It was difficult to run. The fog was thick and the ground far from even. Mai slipped and skidded on the stones. She had never felt so awkward, so certain she was about to crash into something or fall flat on her face, but Toph's grip was firm and her voice was always there to call out instructions. They dashed across the beach, weaving around pillars and through narrow passages. They ran even as panicked shouts and screams haunted their steps.

Were the screams getting worse?

Mai's pulse spiked. No, best not to think about what was happening on the ship. Focus on finding Suki. Suki was the one who had gone off alone.

"How far did she run?" Mai grumbled. "Can you sense her?"

"She's not too far ahead. Think you can go faster?"

"Just don't let me hit anything."

Toph let out a reckless little laugh and quickened their pace. The fog pressed closer, a creature slithering around their bodies and breathing icy chills. Shivers crept up and down Mai's spine. There was nothing natural about this place. It was like everything on this island was sentient—the rocks, the fog, the very air they breathed.

They rounded a corner and Toph came to an abrupt halt. Mai smacked into her back. The misty haze had thinned into wisps, allowing glimpses of a cavern and a dozen pillars. Dull light streamed from a hole in the ceiling that looked up into the open sky. That was when Mai saw the snatches of auburn and cloth stuck to one of the pillars. No, sticking out from inside. Bile rose to her throat and she swallowed, her eyes widening. Spirits, there was the arm, the face …

Her hand clamped down on Toph's shoulder. "Get her out," she said in a voice that trembled far too much for her liking. "Get her out now."

Toph took up a stance and raised her arms in a sharp motion. The pillar shook and little bits crumbled off, but it didn't break apart like intended. In fact, the rock only seemed to spread even more around Suki, pulling her in deeper. She was going to be suffocated at this rate.

"Why isn't it working?" Mai demanded.

"I … I don't know. It's like the rock is resisting me."

Mai cursed and ran forward, scrabbling at the pillar with her fingernails. "Hey! Fan Girl, can you hear me?"

The rock continued to creep around her.

"Damn it! Toph, do something!"

"I'm trying!"

Beads of sweat formed on Toph's forehead. She punched and stomped, shoving at the air and basically shifting into all sorts of bending moves, but the earth did not rise to her command nor would the pillar be bent. Whatever resistance this place had to earthbending, it was powerful.

Mai's eyes narrowed. A knife slid down from her sleeve and slotted neatly into her grasp. "Let her go!" She stabbed and gouged at the pillar, working her blade in to tear off chunks. "Stupid hunk of rock."

"Keep doing that! Whatever's pushing back at me just wavered a little. I think you're weakening it!"

"Right."

The two girls continued to work together: Mai hacking away at the rock and doing her best not to harm Suki, while Toph fought a battle of raw bending strength to seize control. Eventually, the pillar shattered and Suki spilled onto the ground, pieces of rock clattering around her. Mai was at her side in an instant. She leaned down to check her breathing and pulse.

"It's fine," Toph said. "She's alive. She's still breathing."

This was true. Mai frowned and shook Suki by the shoulders. "Hey.

No response.

Hey!" Mai slapped her on the cheek. "Wake up!"

Suki's eyes snapped open. Suddenly, an elbow came for Mai's throat. She lurched back in surprise, only to have her legs swept out from under her and her back hit the ground in a bruising jolt. Twin fans flashed open in a deadly rush.

"Woah, Fan Girl, calm down!" Toph exclaimed. "You're okay! We freed you!"

Suki bared her teeth. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?" Mai stood up, brushing some of the dust from her clothes. "You ran off on your own."

"Sis! She was here! I followed her!"

Toph's brow creased. "Suki," she said in a softer tone. "No one else is here. It's just us."

Suki's breathing harshened. "Liar! You took her from me!"

Suki lunged again. Mai's eyes widened and she quickly side-stepped, catching one of the fans with her knife before it could strike her in the face. Suki snarled and brought her other fan down, but Mai knocked that one away with a flurry of bo shuriken. A tiny smile curved her lips.

"I've got a whole lot more where those came from," Mai taunted. "You sure you want to do this?"

