Bonjour mes petites choux! Je vais rentendre! (Hello my little cabbages! I have returned!) In French, being called a cabbage is a compliment, maybe that's why the crazy cabbage guy exists! Okay, so I got home a LOT later than expected, AND we got ANOTHER flat (the first was from a bungee cord, don't ask). Luckily, nice people helped us out and we didn't get wet! Huzzah!

A couple questions about the last chap:

How could Yue have caught up w/ Zuko on his ostrich horse? Uh…he was probably walking it instead of going at a fast pace…and Yue can run fast! grants Yue magical running powers

Li's mom called Zuko by his name before he told the village: Heh, my bad. Strictly a mental error. bangs head

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Okay, this chap is based around "The Chase" but I don't know what kind of machine is chasing the Gang so it's going to be one of those weird, tank looking things, okay? And there's going to be a description of Zuko's past from Zuko Alone so those who didn't see the episode can understand it w/out reading the Wiki on it! I've talked too long already…erg.

It was about a mile out of town when Suki and Yue caught up with their target: Zuko. He was slouched over the ostrich horse and clearly sulking; he didn't even notice his two stalkers until they were twenty yards away.

"Why are you following me?" he growled, pulling the ostrich horse around, "I don't need the help of two little girls."

"You certainly needed it against your own soldiers," Suki muttered, pulling out her fan to cool down, "And besides, you're always looking for the Avatar, and now, so are we. So…we'll offer each other protection until we find Aang, and then…no one speaks of this ever again. How does that sound to you?"

Zuko rolled his eyes, "It sounds like a stupid plan, and that's it; now stop following me!" He kicked at his steed and it started walking again, continuing down the eastern trail.

"C'mon Tsuki, let's go," the two girls continued following the prince, keeping a safe distance behind him (thirty feet kept them out of any fire blasts). The two got tired quickly though, seeing as they were both walking at a fast pace to keep up with the ambling bird.

Gradually, the sun sank from the sky and the moon rose, a beautifully milky crescent. Both parties welcomed the soft light, as neither was going to stop until the other did. Eventually though, it was the ostrich horse that decided where they were going to spend the night; it fell down in exhaustion right next to a broad river crossing.

"Great," Zuko hissed, restraining the urge to kick the bird in its resting place, "Now what? A slumber party?"

"You wish," Suki growled, "But I can find some tubers in the woods, that is, if Tsuki will catch some fish and you pull together a fire."

Yue smirked as the warrior disappeared into the forest path on her search, and removed her robe to search out, and catch, some juicy fish for them to eat. She shivered slightly at the cool touch of the water on her bare feet, and hopped along the river-rocks to the deeper water.

The fish were easy to catch once located, it took Yue's first waterbending move, the water-to-palm one, on a more complex scale: she simply had to concentrate on moving more water. It wasn't long before the first catch wriggled in her arms; a fish that was over two feet long fought its way back to freedom, stopped only by the weak arms of Yue, who struggled back to shore. The rocks seemed more slippery than they had on the journey out, and she slipped on the one closest to shore, falling into the water with her prize.

Luckily, the water wasn't deep enough for Yue to drown, but it was a difficult fight to keep the fish in her hands. Between the current and the fish, it was all she could do to get in a breath of air. Then, two hands gripped her, lifted her up, and wrenched the fish from her arms.

"Useless waterbender," Zuko muttered, examining the gaping fish, "We're going to need another one."

Yue growled and turned away, wringing out her clothes and muttering under her breath, "If I'm so useless, why do you need me to catch the fish?"

"Because I'm making the fire!" Zuko shouted, his voice echoing across the river. He glared at the red-haired girl, daring her to make a retort, to question his authority.

But Yue just sighed and returned to her stepping stone pathway in search of another fish. "Bloody firebenders," Yue muttered, looking down from her perch on a boulder and onto the water below. Her reflection caught in the water, beaming a shocking reality back to her. While her bright-red hair was very visible in the daytime, at night, with the moon out, her pure-snow eyebrows stood out like crow-owls on the icy plains of the north! "Oh Goddess, how could I have missed that?" she whispered.

