Three figures stood just beyond the falls. Their backs turned to the moon, forming giant overcastting shadows on the banks of the stream. Although weary of the last encounter, the Avatar knew where he belonged in the inevitable battle. The bright full moon hung overhead as the sky was filled with darkness unlike other nights. Aang began to move out of the water; his eyes fixed on Azula, the firebending prodigy. He climbed through the icy water, shivering but keeping strong eye contact. As he moved steadily out of the water and onto the shore, he slipped, nearly falling into the mud. Azula smiled knowing the avatar was suffering, weak from a previous encounter. But then her eyes widened. What kind of creature could have done this to the Avatar? She thought. Regardless, she began walking toward the weary airbender while examining her surroundings for any intruders. Satisfied that no one was there she pursued her prey.
"The avatar is mine," she whispered to TyLee and Mai.
The duo nodded and began to approach Katara. Katara looked up at Aang, fully aware that he was in no condition to fight.
"Aang," Katara whispered to him, longing him to back down from the fight. He didn't look back to her as he airbended his staff into his hands.
"Run, Aang." Katara pleaded, but his fingers only tightened over his staff as his feet found their defensive stance.
Azula began to ask, "I'm curious, Avatar, before your escapade under the falls, what had you been doing for you to end up like this?"
There was a long pause, as Aang simply stared her down.
"Nonetheless, your adventure ends here," she said as she drew her hands in a circle, separating the two charges – when she froze. Katara, under the light of the full moon, had drenched Azula in icy cold water, stopping her attack short. As Katara had once done to Zuko at the Northern Water tribe, she began enclosing Azula in layers of ice. Mai launched her deadly darts, but the darts merely blew in different directions, as the young Avatar entered the battle. A flying TyLee came out of nowhere in attempt to take out Katara's bending, yet Aang tirelessly swung his staff as a strong gust of wind knocked her flat into the ground. Azula's icy prison exploded, as the firebender now had flames encircling her wrists and ankles. Katara did not hold back. Katara felt her bending enhancing as she readied her stance to attack once more. She did not know what had drawn this strength. Perhaps, it was the loss of that moment of intimacy, a moment which she had not felt since her mother's warm arms had wrapped around her as a child, or perhaps it was her true hatred for the fire nation, taking its own form once again. Whatever the reason, Katara had full control of this match as she drew her arms up into the air and fired icy darts at Azula. Azula evaded the darts with difficulty, as the final dart glistened against her cheek, leaving behind its mark.
Azula, clasped her hands together, as if she were to pray, the two palms of her hands facing each other and exclaimed, "You are very lucky, you are the first one to see this." Katara drew a defensive stance, as Azulas clasped hands motioned from down behind her side to up above her head in Katara's direction. As if sparking a match against the ground, the flames which encircled her feet met the flames on her wrists, and sent ten feet high flames through the ground. In a simple, elegant turn, Katara drew the water from the stream, into a defensive barricade as the water encircled her like a moat around a castle. The flames evaporated as they met the surface of the encircling water shield. With ease Katara kept her ground, and although a bit weak, Aang flawlessly evaded each attack from the duo. Mai's darts and TyLees acrobatics were simply no match for the powerful gusts of the airbender.
"Fighting the Avatar is difficult enough but against two nonbenders? Isn't that a bit unfair?" A voice behind Aang interrupted his battle as Mai's eyes wavered from Aang to the intruder. Aang knew that voice. As he turned around, a blast of fire glazed against his shoulder and he fell to the ground.
"Why don't I even out the odds?" said Zuko. Frozen to a tree from Katara's last attack, Azula began to lose her patience, and the sight of her brother only made her annoyance grow.
"Zuzu, why do you even bother, now?" she asked as her dragon breath melted away the ice. Katara and Aang were now side by side with the fire nation fighters surrounding them.
TyLee looked at Mai, and grinned as she whispered, "Hey Mai, look who's here." Mai looked at Zuko, as he turned, their eyes met if only for a second. He's …changed so much. She thought to herself. Zuko examined her from head to toe and then turned back, his eyes now focused on the airbender. Mai momentarily thought, Was he just checking –
"Mai watch out!" TyLee interrupted her thought as Katara sent icy arrows in their direction. Yet, the moment Katara turned her back to Azula, Azula drew her circular pathways, separating the charges. But this time, Zuko launched four fireball flames at his sister, giving Katara just enough time to evade out of Azula's sight. Aang followed Zuko's lead and whipped his staff creating a powerful gust, sending Azula flying back, her armor scorched from the flames and her hair blown into a mess. Katara finally drew her hands into the air and sent wave after wave of icy water at the duo, pushing Mai and TyLee into the stream. The weary pair, now finding difficult to even tread the water, were now being sucked into the middle of the stream; Katara's hands clenched into fists and motioned the water to rise and freeze around TyLee and Mai, enclosing them in giant ice cubes. They were carried down the stream, incapable of moving. All that could be heard were the faint plees for help.
"Help! Hel–" as they bobbed in and out of the water.
Katara moved back to Aang's side as they took their stances against Azula and Zuko.
"Zuzu, both of us know, you accomplish nothing if you capture the Avatar. Father will not simply forgive you by bringing him back the Avatar, have you not forgotten the shame you've brought this family, the shame you've brought him."
Zuko's stance began to weaken. Katara, holding up the weary Avatar, looked back at the scarred face of the banished prince.
" 'Lucky to be born' isn't that what father always said?" she questioned, as she sickly probed deeper into his emotions. Zuko looked down into the stream, staring down his reflection.
"The royal family…and the banished prince," she continued. Katara watched Zuko stare down his reflection, as he lifted his hand to his scar.
"But father is wrong, Zuko." Zuko looked up to his sister.
"He is wrong; he does not know the full potential of his children." At this remark, Azula looked Zuko in the eyes and asked, "Join me Zuko. Together we can teach father what is right. Together we will capture the Avatar." Zuko looked down at the water once more, hesitating, his mind in deep thought: I need to restore my rightful place …I need my throne..no. I need father to restore my place by his side..I need. I need. He looked up at Azula and suddenly turned around facing Aang and Katara. Katara had noticed the hatred drained from his face. He almost looked empathetic, as if dreading something. Zuko raised his arms in attempt to fire at Katara and the weak Avatar, but suddenly felt his knees come up from under him. Zuko now laid face first in the dirt, as the ground beneath him had shifted.
"Well, I can't let you guys have all the fun," replied Toph as she brisked by the fallen Zuko. Uncle Iroh approached from behind her, his pace slowing as he walked in awe when he saw the waterfall. This place is familiar, he thought. His eyes rose in fright as he noticed the reflection of the full moon in the stream. From surprise and awe, his expression shifted to horror in an instant. As Zuko began to gather himself for the last earth-shifting attack, Katara drenched Zuko with an enormous wave, forcing him into the stream and freezing him against the rocky sides of the waterfall. The sudden attack against the rocky walls, left him too weak to retaliate, let alone, move his limbs. In that moment, Azula found her chance. Her eyes met the weak gray eyes of the young Avatar. Her arms began the lightning stance once more as she directed her fingers at Aang. Unlce Iroh grabbed her hand, and with a swift motion redirected the lightning behind them.

