Ah, I love Muse and Rise Against- two bands that pull me out of my writing funk! :D P.S. Thanks so much for adding this story to your favorites guys : ) It means a lot to me and I love that you like reading this story! I hope you guys don't mind how much I focus on Felice/Otaki- I just really find her circumstances and character really interesting… Oh! And I ended up drawing the characters lol, so when I get that up, I'll definitely get you guys the link. : )

Onward with the writing now! Spurred on by songs from the wonderful Muse and Rise Against! Huzzah!

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Felice watched as her home, the city she grew up in, slowly became smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a speck in the distance. The metal boat she was on now made her slightly uncomfortable- she had never been one for traveling on the water. Zhao and several other important individuals had laughed at her, claiming that it was merely a natural aversion to all things water- benders and the element.

Felice just knew it was the way the boat would rock sometimes- it was enough to send her stomach into quivers.

Now, servants and soldiers ran around the boat, getting things in order and making sure that they had everything for their journey. It was still a mystery to Felice as to where they were going- she simply knew that Zhao wanted to obtain someone and it was her duty to assist him in whatever way he needed. She was happy to- he was her father figure, she wanted him to be proud of her.

Feeling her throat tighten and her stomach clench, Felice turned away quickly, heading down the lower deck towards her room. She had spent enough time staring out at the sea, it would remain there and she was fine being away from it.

Turning into her bedroom, Felice fell onto her small cot. The room she had been given on the ship was small and quaint, but she wasn't displeased by it. It had everything she needed, and she did not need or ask for a lot. Simply a bed to lie on and walls to give her some quiet. There was a small chest in the corner of the room containing the clothes that she had packed for the journey.

She stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts wandering. Aiden…he was truly a fool. She was sixteen years old and yet…she loved him. She didn't have any friends- she knew generals and leaders of the great nation she lived in, but no friends. She had Aiden, he had always been there for her. And yet…as she grew older, she realized what it was exactly that she was doing.

Felice lifted her hands above her, staring at them. She could fire bend, wield a sword, and had mastered the skills of hand combat. Her hands had been stained with blood. When she was eight years old, she hadn't understood. At sixteen, she knew. Her hands had killed people, more people than she could count. If Aiden, her sweet Aiden, knew what she could do…what these hands were capable of…

She rolled over onto her side, frowning at the wall. He wouldn't love her anymore. In fact, he would hate her, she knew that he would. He was so peaceful and loving and she destroyed things, she burned things.

He was everything good in the world. And she was the weapon that destroyed the good.

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Aliruko hummed to herself, setting her tea kettle on her small table with a smile. She enjoyed her quaint life, especially over the years. Her figure had grown slimmer and finally, finally, she felt like life was going places for her. A young man in the village was even showing interest in her which made her skin glow.

A knock on the door made her glance up, and humming still, she threw open the door with a wide smile.

"Hello!" she exclaimed. "How may I-" Aliruko's eyes widened and she froze, staring in shock at the figure before her. "C-Char?" she stammered.

She stood aside and he quickly entered her home, glancing around first to see if anyone was watching. He still looked the same- the same hardness in his eyes and the same lock of brown hair over his eyes, although at the moment, he looked as if he hadn't bathed in a couple of days.

"What are you doing here?" Aliruko whispered, staring at the man, shock still in her eyes.

Char glanced around, scoffing at the room and looked at Aliruko. "I've come back…because we have new orders…"

Aliruko swallowed hard and shook her head. "No, no, Char, I can't do that. After the last time…I just…" Aliruko paused, remembering the way her friend had looked, the pain that traveled throughout her whole body. "I can't do it."

Char took a step towards her. "That didn't stop you before…" he whispered, and Aliruko shook her head again, harder this time.

"No, no, things have changed, Char… It's been sixteen years… Kaori, she's had two more children, one just born as of a couple days ago, and a son of ten years… I've…I've helped raise these children, I've held them in my own arms and I've seen both Kaori and the exiled prince grow as well…They want nothing to do with the Fire Nation anymore," Aliruko exclaimed, careful to keep her voice low enough so the neighbors would not hear her.

Char stared long and hard at Aliruko and then chuckled softly. He reached forward, putting a hand against Aliruko's cheek, which she smiled a little into. "My dear Aliruko…" he whispered lovingly, and slowly his eyes turned cold. "Do…you…not…understand? I said we had orders."

