Far into the distance, two men watch the sea from their port town, it has been a rough couple of years, the people themselves and even the town have changed.

Long gone were the days were everyone smiled, by no means were they a happy go lucky kind of people, but at least life was tolerable, sure people complained about life and how unfair things were but at least there were things to look forward to.

A merchant ship that carried strange food from some faraway land, or a couple that had run away and wanted to start their new lives, would show up from time to time.

All of that was gone now, both men watched with an ever-growing sense of fear, another fire nation ship was drawing closer, both men trembled at the sight of the fleet that was able to be seen in the distance yet their eyes slowly filled with relief.

In front of the approaching fleet was a single metal ship, it was no different from any of the other ships around it, except on its side was a red flame that had a green fire drawn inside it.

Word had reached them about the exiled prince and how unlike the rest of the formations people, he was a kind man, the only thing one had to do was simply don't anger the man, he was still fire nation after all.

They had heard the stories about him spoken throughout the drunken blabber of sailors and loudmouth merchants.

The man delt in trinkets and things that people didn't really need but wanted, they could use something like that, especially in these days.

Silently both men hoped that the other stories about the man were true, there were whispers that he had even rescued some water tribe elders and was keeping them safe on board his ship, he claimed they were prisoners.

Yet as both men watched the approaching fleet they remembered how the old men and women were let off the ship and used to heal sick and injured people that were taken to them.

"Okay, that's enough I still have to keep face around the men" Zuko said to Ty Lee yet the girl didn't loosen her grip on him despite he himself already having let go.

"No, I haven't seen you in years, so I'll recharge my Zuko energy." Ty Lee said to him, before tightening her grip.

"Drain touch" he heard Kazuma say before Ty Lee let go of him, she turned to look at Kazuma with a frightened expression, but Kazuma just touched her shoulder and said.

"Feeling better, yeah that trick never fails." he Kazuma said to her.

"What did you do?" Ty Lee asked Kazuma.

"You know how you can stop people from moving if you hit them on the right spot, well you can make people lose their strength if you touch them in the right spot." Kazuma answered her.

"So how do you know Zuko?" Kazuma asked her and Zuko watched the girls frightened expression immediately switch back to a happy one.

"We played together all the time when we were kids" Ty Lee answered Kazuma before turning back to Zuko's direction and walking passed him.

"So who are you?" she asked the girl behind him.

"She's just someone I'm giving a ride to in exchange for payment leave her alone," Zuko said to her.

However Ty Leee just walked around the girl and jumped back towards Kazuma, Zuko had to give credit to Kazuma for not reacting to her suddenly landing in front of him, but when she was bout to say something the voice of one of the men reached their ears.

"Land! I see land in the distance its the port city before we enter the water where the Air Nation used to be!" the man announced before Ty Lee gave him a one last smile running to the edge of the ship and jumped off the ship and landing on the one she had come in with.

Zuko looked at the girl behind him, she was plain by no means was she ugly, but her clothing didn't suit her, not if she was going to keep going into his room and following him where ever he went.

"Kazuma, I know you have women's clothes, don't bother saying you don't, by now I know you're a headache."

"Give her some clothes so people don't wonder why she's on the ship I have some oils and perfumes I don't use, tell the old women to help her get dressed." he ordered Kazuma, who just gave him a wide smile, it wasn't a smirk, but the man didn't show any teeth, it was more like if he was thinking something he wasn't planning on saying anytime soon.

The ship quickly reached the port town and Zuko almost immediately noticed just how depressing the entire place was, there were shops, but no one buying anything, there was fresh food but none was being cooked, in fact, the smells that were common in a port weren't there.

It was like if something had drained the life of the town and its people.

Even the men were hesitant to unload the merchandise Kazuma carried around, they still did it but the normal vigor wasn't there, instead the men were on edge expecting an attack or something to go wrong.

Finally, when all of the merchandise was down and the old men began to walk off the ship, it was only then that the people of the town even dared to walk out and greet them.

Men carried children in their arms and elderly walker extremely slowly towards the ship, all of them holdings handfuls of coins, each one of them held hopeless eyes and faces that looked like if they were looking at the last light of hope in the world.

The water tribe elders, immediately began their work separating themselves into three groups, one for the children, one for the elders and one for those that looked like their injuries were already infected.

Zuko watched the people around him, they were all either sick or had some sort of injury on them, he had seen cuts and bruises like these before, but for an entire town to have them meant.

"Whoever did this, did it for their own twisted pleasure," said his uncle as he walked stood beside him.

Zuko had to agree, everyone in front of him, was either cut by some kind of weapon, sick or their injuries were already so far gone that the infection was already spreading throughout their bodies.

"Tell the old women to forget about what I had ordered them to do, tell them that something more important is down here and tell Kazuma to get down here and watch his own stuff" he ordered one of his men, the man immediately ran back onto the ship.

The old women walked off the ship, however behind them was the same girl now dressed in silks, her brown hair was longer somehow, her skin seemed lighter and somehow glowed as the sun touched it.

Zuko had to remind himself that it was the same girl despite her long dress suited her admittedly good figure.

He wondered why he was doing this, these people were nothing to him, all he had to do was buy what he needed and get out, from here was the Air Temple, he was certain the Avatar was headed there and yet he was wasting his time helping people he didn't even know.

He watched as Kazuma helped in healing those whose injuries weren't so severe and he had to admit, something inside him felt good when the little kid that was on the verge of death was now running around with his parents trying to stop him from doing so.

He caught his uncle looking at him more than once, that was before another ship docked and he found himself once again looking at Ty Lee, the people of the circus began to do their acts, even before they had touched the ground.

Men and women did one act or another, he didn't really care what their acts were, but the time the sun had set, the mood of the town was completely different than the one when they had arrived to.