Suki twisted the remaining fan in a quick motion and kneed Mai hard in the stomach, sending her staggering even as the knife was wrenched free with the motion. "Why not? You're not so tough."

Their eyes met. Without warning, Suki lashed out with the knife and fan, using the weapons with expert precision despite that they weren't balanced. Damn, but she was good. No wonder she was the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and had come second in the tournament.

"Oi!" Toph shoved her hands out as if to separate them both. Nothing moved. "Damn it, not again."

Mai almost smiled, though that could just be the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She deflected a knife to the chest and backed up to give herself more room to wield her weapons. "Don't think this island is too fond of listening to your earth tricks, brat."

"Oh, shut up."

Suki's eyes glittered dangerously. "You waste energy bantering with each other? Are you trying to mock me?"

"Not really." Mai slid across the ground to avoid being drawn into close combat again and threw the kunai that had been tucked in her sleeve, knocking the other fan out of Suki's hands. "Just waiting for you to remember we're on the same side."

"Same side? You took Sis from me!"

Flipping to her feet, Mai grabbed Suki's wrist and forced the knife high above their heads. "I don't even know who this 'Sis' is. Now stop being crazy for one second so we can get away from this place."

Suki's eyes narrowed. She started to resist, only to freeze up as if shot with paralysis. All the anger melted from her expression and she let go of the knife. "Sis?"

Mai glanced over her shoulder. There was only a pillar and wisps of fog.

"Not good," Toph muttered, grabbing onto both girls. "Time to go. I think our people snatcher is back and my bending still isn't working well."

"Yeah, I'm not in the mood to get trapped in rock." Mai yanked on Suki's arm. "Come on."

"No! I won't leave Sis!"

Suki renewed her struggling with all the viciousness of an animal trying to get loose. A stray elbow clipped Mai in the jaw, pain throbbing in a spreading ache. Muttering a frustrated oath, Mai wrapped her arms around Suki, pinning her arms, and practically carried her away. It was like trying to keep hold of a hissing, wriggling caterpillarcat. The stupid girl was so desperate to get free, so desperate to get herself shut up in a pillar again all for a person who didn't exist. It was creepy and annoying as heck.

"Hurry!" Toph urged.

The fog was thickening again, though it wasn't as bad as earlier. They eventually made it outside the cavern and saw the sun setting through gaps in the haze in fiery splashes of colour. It was going to be dark soon.

"Let me go!" Suki yelled, kicking and scratching and basically being a huge pain in the butt. "I have to go back. I have to—"

"Snap out of it!" Mai put her down but only to slap her hard on the face—much harder than the earlier slap. "Don't you remember what Shizue said? This island plays tricks on the mind. It's just messing with you. There's no one else here!"

Suki glanced around in a daze. "But I—"

"Enough! Sokka seems to think you're intelligent, so use your brain. Why would this 'Sis' of yours be here on this hellhole?"

"She's right," Toph said frankly. "This place is in the middle of nowhere. It's not exactly ideal vacation material either."

Suki blinked as if only now putting all the inconsistencies together. Or maybe it was that she had finally snapped out of whatever weird state the island had put her in. "It seemed so real," she murmured.

"Well, it wasn't." Mai held her gaze. "It wasn't real, and that's why we need to run. Whatever led you to that place and tried to imprison you in that pillar is still around."

"Wait, I got imprisoned in a pillar?"

"We'll explain later," Toph said, and then paused. "Oh no."

Mai eyed her warily. "What?"

"We have a problem." She pointed ahead to where a few Water Tribe warriors were emerging from the fog. Even Cheng the cook was there. "I think more people got lured."

Mai cursed under her breath. This was indeed a problem.

Suki squared her shoulders and stepped forward. "I'll help you this time. Let's get these people back to the ship."

"More like let's get off this island," Toph muttered. "I hope Sunshine and the others find his mum soon."

Mai had to agree with the sentiment. This island was bad news all around. The sooner they could leave it for good, the better.

oOo

"I think we need to accept the truth," Hakoda said grimly. "We're lost."

