Daughter of Hate

by Blutus Mindpretzel

The war is over. Azula's motives remain unknowable as her child stands to shake the foundation of everything built since the fall of Fire Lord Ozai. For Toph, Mai, Aang, Katara and the rest, the world is an even more dangerous place than it was when they were children. And despite being long since gone, Sasuke's impact continues to shudder their world, perhaps more than they know.

36. Chapter 36

AN: Wow… well, when it rains it pours. On top of moving, some other personal matters came up for me over the last few weeks and I was completely unable to continue writing period. I never wanted to screw this all up by more than a couple days, but now it's been weeks, and I'm only now getting this next chapter out. I can't tell you how sorry I am. We should be back on schedule now, and will be back to weekly Thursday updates now that everything I've been dealing with finally seems to be something I can catch up with… but again, so sorry about the delay.

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Chapter 36: Sacrifice

The distant bellows of the Water Nation war horns were a noise that Aang would never have been able to forget; years ago, when he had first journeyed to the Northern Water tribe with Katara and Sokka, and he had looked up to the grey sky and seen the ash from the Fire Nation war machine falling down upon them, he had heard those same horns sound and they would hold a permanent place in his memory after that day. When they echoed through his head once more that morning so many years later then, his consciousness had blearily caused him to assume that it was just another dream that he was experiencing then, remembering a time similar to the one he was in now, where war threatened everything he held dear.

His mental ruse lasted only a few seconds as he nearly began to drift back to sleep before there came a pounding on the door to his room, and he sprang upright, eyes snapping open and heart pounding in his throat. Kicking his feet clumsily over the side of his bed, he hit his shin with an eye-watering strike to the wooden frame; ignoring it, he got to the door as quickly as he could and yanked it open.

Zuko was standing there, his face tight and focused.

"They're here," he said grimly and continued down the hall. Aang looked after him and then peered back down the way the Fire Lord had come and saw his friends coming out of their rooms with an equal vigor, some of them still in the state of dressing with the speed that they had been roused from sleep. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening nor what Zuko had meant by his sole two words. Aang ducked back into his own room and grabbed at his orange garb, feeling the hammering of his heart not subsiding in the slightest as he scrambled to get dressed himself.

Sasuke's not back.

There were a hundred thoughts swirling in his mind as he exited his room and he and Ty Lee nearly knocked one another over in their haste to follow after Zuko. Aang should have been mentally preparing to think to what exactly constituted the forces that the spirits had come with, whether or not Kyoshi or Yangchen had come along, if Tangith had his own forces prepared, where exactly all his friends were, if they were actively under attack, and a great deal else. But that was the only thought that came back into his head over and over, purely solid and forceful, and an ever present reminder as to the true state of things.

Sasuke's not back.

At the end of the day, that might have been the only thing that mattered. With their glowing blue auras, the spirits were much more resistant to elemental based attacks and Aang couldn't imagine that physical weapons might have been of much more use. They had no idea exactly how many spirits they'd be up against, and exactly how powerful they might be; it might have been possible that someone like Kyoshi could have faced down the entire northern army on her own.

Realistically, Aang knew that Sasuke was the only hope they really had to weather such a storm as that of the spirits attacking the capital.

Following Zuko up several flights of stairs, Aang wondered if Sasuke had even been able to find Koloss. After all, if what Roku had told them held any credence, they would only be able to emerge from this conflict victorious if severance was achieved between the ability of the spirit world to physically connect to the physical world. Even if Sasuke came back, if he hadn't destroyed Koloss…

He followed Zuko out onto the wide and expansive terrace that stretched from the center of the palace's top floor. It was a generous half circle that could have comfortably held well over a hundred people, but Aang could see immediately that its capacity was already being tested.

High ranking military officials, advisors, and personal staff to the chief were milling about, quickly passing information between one another in hushed tones. The chief himself stood in front of the marble railing with his hands clasped stoically behind his back. Lorna and Mai both stood near him along the railing as well, and Aang saw that Ursa had also beaten them out, as well as Yue who stood huddled close to her parents. Aang walked out onto the terrace with Sokka, Suki, Jin and Ty Lee in close tow behind him. He nearly called out to ask what the state of things was, but as he got near enough to look out over the city and the horizon beyond, he quickly found that there was little he needed to ask in that regard.

Kyoshi and Yangchen stood at the behest of an enormous army of spirits, seemingly standing suspended over the water of the bay that reached from the Northern Water tribe out into the ocean. Some of the spirits were of a size that would have allowed them to level comfortably with a four-story building but hovering above all the rest was a ray-shaped goliath of a spirit that might have been able to lay across the entirety of the palace with its width. The longer Aang looked out at the spectacle, the further his heart sank.

As he drew slowly up alongside Tangith, he realized just how damningly quiet the whole affair was. Other than the hushed words being exchanged among the chief's top staff, everything else was eerily quiet as the sky grew more and more pale as the rising of the sun approached. No sounds rose up from the city below, and Aang could see no people milling about in the streets, though he supposed the three bursts from the war horns had been a sign for everyone to head indoors and stay put, the best thing the innocent civilians could do to keep themselves out of harm's way. No sounds rippled up from the spirit army as well, just dead quiet over the early morning chilled air.

"When did they arrive?" Aang quietly asked as he and the group drew up alongside the chief. Tangith looked remarkably calm given the situation and Aang imagined his own expression was anything but as passive.

"About ten minutes ago, and quite suddenly," he softly replied. "They appeared quickly enough that the lookouts had no time to sound the alarm in between when they were first sighted and when they… well, as you can see, we've rather been caught with our pants down."

"Hardly, sir," Lorna said in a clipped tone at his side. "We are as prepared as we could have been for such a stir."

The chief gave her a brief appraising look before smiling distantly and turning back to look out towards the army positioned just before the city.

"Quite the shame, I had hoped Sasuke would have been able to succeed in his mission by now," he remarked.

"We're not still sure that he won't in time," Aang intoned, trying to sound as confident as he could even as his own insides were a pit of nerves and uncertainty. "And for now, we still have time."

"Aang's right," Sokka added. "If they were able to roll up to the front door like this with such speed and stealth, then there's no reason why they wouldn't have just attacked when they had us with, as you say, sir, our pants down."

Tangith reached up and slowly stroked his chin, no doubt giving considerable thought to all the available options.

"What do you suppose then that they're waiting for? I don't imagine they brought numbers of this scale just as a show of force."

Though he had a fair idea what that reason was, Aang still was beaten to the punch by a familiar, silky tone that rolled out over the terrace.

"They're expecting a surrender, of course."

He turned in time to see Azula walking regally out of the palace to join the rest of them. She looked as though she had spent at least an hour preparing for just this moment, her hair and makeup in perfect order and her clothes in equally impeccable shape. She looked fully ready to start barking orders herself, but Aang noted one distinct difference in her appearance, something that he had long since come to associate with Azula.

Her usual smile, the turn of her strikingly red lips was absent. Anytime Aang had ever seen her in a place where she was speaking to any number of people, as long as she was in control of herself, that disarming and chilling smile was always present. He thought back and genuinely couldn't think of a time where she had been in such a relatively public scenario and hadn't been wearing that snakelike grin. It had always been such a sight that had always made him want to retreat from her, to bow his head and let her pass, but as he continued to look at her, the storming behind her eyes was intimidating enough.

The atmosphere on the terrace immediately seemed to shift slightly; no one seemed willing to completely deviate their attention from the army before them, but Azula's entrance was enough that it seemed to snare the corners of everyone's eyes. Aang felt himself swallow as she strode out to join the congregation that had formed. Most everyone she drew near retreated to give her a substantial berth, but she seemed to pay them no mind. Drawing next to the railing beside the chief, Aang watched as Azula put her hands on the marble and gripped it tight, Tangith looking at her with a curious look in his eyes.

"They're waiting for their prizes to be delivered," she murmured. Her voice was quiet and deliberate, but it was so silent even with all those present that Aang was able to hear her with perfect clarity.

"You mean your—"

One of Tangith's advisors started to ask a question and then seemed to catch himself quickly, swallowing down the rest of his inquiry and looking down at his feet with wide eyes. It seemed it had taken him only three words to realize that he had been addressing Princess Azula, and the gravity of such a thing had seemed to have latched on to him. Those around him looked his way with genuine concern and pulled back as though he had caught fire, and everyone watched as Azula turned to face the man. Aang couldn't help but think back to when one of the military advisors in Ba Sing Se had gone and practically challenged Azula and the same frightening aura that had settled over the room then. He watched Azula's face closely, but she only regarded the man with an almost intrigued look, as though surprised he had gone and seen fit to ask her anything at all.

"Yes," she said after a few long moments. "My daughter and her father."

It was common knowledge amongst everyone there by that point what the goal of the spirits was. Aang had attended enough preparatory meetings over the past several days to know that such information had spread from the chief to his upper echelon, and while it was never directly discussed, Sasuke and Soza's absence was weighing heavy on all. Tangith had made it quite clear that handing over anyone at all was far from something he considered acceptable, but Aang had picked up on the silent attitudes of some.

That perhaps giving up two people would be better than risking war.

He flinched at the thought internally. It was far less simple than that, but he couldn't help but think about how, at the end of the day, that was what it would have boiled down to.

The man who had been about to ask Azula his question reddened in the face and kept his eyes turned down. Throughout the nations, children being born out of wedlock was something deeply frowned upon, let alone being under someone of royal blood. And for the sister of the Fire Lord to have given birth to a child with no name to a father that she seemed willing to offer, that was about as taboo a thing as the nations had seen. Had the mother in question not been one of the most feared people alive, there may have been something more done about it at the time, but Zuko had shown no interest in pursuing such a line of questioning with a sister who never seemed to so much as acknowledge his existence unless she had to.

And if this man was being seen as openly drawing attention towards the situation, it wouldn't have been unexpected that Azula was holding some resentment for his choice in doing so, and thusly for him as well. It was clear that the atmosphere was such that everyone there was deeply uncomfortable, save for the chief who looked more interested in the proceedings than anything, and Ursa who, while looking regretful, didn't seem to have much interest in interfering.

