Author's Note: This is another chapter with fewer changes from the episode. However, this is mostly because of filler reasons… And, well, a fanservice-y treat, since this is wildly regarded as an episode with tons of shipping! Yay? Honestly, though, this was one of my personal least favorite episodes. Mostly because I hated the Nomads as much as Sokka. And by the way, I used their songs. I am not making up my own.

As another note, I finished this chapter all in one day.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I am in no way associated with the creators of the show.

Book 2: Earth

Chapter 2: The Cave of Two Lovers

Fear and loathing gripped his veins as Zuko was bashed aside forcefully, falling unconscious as he hit burned debris, springing black ash into the air. Aang went on the offense against the vicious firebender, blasting her with as little mercy as she gave the rest of the Earth Kingdom.

After the Comet came, the Earth Kingdom was little more than ash and death… and only Ba Sing Se stood, though it was under control of the Fire Nation anyway. The Avatar and the Order of the White Lotus only served as a feeble distraction to the Fire Nation, which only impeded Ozai from unleashing his wrath on the eastern lands. Instead, they fought him in his homeland (and lost) while Azula was sent to do the deed against the Earth Kingdom.

As a result, it was burned completely to the ground.

Aang kept using the circular movements of the Dancing Dragon form, swatting aside Azula's fiery attacks as he imitated a real dragon. At any given moment, he was able to transition into airbending attacks easily because of the similar movements, and he used them to great affect.

"Why are you still fighting?" Azula asked him scornfully, once she was a safe distance away. "There's nothing left to fight for! You already lost!"

"Not yet!" Aang shot back, stomping boulders up from the ground and launching them at her. "No matter how difficult things get, we'll always be here to fight back against you, Azula." She kicked aside one of the boulders and dodged the others, but glared in response to his words. "No matter how many of us you take down, one of us will take up the mantle and continue the fight." He attacked again, using a gust of wind to kick up a burnt piece of wood at her. "And even if we're all defeated by you…" He relentlessly forced her back with a charged blast of fire. "…Someone will take our place. The fighting will never end. You'll never win over the whole world."

Azula's visage displayed her absolute fury, jumping back far enough away to evade his latest attack. "You're a fool, Avatar! A dead, cooked fool!" Putting on a mask of calm, Azula began to slowly circle her arms, drawing on her positive and negative energies…

In response, Aang calmly readied himself for the attack.

Lightning shot from her fingertips with the sound of an explosion, streaking for Aang.

The Avatar guided it to his own fingertip, drawing it in closer to his body, absorbed by his left hand and down into his stomach. The power felt just as intense as wielding his own lightning, but this had the added element of danger. But he was not afraid.

After passing it through his stomach, carefully avoiding his heart, he led the energy out through his right hand, sending it exploding back towards Azula.

Amber eyes wide with surprise, she propelled herself to the side with her characteristic blue flames as it shot harmlessly into the sky. "Dear Zuzu taught you that little trick, didn't he?" the girl assumed, narrowing her eyes at him. "You're going to die today."

"Maybe," said Aang. "But whatever happens, this battle will not end until you and Ozai are defeated."


"Wake up, Aang!"

Zuko only got a muffled groan in return, but he continued to shake the boy until he blearily opened his eyes.

"What?" he moaned.

"We need to get moving," Zuko told him. "I feel uneasy here." After a moment, he said, "And we can't get Sokka to wake up."

"Maybe he's dead!" Azula cackled, her voice further away than Zuko's on the other side of camp. Aang sighed into his pillow.

"Sokka's always like that…" he mumbled.

"What did you just say?" Azula asked inquisitively, coming closer to the younger boy.

Aang shot up, suddenly remembering where he was. "I said… Sokka is like a sloth-cat," he said slowly. Azula was skeptical. As Aang fully woke up, he scanned his surroundings quickly for any sign of danger (and sorely missed his seismic senses, which made that job much easier).

They were in the Earth Kingdom. The four camped on a barren, rocky area, closed in by unearthed boulders from a possible earthbender at a previous time. Zuko and Azula, who always woke up earliest, had a campfire going, and Zuko had put a pot of breakfast over the open flames. Sokka, as Zuko and Azula said, was still sleeping like a log.

