Admiral Hahn picked his teeth with a toothpick. He was feeling rather well fed. The villagers began to offer tribute by the end to stop the rampage sooner. It didn't work, but his crew was enjoying the resupply of fish. Fire Island fish was always so exotic.

The young admiral was leaning back in his chair. He felt a sense of calm. A deep seated pride. The admiral had been on the seas for a while, but his old leaders never let him have fun like what he did to Jang Hui. Sure, they'd occupy an area. Soldiers could get into some hijinks by taking what they want from the locals. However, none of his former superiors ever let them so thoroughly punish some fire savages for their insolence.

The cherry on top was the fact he had another islander do the deed. While the mercenary still scared him on a deep level, Hahn felt power just knowing he was willing to do as he said. After this was over, maybe he should offer the barbarian a permanent position as his bodyguard. He was sure he could work out a price.

"Admiral, we've reached Crescent Island!", a crew member cried out in the cabin.

Admiral Hahn stirred and got onto his feet. Looking out the window, Admiral Hahn was unimpressed. This is the holy site of the Fire Islanders? A tiny temple on a misshapen island? The Water Confederation oasis made this place look like a joke.

The boy prince gazed at his mercenary. The man showed no emotion at seeing this place. Hahn debated where the merc was uninterested in his country's religion or simply too stupid to recognize the holy sight for what it was.

Hahn shrugged. It's not like it mattered what this walking weapon thought on the spirits. As long as Hahn had money, he had his invincible warrior.


Inside the temple, a different scene was playing out downstairs. The sages were uncertain how to approach the situation. Perhaps it's more accurate to say one sage was confused: Shyu.

The group could hear sounds of battle from the upper floors. Whatever had started the fighting, it was intense. At times, the heat could even be felt from so far below.

Shyu stood up from his chair. "We should do something. They're destroying the temple."

The elder, however, did not stir. "Shyu," he started, "do you realize what is going on upstairs?"

"There's a fight?", Shyu hadn't quite grasped the question.

"Indeed.", the elder mused without looking at Shyu. "And who is fighting?"

"The Avatar?", Shyu wasn't getting why the elder had him play this game.

"Yes, and who else?"

"Almost the entire royal family.", it took a moment before Shyu continued. "I am pretty certain that the other girl is also one of the seven Ryujin daughters."

The elder nodded. "Have you ever been in a fight, Shyu?"

"No.", Shyu had begun to understand.

"Have you ever trained for battle?", the elder continued.

"The sages are all trained to defend the temple.", Shyu countered.

"From bandits and thieves, yes. But Avatars? Fire royals? Nobles?", the elder turned to Shyu with a quizzical look. "What would happen if we angier any of them and they have their connections exact revenge?"

The elder picked up another scroll. He adjusted his small glasses. "For that matter, what in the world do you think you can even do to stop them?"

Shyu sat down.

The elder went back to reading his scroll.

There was a pause.

"You'll thank me for that one day."


The group was in awe. Aang had never heard of anyone ever having blue flames, let alone the crackling lightning. What did the blue flame mean? Where did the lightning come from?

Azula herself was taking this well. "So, father, at a loss for words for the first time ever?" She felt powerful, stronger than her dad.

Zuko seemed to share that sentiment. "What? Afraid of your own daughter?"

Ozai's face turned cold. He stood up straight. Ty Lee felt a change in the Fire Prince's aura.

"Not scared, just impressed." Ozai did not turn to Zuko, preferring to address Azula. "In all my years, I've never seen fire that bent blue before. And the lightning crackling off it? To perform lighting generation without being taught the proper technique is astounding. Even if the execution was rough and unrefined."

Ozai smirked. "You're a true prodigy, Azula, like none I've ever seen."

The group knew something was wrong. He had a name for Azula's technique. If he knew about it, did that mean he could…?

"I doubt my brother told you of it. He always preferred Zuko." Ozai got into a horse stance. The group tensed for battle. "Pay attention, Azula." He turned to Zuko for only a second. "Even you, Zuko."

"I will demonstrate only once. Our family has hoarded the knowledge of this technique as birthright."