"With all due respect, your highness," Lorna said, stepping forward and taking the pressure away from the unfortunate man who had spoken and looked like he was about to shrivel up and disintegrate out of sheer fear. "Would it not be at least prudent to consider such an—"

"Regardless of the result it would bring, it is not something we will be considering," Tangith suddenly said, interrupting his advisor. Aang found himself deeply relieved that he had; while Azula hadn't been looking at the man who had brought up her daughter and relationship to Sasuke with anything more than mild distaste, the expression she was now leveling towards Lorna was nothing short of hateful. To her credit, Lorna didn't seem cowed in the slightest, but Aang had also attended enough meetings to know that Tangith's advisors and the like had tried on more than one occasion to suggest the possibility of handing over what the spirits requested. Lorna bringing it up now in an open and public situation was likely about the last chance she might get to speak her peace.

"But, sir," she persisted, "are the lives of those in this city not worth at least hearing out what the spirits are requesting? We don't know for certain that their motives hadn't changed, and I know we're prepared to launch an immediate preemptive—"

"We will not negotiate with those, of our world or another, who step foot into any of the nations willing to shed the blood of innocents for whatever their crusade may be," Tangith intoned briskly.

Aang noted how quick Lorna had been to change her tune; she had quickly gone from suggesting the necessity of giving up Sasuke and Soza to shifting over to recommend perhaps moving down to speak to Kyoshi and the spirits, to confirm what they believed to be true. It was clear to him then, as he watched Lorna bow her head both in respect and to hide the look of frustration on her face, that she truly didn't want this fight.

"Sir, please," she pressed. "I know what… what a fight of this scale could mean. I was there at the end of the Hundred Years' War if you remember. What happened to Ba Sing Se, we cannot allow it to happen here."

Azula was the one to reply to this, looking truly thrilled to have an opportunity to tell off Lorna. Her face was spiked with malice and Aang finally got to see her sickening smirk return.

"You think you can stop this fight?" she asked condescendingly. "Your chief understood the stakes when he chose to side with Sasuke. There was never a fight that was going to be avoided, this was coming one way or another."

Lorna straightened from her bow and wrinkled her nose at Azula, not even seemingly willing to façade anything other than distaste.

"What is it you think you're suggesting?" she asked coldly, and Azula raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"Oh, make no mistake, the choice made to stand on Sasuke's side is one I respect. But casualties would not have been avoided one way or another."

"They could have been," Lorna shot back. "If he hadn't chosen to bring himself here along with his bastard of a—"

"What's done is done!" the chief shouted, interrupting her again. His voice carried substantial weight which Aang appreciated, even though he felt distantly intimidated by it himself. But it was necessary, he thought, since Azula looked ready to tear Lorna limb from limb if she had dared to finish that sentence. "I will not allow time to be wasted on considering 'what if's' and you would do to mind your tongue!"

It looked rather as though Lorna wasn't used to being shouted at as she almost seemed to shrink somewhat, a look Aang didn't really associate with a person like her. She had struck him as so powerful and commanding a presence that when he saw her falling into a state of submission that way, it seemed to go against some sort of natural order.

"In any case," Tangith continued, turning to look back out towards the spirits' army on the horizon, his voice returning to a more measured tone. "We would do well to pay mind to the threat at hand."

Silently agreeing, Aang risked a last worried glance towards Azula before moving to look out over the rail as well.

"I imagine it won't take them long to realize that Sasuke and Soza aren't here," he decided to say, hoping that he could assist the conversation in moving further and further from a direction where it might end with Azula needing to be locked up again for snapping off and trying to kill someone. "In any case, that might be a good thing."

"How do you figure that?" Sokka asked, also looking eager to move attention back to more prudent matters. In truth, Aang wasn't sure if his theory even held water, but he felt at least like he should suggest what he was thinking even if there wasn't any real credence to it.

"Well, though I could be wrong, if they don't know where their targets are, they would have no reason to declare war on us. Why go after a city when they know they need to be focusing their efforts on finding Sasuke and Soza? They brought the army because they figured they'd need it to fight, but if Sasuke's just gone…"

"That's a good point," Mai muttered. "Why fight when they have no reason to? Hell, we can just tell them that the only reason we're raised to such high alert is because the city was expecting retaliation for sheltering Sasuke. For all we know, he grabbed Soza and ran off for places unknown to try and protect them both as well as all of us. Not the most unbelievable thing that he'd go and do something like that."

A lull fell over the terrace and Aang watched as Mai's face finally seemed to dawn with an air of realization as she understood what exactly it was that had caused no one to reply to her remark in the first place, the same thing that was slipping in and out of Aang's head now.

Could something like that work?

It wouldn't in the long run, but if they were trying to buy time while waiting for Sasuke to hopefully settle business with Koloss and give them an actual advantage, it just might be something that could fly. There was just a single snag that Aang could think of with such a plan.

"Do you think they'd buy it?" Tangith asked gruffly and Aang felt a humorless chuckle pass his lips.

"I don't know," he replied. "This is Avatar Kyoshi we're talking about. I'd say it's worth a shot, to suggest that Sasuke took off days ago and left us all here, which is technically true."

"You know if we do, Kyoshi is going to sit each of us down and grill us like no one's ever been grilled before, trying to figure some inkling as to where Sasuke was heading, right?" Jin asked and Aang saw the fire in her eyes as she asked; she was clearly ready to fight this as hard as it was needed, but it was true enough that they couldn't know just how bad trying to level out such a ploy could turn.

"She can grill all she wants," Azula sneered, crossing her arms.

"Azula's right," Suki said quietly and Aang knew his weren't the only eyebrows raising in surprise at such an admittance from perhaps the person who most wanted Azula dead not a week prior. The Kyoshi Warrior reached back and rubbed the back of her head, her eyes glazed over and thoughtful, yet still full of steel.

"No one here will give up Sasuke, and even if they did, we couldn't tell Kyoshi a damn thing anyway," she muttered. "We don't know where he went, where he took Soza, or where they are now. It's as much a mystery to any of us as it is to the spirits where they are."

"Still, even if we did try this, we're opening our doors to a host of consequences," Tangith said with a sigh. "In admitting that we don't know where Sasuke is and that we've only assembled our military might to protect ourselves, we'd have to be willing to let the spirits march right into our city. We're opening ourselves up for open occupation if we want to attempt a ploy like that. As opposed to accepting the fight here and now and giving ourselves a better chance."

"Sir, with all due respect," Sokka said firmly. "We've been helping you set up cautionary measures for days in the anticipation that any conflict we might encounter would be something that we could potentially deal with, a handful of spirits at the very most. We've set up the city so that all residents are as dug into their homes as possible, to protect themselves as much as possible. Our defenses are set up to protect against casualties of innocents should a manageable fight have broken out at any point."

He gestured ahead of them grimly.

"If we had the entire southern army as well, and then on top of that we added the Earth Nation's entire military to our aid, we still don't know if we could emerge victorious from an enemy such as this. There are more than we could ever hope to fight on our own now, and that's assuming that they don't have powers we aren't aware of, which, in truth, we don't know if that could be a factor on its own."

"So, what then?" a Water Nation general asked bluntly. "Open our gates? Allow them to walk in and do as they'd like and hope they show such benevolence when they find their prizes aren't here?"

Lorna looked at Suki with a flat look, addressing the Kyoshi warrior with a less than hopeful tone.

"She's your deity in a sense. And you were among them when Kyoshi and the lot of you did battle in Ba Sing Se. Do you believe she wouldn't just barrel through the city to make an example of those who defy them?"

It wasn't much of a fair question to Suki, but Aang supposed that whether Lorna had asked any of them, the answer wouldn't have been very different to the one that Suki gave.

"There is no reason to assume that Kyoshi would be so merciful after what we've forced her through."

It wasn't a straight answer, but it spoke to the uncertainty of everything as a whole. There was no way to know just how Kyoshi might react when she learned that Sasuke wasn't there, nor was his daughter; it likely didn't matter if she was allowed to walk right up to the palace or if she had to fight her way through the entire northern army, it was likely her reaction would be the same either way.

But do we risk that? Allowing them just to move into the city and give up any chance we have of mounting a defense?

Aang was realizing how badly he wanted to just go down and speak to Kyoshi and Yangchen face to face, even though the idea of approaching the front of such a massive, intimidating force rather frightened him.

Sasuke wouldn't be scared.

He tightened his lips at the thought. There was no chance that his friends and likely Tangith as well would balk at the idea of letting him fly to the front of the army on his own, but if there was any chance of at least trying to surmise Kyoshi's intent and overall attitude towards the situation, this would likely be the best chance they could have.

They didn't just march on the city and attack, Aang reminded himself. They could have easily if they wanted to with how they were able to mask their approach. Why would they hold at our front door if not because they want to avoid bloodshed as well?

Before he could lose the courage to do so, he opened his mouth after taking in a deep and measured breath.

"I'll go down and meet them. See if I can't figure out what Kyoshi's intent is."

As he might have expected, Aang watched as Mai, Sokka, Zuko and the chief all started to round on him at once, but as he prepared to defend his plan, a voice that didn't belong to any of them snapped out.

"Absolutely not."

Slowly, Aang turned to face Azula who had her chin inclined his way, her eyes narrowed. If Aang hadn't been so surprised that it had been her to interject first, he would likely have been intimidated by how she was looking at him.

"You expect to stand before Kyoshi and read her, as though she's as simple-minded as you are?" Azula asked coldly, straightening her back and tossing her hair lightly out of her face. "Our one advantage is that she doesn't know that Sasuke and my daughter aren't here, and while you are so willingly trying to discern her motives, she will read you like a book, and will make her decision then and there."

Not having considered that Kyoshi might very well do exactly to him what he was planning to do to her, Aang faltered, though he tried to think of something he could say to defend himself.

"It would be safer…" he started, but he knew the words were weak even as he said them. Azula sneered at him.

"We all very much appreciate you trying to make yourself useful, Avatar, but if we're choosing to handle this passively, there are better ways to go about it," she snapped and Zuko took a step forward angrily.

"Azula, shut your—"

"No," Aang managed, putting as much clarity into his voice as he could. "Azula's right."