Everyone exchanged tired and frustrated glances with each other. The maze couldn't even be that big, but it hadn't taken the group long to realise some kind of spirit mischief was at play. When Sokka had got the clever idea to scratch markings into the rock to mark which choice they'd taken at an intersection, suddenly all of the paths had the same little markings. When Hakoda suggested leaving a trail, which he created by ripping pieces of his blue tunic, Katara had been the one to glance back and see the trail vanishing one by one as if snatched up by some invisible creature.

She edged closer to her father. "What do we do? It's getting dark."

Flames bloomed above Zuko's palm, casting them all in a golden glow. "It's okay. Aang and I can firebend. Plus, it's a full moon tonight." He gestured at the sky where the big, silvery orb was already visible.

"It's not light that's our problem," Shizue said bluntly. "The spirit is the one getting in our way."

Sokka frowned. "Aang, you're supposed to be some kind of mystical mumbo-jumbo spirit mediator, right? Isn't there something you can do?"

Aang lowered his gaze and twirled his thumbs round and round. "I could try communicating with it …

"Great. Do it."

"But I'm not sure it'll work. I don't even know what spirit I'm meant to be talking to."

Hakoda shrugged. "It's more than we can do and it beats walking around these rocks for several more hours. Just give it a try."

Aang moistened his lips and nodded. He walked a few paces away and sat down in lotus form, closing his eyes and pressing his fists together. The rest of them could only watch and wait.

And wait.

"Uh, Aang?" Sokka cleared his throat. "Anything happening?"

"Give me a sec. I'm trying to concentrate."

Shizue's eyebrows inched higher up her forehead. "How long does it take you to concentrate?"

Aang's eyes snapped open, cheeks puffing out. Zuko quickly moved to his side and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. Katara was on Aang's other side in a mirror pose. They blinked at each other. It seemed they'd had the same idea. For one thing, Shizue was not a cuddly, forgiving person and would probably come down hard if Aang snapped at her. For another, Zuko was pretty sure that Aang's concentration skills, however flaky, weren't the problem here.

"Aang, what's wrong?" Katara said gently. "You can tell us."

His shoulders slumped and he kept his gaze lowered.

"Is this about your past lives?" Zuko asked.

A small nod.

Zuko sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"I can't do it without them," Aang mumbled, pressing his hands to his face. "I can't make the connection. There's a just a big nothing and it feels like reaching at nothing. I'm … I'm useless."

"You're not useless," Katara said. "I'm sure it's just—"

"You don't understand!" He looked up at her, eyes glistening. "I've been trying! I've been trying so hard to fix whatever's wrong with me, but I can't! They're not there anymore! Roku, Kyoshi—all of them are gone!"

"But the Avatar power is still there inside you," Zuko reminded him. "I can sense it through our bond."

"I know. You've told me over and over it's just a block and that I can fix it, but what if you're wrong? What if losing my connection to my past lives is the block? What if there's no way to access that power now?" Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I want to help your mum, Zuko. I really, really do, but this isn't working. I don't know if I can do this."

"What?" Shizue marched over. "What did you just say?"

He flinched towards Katara. "I-I just—"

"Are you saying you can't communicate with the spirits?"

Zuko stepped in front of Aang to block him from her view. "Don't, Shizue."

"Don't?" She grabbed him by the collar, half-yanking him towards her. "Did you know about this?" A rough shake. "Did you?"

He swallowed and held her gaze. "I knew he was having trouble connecting with his past lives, but—"

She released him in disgust, practically shoving him away. "I warned you. I warned you that it would be too dangerous to come here without the Avatar." Her finger pointed damningly at Aang. "You call this an Avatar?"

"How dare you!" Katara cried, clenching her hands into fists. "Aang is the Avatar! He's just—"

"A boy." Shizue's eyes were as hard as the rocks around them. "He's a boy who can play with the elements, but it is not air, water, earth or fire that we need here. What we need is the bridge between worlds." Her voice cut like sharpened points of ice. "This boy is not the Avatar. He is broken. Worthless."

Aang's bottom lip trembled and he brought his knees up to his chest, hiding his face against them. The fact he didn't even try to defend himself was the worst part. Zuko turned back to Shizue, teeth gritted.

"You're horrible," Katara said, shaking her head in disbelief. "How can you just say things like that?"

"Because it's the truth. Even he knows it."

