replied gently. "You told him because, deep down, you love your brother and want to keep him safe."

"I don't care about Zuzu." I denied, my voice rising.

"You do care." The voice insisted. "You put on a fake smile during the Agni Kai, but you hated seeing him get hurt like that, didn't you? And the orders to capture him are making you confused, aren't they?"

"Shut up, Mother!" I shouted.


Alec POV

We decided to have a relaxing day. Aang and Katara decided to go swimming in the lake we were camped beside. Toph sat on the edge of the rock, splashing her feet in the water. Sokka analyzed a map he got from the library, trying to figure out our current location. Momo sat on his shoulder. I practiced flying. I was getting better at it. Now, I could keep it up for five minutes, and use it in thirty-second bursts without needing to catch my breath. I hovered about thirty feet above the lake. I looked down. Aang froze himself in a block of ice up to his head. Where was Katara?

"Waterbending bomb!" I heard her shout from my left. Oh shit. I flew as fast as I could away from the lake to get out of the splash zone.

I turned around and saw her cannonball into the lake, sending up a massive splash. The splash carried Aang out of the water and broke the ice cube he was in. It also caused a small rain shower that soaked everyone. Thankfully, I'd made it far enough away that I didn't get hit. Aang, Katara and Toph laughed. Momo shook himself dry. I flew back to the group and touched down. Sokka held up his now-soaked map.

"Sure," He said sarcastically. "Copies of five-thousand-year-old maps from the spirit library. Just splash some water on them."

Katara stepped out of the lake and wrung out her hair. "Sorry." She said. She bent the water out of the map, leaving it good as new.

I walked over to Sokka. "Have you figured out where we are?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, we're right about here." He pointed to a spot on the map. "And that Full Moon Bay place you want to visit is really close, it's only about an hour's walk from here." He pointed to Full Moon Bay's location.

Toph turned to me. "What is that Full Moon Bay place, anyway?"

"It's a hidden cove." I explained. "Refugees from the Earth Kingdom go there to board a ferry to Ba Sing Se. They're fleeing to the city so they can be safe behind the walls."

Sokka got a confused look on his face. "Why would they need to get on a ferry?" He asked. He pointed to another spot on the map. "Couldn't refugees just walk across this sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass?"

I shook my head. "The Serpent's Pass is dangerous." I said lowly. "The ferry's a lot safer. Besides, the person we're picking up is at Full Moon Bay, not the Pass."

Katara looked at me. "Who are we picking up, anyway?" She inquired.

I smirked. "You'll see."

Sokka shook his head. "Whatever, I can tell you're not gonna say more right now." He stood up and rolled up the map. "We'll head to Full Moon Bay, we'll pick up this mystery person, then we'll head to Ba Sing Se. No more distractions."

"Hello there, fellow refugees!" Greeted a distraction.

We turned around and saw three travelers approaching us. A man and two women. The man had dark hair, a full beard, and wore dark green clothing, and carried a backpack. The first woman I saw wore a green top, had dark hair in two braids, and had a long yellow skirt. The second woman wore a long grayish-green dress with a dark green top. The most noticeable thing about her was that she was heavily pregnant.

"My name is Than." The man introduced himself with a polite bow. He gestured to the pregnant woman. "This is my wife, Ying." He gestured to the other woman. "And this is my sister, Asha."

Aang stepped forward and bowed to them. "My name is Aang. I'm the Avatar." Normally, I didn't think it was a good idea for Aang to announce his status to everyone we met, but I knew these people were harmless.

All three of the refugees widened their eyes and bowed deeply. "It's an honor." Than said respectfully.

Aang smiled. "These are my friends, Katara, Sokka, Alec and Toph." He introduced us. Each of us gave a polite bow when he said our name. "Are you headed to Full Moon Bay?" He asked.

Than smiled. "Sure are." He confirmed. He reached a hand around Ying's shoulders and rubbed his other hand protectively over her stomach. "We're trying to get to Ba Sing Se before Ying has her baby."

Katara smiled. "We'd be happy to escort you there." She offered.

They gratefully accepted our help. Aang and Katara got dressed. We walked to Full Moon Bay to let Appa recover from flying so much yesterday.