"Good luck trying to wake him up," said Zuko, who had returned to tend the fire and the pot of breakfast. "We tried."

Suddenly getting a devious idea, Aang smirked and shuffled out of his own sleeping bag, picking up a long, dry stick from the ground.

"What are you doing with that?" Azula asked curiously. "Are you going to poke his other eye out?"

"No… Watch," Aang said, shooting a grin at her. Quietly and carefully, he tread over to the sleeping waterbender and poked him several times with the stick, and then snaked it down his sleeping bag. Pretending to be alarmed, Aang shouted out, "Sokka, look out! There's a prickle-snake in your sleeping bag!"

The Water Prince let out a very girlish shout and spasmed in his sleeping bag, attempting to get out of it as fast as he could in a wild and confused panic, disrupting Sabishi's own state of rest. Meanwhile, Aang, Azula, and Zuko all burst out into laughter at his antics. Once the waterbender finally accomplished getting out of his sleeping bag, he glared darkly at them all, unable to do anything with his hands still bound by rope.

"Aang!" Azula roared with laughter, clutching her stomach, "That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever seen! I didn't know you had it in you!" Aang's laughter died down at Sokka's angered expression and he just grinned sheepishly at Azula.

"Well, that was a wonderful morning greeting," Sokka spat at them. "I didn't know you were all so childish."

Azula sobered at his comment. "We're not childish, we just don't have a stick up our –"

"Guys," Zuko warned. "Stop fighting."

"Well, everyone," Aang spoke up, before things could escalate further, "Since we're in the Earth Kingdom, it's time to start blending in!"

"What do you mean?" Azula asked warily, turning her head only slightly away from Sokka to look at him.

"We've all got to wear Earth Kingdom clothes!" he said, trying to make it sound as exciting as possible.

"Why?" Zuko asked curiously. "I like showing that I'm from the Fire Nation… especially since we're somewhere new."

"It's safer to blend in than to hide out, as I always say," Aang explained. "It's dangerous here… more so since I'm a potential target. And that'll endanger the rest of you."

"No way, you're just being paranoid," Azula said, crossing her arms. "We're perfectly fine."

Aang offered her another sheepish grin. "Just humor me, guys. Please?"

Zuko rubbed his temples, sighing. "Fine, but where are we going to get Earth Kingdom clothes?"

Aang grinned excitedly and jumped up on Appa, fishing through their luggage. Dramatically, he drew out clothes of browns and greens. "I took the honors of picking them for you!"

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get those?"

Aang's expression quickly turned serious. "That's not important," he said, dead pan.

"There is no way I'm playing along with your stupidity," said Sokka, finally speaking up. "Why wouldn't I want you to be found?"

"It's either that or violent death by Earth Kingdom troops if you're ever found," Aang pointed out to him. "You're their enemy, and you stand out in blue."

"Give me those," Sokka demanded. His face turned to one of mock-innocence. "But I'll need my hands untied to dress myself properly."

"Don't count on it. It'll be fun to see you struggle," said Azula, grinning madly.


When they were all finished dressing, Aang stood back to examine them all. "Great job, guys! You all look like regular, everyday Earth Kingdom citizens and refugees!"

"Yay," Sokka said without emotion. "I've always wanted to play dress-up." Sokka was clothed in a sleeveless light green vest, lined with yellow and a matching belt. With brown pants and brown boots, he didn't stand out at all. However, his hands were still tied and he was weaponless… Aang realized he had to do something about the former.

"This is… actually pretty cool," Zuko admitted. He was wearing a long, sleeveless, tattered brown coat that extended almost to his knees, folded and tight over his torso but loosening as it reached past his waist. Sleeves from unseen underclothes extended down his arms, which were tied down tightly at his wrists so they wouldn't get in the way when he was wielding his blades. Lighter brown pants and black boots completed his newer look. His latest golden broadswords gifted to him by Jeong Jeong looked oddly out of place, but it wasn't too bad, Aang mused.