She picked out another fish, this one swimming upstream, and captured it in a bubble of water; the fish's prison held until they reached shore, where it popped on the grassy banks, water seeping into the ground and, eventually, back into the river.

"There, is that one big enough?" Yue growled, throwing the three-foot fish by the tail onto the lap of a meditating Zuko, who moaned his disgust. The girl ignored his distress and grabbed her dry cloak before heading into the woods to change.

She returned several minutes later, her hands filled with sopping wet undergarments, hood low over her face as she hung the clothes up to dry. Both fish, she noticed, had been gutted, and sat skewered over the open flame, their eyes gazing lifelessly from the heat. Zuko had gone over to the water to wash off the fish slime, and rubbed his shirt on large river rocks. He returned shirtless and hung up the fishy clothing before sitting back in front of the fire, legs crossed.

"Don't interrupt my meditation," he poked the fire with a large stick, "and the hood doesn't hide your eyebrows, so you might as well take it off. The hood, not the robe, I mean." He glanced downwards into the fire, refusing to meet the girl's eyes.

Yue rolled her eyes, but slowly took off the hood, sliding the white, fur lining past her red hair. "How long until-"

"About twenty minutes. You can never be too sure about fish."

Crickets chirped, and the fire crackled merrily, but Suki still hadn't returned, "I wonder what's taking so long?" Yue wondered aloud.

"Well you and I need to have a nice chat anyways," Zuko growled. "Tsuki…nice. Ancient languages translate that into Moon, and in your language that would be-"

"Be quiet. Don't say another word about this, ever," Yue growled as she wrapped her robe closer around her body. Her face shifted into a pleading smile, "Please Zuko, this is extremely important."

"Yeah right, so why is it important that no one knows you were brought back to life?"

"Because…the Avatar cannot be distracted from his mission, that would mean-"

"-Victory…for my people." Zuko stared solemnly into the fire, thinking about his banishment. "But even if the Avatar does succeed, the Fire Nation will only be taken over by my sister, and you don't want that. She's a ruthless, evil little bitch."

Yue broke out laughing, "That's not a very brotherly thing to say!" she giggled.

"Just wait until you meet her, you'll agree; trust me." A silence seized the camp again; the fire hissed as fish juice started dripping on the hot wood. "So why are you looking for the Avatar if you can't join him?" Yue stared at her feet. "Oh…the Water peasant boy."

A silent tear ran down Yue's face as she remembered their last embrace, theirlast kiss before the Spirit World had become blatantly clear. "Sokka."

"Tsuki!" Suki ran up, her pockets stuffed with root-vegetables, "Zuko! What did you do!" But the girl from Kyoshi was unable to get a response from either of them, and they spent the rest of the night in silence.

Yue woke up in the morning with her eyes puffy from silent sobbing; she ignored the sleeping Suki and meditating Zuko in favor of her element: the river. It would wash away all of her worries, troubles, and heartbreaks. She buried her head in the cool liquid, and the world became muted. Upon emerging, the soft twittering of birds became vivid again, as did the slow steady breathing of her male companion and the loud snores of Suki.

She walked over to the dead embers of the fire and chewed on the tail of one of the fish that hadn't been completely consumed the previous night, staring into the pink sky of morning.

"So…what are you going to do when we catch up to the Avatar?" Yue spun around; Zuko was standing directly behind her, just staring.

"I'll find my own path again."

Zuko dropped to the ground and sat, "A newly fledged waterbender all by herself in the midst of war? Good luck with that!"

Yue rolled her eyes, thinking back to the conversation last night, "So…just how bad is your sister?"