About an hour later, we walked into a cave at the base of a mountain. At first, it looked like a dead end. But, when we reached the end, the wall opened up, revealing a port hidden in a cove. The port was full of refugees. Several of them had tents they were living inside as they waited for their turn on the ferries. I also noticed that many of them had bandages somewhere on their body. Probably hiding burn scars.

"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation." Katara said sadly.

"We're all looking for a better life." Than replied. "Safe behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."

Than, Ying and Asha left us to get in line for their tickets. Once they were out of earshot, Sokka turned to me. "How are we supposed to find one person in a group this big?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

I looked him in the eye. "They'll come to us." I replied. "I need to ask the ticket lady a question. I'll be right back."

I got in the shortest line. Thankfully, the line moved quickly. I was right behind a very familiar man. The ticket lady in this line was a woman who looked like she'd seen everything, and everything pissed her off. She growled at the man in front of me. "I already told you, no vegetables on the ferry!" She barked. "One cabbage slug could destroy the entire ecosystem of Ba Sing Se! Security!"

A security team wearing tan uniforms led a platypus bear, also in uniform, to a cart full of cabbages. The platypus bear then destroyed the cart with his paws. The man in front of me sank to the ground in despair. "GAH! MY CABBAGES!" He screamed.

"Spirits, I missed hearing that." I thought with a hint of schadenfreude. The guards carried the man out of line. I stepped forward.

The ticket lady didn't even look up. "Next!"

"I'm not here for a ticket, ma'am." I said politely. Experiences at the DMV taught me that politeness opens doors. "My friends told me they were coming here, I just wanted to make sure they made it on the ferry safely."

The ticket lady gave me a flat look. "Do you have any idea how many people come here every day, young man?"

"They should be pretty easy to remember." I replied. "Their names are Lee and Mushi. Lee's a bit taller than me, and has a pretty bad burn over his left eye. Mushi's older, and needs to watch what he eats."

The woman nodded. "Yes, I remember them. You just missed them, they departed on the last ferry."

I bowed. "Thanks." I said gratefully. "I'm glad to know that they're safe."


Zuko POV

I stood with Uncle on the deck, looking out over the lake. My thoughts had been conflicted over the past few weeks. I was sure that I didn't want to catch the Avatar anymore, but I didn't know what I wanted to do now. This had been my whole life for the last three years. Uncle had accepted my decision easily, but when he asked me what I wanted to do with my life now, I didn't have an answer for him.

Uncle looked out over the edge with sadness in his eyes. "Who would have thought after all these years, I'd return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…" He put on a floral hat and a massive smile. "As a tourist!"

"We're not tourists." I said lowly. "We're refugees." I sipped the stew that was given to us on the ferry. It tasted terrible, and I'd had some pretty bad stuff when I was banished.

"Hey." A raspy voice said from behind me. I turned around. I saw a short kid with a mop of brown hair, and two lines of warpaint on each side of her face. Next to her was a taller guy, who wore a blue tunic and a red scarf. The girl handed me a few mushrooms. "These make it taste better. We smuggled them on the ferry with us."

I was surprised. I wasn't used to people being this generous. "I'm Smellerbee." She introduced herself. "This is my friend Longshot." Longshot nodded, but didn't say anything.

I put the mushrooms in the stew and stirred it around with my finger. I took another bite. It was definitely better. Not great, but better. "Thanks." I said. I guess it would have been rude not to introduce myself. "I'm Lee, and this is my uncle Mushi." Uncle gave them a polite bow.

Smellerbee gave us a smile. "You wanna come sit with us?"

I wasn't sure, but Uncle spoke up instantly. "We'd love to."


Alec POV

Well, that was one worry taken care of. Iroh and Zuko were headed to Ba Sing Se, just like in the show. Good thing we wouldn't have to track them down. It would have been ironic if we were tracking Zuko for a change.

I walked back to my friends. Toph tilted her head curiously. "Did you find out what you wanted to find out?" She asked.

"Yeah." I responded.

Katara crossed her arms. "Feel like sharing?" She asked.

"Sorry, but no." I replied.

Sokka shook his head. "Whatever, let's just find a place to sit down, and maybe this mystery person will find us." He said.