"Guess my hairpiece just screams that I'm Fire Nation, right?" Azula asked, slowly taking the golden ornament out of her hair. She was wearing a dark tunic with the Earth Kingdom emblem on it over a short-sleeved green shirt. Cloth bracers covered her wrists. The tunic extended past her yellow belt, covering part of her front and light brown pants tucked into her boots. In addition, she had a yellow collar. She had decided to put her hair back up into a full topknot.

"Here, use this," he said, handing her a lime green bow. She snatched it from his hands and tied it into her topknot. It gave her the (deceitful) appearance of an innocent girl.

"How do I look, Mr. Poofy Pants?" she asked suggestively. Aang was unable to stop the color from rising into his face, but whether it was from her question or her embarrassing new nickname for him, he didn't know. He himself was garbed in a typical earthbending student's uniform, though it was sleeveless… And, indeed, his white pants were 'poofy.' However, they were tapered at his ankles, baring them slightly, since he was only wearing regular shoes.

"You look… good," he said cautiously. Azula dropped her act.

"That's it?" she asked, pouting angrily.

"Uh… Sokka!" Aang said, diverting a crisis. "You can't have that warrior's wolf tail. You need an Earth Kingdom hairstyle."

Sokka peered at him piercingly. "How did you know what this was called? And no, I'm not cutting this off."

"I know styles from all the nations," Aang countered. "I'm the Avatar and a nomad, remember?" He scratched his chin. "Well, you don't have enough hair for a topknot, since the sides and back of your head are shaved…"

"Wait, Aang," Zuko stopped him. "The styles you say you know were around one hundred years ago. Things have most likely changed since then."

"Trust me, they haven't," Aang said. Sokka didn't seem to care at Zuko's mention of Aang being around a century before. "Anyway, Sokka, let's try this."

"Wha—?" Before he could finish his sentence, Aang plucked out his hair tie, letting his brown hair fall to the sides, covering the shaved part. Sokka was unable to stop his advance, considering his hands were still bound.

Azula snorted with laughter. "That—looks—so—stupid!"

"Ugh! No! I'm not staying like this! I look ridiculous!" Sokka complained immediately after.

"Too bad," Aang said with a note of finality. "Besides, once you let your hair grow out, it'll look better."

"You make it sound like I'm going to be with you guys permanently," Sokka glowered. "That's not happening. You're all idiotic and weak."

Azula stepped forward menacingly, red fire sprouting from her clenched fists. "Don't talk to Aang like that."

Zuko went between both of them, holding his hands out to keep them an arms-length away. "Guys, stop fighting! You haven't stopped since Sokka joined us! Azula, stop making fun of him, and Sokka… I thought you were more mature than that." He turned to Aang. "Aang, stop antagonizing him and fooling around. We have to get moving. You said you wanted to go to Omashu, right?"

Aang, stunned, was only able to nod.

Azula didn't back down. "What about Sokka? He's saying crap about us!" she protested. "And Aang's not antagonizing him! That's my job!"

"Fine, I'll behave, Mom, as long as she shuts up," Sokka said to Zuko, pointing at Azula.

"Sokka, Azula, just stop it," Aang said, feeling small. "Zuko's right. We have to get to Omashu."

"Why do you want to go there anyway?" Azula asked, turning on him.

"I just want to check it out. I used to have a friend there," he said.

Sokka crossed his arms, narrowing his one eye. "That's pointless. Omashu has been in ruins for several years."

"And Aang… Your friends from a hundred years ago probably aren't around anymore," Zuko said quietly.

Aang grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Trust me. I know he's alive. Bumi's got a lot in him."

"Whatever you say…" said Sokka. "Fine. Let's go then. I'm tired of staying here."

"Optimistic Aang scares me," Azula commented to her brother as they moved onto Appa.

From the top of the bison, Zuko was able to survey their surroundings. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he shouted to Aang, who was still on the ground. "Hey, I see some travelers!"

Intrigued, Aang jumped to Appa's head, trying to spot the people Zuko saw. As he was able to identify them, his stomach dropped. "Oh, no…"

"What?" Azula asked, interested.

"Let's go! C'mon guys, we're leaving," Aang hurried them. "Sokka, you especially. Get up here."