He extended his index and middle finger from his fist. "Lightning generation doesn't come from emotion. One who only uses their emotions for their firebending will never achieve this power. It is the cold fire. One must be still and empty inside." He started to move his fingers across his body. "You separate your positive and negative energy. Your yin and yang. Direct the energies apart." Electricity began to spark from his fingers.

"Then,", his eyes grew devilish, "let those energies come crashing back together."

Zuko already started to move. Azula, however, was completely stunned. She had just bested her father, only to be put back in her place in an instant.

Ozai outstretched his right arm. Lighting shot forth towards Azula. Aang and Ty Lee began to move the moment they realized Azula wasn't moving. They wouldn't make it in time.

The lighting moved almost too quick to see. The blast lit up the room. Azula was turned white by its blinding light.

At the last second, her brother tackled her out of the way of the blast. The lighting shot over the siblings. The bolt destroyed the wall behind them. Where Azula left only a crater with her pseudo-lightning, Ozai obliterated the entire structure and left only ruin.

Azula was shaken from her trance. That would have killed her. Ozai would have killed her. Her dad would have killed her.

She was the new Zuko. The new Ursa.

That's when she felt Zuko on her. Her brother had saved her. Her horror at being Ozai's enemy faded. She was better where she was now.

Zuko was just glad her sister was safe.

"That is the gulf between us." Ozai broke the silence. "Your impressive first attempt is a joke compared to the real thing." His eyes turned to Zuko. "And you. Your swords will never match that power. Not as you are now."

Aang and Ty Lee were getting ready to strike Ozai from behind. "Don't bother." He spooked them. "You wanted me to leave her alone, right? Fine. I have no interest in her as a daughter anymore. And I never wanted Zuko as a son." He chuckled. "You can even have that swine, Ursa, if you're such a bleeding heart."

Aang and Ty Lee weren't sure how to take this statement. He hurt so many. Were they supposed to let him go?

Ty Lee's side was starting to turn a purplish color. The pain was excruciating. Ty Lee couldn't hide the feeling from her face. Aang started to worry for her. Azula and Zuko looked exhausted. Or were they frozen by fear? Aang couldn't tell.

"Let me make this easy for you, monk", Ozai read Aang's mind, "Do you really think any of you can stop me?"

Aang saw Ozai's point. He lowered his staff.

"Be glad I am merciful.", Ozai walked past Azula and Zuko to what was left of the diving room.


The sages heard a tapping at their door. While one would assume the fighting was the strangest thing that had happened today, this was actually stranger. Their island was in the middle of nowhere. People didn't just pop-in, unless they were pilgrims. Pilgrims coming to the Fire Temple had stopped since the war started. Even some sages assumed the Avatar was no more. Imagine how many commoners felt had lost faith.

Shyu was the first to get up. The fighting had subsided upstairs, but no one wanted to dare a venture up there just yet. Whoever did would be the one tasked with cleaning up the mess. Shyu had gotten tired of waiting. This seemed like a good distraction for the more earnest sage.
Opening the gates to the temple, the sage was surprised to see a water confederation teenager in full war regalia. There's was a sacred site. The Water Confederation had avoided attacking up to this point. It's not like it held any strategic value.

"Can I help you?", Shyu wasn't sure how to proceed.

Admiral Hahn smirked. He pushed his way past the sage. "Yes, I do think you can help me. I'm looking for the Avatar."

Shyu wore his surprise on his face. "I-I wouldn't know anything about that."

The sage felt a strong metal hand grab his shoulder. It crunched down tight. It didn't break any bone or pierce the skin, but the pain did its job. Whatever grabbed the young man felt like a monster. "I, I…" Shyu tried to stop himself. The claw grew tighter. "He's upstairs!"

Hahn chuckled. "Was that so hard?"

Shyu didn't know what happened next. He was thrown aside and went unconscious upon impact.

"What are you doing here? We have nothing the water confederation wants.", an elderly voice cried out.

Hahn didn't even bother to address him. He turned to his mercenary. "Tell them why we're here."

The giant simply inhaled.

"Wait," the elder kowtowed, "we'll get out of your way. Don't let that thing attack us."

Hahn loved their fear. "I don't think he likes being called a 'thing.' Maybe he'll forgive you if you bowed to us and apologized."