We were walking over to a waiting area. Aang and Katara were in the lead. Interestingly, they had been walking closer together more and more lately. I smiled to myself. It was only a matter of time for those two. We had Appa follow behind us. I wanted to make sure somebody didn't try to steal our stuff. Then again, they'd have to be desperate enough to try to climb on a bison without the bison's consent to do that. Toph was right behind Aang and Katara. Sokka and I were in the rear, in front of Appa.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Sokka's shoulder and spun him around. I turned and saw the person I was looking for. She was dressed like a security guard, about Katara's height, with blue eyes, and short, auburn hair pulled into a ponytail.

She held out her hand. "Tickets and passports, please." She said.

Sokka looked nervous. "Is there a problem?"

The guard jabbed her finger into Sokka's chest. "Yeah!" She said sharply. "I got a problem with you! I've seen your type before. Probably sarcastic, think you're hilarious and let me guess," She smirked. "You're traveling with the Avatar."

Sokka narrowed his eyes. "Do I know you?" He asked. I didn't blame him. She looked like a different person without her makeup.

She grabbed his collar and pulled him close. "You mean you don't remember? Maybe you'll remember this!"

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Sokka smiled brightly and embraced her. "Suki!" He exclaimed.

"Sokka, it's good to see you!" She said happily.


Suki led us to a waiting area under a roof near the dock where all of us could talk alone. "You look so different without your makeup!" Katara said. "And the new outfit!"

"That crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them." Suki replied. She turned to Sokka with an appraising look. "And look at you, sleeveless guy." She said, her voice deepening slightly. "Been working out?"

Sokka made a show of stretching his arms. "I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin touches every now and then." He said, trying to be cool. "Nothing major." Katara and I rolled our eyes at him. Subtle, Sokka. Very subtle.

"Are the other Kyoshi Warriors around?" Aang inquired.

"Yeah." Suki answered. "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." Momo jumped up next to her. She gave him a few friendly pats. "So why are you guys here at the ferry? Wouldn't you just fly on Appa?"

"Hand Slicer here insisted that we come here to pick someone up." Toph said, poking her thumb in my direction.

"Oh really, who?" Suki asked curiously.

"You." I replied, looking her in the eye.

You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone in the group turned and stared at me in surprise. Suki's eyes widened. "Pick me up for what?" She asked.

"I want you to join us." I said simply. "You're one of the best nonbending fighters I know, and we could use your help."

Suki looked tempted. Then she narrowed her eyes. "How did you know I was here?" She asked.

"I know a lot of things." I replied with a smirk. "If you join us, I'll tell you how I know."

"I'm not sure." She said uncertainly. "We do a lot of good work here."

I nodded. "I'm sure you do." I agreed. "But the refugees are a symptom, the war is the cause. If you help us win the war, those refugees can go home."

She was tempted, but she needed another push. I gave her a look. "Besides, I'm sure you couldn't have taught Sokka everything you know in one day of training."

She glanced at Sokka and smirked. "True, he looks like he needs someone to put him through his paces." She agreed teasingly. She turned back to me. "I'm curious. I'll join you. I'll give temporary command of the Kyoshi Warriors to Tani, my second. I'll need to speak with them."

She stood up. "I'll talk to them and get my things. But I want an explanation of how you know so much before we leave."

I nodded. "Of course."

Suki took her leave. I turned to everyone else. "So, your thoughts?"

"I like her." Toph said with a grin. "I can tell by the way she walks that she's a fighter."

"The more, the merrier." Aang said with a happy smile.

"I'm glad to have another girl in the group." Katara said. "You four gross me out sometimes."

Toph belched. "Hey, I'm a girl." She said, but I could tell she didn't mind.

"Barely." Katara teased, also gently.

Sokka didn't respond. His eyes were wide, and he was blushing.


Suki came back a few minutes later. She had changed out of her guard uniform and back into her Kyoshi outfit. "Man, it feels good to be wearing this again." She said happily. She turned to me. "Alright, how did you know I was here?"

I took a deep breath. "This is gonna be hard to believe." I said. "First, I need to apologize. When we met, I said I was from the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. That was a lie. I'm sorry."

Suki narrowed her eyes. "Then where are you from?"

Here comes the hard part. "I'm not from this world." I said.

Suki raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "What, are you from the Spirit World or something?" She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

I cracked a grin and looked over at my brother. "Two for two, Sokka." I teased. Sokka grumbled. Aang, Katara and Toph chuckled.

I turned back to Suki. "I'm not from the Spirit World. I'm from a world beyond the Spirit World. Lady Ài, the Love Spirit, brought me here to do four tasks for her."