"Are they bad?" Zuko asked the Avatar, gripping the hilt of his broadsword.

"Sort of," Aang told him. In another time, in another world, Aang might have had patience for them, but now he was different. "Quickly! Before they spot us!" The group of people was coming closer… By pure luck, the Avatar and his companions weren't spotted yet.

"Whoa, look! Travelers!" one of the newcomers shouted, surprised.

…Too late.

"Nooo," Aang moaned. The colorful band approached the remains of Aang's camp, greeting them happily.

"Hi! I'm Chong, and this is Lily, and that's Moku… We're Singing Nomads!"

Aang's expression was one of horror.


"Don't fall in love with the travelling girl,

She'll leave you broke, and broken hearted…"

Aang didn't know how he got into this situation. The traveling musicians insisted that they come along with them, since life in the Earth Kingdom wildlands was dangerous now and a bunch of little kids would need protection and entertainment. Aang supposed that somewhere, deep down, he was compassionate enough to not outright abandon them and fly away to Omashu. Besides, traveling with the annoying, constantly singing musicians would be worth it if they were going to the Cave of Two Lovers, which he now suspected since it was on the way to Omashu. He had pleasant memories there.

…With Katara.

Forlornly, he glanced at Azula. Katara wasn't here. And, suddenly, feeling absolutely crazy, Aang imagined something similar happening to him and Azula, drawing in close to kiss her pearly white, beautiful face…

"Love shines brightest in the dark."

"This is torture," Sokka said, drawing Aang out of his thoughts. He didn't know what to make of them. "This is the worst thing you could have possibly done to me," Sokka continued, but Aang was only half listening as the singers continued on in the background.

"Winter, spring,

Summer and fall.

Winter, spring,

Summer and fall.

Four seasons,

Four loves

Four seasons

For love…"

"And this has got to be the most boring landscape I've ever seen," Sokka complained again. The land around them was barren, a few lifeless husks of trees dotted the otherwise flat land, surrounded by mountainous regions. The travelers were currently walking through a small crevice, leading to the mountain paths. At these words, Aang glared at the Water Prince.

"Shut up," Aang said to him harshly. "Your own people did this. They sucked the land dry with their waterbending because of your stupid war. They can't grow their crops. I bet so many animals died off. And it's all your fault."

"Not my fault personally," Sokka retorted, giving him an equally cold glare. "It's our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world." As he said it, he didn't sound convinced of his own words.

"Yeah, by destroying lives? I thought you were smarter than that, Sokka. Your people hurt and killed innocents. You'll see. We're bound to come upon some hapless village soon." And with those dark words, Aang walked ahead of Sokka, leaving him to his contemplations.

As they rounded another bend, the mountain paths opened up to reveal a river, the first sign of freshwater they had seen since entering the Earth Kingdom.

But the river was red with blood, for a battle between Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe troops was happening. There were few soldiers on each side, but there were definitely enough to cause a considerable amount of havoc. Earthbenders were hidden behind trenches while the waterbenders made their stand at the riverside with walls of ice. And the seven travelers were caught right in the middle of it.

"Oh, man! This doesn't look too happy," Chong mused. Lily and Moku looked scared, but Aang and the others were on alert. A boulder almost crushed Lily and Azula, but a powerful blast of wind knocked it away from them.

"Don't attack me! I'm on your side! I'm your Prince!" Sokka shouted to the waterbenders, jumping up and down as spikes of ice were shot from the wet ground at their enemies. Azula dispelled this attack with a burst of fire while Aang hit Sokka with a strong wind, if only to shut him up.

"The Cave of Two Lovers should be that way," said Chong, as easygoing as ever as he pointed across the battlefield in what seemed like a random direction.

"What's that?" Zuko asked the older man, his broadswords out and ready. Lily began to sing in response.

"Two lovers, forbidden from one another…"

"Now is not the time!" Sokka shouted at her exasperatedly. Rocks and ice were continually hurled in their direction.

"Let's get to the caves, they're our only option now," said Azula. "Zuko, Sokka, Chong, Lily, Moku, get in the middle," she commanded. "Aang and I will hold them off."

