Sleep eluded Chiyo that night so she decided to take an evening walk. As she passed the spot where Appa was sleeping soundly, she caught sight of Katara and Zuko.

Katara had begrudgingly asked for Zuko's help that night. In the cover of nightfall, they donned on dark clothes and prepared to find the Southern Raiders. "Going somewhere?"

"We're going to find the Southern Raiders. There's nothing you can do to stop us, Chiyo."

"I'm not stopping you." She looked away, towards the horizon where the sky met the dark sea. "I know how you feel. I want revenge for my mentor as well. I want to make everyone who has pushed us around like we were mere dolls pay. Especially that monster who calls himself the Fire Lord."

Katara looked at her with a softened expression. "Thank you. For understanding."

"But do know this." Chiyo turned her amber eyes towards the waterbender. "Revenge is not for the weak. The Avatar was right when he said that it was a two-headed rat-viper. My mentor, Lady Suiren, wanted to take revenge against the Fire Nation royalty. In the end, her revenge was futile because she chose to save me instead of fulfilling her purpose."

"Chiyo—"

"All I ask, Katara, is if you really want revenge, you must be prepared to go all the way, or else you'll lose it all."

Katara squared her shoulders and nodded. "Okay." She woke Appa up and tossed the supplies into the saddle, climbing in.

Zuko approached Chiyo and held her hands. "I'm still thankful that you are here, Chiyo. I will forever be indebted to Lady Suiren for choosing to save you."

"No matter what anyone says, I'll always blame myself for being a part in her death. But I will carry her resentment with me as I avenge her and myself, and I can only hope that she will forgive me once I meet her in the spirit world."

"There is nothing to forgive." Zuko hugged her tight. "Lady Suiren loves you wholeheartedly. As does everyone that has had the pleasure of meeting such a wonderful person like you."

Chiyo closed her eyes as she felt the comforting warmth of his words and embrace. "You guys better go now." She pulled away and busied herself by arranging Zuko's tunic. "I'll take care of things here."

"I'll be back soon." Zuko kissed Chiyo quickly on the cheek and turned around before she could even react. He climbed up on Appa and once everything was settled, they set off.

She stood there, stunned, as she watched them fly away on the sky bison. She gingerly lifted her fingers to touch the cheek that he had kissed, blushing madly as she went back to her tent.

"So... They left, huh?" Sokka concluded as he looked around for his sister. Chiyo only shrugged as she stretched her arms and shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"Stretching."

"Yeah. I can see that. But why?"

"Training."

"For what?"

She stopped stretching as the question stumped her. Why was she training? To become a full-fledged entertainer? To kill the Fire Lord? A distraction? "Honestly, I'm not sure. It's better to be prepared, I guess."

Gladly, Sokka accepted the answer. "Hey, wanna spar? I got some pretty sick moves with my space sword that I've been dying to try!"

Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "Space... sword?"

"Yeah! It's a sword I forged from a meteor that fell from space!"

She just chuckled and shook her head. "You don't want to spar with me, Sokka. Trust me."

"You scared?"

"Scared you'll get beaten up by me."

He barked out a laugh and rummaged through Zuko's belongings. "Aha!" He pulled out the dual broadswords and handed them to Chiyo. "Careful. They're sharp."

She pulled them out of their scabbards and easily spun them in her hands. Though they were iron swords, her muscles felt less strain with every movement compared before. "Don't worry." Chiyo smiled as sweetly as she could. "I'll go easy on you."

After getting the coordinates of the Southern Raiders' position from the Fire Navy communication tower, they wasted no time and headed South. Zuko woke up from his nap and offered to take Katara's place at the helm, to which the latter refused. "You should get some rest. We'll be there in a few hours. You need all your strength."

The sun had already risen and she hadn't had a wink of sleep. She doubt that she could, knowing that she was close to finding the man that took her mother. "Don't worry about my strength. I have plenty. I'm not the helpless little girl I was when they came."

Katara told him about that fateful day that the Southern Raiders had stormed their tribe and taken all the waterbenders. She told him how her mother had sent her away to protect her from being taken. She told him how when she had come back with help, they were gone.

"You're mother was a brave woman." He offered his sentiments, remembering his own mother.

She touched the necklace that once belonged to her mother. "I know."

"What's going on here?" Suki asked worriedly as she tried to help Sokka back up on his feet.

"I'm...trying... to show...Chiyo... who's the master... swordsman... here!" He barely managed to speak between breaths, clinging on to Suki for dear life.

"Are you sure, Sokka? Because it looks like Chiyo's winning..."

The apprentice had sheathed the swords once more, her hands on her hips as she rested. "I told you I'd go easy on you."

Sokka raised his space sword once more and lunged towards her. "SNEAK ATTACK!"

Chiyo rolled her eyes and easily avoided the swing of the sword. She then drove her hands sharply to the back of his shoulder blades and the nape of his neck. Sokka fell forward with a scream immediately muffled by the ground. "Sokka... sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out."

"You know chi-blocking techniques?" Suki asked as she approached them both. "I would love to learn more about it! I was hoping maybe you could teach me?"

"I'd be glad to!" Chiyo smiled. "They can come pretty handy, especially if you have a lot of attackers and limited space."