Fire tingled through Zuko's fingers. "Stop it, Shizue."

"Just look at him," she continued, unheeding or not hearing the warning. "I can't believe I ever thought this child could—"

"I said stop it!" Flames flared all over Zuko, roaring from his hands and mouth.

"Woah." Sokka backed up a few steps. "Hot."

Shizue raised her eyebrow. "Really, Prince Zuko? You're going to throw a tantrum now?"

He glared at her. "Aang doesn't need this from you."

"Well, here's a truth for you then. This is your fault. You led this child here knowing that he was no longer in full use of his powers or possibly even capable of handling the things we would face. Your selfishness and naivety kept you silent when you should have warned us from the beginning about the risks we were taking."

The flames stuttered. "I-I didn't mean—"

"Make no mistake. If any of us die here, it will be on you."

Knots formed in his stomach and his eyes widened in horror. Was she right? Had he been selfish?

Hakoda gripped his shoulder, his big hand warm and steadying. "That's enough, Shizue."

"Chief Hakoda, you of all people should know I'm—"

"You've said enough."

She held his gaze for a moment before turning away, folding her arms across her chest.

Zuko glanced up at Hakoda. "Is she right?" He didn't like how small his voice sounded, but he had to ask anyway. "Is this my fault?"

"No, son." Hakoda squeezed his shoulder. "This is no one's fault."

"But I didn't say anything to you all, and Aang did tell me he was having trouble with—"

"Aang." Hakoda turned his head towards the boy, who was now huddled in Katara's arms. "Did you know you can't communicate with the spirits before you came here?"

There was a sniff and Aang emerged from his burrow. "No. I knew I couldn't go into the Avatar State, but I didn't know it would mess up this ability as well. I didn't realise the two were connected."

"You see," Hakoda looked back at Zuko. "No one's fault. If even Aang had no idea this was a risk, how could you?"

Some of the tightness eased in Zuko's chest and the knots unravelled a little.

"I'm not saying mistakes haven't been made," Hakoda said. "We could have prepared better, could have made sure we weren't taking too big of a risk, but that isn't on you or Aang." His gaze shifted to Shizue. "I know of at least one adult who was just as eager to get here in a hurry …"

Spots of dull colour formed on her cheeks.

"So, what do we do now?" Sokka asked. "We're lost. Aang can't communicate with the spirit. Do we keep going or …"

"There's no point." Shizue unfolded her arms. "We can't free Ursa like this. We'll be lucky if any of us even make it off the island."

"You did," Katara pointed out.

"Barely. You saw how the Avatar was manipulated into walking off that pillar. That's not even a fraction of what this spirit is capable of doing."

Zuko's mouth went dry and his heart pounded faster and faster. He'd never forget the horror of that moment. His back still stung and was a little sticky with blood from where he'd grazed it when catching Aang.

"But that was a punishment, right?" Sokka said. "The spirit did that to Aang because he tried to cheat the maze. That's what you told us."

"Look around you!" Shizue thrust her hand out at the tall pillars and web of narrow passages. "The spirit has been toying with us this whole time. We're its entertainment!" A slight tremor crept into her voice. "And what do you think will happen when it gets bored of watching us wander around like fools? What then?"

All the colour drained from Katara's cheeks. "No." She hugged Aang closer, though this time it was obvious she was just trying to seek comfort herself.

Hakoda placed his hand on her head. "It's okay, Katara. Nothing is going to happen to you."

"Ah, the reassuring words of a father."

Everyone froze. The voice was soft and feminine, echoing from all around them.

"But they're just lies, you know. Your father is terrified, girl. He fears he won't be able to save you or your brother, just as he was unable to do anything when your mother got murdered. Such a tragedy."

Katara made an odd, choked sound.

"And then we have the Avatar." A cruel laugh. "Or what's left of one. You're not much of anything at all now, are you?"

Aang flinched.

"There, there. It's not so bad. You only broke the Avatar cycle and failed every person in the world who'd put their hopes on you." A pause. "But then, you've already failed the world before, haven't you? You ran away all those years ago. You left the airbenders to die and—"

"Shut up!" Zuko yelled. "Just shut up!"