Suki looked around at the serious faces of my companions. "Do you have any idea how crazy he sounds?" She asked.

"Just wait." Toph said with a smirk. "It gets even crazier."

I took that as my cue to continue. "Where I come from, this world exists in a story. A story that I know by heart. I know the past, present, and potential future of everyone sitting here." I said evenly.

Suki's eyebrows shot up. "Okay, now I know you're crazy."

I shook my head. "I know how it sounds, but I can prove it."

She folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. "How?"

I looked her in the eye. "Mingxia left the Kyoshi Warriors because she disagreed with Kyoshi Island's isolationism." I said.

Suki's eyes widened. Sokka gave me a confused look. "Who's Mingxia?" He asked.

"She's my best friend." Suki whispered. She looked at Sokka. "And if you're asking, that means you never met her, which means…" She turned back to me. "You're telling the truth. You're not crazy."

"I wouldn't go that far." Katara said with a smirk.


I spent the next ten minutes explaining the rules to Suki. She was pretty receptive to them. I figured it was because she was a soldier, and was used to following rules. I showed her Kyoshi's autograph and told her the story behind it. She was pretty jealous that we got to meet her idol. I also told her about Ty Lee. She seemed skeptical about the soulmate thing, but when everyone, including the normally skeptical Sokka agreed that it was likely the truth, she accepted it. "Sorry that your soulmate is an enemy." She said with a sympathetic tone.

I shook my head sadly. "I'm trying to convince her and Mai to defect, but I don't know if they will." I admitted.

Our conversation was interrupted by a cry from outside the platform. "Avatar Aang!"

We all turned and looked down at the main waiting area. Ying, Than and Asha were looking up at us. "You have to help us!" Ying pleaded. "Someone took all of our belongings: our passports, our tickets, everything's gone!" She broke down in tears.

"I'll talk to the lady for you." Aang said firmly.

I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Don't waste your time." I said. "The ticket lady is a by-the-book, heartless bureaucrat. She won't make an exception for them."

Toph snapped her fingers. "I have my passport." She said. "The Beifong name is old and respected, she might let us get tickets if I say that you're all my entourage, or something." She suggested.

I shook my head. "Animals aren't allowed on the ferry." I explained. "You might be able to get them to let on Momo as a seeing-eye lemur, but Appa's too big to fit on the boat. I suggest we just fly them across the lake."

Aang shook his head. "We can't fly them." He said sadly.

This confused everyone, including me. "Why not?" Katara asked.

Aang looked at us. "One of the first things the monks taught me about flying bison is that it's not safe for pregnant women to fly on them, especially if they're as far along as Ying is." He explained.

Fuck! I didn't know there was a 'no pregnant women' rule for flying bison. Sokka held up a finger. "I got it!" He exclaimed. "We can use Appa as a boat and float them across the lake."

"That won't work." I countered. "There are things in that water that might think Appa is tasty."

Suki looked thoughtful. "Can't you just ask Appa to fly to the other side and wait?" She suggested.

Aang shook his head. "He flew for such a long time yesterday that he might not be able to make it, especially if he's carrying our stuff."

Fuck. I was hoping to avoid this. "I guess we have only one option." I said grimly. "We have to lead them through the Serpent's Pass."


We escorted the refugees out of Full Moon Bay. Sokka grumbled about how unfair it was. "I can't believe we're going through the Serpent's Pass." He whined.

"I can't believe you're still complaining about it." Toph retorted.

We found our destination. It was an extremely narrow isthmus between the two lakes. It was long, narrow, and very tall. A torii gate with the words "Coiling Serpent's Pass" engraved across the top marked the entrance.

"This is the Serpent's Pass?" Sokka said with a hint of skepticism. "I thought it would be a little more wind-y, you know, like a serpent." He shrugged. "I guess they misnamed it."

"They didn't." I thought to myself. I was not looking forward to this. I'd already seen two giant aquatic creatures in my life. That was more than enough for me, thank you very much.

Ying noticed something carved on one of the pillars. "Look at this writing." She said. "How awful."

"What does it say?" Toph asked.

Katara walked over to Ying and read the column. "It says, 'abandon hope'." She reported.

"How can we abandon hope?" Ying asked sadly, burying her face into her husband's shoulder. "That's all we have."