It felt humiliating, to know in his heart that his plan was about as half-assed a thing as he could have suggested. He hadn't thought of nearly all the variables, and he knew that the princess was right, even as his cheeks flushed.

"I wasn't thinking," he clarified. "I was just trying to be… useful."

Just admitting that as well only caused his shame to further rise in his chest and he turned his eyes down.

"I believe that the Avatar's plan might be all we can manage," Tangith then said, and Aang looked up at him in surprise, matching the looks directed towards the chief by everyone else there.

"What?!" both Azula and Lorna said in about perfect unison, and Ursa spoke up then, her smooth and powerful voice inserting its usual clarity into the situation.

"With respect, sir, would it not be better to stall the situation for as long as we can? Even if we move to try and advance the situation peacefully..."

"The waters only become murkier the longer we wait," Tangith said firmly. He stared out over the city he had dedicated his life to protecting and out towards where the spirit army remained, ready and waiting in the silence of the early morning. If he hadn't spoken at all, it would have seemed as though he wasn't even aware that there were others present on the terrace with him, such was the focus in his eyes.

"Can you not see why they are waiting?" he asked and when no one seemed confident enough or certain enough to answer, he did so himself.

"They're waiting because they're curious to know how we react. The longer we wait ourselves in taking action, we're informing them that we aren't certain of what to do, indicating that we are considering multiple options. With every minute that passes, they are no doubt becoming more and more of the mind that we are looking to delay them, or stall them, or fool them, or fight them even."

He flicked his eyes towards Mai.

"I believe your plan is best."

She looked rather stunned in being addressed so directly by the chief, whose eyes then moved to Aang.

"And it will take your idea to do it."

Tangith's hands wrapped tightly around the railing, digging in tightly as though he were trying to break the marble with his grip alone, and Aang could tell that what he was saying was genuinely paining him.

"We will go to them under a white flag, and inform them that we have lost track of both Sasuke and Soza. He took her away nights ago, and we haven't any idea where they've gone. During the time they were here, the Water Nation offered them asylum in exchange for information as to why the invasion is taking place, but they both left before we learned all the details. In fear of retaliation, we prepared our forces to defend."

He slowly took in a long breath and exhaled it, before pointing out towards the head of the army where Kyoshi and Yangchen stood.

"I will go down myself, amid the company of the Avatar and the Fire Lord, and a small entourage to meet them. We will inform the spirits of just this, for I believe that is all we can do."

The chief's advisors turned to one another with looks of anxiety and nerves, starting to whisper frantically among one another and it became clear that Tangith's decision was not something that everyone present was in agreement with. Lorna herself looked as though she were only holding her tongue by trying to bite it off, but there was nothing it seemed that she knew to say and so she settled for staring angrily at her feet.

But in the contrast to the chief's staff and advisors, Azula didn't seem to find any problem holding her tongue.

"That's it?!" she spat. "Roll over and play dead?!"

"Azula—" Ursa started, reaching out for her daughter, but Azula pulled back and glared at her mother; as Aang watched the brief exchange, he noted again how much different such a thing had played out in front of him as it likely would have in his mind. Rather than looking murderous as Aang would have expected, Azula seemed almost as though she were trying to relay to her mother through her eyes that she needed badly to speak her peace. Her fists clenched almost like a child being told to stop arguing a point, even when said child desperately believed that they were right. All in all, it almost looked like she was asking Ursa for permission.

"The spirits will disintegrate you the moment that you try and tell that lie!" she barked, her voice not betraying the almost childlike way she had tried to deny her mother's wishes for her to calm down. "You weren't in Ba Sing Se, so you wouldn't know, but Kyoshi has none of the mercy that you are hoping to receive!"

As she had started shouting, Aang had watched as several of Tangith's guard had reached for their weapons or entered defensive stances ready to waterbend at a moment's notice. His advisors too had stopped their hissing to one another to look at Azula accusingly and aggressively, with Lorna in particular looking ready to pounce if the cause so much as slightly arose. The only one who didn't seem to have taken an ounce of offense from the princess's abrasive dialogue was the chief himself, who only seemed to regard her with genuine interest.

"So, what your plan be then?" he asked her calmly while Azula continued to steam in front of him.

"Hold them off until Sasuke returns!" she snarled. "He'll level this playing field entirely on his own and that's even assuming that he doesn't find Koloss, or that there is no advantage gained in finding it!"

"And how long do you anticipate he'll be?" Ty Lee suddenly asked. Aang matched Suki, Jin and Mai's worried looks as they looked over and saw the subject of Azula's abuse looking at the princess with a determined expression, her hands balled into fists.

"Even if we get more time fighting back than we would if we just tried to convince Kyoshi that Sasuke and Soza are gone, without knowing how long we'll have to hold our own, how can we risk that?" she demanded; when she finished talking, she looked almost surprised at herself for standing up to Azula and seemed to shrink slightly. Aang saw Mai and Suki both step gently towards her as though getting ready to pull her out of danger, but as he looked then to the princess, he was once again surprised.

Though her face was still tightened in anger, Azula's eyes looked like she was trying to dredge up a will to fight that had disappeared, as though she were doing all she could to try and remain livid, but when she looked at Ty Lee, that part of her simply fell absent. She looked rather as though there were something she badly wanted to say but couldn't muster up the will to do so; she finally grit her teeth and turned her head down, unable to keep her eyes on Ty Lee any longer. The silence that followed the strange standoff neared the point of becoming uncomfortable before the chief broke the silence once more.

"It is as she says: to fight now, knowing that without Sasuke, the completion of his mission or both, we would be fighting a losing battle, and we cannot risk that without having any understanding of a timeline as to how long we'd need to hold our own."

He looked at Azula with an almost remorseful look in his eye, though Aang could tell it wasn't because he was feeling pity for the princess.

He wants to fight too. He hates the idea of bending neck for any enemy, and that's why he's been so hellbent on building up defenses over the past week. But now that he sees what we're up against…

Tangith had a heart that was likely always situated in a place where the predominant thought was that applying enough force would eventually create the outcome he was looking for. Years ago, just recently after the end of the Hundred Year's War, Aang had needed to attend a summit where, despite Earth Nation demands that the Fire Nation be further forced into paying reparations more than the nation had already been stripped for, the chief had taken a staunch stance against such an idea; it had been clear that if the Fire Nation was put more into debt, the nation itself might very well implode financially and economically, and though other leaders tried to make that clear to Earth Nation officials, Tangith had all but told them that he would take his own nation to war against them if they continued to try and press the Fire Nation. Things might have gotten ugly if not for the efforts of the United Nations Council and Aang in trying to reach a more peaceable agreement.

The chief will always fight for what he believes is right. If it was just him on his own, he'd grab a sword and run at Kyoshi until he stopped breathing, but he has so many more lives to consider now.

"Sir, are you certain this is how you wish to proceed?" one of Tangith's advisors asked carefully. She and the rest of the chief's staff looked at him expectantly and he lowered his head with a sigh. Aang stood with the rest of his friends, and they all too turned to watch and wait for an answer. Sokka and Suki drew near and took one another's hands, Jin and Ty Lee moved shoulder to shoulder almost involuntarily it looked like, Mai crossed her arms extremely tightly, Zuko seemed to almost gravitate towards his mother, but Ursa's eyes remained locked on Azula who hadn't looked up from the ground. Yue and her parents remained close to one another, and Aang couldn't help but remember the last time the three of them had been together, the Northern Water Tribe had come under attack so similarly to this. It didn't seem fair that just now after reuniting, there was another such conflict looming on the horizon that threatened to split their family once more, along with so many others.

The chief took in a long, deep breath and drew himself up, seeming ready to accept his own decision.

"We will—"

He managed only those two words before a soldier came sprinting onto the terrace from the hallway, skidding to a halt and nearly falling over as a result. So on edge was everyone present that several people entered readied stances to potentially attack whatever intruder had so suddenly joined their midst, and Aang found that he and Zuko mirrored one another in a prepared firebending defensive stance. Tangith raised a hand to wave down everyone when it was clear that the soldier was just that, as the man before them bent double, panting and trying to catch his breath.

"Lieutenant, this meeting is for top ranking personnel only," one of the generals present snapped at the soldier. The man raised a hand in a gesture of apology, but when he straightened his back and puffed out his message through his still rapidly expanding and retracting lungs, it was directly to the chief.

"Sir, a reconnaissance sleigh is approaching from the north trails."

Tangith's brow furrowed immediately, casting a dark shadow over his face. He turned to face Lorna who seemed to again balk slightly at his glare.

"I instructed all recon teams back days ago, with orders not to take the sleighs out beyond my express permission!" he thundered, and though the shouting wasn't directed at him, Aang still felt the desire to almost shrivel as though a father figure were angrily scolding him. To her credit, Lorna caught herself quickly and straightened, tightening her lips as she did.

"Sir, no reconnaissance teams were given any such contradictory orders."

The chief's anger shifted slightly into confusion then back into more frustration. He turned to aggressively regard his generals who, all hardened warriors in their own right, didn't seem at all pleased to be anywhere near the focus of Tangith's potential wrath.

"All of you, keep eyes on the spirits! Make no movement unless they do, and if they make a move, blow an alarm horn twice; I'll hear it!"

He jerked his chin towards Lorna and then seemed to reluctantly look towards Aang. His eyes betrayed some sense of concern, as though he had a suspicion he hadn't yet aired.

"You lot better come along as well," he muttered and then stormed from the terrace, leaving his advisors and military officers in his wake. Aang quickly looked to Sokka, Zuko and the rest who seemed to have similarly understood that the chief had been asking for them as a group. A few looks were exchanged between them all, from nervous looks to a still heated looking Azula, to almost silently questioning glances to Ursa and Suki as though for guidance, but eventually, Ursa led the way from the terrace as well, and the group followed after the chief. Aang gave a glance back to Yue and he saw her meeting Sokka's eyes; he was giving her a reassuring look and Aang couldn't help but feel deeply grateful for his friend. Just as he always seemed to, no matter how wound up Sokka was himself, he always seemed to make time to try and comfort others. Yue gave him a small smile and squeezed her parents' hands tightly as they remained on the terrace and disappeared from sight.