The spirit's words were crushing Aang. Crushing everyone. Their courage was wilting, their strength crumbling with each calculated strike from that bodiless voice. But what Zuko hated most of all was how familiar it sounded. That was his mother's voice.

"Prince Zuko," the spirit said, spine-shivering sweet. "Oh, you have so many weaknesses. Pitiful thing. No wonder Mother worries so much."

"What have you done to her! Tell me!"

Laughter echoed. "Why don't you come find me and I'll show you?"

"Zuko." Shizue gripped his arm. "Don't. It's a trap."

He shook her off. "I don't care! I have to save her!"

"That's what the spirit wants you to do!" She grabbed hold of him again. "Why do you think it taunts you and speaks in your mother's voice? It wants you to stop thinking clearly! It wants you to fall into its trap!"

"I think she's right," Hakoda said grimly. "That spirit must have something planned."

"So what? Mum has been stuck with that thing for three years! How can you expect me to abandon her now?"

Hakoda shook his head. "We need to be smart about this. We should regroup with the others and—"

"The others?" the spirit said in a far too innocent tone. "Oh, you mean your friends on the ship. I'm afraid they have their own problems."

Ice prickled on the back of Zuko's neck. "What?"

"Listen."

It was like breaking through the surface of water. Sound rushed into his ears in vivid waves—endless screams and shouts.

"Is this real?" Hakoda demanded.

"Of course. It was the silence that was fake. I didn't want you to get distracted." Amusement dripped from the spirit's voice. "Your human senses are so easily fooled."

Horror twisted Zuko's gut. All this time. All this time the others had been suffering and none of them had known.

The spirit let out a low laugh. "Now I have your attention, don't I? If you wish to save them, find me at the centre. I'm willing to come to an agreement. But you'd best hurry. Humans are so fragile …"

"Wait!" Sokka cried. "What are you doing to them? Why are they screaming like that?"

No response.

Aang detached himself from Katara and stood up. His face was pale. "It sounds like a battlefield out there."

Zuko balled his hands into fists. "We have to find that spirit."

"And walk right into its trap?" Shizue shook her head. "Weren't you listening at all before?"

"Weren't you?" Katara retorted. She moved to stand at Zuko's side. "That spirit isn't going to stop. Our friends are being hurt right now, but we have a chance to save them. We have to try!"

"The spirit is probably lying!"

"No," Aang said solemnly. "That's one thing I did learn about spirits. They don't lie. They're not like humans."

Zuko met his gaze. "You're with me then?"

Aang nodded, though he still looked too pale. "I'm with you."

Sokka let out a breath as he came to stand next to them. "Pretty sure Shizue is right and we're walking into a trap, but I also don't think we have much of a choice. Consider me part of Team Suicidal Crazy."

"Is this really the time?" Zuko muttered.

"Time for what?"

"I think he means your team name could do with some work," Aang offered. "It's a little, er … well, it sucks."

"Would you prefer Team Spirit Hunters?"

"Actually, yeah. That's cool."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

Katara faced her father. "Dad?"

"Of course I'm coming with you." He cupped her cheek. "You and Sokka are my children. I'm not leaving you now."

Shizue folded her arms across her chest and considered them all through hard eyes. "You realise there's nothing you can do to stop the spirit without the power of the bridge between worlds. No feel good speeches or determination will change that. Even if you find it, you will be at its mercy."

"It doesn't matter," Zuko said. "This is the only way. We brought everyone here. We put them in danger. Now we have to help them."

She stared at him for a long moment before a sigh escaped her lips. "I knew it was a mistake to make that promise to Ursa. Keeping you alive is a full-time mission."

"Then you'll—"

"I'll go with you." She unfolded her arms and her expression softened a little. "If this is to be the end, I would rather die fighting at your side than running."

Sokka cleared his throat. "Uh, hate to break the moment—it's very touching but also really, really depressing—but, uh, you might wanna see this." He pointed to a crevice that had opened up in the wall of rock to their left. "Seems like our creepy spirit friend has offered us a shortcut."

"Or a death trap," Katara said.

"Yeah. Or that."