And at that, Zuko was the first to rush across the battlefield, pulling an unwilling Sokka after him. The Singing Nomads seemed to follow along at a leisurely pace, as if in a daze. Aang and Azula were on either side of Appa, deflecting the crossfire as they dashed into the middle of the fighting. Aang had no idea where Sabishi was – he hoped she was flying to safety.

"The earthbenders think we're an enemy!" Aang yelled to Zuko. "All because they heard Sokka shouting!" And because of their luck, the waterbenders didn't stop their attack because they didn't hear Sokka's shout.

Zuko pointed ahead with his sword, noting where the clearing narrowed into a mountain path again. "There! We can use that as cover!" Aang protected the rear as the others ran for safety, but he feared that they would run into a dead end. He didn't know what to feel when Zuko yelled that he spotted the cave mouth.

A trio of Earth Kingdom soldiers followed them, intent on capturing the enemy's prince. Two of the soldiers charged at Aang with their spears, but Aang unsheathed his own sword and swatted the enemy weapons aside, channeling fire up and down his blade. The third soldier shifted the ground beneath his feet, pushing the Avatar back. Looking behind him to see Appa scurry into the cave after the others, Aang turned back to the soldiers, ready to attack, but the three launched boulders at the cave mouth.

They were causing a cave-in.

"No!" Aang shouted, forsaking the battle with the soldiers to run after his friends. With the speed only an airbender possessed, he dashed into the cave right as rocks fell, preventing their means of escape. He was met with instant darkness and loud noises as the rocks shifted into place.

Once everything was quiet, a flame popped into existence in Azula's palm, and Aang followed suit. To his surprise, he and Azula were the only ones there.

"Where is everyone?" Aang asked, searching for his friends and the Singing Nomads.

"Further in the cave… but there was another cave-in, and we were split off from them," Azula said. "At least, that's what I think happened. I stayed near the mouth to make sure you got in here okay."

"Thanks, Azula. I'm glad I'm not completely alone," he said, smiling at her.

"Don't get mushy on me," she reprimanded him, but the darkness hid her blush. "It's kind of funny – we're the only two firebenders, so the others must be stumbling around in the darkness… Hah! I wish I could see them."

"Well, we won't be seeing anybody unless we get out of here," Aang said. "Let's hope they get out safely…"


"You know, for a supposed master of strategizing you sure are an idiot!" Zuko yelled at Sokka. "Why did you shout to the whole world who you were? You almost got us killed!"

"I couldn't care less if you guys got killed," Sokka replied, refusing to meet Zuko's eye. The cavern was lit by the torchlight of the Nomads, who were watching the scene with mild interest.

"Well, if you didn't notice, you were being attacked too!" Zuko growled and clenched his fist, trying to contain his anger. "And for all I know, Azula and Aang were probably crushed in the cave-in!"

"Oh, don't let the cave in get you down.

Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown.

When the tunnels are darkest that's when you need a clown, hey!

Don't let the cave in get you down, Zuko!"

Chong continued singing happily, strumming away on his pipa. Lily danced and shook her tambourines as Moku beat on his large drums.

"And I'm about to kill these musicians," Sokka muttered. Zuko, completely ignoring them, punched the rock wall separating them from Aang and Azula, nearly breaking his hand. He clenched his teeth in pain. Sabishi chittered sadly from around Moku's neck. "Doesn't look like anyone else is doing anything to get us out of here," Sokka mused to himself. "Guess it's up to me." He turned to the broody and angry Zuko. "Hey, mind cutting the rope that's tying my hands together? I can't exactly do anything to help like this."

"Why do you want to help?" Zuko's voice was hoarse.

"Listen, I wanna get out of here as much as you do, and since no one else is stepping up to the plate, it's my job to come up with the ideas. Now, cut these," Sokka explained, holding out his wrists to Zuko. He wanted to get out of here badly. He wasn't sure how long he'd be able to stand the company of the annoying singers. Zuko, however, seemed to be able to tolerate them, if he didn't have the ability to outright ignore them.

"Why should I trust you? You'd probably just turn on us."