Aang had become familiar enough with the palace in recent days that he likely could have made his way to the northernmost gate on his own, but he kept in line, never once getting ahead of Tangith's brisk strides, Lorna tagging along beside him like a nervous child. It would have been all too easy for Aang to zip past them all and make it to the gate first, but it would have saved him likely only a matter of seconds given how close they were to that part of the palace. Instead, he chose to preoccupy his overworked mind with guesses as to what this sudden situation might be.

Water Nation soldiers going out on their own? They seem far too disciplined and well trained to go and do a thing like that…

The next most likely thing that popped into his mind was something that made his heart skip a beat rather aggressively.

Sasuke.

It was possible that the soldier that had just somewhat frantically delivered the report hadn't known exactly what he was seeing, and the recon sleigh was actually Sasuke, coming back just in the nick of time to save the day. Maybe he was the reason the spirits hadn't moved on the city, maybe it was because of what he had found out there in the frozen wasteland, maybe it was because of him that—

"Mother!"

As they rounded the turn into the northernmost loading bay, a young, high voice rang out just as they moved into view. Aang just had time to register that it was indeed a reconnaissance sleigh resting back within the gate before he saw Soza sprinting their way. Azula's face blossomed in surprise and she had just a moment to take a hurried step forward before her daughter had reached her and they both came to an abrupt halt, Aang the rest of the group stopping just behind the princess as she regarded her child.

Soza and Azula looked at one another in a brief bout of complete silence before something seemed to snap between them, and they both moved at once. Azula slid down to her knees and spread her arms just as Soza leapt into them, burying her face in her mother's shoulder. Yet again, Aang found himself confronted with another bizarre sight regarding Azula; he had seen her put a hand on her daughter's shoulder before, take her daughter by the hand, even cup her under the chin. But not once had he ever seen such an outward display of affection and emotion from the princess towards her child and were his mind not so blisteringly occupied with other thoughts, Aang felt as though he might have found it all quite touching. Judging by the looks of Sokka, Suki, Mai, Zuko, Jin and Ty Lee, they were equally as shocked by what they were seeing. Only Ursa seemed to not be caught off guard by the sight, a small smile on her face, and Aang could see her eyes glistening with what might have been tears.

Aang barely had much time to further consider the oddity that was Azula showing any affection whatsoever before Soza pulled back from her mother and stormed right up to him, just as Ty Lee and Jin both rushed past her in the opposite direction, but Aang could only find that his attention could be directed at Soza as she glared at him.

"Where's dad?!" she barked up at him, her eyes flashing angrily and expression something right out of Aang's distant memories to a younger Azula. He blinked at her stupidly, repeating the question in his head to try and give it some clarity that he didn't possess upon first hearing it.

"I… don't know," he finally got out. A hundred better responses surged in his mind, but he couldn't somehow muster even one of them up.

He was with you, why would I know better than you? Is he not with you? Did you both get separated? Is he alright? Are you alright? What happened out there?

But he had only managed perhaps the lamest reply he could have thought up and it seemed to frustrate Soza just as badly as it did him.

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?!" she snarled. "You were the last person with him!"

Yet another statement that only further added to Aang's utter bewilderment, but another voice sounding from behind Soza caused him to finally tear his eyes from her and look up.

"Aang, she's right. Where's Sasuke?"

Toph was climbing down out of the recon sleigh that Soza had so nimbly bounded out of and was in the midst of sharing deep hugs with both Jin and Ty Lee. She had the ghost of a smile on her face that likely had to do with the fact that she was seeing her friends again, but the concern in her voice and on her face was unmistakable.

"How… why would…" Aang sputtered and then his eyes found the last person in the sleigh and his heart froze in terror.

Katara was sitting in the front facing seat of the sleigh, and she looked as terrible as Aang had ever seen her. He had seen her exhausted after fending off great tidal waves from a rebellious group of waterbenders near the Earth Nation borders, he remembered how ill she had looked when she and Sokka had both fallen ill, and he thought to how worn out she had seemed after weeklong training exercises that neutered her for days. None of that came close to how absolutely drained she appeared to him now.

Her hair was matted with sweat, her eyes seemed only half-open, her arms hung limply down at her sides, and the usual fire that Aang could always find in her eyes was absent. She looked genuinely in danger of falling over then and there, and fortunately, Sokka had the wherewithal to run to his sister's side and put an arm around her. The moment he did, she collapsed against his side and he stood beside the sled awkwardly, holding his sister's weakened and debilitated form.

All at once, Aang felt as though he wanted to throw his arms up in the air and bring the world to a halt with how overwhelming this suddenly all seemed. He had no idea why Katara had just come into the northern gate on a reconnaissance sleigh looking like she had just been forced to hold up a sea's worth of water for a day alongside Soza, who was demanding of Aang to know where Sasuke was when had hadn't seen the black-haired man for days now, and the both of them had apparently been in the company of Toph as well. Nothing added up and fortunately, he didn't need to be the one to demand answers.

At his side, Chief Tangith stepped forward, his eyes flashing dangerously, almost seeming to emanate an aura of pure menace. He flicked his eyes to Katara and turned to one of the soldiers standing in the bay.

"Water. Now."

Katara, like most experienced waterbenders, could restore energy through contact with water; the purer the water the better, and Aang felt a surge of appreciation for the chief taking the time to know that even despite the situation, he was looking to provide something to aid Katara's recovery. But as the soldier scrambled off to comply, his voice rumbled again, voicing the question they were all surely wondering.

"What… happened."

His voice spoke to both his impatience and the seriousness of the situation. Though his eyes were locked on Katara, Toph pushed past both Ty Lee and Jin and walked up to him, giving a respectful bow.

"Forgive our disobeying of your orders, sir," she said in what Aang supposed was Toph's attempt at a pacifying tone. She was never one for overt respect or assuaging, but it was clear that she understood the hot water that she might very well be in. "But we had good reasons in doing so."

Looking thoroughly unconvinced, Tangith crossed his large arms and narrowed his eyes at her.

"I would hear them now."

Toph nodded and took a long breath before launching into said explanation.

"Early this morning, I was approached by both Aang and Katara. They told me that Aang had experienced a vision, some spirit-based something that had shown him that Soza and Sasuke were in grave danger."

"I—!" was all that Aang was able to burst out before the chief raised a hand in a dangerous motion, indicating that there were to be no interruptions while Toph spoke. Her unseeing eyes flicked Aang's way briefly and nervously, but she continued, nonetheless.

"They asked for my help in finding them, saying that the mark Sasuke had given me would help them in tracking him and Soza down. They waterbended the water beneath the sleigh and covered what must have been so much ground all day, but I eventually felt Sasuke's presence as night fell. We made it to what must have been some sort of giant body, or tunnel system, or I'm not entirely sure, but we worked our way through a great many passages and found Soza. She told us that Sasuke was a few rooms away, and Aang went to go find him while Katara and I took Soza out of there, intending to start heading back ahead of time, knowing that Sasuke and Aang could travel much faster than us anyway. We traveled through the night, but Katara got us back here…"

She looked back with concern in her eyes.

"…which is why she's so exhausted. She was waterbending the snow and ice for nearly a whole day to move us around."

Turning back, she cocked her head at Aang, her face twisting with further concern.

"But Aang, seriously, where is Sasuke? You both must have beaten us back."

Unable to stand it any longer and not caring if the chief took offense at another interruption, Aang threw his hands up in overloaded frustration.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I never had any spiritual vision; I never saw anything! I never talked to you yesterday morning, and I never left the palace!"

He jabbed a finger at Toph, one that he knew she couldn't see.

"You left! You and Katara both! We've been worried sick all night wondering where you two went!"

It was all like something out of a bad dream as Aang felt as though he were arguing with earless individuals, as though his words would never make an impact. He hardly believed that he was evening seeing Toph and Katara again, nothing about the way in which they were before him now seemed real in the slightest.

Then, he heard a soft, gentle croak of a voice whisper out.

"I'm sorry…"

Though Katara hadn't indicated anyone in specific that she was talking to, Aang knew that her apology was coming straight to him. He knew this as he looked at her and saw her looking right back at him, her exhausted and weary eyes pleadingly finding his own. It struck him then that he needed to be at her side more than anything just then and he couldn't quite believe this was just now something that he realized.

Before he even knew it, he had pushed past Sokka and thrown his arms around Katara, forcing himself not to hold her too tightly though he wanted to squeeze her tighter and tighter with each passing moment. Her arms came shakily up to wrap around his back and the weakness with which she held him shook Aang to his core. Whatever she had forced herself to do, it had worn her out badly enough that Aang wasn't genuinely sure he had ever seen her so debilitated. And still, she was managing to stay weakly on her feet and had brought her arms up to hug him back and he couldn't help tears from spilling down his cheeks to splash on her shoulder.

No doubt feeling the wetness against her skin, Katara shifted slightly, whispering hoarsely in his ear.

"Don't cry, Aang…"

Her strained voice almost exacerbated the very problem she was trying to stave off and he swallowed deeply to abide by her feeble request. For just that brief instant, he didn't care about Sasuke, or Kyoshi, or spirits, or anything. His mind buckled at the sheer affection he still felt for Katara, that same affection he had begun to develop since the day she had pulled him from that iceberg.

He likely could have stood there for minutes longer, holding her as tightly as he dared, but there was no staving off the reality that loomed behind his closed eyes.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for this," the chief's voice rumbled out over the room. Aang opened his eyes and kept an arm around Katara who leaned against him for support before he turned back towards the group. Tangith had turned his gaze to Soza who looked to be getting more upset by the moment; Azula had moved to her side, but Soza hardly seemed to have even noticed her mother's presence, her eyes clouded with confusion and what might have been growing panic.

"Child, you say the Avatar went to find your father when he, Katara and Toph found you?"

Her eyes narrowing as she looked at the chief indignantly, Soza glared at Tangith as she snapped back at him.

"That's what Toph said, wasn't it?!"

She clearly didn't care much for showing the chief respect and Aang saw Azula and Zuko both tense at her abrasive reply, but Tangith didn't seem to care much for such formality either as he turned to Aang without so much as another word to Soza.

"And you never left the palace, Avatar?"

Aang needed to give himself a quick moment to push down his frustration before replying so that he didn't wind up issuing a similarly angry response.