I had a bone to pick with the person who carved that piece of graffiti. Getting through the Pass was difficult enough without that carving psyching people out. I decided to fix it. I walked over to the column, made a fire dagger, and carved 'don't' in front of the grim message, changing the meaning entirely. I turned around. "Anyone can write down anything, it doesn't make it true." I said with a smile, trying to reassure the refugees. Instead of being reassured, they looked at me with wide, fearful eyes.

Than put himself between me and Ying. "You're a firebender?" He whispered.

Oh, right. It had been a while since somebody reacted like that. I held up my hands, trying to look as non-threatening as I could. Aang moved next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. He smiled at the refugees. "He's with me." He said with a smile.

Katara, Sokka, Toph and Suki walked over to me and looked at the refugees. "He's with all of us." Katara assured them. "He won't hurt you."

Than, Ying and Asha relaxed after a few seconds. "I suppose if you're with the Avatar, it should be alright." He said cautiously. Well, at least they weren't openly hostile.

Aang began leading us through the Serpent's Pass.


The Serpent's Pass was extremely narrow. Toph had to widen it at several points with earthbending so Appa could fit. We tried to avoid walking close to the ledge. Aang and I could fly if we fell, but we didn't want to risk it. In order, it was Aang, Suki, me, Katara, Toph with Momo on her shoulder, Ying, Than, Asha, Sokka and Appa brought up the rear. I could feel the refugees eyeing me warily. Suki noticed it, too. She waked up beside me. "Has it been like that everywhere you go?" She whispered.

"I've had worse." I said grimly, thinking of Jet. I tried to make a joke to not think about it. "At least they didn't hold a war fan to my throat." I pointed out.

She rolled her eyes and gave me a playful shove. "I apologized for that, you ass." She laughed. She stopped laughing after a few seconds. "Still, it must be hard having everyone automatically trust your group except you." She said with a hint of pity.

I shrugged. "I'm used to it. The good thing about having a bounty is that the higher-ups in the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes know I'm on their side." I pointed out.

She shrugged. "I suppose so."

Katara pointed out towards the water. "We have company." She declared urgently. We looked at where her finger was pointing. Well, all of us but Toph looked.

"What is it?" The blind girl asked.

It was something I hadn't seen since the Northern Water Tribe. "It's a Fire Nation warship." I said.

"The Fire Nation controls the western lake." Suki elaborated. "Rumor has it they're working on something big on the other side and don't want anyone to find out what it is." She gave me a look. "Do you have any idea what they're working on?" She whispered so the refugees couldn't hear.

"Nothing good." I answered vaguely.

We kept walking. "I don't get it." Sokka said. "Why aren't they attacking?"

"Maybe they don't see us." I suggested. "People don't usually look up unless something above them draws their attention."

We kept walking, but Than walked too close to the edge at one point. Part of the rock gave out under him and he fell. Toph turned around and made a ledge under Than, stopping his fall. She stomped her foot and catapulted him back up to the path. "I'm okay!" He assured us.

We heard a splash from below. Sokka looked at the warship. "They spotted us!" He shouted. "Let's go! Let's go!"

We started moving quickly, but the ship launched a fireball at us. Aang jumped up and swung his staff like a baseball bat, knocking the fireball back and hitting the smokestack of the warship. The ship launched a second fireball. I took aim and threw a fire bomb, destroying the fireball before it hit us or the pass. We ran until we made it behind cover.

Thankfully, we didn't see any more Fire Nation ships for the rest of the day. We made it over halfway through the pass before we decided to stop for the night. While we ate dinner, Than looked at me from across the fire. "I'm sorry." He said.

I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"I'm sorry I got scared of you earlier." He explained. "You were trying to reassure us, and instead we just got scared of you." He bowed to me. "You and your friends saved us earlier. I apologize."

I waved it off. "It's fine." I assured him. "I'm used to it. I just hope that someday people won't be scared of me just because I'm a firebender."


Ty Lee POV

We ate dinner that night in Azula's tent. Mai and I had read through the dossiers on the Avatar and the others. We hadn't had a chance to talk about them. We wanted to wait until Azula was asleep for that. While we were eating, a messenger opened the tent flap and bowed to Azula.

"Princess Azula." He said respectfully.

Azula narrowed her eyes. "Yes, what news do you have that requires you to interrupt my meal?"