The sages looked at each other. They were confused.

Hahn glanced at his merc. The merc inhaled again.

The men got to their knees and bowed.

Hahn just laughed at the scared old men. They were where they belonged.


The teenagers were licking their wounds. They couldn't stand being near Ozai any longer. They left for the only other place they knew at the moment: the locked door.
"Are you okay?", Zuko was fretting over his sister. She was still in shock from what her father had done. Even if she had started to come to terms with it, it wasn't easy.

"He was going to kill me.", she finally muttered.

Zuko looked away. "Yeah, he was."

Azula felt her eyes water. "Dad tried to kill me. Mom hates me." She turned to Zuko. "At least I got you."

"You always will." Zuko sat next to his sister. "And, you know, mom doesn't hate you." He muttered.

Azula didn't have the energy to fight him. She let him have the last word for once.

Ty Lee's moaning took their attention. The poor girl was leaning against one of the pillars. Aang was applying a cold compress to her side to help reduce the swelling. It wasn't doing much good.

"I'm sorry," Aang searched Zuko's backpack, "But I don't think I have anything for the pain."

"It's okay.", Ty Lee grunted. She changed the subject. "I don't think anything is broken."

Aang looked at the bruise. "I think you might be bleeding internally."

"Oh, is that bad?", Ty Lee tried to joke.

Aang snickered. "It's not great. You need to keep your fluids up until the wound heals. Keep moving to a minimum. Try to eat a lot of fruit." Aang sighed. "I think the monks might have mentioned more. I never planned to be a medicine man"

"You got the basics right.", Zuko jumped in. "After the cold compress, we should apply heat to ease the pain."

Ty Lee made a weak smile. "That sounds nice. This cold bandage hurts more than anything."

"It'll numb the bruise. That's for the best.", Zuko examined the tightness of the compress.

Azula knelt in front of the dazed Ty Lee. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "This," she started, "This is the last thing I wanted. I could put up with him. He wouldn't have hurt me." She welled up. "I didn't want to have to see you like this."

Ty Lee put her hand on her shoulder. "I'll be okay. Like Aang said, it'll just take a while."

"You shouldn't have had to go through it at all. I could have protected you. Protected all of you.", Azula rubbed the hand on her shoulder.

"I told you." Ty Lee got a little annoyed. "I can take care of myself. I'm not just some noble who ran off to the circus. I'm Ty Lee." She forced a smile.

"I know.", Azula choked, "Of course I knew that. I just...I just care about all of you." She turned to Aang and Zuko. "You're family to me."

"I literally am.", Zuko flatley joked.

"You know what I meant.", Azula laughed through her tears.

"I guess that makes us sisters." Ty Lee chuckled.

"I,", Azula tried to find the words. She looked to Aang. He nodded back at her. "I was thinking something a little different." She tightened her grip on Ty Lee's hands.

Zuko was confused. Then, it all clicked. He let out an "oh" when it finally came together.

Ty Lee blushed. "Azula, can you come a little closer? I didn't hear you."

Azula sniffled. She dried her tears and got closer to Ty Lee to repeat herself. When she inched forward, she realized Ty Lee was doing the same. She smirked and closed her eyes.

The two islanders kissed in the temple. Azula wasn't the most experienced kisser. She had never kissed anyone before, especially not on the lips. There were moments Ty Lee felt she was trying to eat her face. What was most surprising, at least to Azula, was how confident Ty Lee seemed.

The acrobat seemed to know what she was doing. There was the perfectionist part of Azula which tried to ruin the moment by being envious of Ty Lee's confidence and skill. Thankfully, the joy of the moment silenced that voice. The pair were able to both enjoy the embrace.

"I think you should take this back," Azula smiled as she took the crown off her head. Carefully, she placed it back on Ty Lee's head.

Aang sighed. He felt relieved he didn't have to keep the secret anymore.

"Finally.", the words slipped from his mouth.

"Wait, you knew?", Zuko turned to the monk.

"Since they met?", Aang looked at Zuko.

"How did you know?", Zuko was honestly confused by all of what just happened.

"Oh, don't act like this was so impossible to figure out.", Azula rolled her eyes.