"No, sir."

The chief's eyes flicked to Toph whose relief at seeing everyone and being back at the capital seemed to have waned completely. Rather, she had grown rather pale as her brow furrowed, her face towards the ground as Aang watched her grit her teeth.

"But… how? I… felt you. You and Katara both. When you both came to me, saying that we needed to reach Sasuke, you… I…"

Her hands shaking, she brought her fingers up to her head, running them through her black locks. Her face twisted with consternation as she moaned angrily.

"Aang, what… what happened?!"

Aang only stared at her helplessly, shaking his head weakly. He couldn't give an answer, even though he wanted to say anything that could give her peace of mind. Toph glared at him a moment before taking a rather aggressive step his way. Sokka saw her movement and made to intercept, but before he could, Mai beat him to the punch as she moved between Aang and Toph.

"I think I have a pretty good idea."

She turned towards Aang, and he prepared to open his mouth and defend himself again, but Mai's eyes moved past him and landed on Katara. There was no sense of empathy or comfort in her eyes, merely a cold and almost sad stare.

"Tell me you didn't," she whispered, her voice quivering briefly. Aang looked quickly between her and Katara, trying to wrap his spinning mind around what conclusion it was that Mai had come to that had caused such dread to enter her voice.

"What?" he asked quickly, his eyes wide as he looked towards her. "What are you talking about?"

She ignored him and kept looking at Katara. Her lips tightened and she gave her head a small shake.

"Tell me you didn't…" she repeated, her voice just beyond a whisper. Suki stepped forward from behind her, sounding more aggravated than anything.

"Mai, what is it?" she demanded. Everyone had rounded on Mai and Katara, watching closely, and Aang forced himself to look back at Katara. At his side, she still looked miserably weak, but her eyes had turned towards the ground, a deeply hurt look behind her eyes.

"What's the matter?" he whispered to her, but she only shook her head and pushed away from him and her brother. Aang remained where he stood, his arms reaching out for her as she took a pair of weak steps to rest against the side of the recon sleigh. Her hand came up to wrap against her upper arm as she took in slow, pained breaths, but Aang saw the resolve in her eyes. Slowly, she looked up to meet Mai's gaze, unflinching and unblinking.

"I did what I had to."

At once, Mai spun away from Katara with a violent curse leaving her lips. She looked back to her, her expression now wildly furious as Aang felt his pulse hammer at her sudden and violent reaction. Ty Lee and Zuko had both stepped towards her as though preparing to hold her back, while Sokka had moved towards his sister, though he looked more ready to intercept Mai rather than aid his sister.

"How could you?!" Mai snarled. "After all he's done for us!"

"Mai, what are you—" Ursa started, but Mai didn't seem to be receptive of anyone there, her sole focus being Katara.

"You coward," she hissed, glaring with as much venom as Aang had ever seen in her eyes. "What did he do to him?"

Aang only started to feel more and more frustrated with how little he was understanding about the situation, and it seemed that he wasn't the only one. Apparently the only person willing to do so, Soza stomped in front of Mai, looking up with her fists clenched.

"What are you talking about?!" she roared, her voice no less intimidating due to her age. Her shout seemed to finally reach Mai, who looked down at her. A humorless smirk crossed over her face and Aang could see the venom still glistening in her eyes.

"Sorry, Soza. But if it wasn't Aang there with Katara and Toph… well, I think we only know one reason why it would have seemed like he was."

As he processed her words, there still was a lack of sense to be made to her fury and Aang felt his frustration peak.

"Mai, what—"

And then it clicked.

Aang felt icy talons dig into his heart as he understood what it was that Mai was implying. His mouth suddenly went dry and he ran his tongue around the inside of it as he turned to Katara.

"Katara, that's not what happened," he said automatically as though just speaking the words would be enough to make it so. He felt so strongly in his mind that Mai's assumption was completely unfounded and insane, there was absolutely no way that Katara would have gone and done something like what was being accused of her. Mai simply was letting herself get caught up in the anxiety and fear of the moment, the potential impending wave that was the spirit army was just causing her mind to run wild and she was failing to think rationally. There was no way that…

There wasn't…

He was looking at Katara now and his confidence began to crumble despite his best efforts. Katara wasn't denying what Mai was directing towards her; rather, her eyes only held more resolve then before.

"I did what I had to," she repeated quietly and Aang felt his legs buckle. He dropped to his knees, trying to keep the tears from springing to his eyes that he could feel coming on.

No.

The realization was settling around the others too; Sokka's eyes widened as he regarded his sister, his mouth falling slightly agape. Suki, Ty Lee, and Jin's expressions had all quickly shifted from shock to anger, and Zuko looked like he was trying hard not to look almost… relieved? Much unlike her brother, Azula's expression was nothing short of murderous, but she remained where she was. Her daughter, however, continued to stare up at Mai, brow furrowing and lips tightening.

"If the Avatar wasn't there…" she growled, clearly still trying to piece things together. "If… someone else… but who could—"

Aang watched as the realization struck the girl and her eyes bulged in an explosion of fury and shock.

"That… that spirit who… pretended to be…"

She turned on her heel, locked eyes on Katara and gave a chilling howl.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAD?!"

Aang wouldn't have been surprised if the ground had given away with how hard she propelled herself forward then, furious tears streaming from her eyes. It was Toph who caught her halfway to Katara, wrapping an arm around her midsection and pulling Soza close. The girl grit her teeth and strained against Toph's hold and released another frustrated scream.

"LET ME GO!"

Toph didn't say a word as she held Soza still, but Aang saw her head turned down, face tightened with bitter rage of her own. Though he couldn't quite tell looking past her black hair, Aang though he could see tears drop from her betrayed gaze.

Aang forced himself to look away then, from her, from everyone. Katara had just admitted what she had done, even if not in so many words. She had betrayed Sasuke and she had struck some semblance of a deal with Koh.

Koh… after what he's done, what he's tried to do… why? Why would she do this?

It didn't make any sense to him. He knew that Katara and Sasuke had begun their relationship in a very rocky way, but he had thought that by the time he had left them from Ba Sing Se those years ago, things had become much better between them. It surely had hurt her the same way it had hurt all of them how quickly Sasuke had left and no doubt had harnessed doubts of her own as to his choice in the time after he had left, just as they all had. Aang had never dared try to bring it up around her during their time together, considering his own conflicting feelings towards Sasuke, but he couldn't have imagined that whatever her feelings had been, they had been enough to… to…

He raised his eyes to look at Katara and found her staring back at him. Somehow, she seemed even stronger than she had been before, but behind the resolve of her expression, he saw her looking at him pleadingly. There was a question in her eyes, an apology perhaps, but he couldn't manage to so much as give her a word in response.

The brief shocked silence that had fallen over the room quickly dissipated as the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the bay. The soldier that the chief had sent to collect water had returned swiftly with a deep dish filled to the brim with likely very pure water taken from the palace's very reserves. He pushed past them to deliver it to Katara, but stopped as a hand reached out to grab the dish's edge abruptly.

Azula pulled back on the vessel carrying the water and pushed the soldier behind her. The lighting in the bay was such that her face was nearly cast in shadow, save for her eyes glinting out like fiery shards.

"Not yet, I think…" she murmured at the soldier and Aang heard the threat in her voice. He swallowed and remained in place, the water in the dish rippling just slightly as he seemed to fight down a shudder of fear.

Azula took a step towards Katara, then another, then another. Her feet were nearly silent against the chilled marble floor and her very walk spoke to the regal authority that she always composed herself with. Aang knew that he ought to get to his feet and contest her before she got too close, but he felt horribly drained of any possible emotion that he could harness to muster the will to even stand. Passing by her daughter in Toph's arms, Azula didn't so much as look at either of them as she drew ever nearer to Katara and as she did, her voice hissed out like a snake moving through a field of grass.

"You… you struck a deal with that vile spirit, did you?"

Katara pushed gently away from where she was finding purchase to remain standing to straighten her back to a more upright posture, but even despite her best efforts, Azula looked the more dominant figure in every sense. She didn't reply to the princess's inquiry, but it wasn't a question that needed much of an answer truth be told.

"Care to share why?" Azula continued, while she continued to slowly stalk forwards. "Is this still that pride from all those years ago that led you to try and take his life that night on the beach? Is this resentment for how he left us, or perhaps for how he left you?"

Her eyes flicked to Aang briefly before returning to Katara.

"It couldn't be about him, could it?"

The question was ambiguous enough and Aang was too caught up in the moment to feel more than the slightest rush of pink to his cheeks. Azula didn't seem to care much to dwell on it regardless and she cocked her head, her approach almost seeming like that of a predatory animal as she crept ever closer to Katara. When she spoke again, her controlled mask splintered slightly and Aang heard the quiver in her voice.

"I felt regret for not stopping him when he took my daughter from my side, but he did what he did to protect her. Now, she is here, in danger of being taken by the spirits once again, and Sasuke… I don't know I even want to know what you and that Koh schemed to do to him. The fact that he hasn't returned though… is he even still alive?"

It was a terrifying question and Aang nearly brought his hands up to clap over his ears. He didn't want to know the answer to that, even if Katara knew; the way that Azula had asked it, this almost puzzled query as though she herself couldn't even believe what was happening made her almost airy nearing of Katara seem ever the more threatening.

"The father of my child… and my daughter. What have you done to them both?" Azula whispered and Aang saw her hands twitch at her side. He felt a surge of energy then at the sight, for he had done battle with enough firebenders, Azula included, to know what it looked like when they were sliding their fingers into position to prepare for an attack. Suki and Zuko also seemed to recognize the bare flicker of movement and they along with Aang made to move forward and keep her from getting any closer to Katara. But it was none of their hands that reached her first.

Azula seemed to seize slightly as a hand gripped her just above the elbow. She turned, her face breaking into a snarl that looked almost identical to the one that her daughter had worn just moments ago.

"What are you doing?!"

Ursa, the only one of their group that hadn't seemed to have reacted to what Katara had just indirectly revealed, had moved forward and prevented her daughter from growing any nearer to Katara. Unlike the rest of them, her face seemed almost impassive as though the news was nothing to her at its core. She didn't even seem to notice Azula even as her arm remained in her grip. Azula stared at her mother with growing frustration, looking between her mother's hand on her arm and the flat look in Ursa's eyes. Gritting her teeth, she rasped out at her mother furiously.