Grabbing her by the hair, he threw her into the wall, quickly holding her against it by her neck. Shrieking, Aliruko struggled in his grasp, her eyes wide with terror. Char smirked at her. "If you do not wish to lose your life…you will do as you are commanded. Your loyalties lie with the Fire Nation, not with some stupid island and it's rulers."

He leaned close to her and she could feel his hot breath against her face; it stunk of fish. "If you do not complete your orders…I will kill you…but first…I'll kill the precious children that you've come to love… I'll kill them slowly…painfully…and after you've watched the last drop of blood flow out of them, I'll kill you,"

"No," Aliruko whispered. "You can't, they're just children…"

Char laughed, pulling on her hair, "The Fire Nation will not be put off by a couple of children! We have our orders and they will be completed or I swear…" Roughly, he let her go, watching as she slid to the ground. "I will follow through with my threat if you do not comply,"

Smiling, he took a step backwards, towards the door. "Now, dear woman, I'm going to make my way back into hiding. I will be back soon," Reaching into his shirt, he took out an envelope, placing it on the table. With a wink, he exited the room, leaving Aliruko to sit alone.

Trembling, she got to her feet, holding onto the wall for support. With horror in her veins, she slowly picked up the envelope that Char had placed on the table. Tears fell from her eyes, but she popped the seal, taking the letter from the inside. These were her orders.

Failure to comply meant death.

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Kaori watched as Heero leapt towards a bull frog, trying to pounce on it. The young boy fell forward, tripping on a rock, and the frog bounced away, croaking the whole time. Kaori laughed, coming over to where her son lay and she picked him up.

"I almost had him," Heero assured her, his expression serious.

"I saw," Kaori replied, smiling at him. She kissed his forehead and then readjusted him in her arms. "Goodness, you're getting so big!" She glanced over her shoulder, looking at Zuko, and handed Heero to him. "Feel how heavy your son is getting!"

Zuko smiled and raised his eyebrows, carefully considering this and then nodding at Heero, who waited anxiously for an answer. "Very heavy; I'd swear you've gained a few pounds in just a day,"

Heero grinned widely. "It's because I'm strong! I'm a warrior!"

Kaori laughed and sat down next to a small, wooden stroller where Jin lay asleep, her eyes still a mystery to the world. "You are a warrior!" she exclaimed, laughing again as she watched Heero, now on the ground, roll around, punching into the air.

"Will you spar with me?" Heero asked Zuko, tugging on his shirt. "Please, please, please, pretty, pretty please,"

With a glance over at Kaori, who shrugged her shoulders, Zuko relented. "Just for a little…" he said at last, smiling at Heero's whoops of joy. Being a father had been easier than he thought it would have been- he knew exactly how not to be. With Heero, he tried to be fair and strict, yet he let his son know that he loved him. Heero, Kaori, Jin- they were his life, 100%. He needed them, would protect them with his own life, a dedication his father had seemed to lack.

Kaori watched the two men in her life, laughing when Heero would make a face at Zuko. Heero…he had grown so much, and yet his heart was still gold. He was such a strong willed boy, stubborn at times, but what boy wasn't? She knew that it bothered him though that he had shown no signs of being an air bender or a fire bender, a quiet shock that had come to the village. Still, what Heero lacked in bending, he made up for in courage.

"Kaori?"

Rather startled, Kaori turned around, smiling when she saw that it was just her friend. "Aliruko," she said, waving the girl forward. "Come, sit with me, I'm just watching two children-" she emphasized children with a giggle, "at play"

Aliruko stepped forward slowly, and Kaori frowned, noticing how the girl's hands were shaking. "Aliruko…" she muttered. "What's…what's the matter?"

Aliruko stood before her friend, fear in her eyes. "I…I need to tell you something…because you are my best friend…something that is-"

A cry from Jin cut her off and Kaori winced apologetically. She picked up the baby, shushing her and rocking her in her arms. Smiling down at Jin, Kaori then looked at Aliruko, who stared at the child with a new terror in her eyes- a terror that Kaori knew nothing of.

"What were you saying, Aliruko?" Kaori asked, her eyes bright with concern and worry.

Aliruko took a step back, looking at Jin and then at Heero, then finally, letting her eyes rest upon Kaori. She swallowed hard, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Nothing," she said at last. "Nothing important, it can wait,"

She turned quickly, leaving Kaori confused where she sat. She crumpled the letter in her hands quickly, throwing it into a pond that she passed by. The ink ran off the page, turning it into nothing but smears, completely unreadable.

Tragedies happened, Aliruko thought to herself, but if she could save the children, then it would be alright.

Even if it cost her friend everything she loved.