"Terrible," he spat, "She's one of the most gifted firebenders of our time, and she's heir to the throne now." He growled and spat flame onto the dead embers, "She can even summon lightning and she's only like fourteen now. She's a good match for my uncle, the Dragon of the West, and he's had much more experience."

"Your uncle? The man who threatened Zhao?"

"Yeah, he taught me a lot of what I know."

"I heard…stories about the Fire Nation," Yue said, turning to Zuko, "That your uncle is older than your father, but didn't inherit the throne. Why?"

Zuko stared into the small fire he had started, "It wasn't too long ago; my uncle was leading the siege against Ba Sing Se."

"But you lost that one."

"I know. My uncle's son died and he gave up the attack. When my father heard about it, he accused Uncle Iroh of being weak, and so my grandfather said: '…like Iroh, you will know the pain of having your first-born son killed.' My mother got really upset about that, and she told me: '…everything I have done, I've done to protect you.'

"I never saw her again after that, but the next morning, my grandfather was dead and my father was pronounced ruler of the Fire Nation."

"And so the plot thickens," Yue muttered, remembering one of the favorite phrases of the Ocean Spirit. "And now that you're banished, you can't inherit the throne. Maybe the line will continue through the second-born now."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Zuko growled, then looked up at a very loud sound, like a beast crashing through the forest. "What's that?"

Suki looked up sleepily, "Whaaat?" A groaning of gears was heard, "I think we should get moving…fast!"

"Good idea!" Yue agreed, jumping to her feet and finding her damp clothes from the night before, but there wasn't any time to put them on. Zuko woke the ostrich horse and Suki smoothed over the campsite in a matter of minutes, just enough time for the three to flee over the river and find a hiding spot behind a large boulder.

They sat in waiting as the sounds grew closer and closer, the ground and trees alike broke under the weight of the huge machine. It appeared fearsome in the light of the morning, becoming a blood-red color from the reflecting metal. At the river, it stopped though, and four people emerged: three girls and one soldier, who hurried to fill large buckets with water. Their voices carried across the running water.

"Why is this necessary Captain? Why to we have to keep stopping at these damned rivers!"

"It we don't fill up on water, the engines will overheat and the machine will be useless highness! A slight inconvenience for the services it provides."

"Just get us moving again soon."

"That's my sister, the one talking," Zuko whispered, "she never did see to reason or maintenance."

"She seems even worse than you," Suki growled, "And that's saying a lot."

"Hey!"

"It's a compliment!"

"No it's not!"

"Shut up you two!" Yue hissed quietly; one of the female companions to the princess was staring over the river with narrowed eyes, "And get down…very, very slowly."

They all ducked behind the rock, tense from uncertainty of whether or not they had been discovered. Zuko was wrestling with the ostrich horse, keeping its beak tightly shut and restraining it from making any noises that would give them away.

"I bet they're going after the Avatar," Suki whispered, "If we followed them, then we could find Aang too!"

"But then we'd be trailing three very dangerous firebenders, one of which could kill all of us with one move," Zuko hissed back. "I don't like the idea of that."

"But otherwise, we might never find them!"

"Hmmm, find the Avatar, or live? That's a tough decision!" Zuko muttered sarcastically.

"The best plan for all of us is to follow the machine," Yue whispered, "We're going to be in danger from those three anyways, so we might as well find the Avatar to protect us when we finally do have a confrontation. We'll just have to be really sneaky tracking them."

"Alright then," Zuko whispered, "but you two have to agree to follow my commands; I know the most about Fire Nation weaponry, machinery, and my sister. We just might be able to survive." He paused, freezing at the loud creaking as the machine went into gear, burning its fuel of coal to cross the river and move forwards. "There's a back window on the machine, so someone could see us after they passed, we'll have to go around the rock at the same speed they pass us. Okay?"

Both girls nodded and crouched on their legs, watching as the great machine revved through the river, leaving huge ruts. Cold sweat beaded down the three teenagers' faces as they crept around their hiding space, staying out of sight of anyone who might be looking through the rear opening of the machine.