"Why would you stop me? Why? Would you not have just as much a reason as any to hate her for what she's done? Was it not you who…"

Azula seemed to get caught up for a moment with what she was saying, but after a moment of what looked like pained internal struggling, she finished her thought, as it came out as both a question and a passive aggressive jab.

"Is it not you, mother, who loves him so?"

Aang saw Toph almost seem to flinch out of the corner of his eye even as he tried to keep a stab of heat from puncturing his innards too badly. Ursa didn't say anything in response to her daughter and instead gave her a gentle pull back; Azula resisted only a moment before complying with the motion, letting her mother draw her back from Katara, and Aang was struck again by how she now seemed to heed both her mother's touch and word when it was only weeks between then and when she had been looking to kill her it seemed. The princess stepped behind her mother and turned her head down, her expression openly hateful now as she glared at her feet.

Ursa turned back to the soldier with the small basin of water and gestured. He brought the dish to her without a word and retreated from sight, clearly looking to be as little involved in the proceedings as he could. Ursa looked down at the water rocking gently in the container before closing her eyes a brief moment and walking forward. She stopped just ahead of Katara and looked down at her for a long while; Aang could read neither her expression nor Katara's as the two women regarded one another. Then, Ursa lowered the basin to her feet and Katara nearly collapsed to reach it, falling to her knees and plunging her hands into the water. She closed her eyes as the water rose up to her wrists and Aang watched as she breathed out slowly, a sigh of what looked like relief as the water almost seemed to churn around her hands. Continuing to look down at her, Ursa watched as Katara slowly healed herself and after several arduous seconds, she spoke.

"Is Sasuke still alive?"

And even through all the resolve she was showing, all the effort that Aang knew she was putting into trying to remain stalwart and in control of herself, Ursa's voice shook badly as though she were barely keeping herself from crying. From where she knelt, Katara's eyes slowly opened, and conflict burned behind her eyes. She didn't meet Ursa's gaze as she replied.

"I don't know."

Mai released a noise that sounded like a stifled groan and turned away, putting her face in her hands. Ty Lee drew up to her friend and wrapped her arms around her, even as her own eyes remained wide with shock. Toph no longer looked like she was holding Soza back and rather like holding Soza was all she could do to keep herself from falling apart, her form hunched and pained as she buried her face in Soza's shoulder. Azula's daughter looked to almost be paralyzed, her expression like that of someone who had just been kicked hard in the shins and was trying to hide the hurt of it. Zuko's eyes had clouded over like he had retreated deep into his thoughts and Aang couldn't read the Fire Lord's expression. Jin had nearly fallen back against the wall to her side, suddenly looking just as tired as Katara had appeared to them just then, and Suki looked deeply at odds with herself as though she didn't know what to think of what was happening. Sokka looked weakly at Katara, misery fogging his expression.

"Sis… what did—"

The door banged open behind them and a courier scrambled through it, face pale as a sheet as she dashed to Tangith's side.

"Sir!" she gasped out; it was quite clear that she had run top speed from wherever she had come from. "The spirits sent word!"

The chief, who Aang realized had been still and silent as a mountain throughout the entire exchange happening before them, shifted just slightly as courier slid to a halt next to him. His eyes remained on Katara and Ursa, and he too looked to be deep in thought, as though the spirits themselves didn't hold much precedent to him just then.

"Yes?"

The courier, who looked somewhat confused by the chief's lack of a reaction, furrowed her brow briefly before shaking aside her puzzlement to complete her task.

"Kyoshi, sir. The Avatar," she said, as though still trying to come to terms herself with the fact that Avatars of old were somehow walking the earth once more. "She asks for an audience with—"

"Finally," Tangith growled. "I'd like nothing more than to ask her what exactly she means by invading our world, and threatening our very—"

"Actually, sir," the courier interrupted timidly, flinching back slightly when the chief turned to stare her down for interrupting him. "It's just… the flying spirit who delivered the message said… she just wants to see the ones traveling with him."

She shifted her weight from right to left and looked down as she clarified meekly, though surely unnecessarily.

"With Sasuke."

The threat of the spirits once again forced back to the front, everyone began to look about at one another, the clear lack of direction amongst them apparent. Only Azula, Soza, Toph and Ursa seemed to look unaffected, still caught up as they were in their own heads no doubt. Mai pulled away from Ty Lee at the courier's words and Aang saw that she seemed to have regained herself after her temporary loss of control. She looked around to Soza almost on instinct.

"We need her hidden. I don't know how well the spirits could find her, but the fact that she's been brought back only means she's in further danger."

The courier spoke yet again, her words even more unpronounced than before.

"The spirit also said that… Kyoshi said not to bother trying to hide the girl. They… she knows she's back in the city."

Mai's shoulders slumped as she stared at the woman before she cursed again.

"Damn them…" she muttered.

Aang looked desperately at Soza who hadn't seemed to catch on whatsoever to the fact that her presence in the capital was no secret to their enemy.

How?

Not a one of them moved then. Throughout their entire group, everyone seemed to have lost any will to respond, to so much as react to what they were now facing. Aang was only distantly aware of the fact that he was still down on his knees, feeling as helpless and lost as he ever had.

Sasuke was gone from their side again, possibly forever. The spirits were at the gates, and Soza was there's for the taking if they so much as decided to move on her. Even with the prowess of the bending among even just their group, not to mention the elite waterbenders prepared for war throughout the Northern Water Tribe, they would certainly be no match for the unknown power and behemoth size of the spirits just past the bay. It would no doubt be a difficult battle just against Kyoshi and Yangchen if that was what it would have come down to, but the odds couldn't have been more against them. Without Sasuke, what chance could they really stand? What could they do?

What can we do?

---

Kyoshi felt the cold breeze apply the occasional sting to her face as she stood on the edge of the harbor just at the end of the Northern Water Tribe. She had dispatched one of the flying spirits under her command just minutes ago to deliver word that she wished to see all those traveling with Sasuke. At that point, she didn't mind letting them take a little time to come down to her. They were no doubt frantically scrambling for ideas, anything they could do to stave off the inevitable. She had forced them up against the top of the world and they were surely still looking for ways to elude her and her army.

But without him, how far do they truly expect to get?

That being known, she still didn't trust the truth of her own situation.

"Are you sure he's… out of commission?"

It was too hopeful to ask if Sasuke was dead or not. A familiar and despicable voice crackled out just behind her at her question.

"As I've told you, Avatar, what I've done to him will ensure that Sasuke might not only cease being a problem for the time being, but it might also very well kill him outright. And even if it doesn't, he will not be present to interfere with this part of our plan."

This was not the first time that Kyoshi had inquired to him about this, but the fact that Koh was still rather gleefully answering her told her that he was just deeply thrilled that his plan had been put to use. It hadn't made sense to Kyoshi how Koh would be able to infect Sasuke with something that would render him nearly helpless and perhaps would be enough to kill him, but she had her suspicions. And despite his confidence, she couldn't help but flick her eyes to the ice-covered mountains behind the Water Nation's capital, expecting to see his ethereal purple form blasting its way towards her. The prideful part of her almost wanted that to happen so that she might once and for all prove that she could handle him on her own, but she knew fully well that Koh's plan was far more the smart option.

The shapeshifting spirit had appeared from the shadows just an hour ago, a satisfied aura about him as he approached her and informed them that his part had been carried out successfully. He had then placed his own shadowy spirits in position at her word, and Kyoshi had left the army resting just above the bay to approach the city's harbor with only Yangchen and Koh following her.

Just at her side, Yangchen looked over her shoulder and shifted. She was clearly deeply uncomfortable with the proceedings and Kyoshi understood fully well as to why. There was nothing moral, nothing honorable about what they were about to do.

But I have no choice.

She had made the decision to accompany Kyoshi on this crusade of sorts, and it was surely seeming more and more a damnable decision by the hour.

We're almost finished, Kyoshi reminded herself. After today, the final key will be turned, and this nightmare can be put onto its last legs.

"Kyoshi," Yangchen said from beside her. "What we're about to do… I can't—"

"Be strong," Kyoshi replied. She softened her voice as much as she dared, even as she tried to keep herself from snapping. "Should this work, Sasuke will be in the palm of our hands."

Her fellow Avatar didn't say anything in response to that and silence fell between both them and Koh as they waited, waited for the ones that were the true weakness of the one they hunted.

---

Mai saw the three shapes at the end of the harbor and felt her blood both boil and run deeply cold at the same time. She could see the tall and imposing form of Kyoshi with the shorter figure of Yangchen beside her. Curled and twisted behind them, Koh couldn't have been more apparent, and it was impossible for Mai to keep her toes from curling and uncurling at the mere sight of him. With what had happened between them, how easily he had taken advantage of her and what that had led to, it was impossible to keep herself from feeling overcome by both disgust and hate to see his immense and vile form twisting about behind the Avatars.

The three beings stood at the edge of the dock where larger ships docked during shipment runs and trade season. Waves splashed several meters down as Mai and her group approached the bay, the only sound to be heard beyond the snow crunching collectively under their feet. The spirit army was a glowing horizon beyond the Avatars and Koh, a kilometer or so back. Mai found herself feeling rather naked walking up beyond the limits of the city's walls, knowing that even as skilled a fighter as she was, there was so little she could to any of the many threats before her.

Around her, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Yue, Zuko, Azula, Soza, Ty Lee, Jin, Toph, and Ursa moved towards the three figures by her side, all of them appearing stony faced, but no doubt hiding their individual flood of emotions. Yue had been difficult to dislocate from the arms of her parents when she moved to join the group to walk down to the harbor. Her mother had burst into hysterical tears, moaning that she couldn't lose her daughter again so soon after finding her and Yue struggling to keep her own emotions in check as she pleaded with her mother not to worry and that she would be alright. She marched near the front of the group, her expression looking more determined than any of the others, but Mai could see her hands shaking as she clenched them into fists at her side.