As Sokka gathered himself from the strong gust, his hands met the arch shaped walls. He placed his palms over the surface of the rock-like entry, as he leaned against the rock archway. Through the moonlight shafts Sokka made out glyphs inscribed on the arch. With his feet still planted, he leaned closer in attempt to make out the glyphs, his entire body supported by the rock wall. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, a sudden explosion behind him. The rock wall which he had been leaning on instantly vanished, and Sokka fell in through the archway as glowing white light filled the cave!

Still holding Azula's hand from redirecting the lightning, Iroh felt a horrible darkness. Katara, Azula, Aang, Zuko and Toph felt it too. A strong ki energy escaped from behind the waterfall. As if drawn to it, everyone turned to face the falls, as a brilliant white light emerged from behind the waterfall.Oh no, what have I done! Iroh thought, his face now filled with fear and horror. As Aang's eyes met the white light, his spirit instantly transported through the waterfall and into the gate – to the spirit world, as his body lay on the forest grounds of the human world.

Iroh's hand let go of Azula, shaking his head in disbelief and fear, a fear which he had not felt for a long time. He began taking steps away from the light. The others however, as if programmed, were drawn to the massive amount of ki energy, as if replenishing their own spirits. Even Toph's own senses were heightened.

Unknowingly, Sokka now stood in the spirit world. What just happened? It appeared that Sokka had simply walked in and out of a mirror, for there he stood at the opening of a cave just behind a waterfall. Sokka too felt a boding change in the environment – as an eerie feeling crept up his spine that he was no longer at Midnight Falls. He walked forward, out of the cave, and down the slope of the waterfall, his legs moving as if they had minds of their own. As he moved through this mirror world, he moved without the slightest fear or speculation of what he might encounter. He just walked. A thick fog appeared from no where and he lost sight of the waterfall. Yet his mind was elsewhere. Where am I? Maybe his mind didn't know. His heart however was hoping he had finally arrived. His calm posture and relaxed expression never faltered as he continued into the strange unknown world which lay before him.

Aang now stood outside of the waterfall, exactly as he stood in the human world. He walked towards the water's edge and looked around and noticed his hands and legs were blue.
"What am I doing here?" he muttered aloud and called out for Avatar Roku. His reflection changed from airbender to aged firebender as Avatar Roku appeared in the watery reflection.
"I'm here Aang." He said. Aang was buzzing with questions,
"Avatar Roku, how did I get here? I need to go back, my friends are in danger."
At once, Avatar Roku replied, "Aang, your friends have opened a spirit gate,"
Aang interrupted, "But why am I–"
"Aang, time is of the essence. Once the portal is open, it stays open until the full moon sets. Any spirit is free to move between the worlds. Your water tribe friend has entered the spirit world. Aang, you must find your friend, return back through the portal, but most importantly you must make sure no spirits leave the gate. We must make haste, for I fear that a guardian has already passed through the gate. To aid you in this task, one spirit has agreed to help you. She has been watching over you on your safe path to the Earth Kingdom and will help you defend the portal gate until sunrise." Said Roku.
Aang looked up from the water, and saw the wispy image of a familiar, beautiful white spirit.