"It sure is noisy," Suki whispered to herself, grimacing as a small tree was crushed beneath the weight of the machine, "and destructive." The great metal tank eventually disappeared from sight and the three emerged from their hiding spots. Zuko released the ostrich horse's mouth and it let out a squawk of hunger.

"We're already falling behind," Zuko growled, "Get your last sips of water, and then we'll leave." He led his stubborn steed to the water, but it refused to drink.

Midday came, and it found two exhausted girls, one of the Earth Kingdom and the other of the Water Nation, riding a surprisingly silent ostrich horse. Beside them walked a muscular ex-prince of the Fire Nation; the heat of the sun beat down on the trio, and none spoke a word. They had long since left the original trail of stone, and now followed one composed of destruction and gutted ground.

Suki had fallen back asleep, so it was a good thing that Yue was directing the ostrich horse onwards. She ignored the weight of her companion on her back and concentrated on picking a good path for her steed through the broken trees and ground.

'Man…I wish we had Appa,' the red-headed girl thought, as an awkward hop from the giant fowl jolted her around. 'Well at least we don't have to walk.'

Of course, Zuko didn't mind walking as much as the two girls; he was used to hard labor and pushing himself. In desperate situations, he could jog at a steady pace all day. He even enjoyed the exercise to a point; as long as they could stop for a nice rest at night and a large meal, he didn't mind in the least.

"Shhhh," Yue whispered, pulling on the reins, "I cant hear the machine anymore! Suki! Wake up!"

"PAY THE PRICE FOR-!" Suki screamed, "Oh…sorry!" she whispered, seeing the faces of her companions, "Was that too loud?"

"Yes," Zuko growled, "Either they stopped for water, they found the Avatar, or they know we're following them. Let's get a little closer." So they crept onwards, all on foot, and a yawning Suki leading the ostrich horse.

Ahead was a large hill too steep for the machine to climb, and on top of it…a large white bison with six legs and horns. "Appa!" Yue exclaimed, then clapped a hand over her mouth at the second thing she saw: three mounted komodo rhinos. Their riders were Princess Azula and her companions. "Oh great."

But Appa flew off again, and the great lizards turned back towards the machine, causing the stalking trio to dive for cover and hope no one saw them, then continue after their enemies.

"How much longer?" Suki groaned, Zuko and she were now atop the large fowl, Yue walked among the destruction, "I'm getting so sick of being bumped along!"

"Then walk!" Zuko growled, tensing a little as a large tree fell to the ground ahead, knocked over by the machine they followed. "But if the machine doesn't stop, then neither will we. And there won't be a fire until we've stopped following that thing."

The moon was now directly above in the sky, slightly larger than it had been the day before, and Yue felt a strange strength in her limbs as she walked onwards, but it couldn't balance the fatigue in her muscles from a full, tense day of riding, walking, and fretting that they would be discovered at any moment. She tripped on an uprooted tree and fell face-first into the hard ground, and came up sputtering dirt.

"That doesn't taste too good," she growled, as Suki jumped down to see how she was, "I'm so sick of walking!"

"Then ride the bird with Prince Attitude," Suki growled, "If you fall asleep you won't have to listen to him blab…"

Zuko glared.

"And besides, I already slept a lot more than you."

"Thanks Su-su-suuuuuuuuki," Yue yawned, mounting the ostrich horse, eyelids drooping. They started moving again, using the light of the moon to find their way in the destructive path. The girl walking remained silent, she wasn't too tired and was used to this kind of work. Yue wasn't, and soon slumped forwards in slumber.

It wasn't un-enjoyable for Zuko, seeing as he was a teenage boy with a girl leaning against him; in fact, he enjoyed the ride, up to the point where Yue started to drool.

"Ewwww."

Suki rolled her eyes, "What?"

"She's drooling on me."

"If it wasn't you, this might be cute," Suki muttered thoughtfully.