Zuko stared into the misty passageway. "The spirit wants us to find it. I don't think it really matters which path we take now, so it might as well be this one."

"Then, Team Spirit Hunters, down the death trap we go!" Sokka punched his fist into the air and marched forward.

Shizue pulled a face. "I'm going to die here with a bunch of idiots, aren't I?"

"Sokka isn't an idiot." Zuko said, looking at the boy in affection. "He's just trying to keep our mood up."

They were all scared, all conscious of the screams they could hear in the distance and the fact that maybe not everyone was going to leave this island. Sokka's stupid comments were about the only thing that made the world feel less bleak in that moment. The smiles he earned were strained, but they were smiles nonetheless.

"Come on," Zuko said, stepping into the passage. "We should hurry."

Those left on the ship were still in danger. There was no time to waste.

oOo

Screams and panic. Blood and flashes of spirit blue. The fog had eyes. It was alive and watching, closing in and smothering. Iroh saw it all with the sight gifted to him from a spirit journey he should have never taken. He saw it and feared.

Something whooshed by his ear. He ducked the club and shoved the warrior back against the railing. "Wake up!" he yelled.

The warrior snarled and lunged for him again with the unseeing gaze of one trapped in a nightmare. Iroh cursed and struck him hard in the head, letting him slump to the deck. No doubt the blow would leave a concussion, but it would at least keep him down. So many were falling to the fog, to the whispers and visions. It lured and tricked and turned them against each other. Even Iroh was finding it difficult to keep his mind clear. Sometimes he saw Lu Ten beckoning to him from the fog, sometimes it was Zuko screaming for help. Sometimes he wasn't on the ship at all but back in the battlefields of Ba Sing Se and fighting for his life.

"Get out of my way!"

Yuzo's voice. They'd been separated earlier. Iroh turned to head in that direction, only to see a sword slice through the fog. He stepped back, the tip of the blade just missing his nose. All the breath caught in his throat. Atsuo raised his sword again even as fire wreathed around the blade. His eyes were wide and his hands trembled. There were tears and blood staining his cheeks.

"Move!"

Yuzo's cries were getting closer. Soon, he would be upon them.

Atsuo met Iroh's eyes. He mouthed two words.

"What?" Iroh said.

Atsuo's hands trembled even more and he mouthed the two words again, plus one extra. This time Iroh understood.

"Kill me. Please."

Iroh's brow furrowed. Then the sword was coming for him again and he had no choice but to defend himself. He snatched up the dropped bone club from the deck and met the blade, shoving back with all his strength. Atsuo pushed even harder. Heat brushed Iroh's face from the flames that still flickered along the sword. Their faces were close—close enough for him to see there was clarity in the boy's eyes. Clarity and horror.

A grunt escaped Atsuo before he twisted the blade and sent the club flying. Iroh quickly backed up, flames weaving a shield in front of him.

"You're not like the others," he observed. "You haven't fallen to the fog, so why do you attack us?"

Atsuo only let out a hoarse cry—one that could have been anger or despair—and charged again.

"Atsuo, no!" Yuzo knocked the sword out of his hands with a blast of fire and then shook both fists, thumbs upturned, at him. That seemed a bit odd until Iroh realised he was signing. Yuzo repeated the motion. "Stop! Just stop!"

But Atsuo couldn't. It was something Iroh had also realised. Atsuo attacked and attacked like a puppet pulled by strings, vicious and relentless, and all the while his eyes burned in that silent plea.

"Kill me. Kill me. Kill me."

A piercing scream went up from the other side of the ship. Iroh was torn. Should he go to help? Should he stay?

Yuzo snarled and suddenly tackled Atsuo, wrestling him to the deck. The two boys rolled and struggled in a tangle of limbs. It looked like the sort of roughhousing teenaged boys often engaged in. Then flames burst in an orange flash. Yuzo cried out in pain, but he didn't let go, not even when Iroh ordered him to do so. His skin blistered and burned and he had to be in so much pain, but he just kept pinning Atsuo down. Tears mingled with tears.

"I will save you!" Yuzo hissed. "You read my lips, okay? I will save you from whatever has done this to you!"

Atsuo let out a guttural yell.