Sokka rolled his eye. "Whatever. Fine, let's rot in here for all I care." Zuko handed his torch off to Chong, and before Sokka could blink, the warrior unsheathed one of his swords and cut the rope effortlessly. Grinning, Sokka stretched his arms and tore off the remains of the rope, rubbing his sore wrists. "Let's get crackin'."


Aang pulled at the heavy, round, wooden door in an effort to make it budge, while Azula stood off to the side, providing him light but otherwise letting him do all the work. Appa moaned mournfully and impatiently behind them, getting edgy in the tunnels. In retrospect, Aang figured it was probably this experience that made Appa afraid of small spaces in his own world.

Appa snorted, and suddenly, he charged at the door that Aang struggled to open. Aang let out a panicked shout and jumped out of the way, even pushing Azula to safety. Their flames went out for a moment, but Appa succeeded in making an opening. Aang stood and brushed himself off, lighting another fire in his palms.

"Thanks for helping me back up, Aang," Azula said, annoyed. He could tell she was getting irritated in the cave – apparently, she liked them as much as Appa. Standing, she looked into the new room that Appa opened. "What is this place?" she asked, letting light enter.

"It's a tomb," Aang stated, hopping into the chamber. He held up his flame to the monolithic carving of the two lovers in an eternal kiss. The two sarcophogi lay in peace not far away.

"Whose?" Azula wondered.

"Probably the two lovers'?" he suggested, raising an eyebrow. "Look, there's an inscription beneath the carving." Shooting a glare at him, Azula approached the carving and read aloud the story of the two lovers.

As she read, Aang was brought back to the moment alone he shared with Katara.

"Love is brightest in the dark," Azula read. She scoffed. "That's got to be the corniest thing I've ever heard." She frowned when Aang didn't laugh. "Still, that's a pretty tragic love story."

"I guess," Aang said. He almost had his first kiss with Katara here… "You know, I just had this crazy idea."

"What?" Azula asked.

Aang seemed to say his words slowly and carefully, but he wasn't fixed on her. Instead, he looked up at the carving, appearing contemplative… and a little sad. "What if we kissed?"


"You're bad at ideas," Moku pointed out to Sokka. Sokka held a piece of parchment in front of his face, trying to map out the tunnels that they had already traversed. However, things seemed to be changing…

"Why don't you help?" he shot at Zuko, who was walking uselessly at his side. "Aren't you good with maps?"

"I'm good at reading them, not making them," Zuko told him, his voice emotionless.

"I'm good with maps!" Chong exclaimed.

"What? Really?" Sokka asked, unable to mask his surprise.

"No, not really," Chong said. "But I'm good at singing."

"Don't sing again," Sokka said sternly, clearly very angry about the crowd he was forced with. He still couldn't believe his grandmother would do this to him…

Before they could argue further, the group heard a deep rumbling from within the cave, progressively getting louder. Something was coming for them. Sokka lowered into a battle stance, but he was useless without his weapons or a source of water. His club, machete, and boomerang were with the stupid bison, which was with the Avatar and the firebender…

And suddenly, some kind of monster burst from the rock walls, showering them all with debris and stones and dust. Together, Zuko and Sokka subconsciously hugged each other in fear and screamed at the tops of their lungs, facing this newest monstrosity. Behind them, another creature burst through the tunnel, causing the two to scream again. As they did, they both realized what they were doing and jumped away from each other as if burned, letting out expressions of disgust.

"That never happened," Zuko said.

"Agreed," said Sokka. The waterbender stumbled backwards as the musicians ran around in a blind panic, but the Prince landed on Chong's discarded pipa, causing a single note to ring out in the cave. Sokka scuttled away from the instrument, but the creatures – badgermoles, Sokka realized – seemed to halt for a moment, as if affected by the musical note.

"Do that again!" Zuko shouted to Sokka.

"I can't! I can't see in the dark!" Now, Zuko had the only lit torch. Grumbling, and hurrying to the instrument before the badgermoles attacked again, Zuko held his torch to the floor to search it out. Instead, he found one of Moku's many instruments – a tsungi horn. He struggled to put the stupid thing on, but the badgermoles were getting restless again.