"What are you implying?" Zuko growled.

"That you're ugly."

There was a silence, "You mean my scar?"

"No, I mean your blind love for the Fire Nation is hideous."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No," Suki sighed, completely honest, "I mean, if you really feel strongly about something, you should follow your heart. My village wasn't in the war, so I left and joined in. Now I feel strongly about helping the Avatar, so I'm going to."

"The last time I felt strongly about something, I was scarred and banished from my home. Do you honestly think I'm going to go out on a whim again?"

"No, I'm saying you should think about your morals. Do you think it's right to enslave all people who weren't lucky enough to be born on the winning, the Fire Nation, side of the war."

Zuko said nothing, merely kicked the ostrich horse underneath him and picked up the pace a little bit.

Dreams buzzed in Yue's mind, images and sounds from the Spirit World, old ballads that she had looked up from ancient tomes; there were melodies that the Magma Spirit had hummed (he had a wonderful voice). He had taught her one, a song about the tides, a combination of Moon and Ocean.

"Keshite…riraito shite… imi no nai mousou mo," she murmured, returning to the Mortal World. "imi no nai mousou mo…kimi o nasu dendouryoku…zenshin zenrei o kure yo…"

"Wake up." The masculine voice penetrated her thoughts, and someone splashed Yue's face with water, "C'mon, we're heading after Azula and we'll need everyone awake."

"Uhhhh…Zuuuuuko. Shut…up. Sleep." Yue buried her body deeper into the warmth of sleep as a wet cloth went across her face. "mebaete ta kanjou kitte kuyan de...shosen tada bonyou shitte naite…kusatta kokoro o…usugitanai uso o."

"Stop singing 'Your Highness'."

Yue's eyelids flickered; she was immersed in warmth and darkness, a steadily beating darkness? She opened her eyes fully and jumped up in shock. Zuko was staring at her with a look of confusion, his shirt bearing a dark spot where her face had been.

"I…I'm sorry." She stared at the ground, face burning. "I was sleeping and dreaming of someone else…" she lied.

Zuko just stood and went to change his shirt. Yue looked around, the sun was rising, but they couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of sleep. Suki was slumped over the ostrich horse in a very awkward position, so she hadn't noticed the event that had just taken place. The girl sighed and took a very long draught of water.

About twenty feet away from the path of destruction, Zuko slowly removed his shirt and hung it up, his thoughts lost to the previous night.

It was about three in the morning when Zuko pulled the ostrich horse to a halt, there was a very large damp spot on his shirt, drool from the girl leaning on him, and Suki wasn't much better. She was constantly stumbling over the rough ground due to the lack of light. The moon had long since gone down, and even Zuko felt the pangs of sleep.

"Suki, we're stopping."

"Good," the girl growled, "I'm sick of walking."

Zuko just growled and dismounted, the giant bird fell to its stomach in exhaustion, letting out a final squawk before dropping to sleep. Yue rolled backwards onto the ground, hair messed and dirty, she groaned in her sleep.

"But I cant teach him if I cant bend…" Yue whispered, "I want to go home…" her hair suddenly glowed a blinding white, "But I will play my part." The light faded and now the girl's eyebrows were the same vibrant red color as the hair on the back of her head.

"'And so the plot thickens' indeed," Zuko muttered, picking up the girl and carrying her over to one of the few trees that hadn't been demolished. He tucked her inside the ancient roots, placed her down and turned to leave, but something caught him: a vice-like grip held him in place; Yue's eyes had snapped open.

"Boy," a deep feminine voice said, "protect this Goddess, and you will be repaid with the thing you desire the most in your heart." The eyes narrowed, "If you do not, I will see that the elements conspire against you, and lightning will strike you down."

"Yes…Spirit." Zuko whispered, and the eyes closed, the hand let go. He inched away and fell to the ground. Perhaps this journey had become just a little bit too much for him.