The messenger gulped. "We received word from a warship in the western lake. They spotted the Avatar and his companions escorting a group of refugees across the Serpent's Pass. The warship attacked, but the Avatar disabled it."

Azula frowned. "Why would the Avatar use that route? Couldn't he just fly across on his bison?"

The messenger bowed his head. "We do not know. One of the refugees was a pregnant woman. Perhaps it was too dangerous for her to fly?" He speculated.

I had to struggle not to choke on a bite of food. They attacked a pregnant woman? And they didn't see anything wrong with that?

"No matter." Azula said. "They'll reach Ba Sing Se about the same time we will." She smiled a very creepy smile. "We can deal with the Avatar and Ba Sing Se in one fell swoop."


After we finished dinner, Mai and I excused ourselves to our tent. We waited a few hours, until we were certain Azula was asleep, then we moved our sleeping bags over to each other so we could talk quietly.

Mai started things off. "What do you think?" She whispered.

I swallowed. "If those files are right, then the Avatar is really strong." I whispered. "They all are."

Mai looked thoughtful. "It's strange. If the Fire Nation knew the Avatar and his friends were such a big threat, why isn't the Fire Lord making stopping him his first priority?" She wondered.

I shrugged. "I don't know." I admitted. "But what do we do now?"

Mai shook her head. "I want you to decide for yourself." She said.

That was surprising. "Why?" I asked.

"This could end badly for us." She pointed out. "I don't want you to get in trouble for something I decide to do." She gave me a small smile. "Don't let me choose things for you. Show me the girl who had the guts to leave a life of luxury to join the circus."

I swallowed and gave her a determined look. "I made my decision the instant that messenger said they attacked a pregnant woman."

Mai gave me a nod. "So did I. So I guess we're in agreement. When do you want to do this?"

"The first chance we get." I said without hesitation.

Mai chuckled. "Well, at least this won't be boring." She mused. "Let's get some sleep."

I nodded and rolled over on my side. "Please make it on time, Alec." I thought.


Alec POV

During the night, when everyone was sleeping, I woke up to use the bathroom. Or the hole in the ground, I guess. I noticed that Sokka and Suki's sleeping bags were empty. That was strange. Where had those two gone off to? I looked around, and then I saw them. They were sitting together under a rocky arch further down the path. I tried to listen to what they were saying.

"I'm glad we found you." I heard Sokka say to her. "I was…worried about you." He admitted.

Suki seemed surprised by this. "Why?"

Sokka took a breath. "Remember the magic swamp that we told you about earlier, where Alec figured out Ty Lee was his soulmate?"

She nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

Sokka looked down. "I saw a vision of you in that swamp." He said quietly. "When the swampbenders told us that you see visions of people you've lost, in the back of my mind, I was worried that I lost you."

Suki nodded. "I get it." She said. "You know, I lost someone I care about. He didn't die, he just went away." I could see her turning her head towards Sokka. "I only had a few days to get to know him, but he was smart, and brave, and funny…"

Sokka stood up. "Who is this guy?" He asked jealously. "Is he taller than me?"

I rolled my eyes. Sokka was so clueless.

"No." Suki replied coyly. "He's about your height."

"Is he better-looking?" Sokka asked, still clueless.

Suki decided to spell it out for him. She stood up and looked him in the eye. "It is you, stupid!"

Sokka's eyes widened slightly. "Oh." He realized. They locked eyes, and began leaning towards each other. Their eyes slowly closed, and their lips made contact. I smiled to myself and quietly tiptoed back to my sleeping bag to get some rest.

"Task two, phase one, complete." I thought triumphantly. Now I just had to keep working on Aang and Katara, and look for an opportunity for Zuko and Mai.


Zuko POV

Uncle and I sat in a circle with Smellerbee and Longshot. Uncle tried to make conversation. "So, what inspired two youngsters such as yourselves to move to Ba Sing Se?" He asked.

Smellerbee and Longshot exchanged a look. Longshot nodded. Smellerbee turned back to Uncle. "We're orphans." She said with sadness in her voice. "Our homes were destroyed by the Fire Nation." A small smile formed on her face. "At first, we joined up with a guy named Jet, and we would just disrupt supply lines and steal stuff from Fire Nation troops. We were trying to make a difference." Her face fell. "But then Jet took it too far." She said quietly. "And, with the help of some other people, we realized that we had to make our own decisions, not just do what someone told us to do."