"No that's not…", Zuko stopped himself. Composing himself, he bowed his head. "I'll admit it wasn't something I was expecting, but I'm just glad this makes you both happy." He put his hand on both their shoulders. "I just want you both to be happy, even if I don't completely get it."

Azula smiled. "Thanks, Zuzu."

"Well, isn't this nice?", a strange voice surprised the group. While Ty Lee continued to rest, the others jumped and turned to the speaker. He was a young confederate. More concerning was the giant fire islander who loomed behind him.

"I was here to get the Avatar, but I'm glad I can also get the royal family as well." Hahn smirked. "Especially ones with such gross little habits like you two freaks."

Azula narrowed her eyes. Concentrating on emptiness and calm, she summoned a blue flame. With what she wished to do to that confederate, the fire princess was disappointed her blue fire did not crackle like before. The blue flame seemed to burn hotter than orange flame, however. Good, she wanted it to burn hotter. She wasn't going to let him talk about her and Ty Lee like that.

Aang and Zuko felt the same way, drawing their staff and sword respectively.

Admiral Hahn rolled his eyes. He hadn't bothered to bring too many men with him. He only needed the one. He motioned to his contractor. The man began to inhale.

Ty Lee seemed to recognize the man. Her face turned pale in an instance. "Everyone, spread-out!" Her voice was horse and worn from the fighting, but it rang clear in the temple rooms.

Unfortunately, her warnings only confused the group. Only Ty Lee took her own advice, rolling to the other side of the pillar.

An explosion hit the center of the group. The three were thrown back and landed hard on the floor. Aang was the first to regain his senses. His ears were ringing. As his vision unblurred, he could see Azula and Zuko were worse off.

They were exhausted from the previous battle with Ozai. The siblings barely rose from their landing spots. Azula fell to a knee at one point. Aang had his staff to right himself.

Hahn just laughed. "That was just a small taste of my power. You don't want to see a full blast."

Azula coughed. "Your power?"

Hahn didn't like her tone. Pulling a club from his waistband, he spoke in gritty teeth. "What did you say?"

"It's not really your power. It's his power. Are you even a bender?", Azula motioned for Aang to run with her other hand.

"Yeah.", Zuko twirled his sword, pointing its tip towards the passageway behind them, "I don't think he's a bender. His stance is all wrong. I don't think he's even a proper warrior. He's more like a child playing at being a soldier." Zuko pointed his other sword at the club. "I've fought confederates before. He's not even properly trained to wield that weapon. Not that training helped Prince Sokka when I defeated him."

Insulting someone's royalty should get their attention, Zuko thought. The confederates were really here for Aang. They needed to give him a chance to escape.

Zuko's words did get a rise out of the admiral, but not for the reasons Zuko expected. "You think I'm worse than that failure of a prince? I'm the great Admiral Hahn, future Nukilik of the North!" Hahn pointed his club forward. "End those three and take the Avatar alive. I'll give you a bonus if you make it painful."

Ty Lee coughed up a storm. "Aang, run!"

Time stopped.

The monk could see the entire scene play out in front of him. He grew up at an air temple. Brotherhood was determined by proximity, not blood. All the airbenders were siblings in their culture. They were all children of the world.

In front of him, his older brother and sister were buying him time to run. They were in worse shape than him, but they were going to stand up for him. The monk knew that it stopped being about his status as the Avatar a long time ago. Azula had just put it into words. They were protecting him out of a sense of familial duty.

Then, there was his sister's girlfriend. Ty Lee looked awful. She needed to get medical attention. The confederates Aang had met so far might have given her the aid, but not this one: this man was out to end them. Yet, she still wanted him to run. She was putting his life above her own.

The worst part was that the Avatar wanted to run. Airbenders ran and evaded. They moved around their opponents. Their attacks were based around distance and retreat. They preferred nonviolence.

Aang had to put that aside.

The Avatar was all things, not just one. He had to change to this new world, like a waterbender. He had to stand his ground, like an earthbender. He had to overpower these foes, like a firebender.

His family needed him most right now. He couldn't vanish.

A voice whispered in his head. The voice was older. It seemed to come from nowhere. It said only one thing.

"It's time, Aang."