Zuko faced the still water in the small pond, staring at the multiple scars that ran across his torso as well as his face, "The thing I desire most in my heart? My father's acceptance? My throne? My country?" He sighed, running a finger across a particularly grotesque scar, and then punched downwards in fury and flame. The reflection disappeared as the water evaporated into steam, escaping into the air.

"ZUUUKO! WE'RE LEAVING!" Suki's loud yell hit the prince like a wall; Zuko pulled his shirt on as he made his way back to the camp. "COME ON NOW! WE'VE GOT TO GO NOW! Oh, there you are!"

"Yes, and do you mind never speaking again? You voice is excruciatingly painful to listen to."

Suki growled as Yue laughed, and the two girls mounted the ostrich horse, starting it into a fast pace; behind them, a very conflicted Zuko ran.

"I thought we were following the machine." Yue watched as they left behind the ruts and followed Zuko's instinct. They were all riding a very annoyed ostrich horse now, but it bore the three's weight without complaint. "But now we're following a trail of hair."

"The bison went another way to escape; it's been shedding for a while. Azula followed the fur trail, well it's obviously faked, and wherever she goes, it's on the trail of her target. Even though I despise her, she does have good tracking skills."

"So what happens when we find them?" Suki moaned. Her legs were wrapped around the giant fowl, her fingers gripping feathers for dear life. "I don't even have my armor on!"

"So you fight without it!" Zuko hissed, gasping as they suddenly came upon the outskirts of a deserted town. "I get the feeling that we're going to find both Zula and the Avatar here…"

"Me too," Suki slid off the ostrich-horse, grabbing both of her steel fans from their respective pockets as she did so, "I'll go look around, you two keep on main street." She ran off to the right.

"Grab one of my broadswords and hand it to me Your Highness." Zuko whispered

"Fine, you ignorant man-bear-pig," Yue hissed as she handed the item over.

"What?" Zuko gripped the sword and held it at the ready, then suddenly pulled the ostrich horse to a halt, sending Yue slamming into his back. "For Spirit's sake! Hold onto the bird!"

"Well next time, tell me when we're going to stop and I might be able to!" They both dismounted, Zuko pulling his second sword from his pack as he did so. Yue flicked her steel fan open and fanned herself. "Why did we stop?"

Zuko simply pointed a finger straight ahead and started to run, closely followed by Yue. Ahead was a wall that had been almost completely destroyed, and two voices spoke in turn.

"Stop following us! Leave me and my friends alone!" The voice was young, aggressive, and male: Aang. "If I have to, I'll force you to stop!"

The next speaker sounded female, overconfident, and haughty; it had to be Princess Azula. "Do you really want to fight me?"

"Yes, I do." Zuko stepped out of the shadows, glaring at his sister. He glanced once at Aang, but was focused on his sister the entire time. "You emotionless, impractical bitch; I will send you beyond the last circle of flame in the next world!"

"Well, I thought I would have a challenge…but it's just you Zuko! Stupid as usual; I guess you didn't learn to hold your tongue after all!" She smirked and sent two sudden fire blasts at each of her opponents. Yue stood in the shadows, watching the intense fight, sensibly staying out of range of the fire.

She turned as a heavy thud sounded behind her, complete with a cloud of dust and an air-bison groan.

"Be careful there! You could really get hurt being there!" A familiar, masculine speaker called out as he passed, "Get away from here!"

Yue's eyes dissolved into tears as a second figure ran by. "Sokka?"

The scrawnier figure stopped in his tracks and turned, eyes wide open in shock. "Yue!"

My hands bloody hurt…please review, that's more than 4,500 words! And the song that Yue is singing is Erase and Rewrite by Asian Kung Fu Generation. It's kind of like the tides on the sand…they erase…and rewrite. Never mind.

And you get Moussaka if you review! And peach cobbler!

Sincerely ArcherofDarkness

PS: Whoever catches the South Park reference get a cinnamon bun!