Katara had recovered enough from her hands in the pure water to be able to walk down with them, but it was clear that her presence at that moment was something plenty of them were at odds with. Even Aang and Sokka were almost seeming to keep a distance from her, but Katara didn't seem to so much as notice the cold shoulder she was receiving from the group as a whole. She still seemed weaker physically, but she had gained enough energy to regain her almost haughty persona as she walked also near the head of the group. Mai found herself staring hatefully at her back more than once, hardly able to believe that she was walking near enough to be side by side with her, after what she had done.

She should be standing over there next to Koh, Mai thought furiously.

Soza was practically being escorted by the group as a whole. Ursa walked ahead of her, somehow seeming very much in control which Mai found extremely impressive, considering the potentiality that had emerged that Sasuke's fate was very much in limbo. Azula was just behind her daughter, looking ready to lash out at anything that so much as looked at Soza, and Toph walked just by the girl's side, looking equally protective. She had experienced some difficulty getting to her feet to make their rendezvous with Kyoshi, and it had taken both Jin and Ty Lee helping her to her feet as she had tried to hide her face. Mai knew that Toph was likely battering herself internally; fear over Sasuke being gone was one thing, but the idea that she might have been directly responsible for both that, and also for putting Soza back in the line of fire was no doubt eating her alive. Jin and Ty Lee walked close to her, casting looks her way frequently; good friends that they were, their concern for Toph was deeply prevalent in their minds even despite all that was happening.

Soza herself was walking as though she were sleepwalking. Her eyes downcast and thick with bitterness, she trudged along as though pulled by an invisible leash. Mai couldn't even imagine what it was going on in her head just then.

Zuko and Suki had seemed the only two willing to lead the group and they were there at the front now as they drew within a dozen of meters of Kyoshi, Yangchen and Koh and drew to a halt. The group around them slowed and stopped as well and the crunching of the snow under their approach faded away, leaving nothing but the gentle splashing of the bay water beneath them to resound over the brisk morning air.

Minutes must have slipped by before Koh's violating whisper slipped against their ears.

"Your cooperation is appreciated. It will make the end of this unnecessary conflict that much easier."

Toph spoke quickly enough that no one might have been able to stop her, but Mai didn't think she would have tried even had she known.

"You fucking bastard," the earthbender growled. "What did you do to him? How could you even get close to him, he should have gotten wind of your disgusting stench long before you did."

Koh's body gave a vicious twist as he chuckled awfully. Suddenly, his form seemed to shrivel and fold onto itself until it was a shape much smaller than the two Avatars he was beside.

As Mai laid eyes on a mirror image of Soza that Koh had become, she felt herself growing sick. It was Soza through and through, but her clothes were ripped and left much of her body bare, and bruises, cuts and blood were visible all over her. When she looked between the copy Soza's legs, Mai turned her head away, unable to look any longer. She saw the real Soza blinking in confusion at the sight and Mai wished someone had put a hand over her eyes before she had been able to see what Koh had used of her to fool her father. But as she looked to Azula, she couldn't believe the girl's mother hadn't erupted then and there.

The princess was stiff-backed and still as a statue, but Mai saw her lower lip trembling and her eyes blazing with such a darkness that it was almost just as difficult to look at as the puppet Koh had turned into. Mai knew that such darkness existed within Azula, but to be reminded of that kind of pure black hate that her childhood friend held close to her heart was a bitter and rather somber reality. Whatever it was that was keeping Azula from exploding into a murderous rage, screaming and blasting fire every which way, Mai couldn't fathom what it could be.

"Stop that," Ursa snapped, breaking her cool just slightly. Her own hands were tightened into fists as she looked ahead at her granddaughter's violated form. Koh as Soza's expression went from pained to smirking before the girl's body unfurled back into a horrible insect like creature.

"What's the matter?" he inquired mockingly. "Too difficult to see how easy it is to fool a father?"

Toph, who likely had deduced together what Koh had done based on the change in his weight, made to move angrily forward as both Jin and Ty Lee seized her shoulders.

"You're a coward," she snarled.

"I merely did what was necessary," Koh replied with a hiss. "Just as your friend there did when she fooled you into working at my side."

Katara swallowed at that as she maintained a passive expression, but Mai found she couldn't quite hold her own tongue at that point.

"By the time this is over, you'll be dead," she said as calmly as she could. It was a threat she had absolutely no way of backing up, but somehow, she felt she had to say it. Something was urging the words from her, and they felt sickeningly satisfying to utter them. "I hope you know that."

Twisting his body to turn towards her, Koh no doubt was preparing to mock her in turn before Kyoshi spoke, her voice a whip against the air.

"Enough."

Koh obeyed her and settled in his chilling movements behind the two Avatars. Yangchen looked almost like she was frightened of something as she didn't so much as meet any of their eyes and Mai couldn't quite tell, but it looked like her feet were squirming just barely in the light layer of snow and ice.

"I asked you all to come down here because this army…" she gestured unnecessarily at the amassed spirits behind her.

"…does not need to move forward any further than it has."

She looked over all of them individually, a disdainful look on her face that darkened when she moved her eyes over Suki and Aang in particular.

"You all have chosen defiance. We asked only for the lives of the infections that have come over our lands, and you have decided that your best course of action is resistance."

Mai knew what was coming. Kyoshi had them by the throat in every sense of the phrase; they had only chosen to meet her because there was seldom any other way that they could have stalled, and an attempt to flee the city would have put thousands in danger and likely would only have gotten them so far. Without Sasuke, their ability to defend themselves wasn't something they could rely on.

But now they faced the consequence of this alternative.

"Hand over the demon's family," Kyoshi instructed, gesturing forwards. "We will be taking the girl with us, rather than exterminating her."

Her brow furrowing, Mai could feel the confusion around her from the others as well, mingling with her own.

"You made it very clear that your intention was to have Soza killed," Suki said, clearly not lacking any of that defiance she had shown Kyoshi back in Ba Sing Se. It was clear that whatever respect she held for the Avatar wasn't the same as it was, surely disenfranchised by Kyoshi's murderous quest. "Why would you go back on that just to take her? Take her where?"

"That is none of your concern," Kyoshi replied coldly. "You would do well not to demand questions of us."

"And why shouldn't we?" Yue suddenly fired off. The silver haired girl was looking almost fully enveloped by her anger, a very sudden change in her persona. "You're standing here demanding a daughter be given up, someone who is cared for and loved, to be taken somewhere for some unknown purpose! What gives you any right to make such a choice?"

Kyoshi simply regarded Yue with an almost passive curiosity, and it was Yangchen that replied. Her voice was more reservedly plaintive as though trying to impress the seriousness of the situation to them.

"Yue, please, listen to reason," she asked. "Roku pulled you unfairly into this charade, you never should have faced this sort of strain and punishment."

She took a step forward and Yue's hand immediately drew back over her shoulder, reaching for the greatsword that Roku had supposedly granted her when he had returned her to life in the physical world. Yangchen saw the motion and stopped advancing, her eyes sad and her hands falling to her sides.

"I see if in your eyes, child," she said quietly. "You've tasted life again, and you don't wish to give that up. And you needn't have to."

She looked around at all of them then.

"Sasuke went in search of Koloss, we know this. He no doubt found that things were not as the legends might have foretold. The being itself is but a weak and frail thing that holds only power that can be used in conjunction with the massive form it is imprisoned in, something the being was locked away from doing. But he found the being. That was where Koh was able to track him to."

Mai felt her heart rate increase as they all looked around at one another.

"And… did he kill Koloss?" Aang asked timidly.

Kyoshi released a disdainful exhale from her nose.

"Were you not listening? The being has no power on its own. Sasuke could have taken Koloss's life and it would have meant nothing. Destroying Koloss, as Roku no doubt informed him was the only way to sever the ties between our two worlds, was a foolish deduction that he came to. He sent Sasuke on a wild goose chase that never had any chance of succeeding with the information he provided. He didn't have the entire picture. And so Sasuke never had a chance of gaining what he was after. Days of searching to kill a being no more than a child, for nothing."

The revelation was the final straw for Mai's mentality. She lowered her head as her shoulders slumped weakly and she felt tears sting bitterly at her eyes.

It had all been for nothing. A last ditch effort to stop the spirits, and it had meant nothing.

Around her, she could feel that same defeat, that same dread as the others took in this information. She felt Ty Lee lean weakly against her and she took her friend's hand and squeezed it tightly.

This is going to be it then.

She felt around desperately in her mind for that mental steel that she possessed always and gripped it tightly. Glancing at Ty Lee, she saw the same fire burning in her friend's eyes, mixing with tears of her own.

"And now, he very well could be dead," Kyoshi said plainly. "So now, I'm telling you to hand over the child. This is your last chance."

No one in the group moved. Mai felt Ty Lee's hand slip from hers and she drew her own hands towards the folds of her robes. Nothing of what happened next was planned, but it came together in a way that was almost poetic.

Aang slowly walked forward, a few meek paces until he was just past Zuko and Suki. He had his head turned down, but when he spoke, his voice was as firm as Mai had ever heard it, and she felt a wave of affection for the Avatar, the boy she had learned to call her friend.

"You and your army… there's probably nothing the thirteen of us could do to stop you. Not in the long run anyway."

He shifted his shoulders and Mai could see him tensing and untensing his muscles.

"We could keep trying to run. Run until there was nowhere left that we could hide. But your spirits aren't kind to this world. Innocent lives would surely be lost all about the Four Nations, and we would still be found anyway. And I'm sure you surrounded this city from the back as well when you arrived, so running from here would be fruitless no matter which way we ran."

He drew in a breath and sighed. Mai knew what he was about to do, and her hands drew nearer to her robe's folds.

"So, I guess I only have one option."

In a sudden burst, a ring of earth, fire, water, and air erupted to life around him. The ground at his feet seemed to almost splinter as his eyes burst to life with a pure white glow. As he entered the Avatar State, Mai felt tears fall down her cheeks as she smiled at the resolve, he was showing in such a moment as this.

Aang's voice seemed to almost distort as he spoke, a side effect of his transformation.

"I'm the Avatar. It's my duty to preserve balance, and you've done nothing but threaten that balance by being here at all. I protect the people living in these lands, and I will protect them from you."