Suki helped Sokka up once more, swinging his arm over her shoulder. They took him back to one of the tents where Chiyo taught Suki how to undo a chi-block.

"One of Azula's friends is very skilled in chi-blocking." Suki noted as she massaged Sokka's arm. "She easily took me and the other warriors down in a matter of seconds."

"Ty Lee..."

"You know her?"

Chiyo sighed and nodded, looking up at Suki with sad eyes. "She's my friend, too."

"So wait," Sokka regained the ability to speak and stared at her. "If you're friends with Ty Lee... and she's friends with Azula, then..." He gasped in realization, eyes wide.

They had found the fleet of the Southern Raiders. But even after interrogating the leader, Katara going as far as using bloodbending, they got nothing except a name. Yon Rha.

It was afternoon when they reached the village where the man named Yon Rha lived. They found him in the market place buying produce and from there, they stalked him. Katara wanted to strike him then and there but Zuko stopped her, telling her to wait until he got out of the market place.

Rain started to fall heavily from the dark clouds as he was halfway home from the market. He had the ominous feeling that he was being followed so he took the farthest path home. When he was sure he had pinpointed the location, he attacked. "Nobody sneaks up on me without getting burned!"

He found no one behind the tree so he picked up the basket he was carrying and went on his way to return home. He suddenly fell forward as he tripped on a rope. He looked up and avoided the flames just in time, backing away quickly. "Whoever you are, take my money, take whatever you want! I-I'll cooperate!"

Katara revealed herself to Yon Rha. "Do you know who I am?"

"N-no... I'm not sure..."

"You better remember me like your life depends on it!" Her anger rose as he spoke. "Why don't you take a closer look?"

Yon Rha looked at the girl, finally recognizing her. "Yes, I remember you now. You're the little Water Tribe girl!"

"My mother lied to you that day..." Katara clenched her fists and looked away. "She was protecting the last waterbender."

"What?! Who?"

"ME!" In a fluid motion of her hands, she stopped the falling of the rain, large droplets suspended mid air as she formed a dome around them. Her anger could be seen by the harsh movements of the water as it flowed under her command. She sent a wave towards Yon Rha, the droplets hardening into arm-length ice shards, ready to pierce him through.

He could only raise his arms in defense. But a few seconds passed and he felt nothing. He lowered his arms and saw the shards suspended, still aimed towards him.

Katara had hesitated in that moment. She thought back to Chiyo's words. Was she prepared to go all the way? Could she? Is that the right thing to do?"

As her hesitation grew, the ice shards melted back into water, splashing Yon Rha and making him kneel. "I-I did a bad thing! I know I did! A-and you deserve revenge! So why don't you take my mother. That would be fair!"

"I always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing. But now that I see you, I think I understand." She focused on controlling her anger as she approached him slowly. "There's just nothing inside you. Nothing at all! You're pathetic, and sad, and empty."

Yon Rha bowed his head in defeat. "Please! Spare me!"

"But as much as I hate you..."

"You must be prepared to go all the way, or else you'll lose it all."

"I just can't do it..." She closed her eyes as her tears mixed with the rain. With one last loathing look at the man that has haunted the memories of her mother, she turned and walked away.

They made it back to the island before sunset. As soon as they landed, he left Katara to give her some space and went to find Chiyo.

He entered the tent she shared with Suki, almost falling to his feet as he saw her. Chiyo was behind Suki; she had one of her hands on Suki's neck, while the other was snaked around her waist. "And this is how to undo the block at the upper body—Oh, hey Zuko!"

To an outsider, their position looked very intimate and suggestive.

"I—I—W-wha—"

Chiyo released Suki. "I was just teaching her some advance chi-blocking techniques! Why are you so red, Zuko?"

They went out to find Katara, knowing she needed comfort, most especially after her arduous ordeal. They found her by the beach, her toes dipped in water as she stared into the sunset with tear-filled eyes.

"Katara!" Aang was the first to approach. "Are you okay?"

"I'm doing fine." She deadpanned.

"Zuko told me what you did. Or... what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you."

There was a pause before Katara let out a heavy sigh. "I wanted to do it. I wanted to take out all my anger at him, but I couldn't." She turned around and looked guiltily at Chiyo. "I don't know if it's because I'm weak to do it, or—"

"It is weakness." Chiyo sat down next to Katara. "But this weakness of yours is what makes you so compassionate. Your heart, it makes you human."

"But you said that if I didn't go all the way, I'll lose it all..."

She chuckled and stared up into red and orange hues of the sunset. "You'll lose it all, yes, but that doesn't mean that you won't gain anything in return. When Lady Suiren died, she lost her life; then I realized, it wasn't all futile. She had gained something. Something she had wanted for a very long time."

"What was it?"

"Freedom. True freedom."

As Katara wiped away her tears, Aang placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing."

"But I didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him." She looked to Zuko, giving him a small, but genuine smile. "But I am ready to forgive you." She held out her hand and they clasped each other's arms, a custom of camaraderie and comradeship.

Katara excused herself and left to prepare dinner with Chiyo, leaving Aang and Zuko on the beach.

"You were right about what Katara needed." Zuko spoke as he watched them leave. "Violence wasn't the answer."

Aang smiled. "It never is."

"Then I have a question for you." He turned around to face the Avatar, his face unreadable. "What are you going to do when you face my father?"