Someone bumped into Iroh from behind, careening wildly and stumbling into the boys as well. Yuzo lost his grip. That was all it took for Atsuo to kick him off and vanish into the fog—too fast for even Iroh to attempt to stop him. The man who'd caused the escape just lay on his side and whimpered.

"Damn it!" Yuzo slammed his fists into the deck.

Iroh reached down to help him to his feet. "Come, the danger is not over."

"I don't care!"

"Nevertheless, you are wounded and you need to be treated."

Yuzo shook his hands off. "It's fine. Look." His eyes glowed and the burns and blisters immediately started to fade. "I'm a good self-healer, remember?"

There were many things Iroh wanted to say, but there was something about the brittle look in Yuzo's eyes that stilled his tongue.

"General!" Tomoki soon found his way towards them. "Thank goodness you're alive and sane." He paused. "You are, right?"

"Sane?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, Tomoki, we're still sane. I'm afraid, however, this is a battle we cannot win. The spirit of this island does not treat its guests kindly. So many have been lost to its whispers and hallucinations."

Tomoki licked his lips. "So, what do we do?"

"I'm not sure if there's anything we can do. Perhaps we should just pray for mercy."

Yuzo stepped away from them. "You can pray all you want. I have to find Atsuo."

"That boy's mind is corrupted by more than the island." Iroh's voice softened. "But I think you know that, don't you?"

Yuzo tensed and their eyes met for a moment. Then he made a frustrated sound and dashed off into the fog, the glow of his flames dimming to little flickers until it was swallowed entirely.

"That kid is going to get himself killed," Tomoki said. "I saw that crazy flame-sword boy leave the ship just a moment ago. Chances are the island of horrors is way worse than staying here."

Iroh let out a breath. "He's following his heart. Who can judge him for that?"

Tomoki just blinked a few times. "Right. If you say so."

A brush of light passed over them. Iroh looked up and was greeted by the shining brilliance of the full moon. His heartbeat quickened. "Never mind that, Tomoki. We should start praying."

"Wait, you were serious about that?"

A smile curved Iroh's lips. "I happen to know a powerful spirit who just might spare us a favour if we ask nicely."

"You do? Which one?"

Iroh pointed up.

"Uh, sky spirit?"

"The moon, Tomoki. The moon."

Tomoki rubbed the base of his neck. "Right. I knew that."

Iroh knelt on the deck and pressed his palms together. There was no shrine to burn incense or place offerings, and this plan was a longshot anyway—he knew that. But Princess Yue, the new Moon Spirit, had offered him aid when he'd fled the North and he was pretty sure she'd helped him reunite with his nephew as well. He hoped she would help again now.

"Oh great Moon Spirit!" Iroh cried loudly. "I call upon you in our time of need and beg for your assistance! Please, help us! Help our friends who have been lured away! Help our minds to be clear and our eyes to see truth!"

Please, he added silently. We cannot do this on our own, and I fear for my nephew and those who went with him. Please …

The moon seemed to glow even brighter.

Tomoki knelt next to him and also started praying. Other voices soon joined in, all begging for the Moon Spirit to save them from the nightmare that wouldn't end. As they cried out with all their hearts, the fog seemed to get thinner and thinner. Iroh could even see the beginnings of the beach.

"It's working," he breathed. "She heard us."

The fog swelled in a sudden rush, a misty cloak that tried to choke and smother. The island was fighting back.

"Keep praying!" Bato yelled from the other side of the deck. "Don't give up!"

Their voices rose and combined, pleading. Hoping. Silvery light poured down and shaped itself into a shield around the entire ship. Now the fog couldn't get in at all.

"I will protect you as long as I can," Yue's voice whispered in Iroh's mind. "This one is ancient and powerful. Even I cannot drive her off forever."

"What of my nephew? What of the others?"

"Alive. They go to meet with the ancient one. Your fates are in their hands now."

He exhaled shakily and looked towards the island.

"As for those who strayed, my light will find them and lead them back. That much else I can do for you."

"Thank you," he whispered.

The light dimmed a little but the shield remained intact. Yue had left him. He looked towards the island and the brimming thing of power that stared back. Then he waited and he hoped.