I could swear I saw Uncle looking at me out of the corner of my eye. "I see." I said simply.

"We're going to Ba Sing Se for a second chance." Smellerbee said hopefully.

"That's very noble of you." Uncle said quietly. "I believe people can change their lives if they want to." He turned and looked at me. "I believe in second chances."


Alec POV

The next morning, as we went through the pass, we ran into a problem. Part of it was completely submerged in the lake. Katara stepped forward. "Everyone single file!" She ordered. We lined up. Katara began bending the water so we could walk through the drowned out path. "Aang, I need help!" She barked. Aang handed his staff to Toph. He created a bubble around us so we could breathe.

I was tense, and trying to keep a lookout for trouble. I knew it was here somewhere. Where was it? Momo saw a school of fish swimming just outside the bubble. He jumped out and went through the bubble to swim after them. Then a massive shadow fell over the bubble. Momo darted back in the bubble and cowered on Toph's shoulder. The shadow looked like a giant snake. Everyone else noticed it too.

"What is that thing?" Katara asked with a worried tone.

Before anybody could answer, it burst through the bubble, and water rushed in. Before we could drown, Toph stomped her foot, raising a rocky platform for us out of the water. We broke through the surface. Toph handed Aang his staff. We looked out over the water and saw a green dorsal fin with purple ribs, circling around us like a shark. Then it burst out of the water.

The Serpent had green scales and a purple veins on its body. It had large red eyes and purple barbels on its nose. It stared down at us and opened its mouth, revealing its razor-sharp teeth and long tongue before letting out a horrible shriek. Honestly, the head looked a little bit like the head of a seahorse, only a lot bigger and meaner.

Sokka pointed up at it. "I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" He yelled in terror. He turned to Suki. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters, make it go away!"

Suki poked a finger in Sokka's chest. "Just because I live near the Unagi doesn't mean I'm an expert!" She retorted.

Sokka tried a different tactic. He picked up Momo from the ground and held him up towards the Serpent like Rafiki holding Simba. "Oh great and powerful sea serpent," He said reverently, "Please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you."

"Sokka!" Katara scolded.

The Serpent didn't appreciate Sokka's offer. It opened its mouth and started lunging at us. Aang swung his staff and slapped it back with a blast of air. "I'll distract it." He said. "Katara, get everyone across!"

He deployed his glider and took off. The Serpent began chasing after him. Katara created an ice path across the water. Everyone except for Toph and I crossed. Luckily, the ice was thick enough to support Appa's weight. As soon as the path was finished, Katara jumped into the water, creating a surfboard out of ice. She surfed to the side of the Serpent and shot a massive wave over its middle. Then she froze the ice, trying to immobilize the Serpent. The Serpent just shifted its body, shattering the ice.

Back on the path, Sokka noticed that Toph and I hadn't moved. "Come on, you two, it's just ice!" He shouted.

Toph touched a foot down on the icy path and immediately pulled back. "Actually, I'm gonna stay on my little island where I can see." She countered.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed her around the midsection before throwing her over my shoulder. "Hey! What the fuck?!" She shrieked. "Let go of me!" She started punching my back with her fists. Damn, she was strong.

I started running and jet-stepped across the ice. I made it to the other side in three bursts. I put Toph down. She immediately punched me everywhere she could reach. "Don't!" Stomach. "Ever!" Ribs. "Do that!" Shoulder. "Shit!" Leg. "Again, Hand Slicer!" Stomach again.

I winced. She packed a punch. "Eh, hearing you scream like a little girl was totally worth it." I said without shame.

She growled.

I looked over at the Serpent. Aang and Katara created a massive whirlpool and spun the Serpent around in it. After a few rotations, the Serpent got slammed into the side of the mountain. It sank below the surface of the water, and swam off. I guess it had enough.

Aang picked up Katara with his glider and flew the two of them over to us. We all cheered at their return. When they touched down, Sokka and Suki embraced in a passionate kiss. Aang and Katara gave them a surprised look. "When did this happen?" Katara asked with wide eyes.

Suki broke the kiss. "Last night." She said.

"Huh." Katara said simply. She looked at me and Toph. "You two don't seem surprised." She noticed.