"Sing something!" Zuko shouted vaguely, trying to fit the large wind instrument around him.

"I don't know any songs!" Sokka responded, coming nearly face to face with the second badgermole – he could feel its breath on his face.

"Make something up!"

"Uh… The badgermole's coming toward me… The big, bad badgermoles, who work in the tunnels…"

"Ugh, you're hopeless!" Zuko shouted, but the strange instrument finally fit in place, wrapped around him snugly. He blew a long, single note. The badgermoles halted again. And, warily, Zuko began to sing something he used to hear from his Uncle.

"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se

But the girls in the city they look so pretty

And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet

The girls from Ba Sing Se!"

"Right on! The power of music!" Chong said breezily. "And I think I know that song! Er… not really."

"Sokka, I can't blow on this thing and sing at the same time! Help me!" Zuko hurriedly whispered to the waterbender.

"Uh… It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se…" And the two sang together to placate the angry beasts, unsurely at first, but gaining confidence as they went.

"Yeah! Take it away, guys!" Chong said, cheering them on. His white flowery necklace made him stand out in the darkness.

"You can help, you know!" Sokka whispered urgently to them. "I feel like an idiot!"

"I don't sing, I dance," said Lily, pointing to herself.

"And I don't sing either. I play the drums," said Moku. Sokka slapped his forehead.

"They're pretty tame," Sokka mused. "Guess the music works pretty well. Get them to lead us out of here," he told Zuko, who nodded and continued to play the tsungi horn. The three musicians played their instruments in tune with the song, following along lackadaisically after them as they played for the audience of badgermoles.

Chong was singing a totally different song, however, but the badgermoles didn't seem to care.

"Two lovers, forbidden from one another

A war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart.

Built a path to be together."


"A kiss?" Azula asked him, bewildered. "You mean you really believe in this stuff?"

"It's worth a try," Aang said. He couldn't believe he was going through with this… "They do say to let love lead the way."

"But, Aang…" Azula pointed out, "We're not in love."

"Maybe not… But it's worth a try anyway," Aang said with conviction. He had never kissed another girl before – only Katara, but she never returned them. She didn't want to get in the way of his duties. What would it be like… if the kiss was mutual? "Do you want this?"

"You mean do I want to kiss you?" she asked for clarification. "That's absurd. Only in a life or death situation." She chuckled nervously.

"This is as close as it gets to a life or death situation," Aang mentioned, giving an uneasy smile. Would it be the same, to kiss Azula? She suddenly seemed … childish, in a way. She twirled one of her bangs and shuffled her feet. It suddenly occurred to Aang how cute she looked with that green bow in her hair. He had never seen her like this, in this kind of light.

"Love is brightest in the dark." Katara's words continued to echo in his head, as if mocking him, or reminding him of her. He didn't know. It was weird, but he felt as if she was there with them.

"Fine… We'll continue through the tunnels and see if we can find a way out," Aang said, but little did he know, Azula seemed as if she had just steeled herself for a possible kiss.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered, caught unawares.

"Let's keep going," Aang repeated. There was another tunnel branching off from the tomb chamber, which they followed. Appa was still right behind them. They were both silent, but Aang kept hearing Katara, repeating the same words, over and over and over… As if giving him a hint. His eyes widened, remembering a crucial fact. "Azula!"

"What?" she asked, alarmed.

"Put your fire out," he said, clenching a fist over his own flame.

"Why?"

"Just do it," he ordered, and she complied without another question, surprisingly. Aang looked up at the ceiling… which was not glowing at all. "I thought that it would work…"

"What are you talking about, Aang?" Azula asked him. In the pitch black darkness, he felt her hand search for his, and he clasped it for reassurance.

And that was when he heard it – deep in the ground, they felt an unnerving rumbling. Aang and Azula both tensed, lighting fires in their free hands, their other ones still held together.

A very welcome creature burst through the rock walls to their left, and another immediately followed to the right. They shielded their eyes with their free arms, coughing until the dust settled.

"Azula! Aang!" they heard a voice shout.

"Zuzu?" Azula questioned, and the two saw the swordsman emerging from the dust, wrapping his younger sister in a fierce hug.