"Aang, what are you doing?!" Katara cried out. Zuko too was looking at him with frightened eyes.

"Stop this," he demanded. "You can't win this fight, Aang!"

The Avatar ignored them both and kept his eyes locked on Kyoshi, Yangchen and Koh. Koh had stopped moving entirely, looking almost confused in the way he held his body, Yangchen looked more depressed then ever, but Kyoshi had only resolve in her eyes. She waited a long moment before addressing him.

"This is your choice, then?"

"Not just his."

Azula leapt forward, propelled by blue flames, and landed beside Aang, her fire crackling around her. Her expression was vicious and furious.

"None of you will touch my daughter, and I'll gladly kill every last one of you if I have to."

Mai drew her knives and walked beside Aang and Ursa moved beside her, pulling her swords free. Ty Lee and Suki joined them, and with a shaking breath, Yue did too, unsheathing her enormous sword. Toph and Jin stayed close to Soza, moving in front of her and shielding her with their bodies. Zuko and Katara both looked thunderstruck and started babbling in an attempt to try and talk the rest of the group out of this course of action.

Kyoshi didn't seem keen on wasting any time. Elements exploded to life around her as well, as did they around Yangchen though they almost seemed halfhearted when she performed the same motions. Koh's massive form tensed as Kyoshi looked at them all, with something almost like satisfaction in her eyes.

"Very well."

Her spiritual aura crackled to life around her body as well, and she entered a prepared stance for combat.

"I never sought any of your deaths. But you leave me no choice."

Mai felt a sudden flow of regret through her body; she didn't know if it was regret in regards to Sasuke, Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, or any combination of her failings toward each of them, but she forced it from her mind.

I can't let them take—

She suddenly felt a jostling near her hip and looked down to see that Soza had broken free from between Jin and Toph, and was now dashing past all of them towards Kyoshi. Both Azula and Toph shouted at her as she did, but she didn't slow until she was right in front of the tall and looming Avatar. Skidding to a halt in the snow and panting as she did, Soza threw her arms out at her sides as though she were blocking every single one of them off from the Avatars as Mai's heart practically stopped in fear.

"Will you promise not to hurt them?" she cried out and Azula made to run forward to grab her daughter before Kyoshi raised a hand and a blast of air knocked the princess flat onto her back. At once, Azula picked herself up, snarling as she did and made to rush to Soza again before Koh released a single, piercing shriek.

It was as though the shrill sound of a cicada had been cranked up by a hundred times. Mai winced as she heard Ty Lee cry out beside her, but all at once, an explosion of shadow burst all around them.

Dark and faceless figures slung them all to the ground as they seemed to burst from their very own shadows, their strength seeming well beyond human. The only one that didn't seem to be able to be touched by the creatures was Aang, who Avatar State seemed to defy their presence. He turned, snarling, as his glowing eyes fixed on the creatures who had just taken all his friends to the ground in a mere moment. Mai grimaced as the shadow on top of her pressed on of its appendages to her throat and she felt it twist and harden into a blade.

"Down, Avatar," Koh hissed. "Unless you'd like to see all of their blood spilled before your eyes."

"Aang, fucking kill them—!" Toph started to roar before her shadow tightened on her and cut off her windpipe. Looking around at them all with a furious expression, Aang's hands came up as though ready to unleash bending. But when his eyes fell on Katara and the blade to her throat, his hands faltered, and his body slumped. The rings of bending flickered away from his body and his eyes faded in their glowing. In a matter of seconds, he was in the Avatar State no longer and was taken to the ground quickly by the shadows that had surrounded him.

Mai struggled to look around and saw everyone in just as much dire straits as she was: disarmed, held, essentially paralyzed.

That was a pretty lousy final stand.

Her eyes fixed on Soza, the only person who hadn't been taken down by the shadows. She had looked back to them all, her eyes tight with fear.

"Stop!" she yelled. "I'll come with you! Just don't hurt any of them!"

"Soza, stop!" Azula roared at her daughter, and Mai saw a line of blood appear at her throat from where she was struggling with the blade of the shadow.

Turning to her mother, Soza's face was twisted with a mixture of frustration, confusion and fear, and in a rare moment, Mai truly saw how much of a little girl she really was. All her maturity meant nothing just then, as fear for the people she cared about dominated her young mind and the eleven year old girl who had struck fear into the hearts of so many throughout her childhood now looked just as those frightened of her might have been.

Yangchen looked worriedly at Kyoshi who merely stared down at Soza with what almost looked like a distantly impressed expression.

"Child, do you realize what you're doing?" she asked calmly and Soza gave a firm nod.

"Soza, listen to your mother!" Toph shouted before her head was forced into the ground by the shadow restraining her.

"Stop it!" the girl cried, looking back at Toph, her mother, and everyone else. "I can't see anyone get hurt anymore!"

"This is not the answer!" Azula practically howled, digging her knees and elbows into the snow trying to get to her feet.

"Yes!" Soza screamed. "It is, mom!"

Mai felt something very off about what Soza had just said and in that moment, she realized that she couldn't remember a time where she had ever heard Soza call Azula that. It was always the very respectful 'mother' that she had been raised on, and she saw the shock in both Soza and Azula's faces as mother and daughter regarded one another.

"Let me do this," Soza whispered. "Let me protect the people I love."

It was almost proud, the way she said it and before anyone else could utter a word, Koh made to move towards Soza, no doubt to wrap her in his twisted embrace. Before he reached her, Yangchen was there, standing between him and the girl.

"I think you've done quite enough," she snapped at him. Koh merely stared at her ominously as she turned her gaze down to Soza and then up to Kyoshi.

"Go," Kyoshi said, almost airily. "Take her and go."

Soza turned almost desperately back towards the group, her expression looking like there was something she badly needed to say.

"I love you, Toph," she blurted out. Yangchen's face slipped into one of rather raw pain before she grit her teeth and wrapped an arm around Soza's waist. Mai had one last chance to look at the girl's face to see tears in her eyes before the Avatar lifted off from the harbor and soared away, heading back towards the spirit army. Toph and Azula both screamed as Soza was flown away from them and Mai felt her own innards burn with pain. She rested her forehead against the snow and felt the heat of further tears leak down her face.

We failed.

Kyoshi watched Yangchen go and looked back at all of them. Mai felt fury at herself for not knowing that this was the way it was always going to end. Whether they had fought or not, Soza would be taken. No doubt to be killed for what she represented. Azula, Toph, Ty Lee, Aang and Jin all had tears in their eyes, from furious to agonized.

"What now then?!" Suki shouted up at Kyoshi. "Haven't you done enough?!"

The Avatar stared down at her impassively, her expression still hardened.

"I said we wanted Sasuke's family handed over."

She jerked her chin and the shadows holding down Ursa pulled her roughly to her feet.

"And I intend to claim all of his family."

As Ursa was dragged towards Kyoshi and Koh, Zuko released a panicked cry and started to scramble against his shadowy captor.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he pleaded. "She's not his family! They're not related, they just are in a relationship! Why would you need to hurt her?!"

Koh cackled.

"Just in a relationship, the boy says…"

His body slithered forward until his masked expression was a foot from Zuko's.

"Perhaps you are unaware, boy… but your mother carries the demon's seed within her now. It has festered and taken shape. Just as with your sister, she too will bear his child, given time."

The amount of despair that bloomed on Zuko's face then was enough to break Mai's heart, even as her own mind raced.

No… that can't be…

"No…" Zuko said weakly. He looked to Ursa, his face a shattered mask of pain and denial.

"Mom! Tell them it's not true!"

Brought before Kyoshi, Ursa was forced to her knees. Her own expression had grown quite tense, but she twisted her head around to try and meet Zuko's eyes.

"Zuko, honey, look at me."

She was pulled up under the armpits while remaining on her knees and she looked intently between Azula and Zuko.

"Both of you, look at me."

Kyoshi strode over and reached down, pulling up Ursa's top to expose her bare belly to the cold morning air. Azula and Zuko were both struggling violently now, almost seeming to give Koh's shadow puppets a run for their money.

"Mother!" Azula cried. "Make them stop! Don't let them!"

She sounded like a child then, pleading with her parent to stop something scary from happening, somethings she didn't understand. All semblance of regality was abandoned now, and Mai saw nothing but a scared little girl as Azula's face twisted with fear and panic. Zuko hardly looked any better, his teeth gritted as tears rolled down his face.

"Don't!" he howled. "Please, please, don't!"

Kyoshi reached behind her and drew a golden object which Mai recognized as one of her signature weapons. Ursa's expression looked like she was trying hard not to lapse into fear herself, but she was keeping it together for her children.

"Zuko, Azula, I love you both so much. Please, whatever you do, never forget how much I love you…"

Extending the fan, Kyoshi moved around Ursa's front, not a word escaping her mouth. She looked back over her shoulder as though looking for Yangchen to return, but no shape moved towards them from the imposing spirit army spread out around the bay.

Mai's heart was hammering wildly; it was one thing to suddenly find out that Ursa was somehow pregnant with Sasuke's child, but now, it looked as though Kyoshi intended to carry through on her promise to eliminate any trace of a family for Sasuke. It was all too much, everything that was happening, and Mai started to feel like she was genuinely going to be sick.

Pleading with Kyoshi had spread from Zuko and Azula, and now Aang and Yue were both desperately begging Kyoshi to stay her weapon and not do what they all realized she was intending to do. Ursa's stomach expanded and retracted with short, shallow breaths as her body tensed up. Tears were in her own eyes and she didn't look away from either of her two children.

"Don't watch," she whispered to them both. "Don't watch this. Mama loves you both… so much."

Zuko, completely losing control, screamed and bent forward, his body curling as his face nearly touched the ground, his eyes jammed shut as he wailed miserably. Azula didn't look away from her mother, but she had frozen in her struggling, her eyes locked on Ursa with an expression that Mai couldn't have identified.

"I love you…" the princess might have whispered, but Mai felt that she might very well have imagined that. The whole affair was starting to seem almost like a blur, like a sick, awful dream, but no matter how much she begged her mind to stop this torture and wake her, no such thing happened as she watched Kyoshi's arm come up, and swing down towards Ursa's stomach.