Toph shrugged. "I could feel their heartbeats when they looked at each other." She explained. "Pretty obvious."

"I didn't even need that." I said. I shifted my voice into a higher register, trying to imitate Suki. "Look at you, sleeveless guy, been working out?"

Suki and Sokka blushed.


About ten minutes later, we made it to the end of the Serpent's Pass. Sokka perked up and pointed in the distance. "There's the wall!" He shouted. I looked in the distance. Sure enough, about a mile away stood the Outer Wall of the biggest city in the world.

"Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se." He said, jinxing it.

Sure enough, Ying doubled over in pain. "Oh no!" She groaned.

We all turned towards her. Than and Asha tried to hold her up. "The baby's coming." Ying announced.

Sokka freaked out. "What?! Now?! Can't you hold it in or something?!"

Katara stepped forward. "Sokka, calm down." She said reassuringly. "I helped Gran Gran deliver lots of babies back home."

"This isn't the same as delivering an arctic seal!" Sokka exclaimed, gesticulating wildly with his hands. "This is a real…human…thing!"

Katara gave him a flat look. "It's called a baby, and I helped her deliver plenty of those, too." She took charge. "Aang, get some rags. Sokka, water. Alec, I'll need you to boil the water to make sure nobody gets infected." Aang and Sokka ran off. I grabbed a pot from Appa's saddle. "Toph, I need you to make an earth tent, a big one." Toph bent an earth tent around the refugees. "Suki, come with me." Katara and Suki entered the earth tent.

A few minutes later, Sokka came by with a full waterskin. I poured it into the pot and held the pot by the handle with my right hand, bending a flame under it with my right. I kept it up until the water started bubbling, then I turned off the flame to let it cool down.

Several minutes later, I heard Katara scream, "Sokka, Alec, where's that water?!" I poured the water into the waterskin. It was still warm, but it wouldn't burn anyone. Sokka took the water and ran into the tent. I heard a noise and Toph started laughing from her spot outside the tent.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Snoozles passed out." She chuckled. "I guess he couldn't handle it."

About an hour or so later, we heard a baby crying. "It's a girl!" Katara announced from inside the tent. Sokka was sitting outside the tent, holding his head in his hands, trying to forget what he'd seen.

Toph smirked at him. "So, you want to go see the baby, or are you going to faint like an old lady again?"

"No, no, I'm good this time." Sokka insisted.

The four of us entered the tent. Ying was sitting up, holding her swaddled baby in her arms. She looked a little sweaty, but pretty good considering she just pushed another human out of her body. The baby was sleeping. Than held Ying close. Asha looked on with a happy smile.

"She sounds healthy." Toph complimented.

"She's beautiful." Katara gushed.

"It's so…squishy looking." Sokka said. I elbowed him for that. "In a cute way." He corrected himself.

"What should we name her?" Than wondered aloud.

Ying looked at him. "I want our daughter's name to be unique." She said. "I want it to mean something." She turned to me. "You told us to not abandon hope." She said with a smile. "I think I know what to name our baby. Hope."

"That's a perfect name." Than agreed. "Hope."

I smiled at them. Ying stood up, holding her baby. I walked over to her. "Are you sure you should be moving around so much?" I asked with a slight amount of concern. "You just gave birth, after all."

She smiled. "Your sister healed me with her waterbending." She explained. "I feel like a whole new woman."

Suki turned to Katara, clearly impressed. "Remind me to have you there if I ever have kids."

"This is great news!" Aang said happily. "If she's recovered, now we can fly on Appa!"

"Good." I said. "I'm tired of walking."

We packed up our stuff and climbed aboard Appa. "We should probably stop at the Outer Ring." I suggested. "They might think we're the enemy and throw rocks at us if they don't know who we are."

"Good idea." Aang suggested. "Yip yip!"

We flew up to the top of the wall. It looked a lot higher than it did in the show, but that might have been the difference between seeing it on a screen as opposed to real life. When we landed, we got off, looking for someone to help take care of the now four refugees.

Toph paused as soon as her feet touched the ground. "Wait. What's that?" She asked, pointing in the distance.

We looked where she was pointing and saw it. A few miles away from the wall was a massive object. A tube over a mile long with the biggest drill bit I've ever seen attached to the front.

"That's a problem." I said.

AN: Next time. It's big, it's metal, it's phallic, it's the drill!