"I thought you two were dead…" Zuko mumbled into her shoulder.

"We're fine, Zuzu," she responded, patting him awkwardly on the back, her hands free from Aang. "Now get off, you're embarrassing me."

"Hey, it's you two again!" Chong pointed out. Aang ignored him. Instead, his attention was focused on Appa, who initially regarded the badgermoles with caution, but he was warming up to them. Sabishi was reunited with the bison.

"These badgermoles found us," Zuko explained to Aang. "And they're leading us out of here."

"It's the power of music!" Chong put in.

"Come on, can we get going?" Sokka asked jadedly from atop one of the badgermoles. "I want to get out of here. Now."

"Sokka's been acting strange. You'd never believe it unless you saw it," Zuko whispered to Aang. Aang grinned as they followed the tunnel, the three gigantic creatures leading the way. The Singing Nomads continued harping about secret tunnels, much to the dismay of the kids, but they soon came upon a dead end, which was crumbled by the badgermoles.

Light flooded into the tunnel. They were free.

Appa was the first to romp out into the sunlight, jumping up and down joyfully and enjoying the fresh air. Sabishi flew in circles above him.

"Finally!" Sokka exclaimed, removing himself from the badgermole. He was putting this day near the top of his Worst Experiences Ever list. "Bye, you dumb Nomads."

"Bye!" Lily said cheerfully, beginning to walk away. "It was fun traveling with you all."

"Hope to see you again soon!" said Moku, following after her.

"Listen, dudes," said Chong to the four, "Don't overplan too much. Just take things as they come… Go wherever the wind takes you, and just go with the flow." He grinned at Aang. "Master Arrowhead, it was a pleasure to play with you."

"I didn't play – "

"Aang, just let him be," Zuko interjected.

"Just go play your songs," Sokka told them, exasperated. As the four watched the three Nomads leave, singing a song as they went, Aang's thoughts wandered again to Katara, and then Azula. Azula glanced to Aang out of the corner of her eye, her cheeks reddening slightly. Zuko thought of the strange waterbender that was now with them, who he thought wasn't as bad as he seemed after all.

"Even if you're lost you can't,

Lose the love because it's in your heart…"

"Ah, wait!" Zuko exclaimed, turning to Sokka. "He's free from the rope!" Aang barely even glanced at Sokka.

"Just leave him," Aang stated. "He'll be fine."

Sokka smirked. "I'll be a good boy, don't you worry."

"Why the sudden change in attitude?" Azula asked disbelievingly.

"Just trying to get your guard down," Sokka told them matter-of-factly.

Aang smirked. Same unpredictable Sokka.

"Well, you're bad at it," Azula said, and the two began to banter again. Leaving Zuko to split them up, Aang walked to the top of the hill that was overlooking his destination.

He was going to see the Ruins of Omashu with his own eyes.


Author's Notes: For reference, Azula's new Earth Kingdom look is almost exactly what she wears in the "Crossroads of Destiny". I thought she looked pretty cute in that… And Zuko is sorta dressed in what he wore in "Zuko Alone," which I thought looked really cool when he was beating up those earthbenders, but in my head he looks more like he's wearing an Earth Kingdom version of Ichigo's Bankai from Bleach o.O, but without the darkness stuff. Aang wears his earthbending uniform that he wore in "The Blind Bandit" under Master Yu. Sokka's will come along with a picture later, since it's something new. And I have this picture already, but you can't see it yet. :)

Oh, and since I've been addicted to the TV Tropes website lately, I've decided to classify the Distorted Reality Avatar gang into the Five Man Band mechanic. In Book 1, Aang was The Hero, Azula was The Lancer (and The Smart Guy), Zuko was The Big Guy, and Ty Lee was the Chick. If you want to know what these are, just ask. Similarly, in canon, just for reference and comparison, Aang was The Hero, Katara the Lancer/the Chick hybrid, Sokka the Smart Guy, Toph the Big Guy, and Zuko the Sixth Ranger. The Distorted roles will change as Book 2 progresses :)

By the way, I don't think Aang and Katara kissed in the episode. Please review!