**Note from author: Hello, everybody! Sorry this one took a bit, but I've been packing for my mission and whatnot. Anyway, please review! Not gonna lie, mildly discouraged by the lack thereof at this point. A big thanks, though, to everyone who decided to read this far and/or followed my first fanfic. I might be off the grid for a while, so don't expect another update in under a week. Enough of my big mouth, ENJOY!

"I grabbed the smallest one I could find, but I'm still not sure that it will fit."

I snapped to attentiveness in my cell. Shun had been gone for almost six hours; I'd expected him to take only three at the most. After I'd told him the plan for our "escape," he'd practically run out of the brig in his eagerness, promising to be back soon. "Where were you?" I hissed, jumping to my feet and making my chains rattle loudly.

"Keep your cuffs on. I had to wait for the guard shift to change, then I had to wait for one of the hold guards to take a bathroom break." Shun hefted the sack he carried over his left shoulder. "They'd never have let me in here alone, and especially not with this. We'll have to get past them somehow when we leave."

"Leave that to me," I said fiercely. I made "gimme gimme" motions with one hand. "Do you know how long I've been wearing this pair of pants? It's time for a wardrobe change."

Shun dug around in the sack and threw me a bundle of cloth. "Keep it down, will you?" he griped. "This place isn't soundproof." He unlocked my cell and stepped in with me. "I can't believe I'm actually doing this," he muttered, and he only hesitated a moment before he undid the cuffs on my wrists and ankles.

I took a moment to savor the feeling. "Free," I whispered, tracing the red arrow down my arm to my grimy, unencumbered wrist and flexing my hand back and forth. "I'll be damn."

"You're not free yet," Shun reminded me. "Turn around and let me see if I've got the key for those bands."

I snorted. "You don't," I replied, my tone turning bitter for a moment. "I've worn them for a hundred years; some idiot sage's idea of protection from 'the spirit within.' The key is long gone, probably forgotten in some ancient prison." I waved him away. "I'd feel weird without them, anyway. Come on, help me into this thing."

Thankfully, I was quite big for a twelve-year-old, and the firebender uniform that Shun had procured fit with only a few minor adjustments. It was a bit of a struggle to put on the small shirt over my iron bands, but I managed to stretch out the loose gray material a little. Next came the gray pants, red leather bracers, and the black boots with the upturned toes that I'd always found more than a little silly. Shun helped me strap on my kilt-like red leather thigh panels, as well as my steel breastplate and shoulder plates - painted red, of course. I was beginning to see a pattern.

"Don't forget your helmet." Shun tossed me the infamous firebender helmet. I caught it by the flaring red spikes and turned it around to look at it. The skull-like faceplate stared blankly up at me, and I thought of all the fear and pain the face represented. How many villages burned, how many families broken, how many lives taken by someone wearing this very helmet? It was a symbol of hatred, oppression, and violence of the worst kind. I frowned unconsciously, and was tempted to throw the cursed thing away.

"What are you waiting for?" Shun pushed, looking up from his own engineer's uniform. "Nothing," I lied, pulling on the helmet and sliding the faceplate into place. "How was most of the known world conquered by people wearing this damn thing?" I wondered aloud, peering around the room. "I can barely see!"

"Whine, whine, whine," Shun muttered under his breath, then spoke up, "Remember, people are going to react to you differently. In the Fire Nation, all firebenders are officers of one kind or another; the enlisted will probably try to stay out of your way as much as possible. I got you an army lieutenant's uniform, so you won't be expected to do much unless we get attacked. Just don't talk or get in anyone's way, and you'll be fine.

"If I'm an officer, that means I'm technically your superior." I grinned inside my helmet. "'Go swab the deck before I report you to Commander Zhao!' Sound familiar?"

Shun gave me a withering look. "Engineers don't swab decks, Lieutenant," he said as he pulled on a pair of thick leather pants and gloves. I smirked and pulled out my faceplate, looking at him with interest. Despite our friendship, I'd never seen him out of uniform; he'd never even taken off his helmet in front of me. He was pulling back a head of unruly blond hair into a simple topknot. His face was boyishly innocent, but there was an air about him that suggested an inner steel. Stripped to the waist with a wide pad over one shoulder to hold up his trousers, he looked weirdly like I had as a prisoner. Lastly, he slung a bag of tools on one hip and pulled on a full-face gas mask. "Done. Let's go," he said, voice muffled behind the rubber seal.

Replacing my faceplate and pulling on a pair of gloves to hide my arrows, I followed Shun up the hallway, getting used to the feel of my new outfit. Despite the upturned toes, the boots were surprisingly comfortable, and I didn't have as much trouble seeing out of my helmet as I'd anticipated. Creeping up to the door, Shun peered through the small porthole in the steel, then looked back at me and lifted two fingers, pointing at either side of the door. Two guards, one on each side.

I nodded my understanding and sidled up next to Shun. On my signal, he yanked it open. I took a split second to orient myself to my adversaries' bodies, then my fists shot out and hit each man in the spine, neck, and skull with two knuckles in quick succession. They crumpled forward soundlessly, dropping to the floor like two sacks of potatoes. "What should we do with them?" I asked. "We can't just leave them sprawled out here for someone to see."

"Wow, you weren't kidding. Remind me not to piss you off," Shun said, stunned at my prowess for a moment. Then he shook himself. "I think your cell is quite accommodating," he suggested. "Nice work, by the way."

We gifted my former prison with its new inmates, then hurried on our way. Shun led me through a maze of metal corridors, various fat pipes and cables running over our heads like the veins of some great beast. We clambered down three decks and soon came upon a thick steel portal. "This is the cargo bay. I'd set you up in the firebenders' quarters, but they'd quickly notice an extra guy, especially when they find out you don't have a bunk." He chuckled, probably at some internal Fire Nation joke I didn't understand, then gestured at the door before us. "The cargo bay is the perfect place for you to stay. Nobody goes inside unless we're loading or unloading." He pulled open the door and ushered me inside.

"So I'm just going to sit in here until we make landfall?" I asked doubtfully. Wooden crates, barrels, and boxes of various sizes packed the giant space, but I was sure there were nooks and crannies that I could occupy if someone ever happened to pop in. On the upside, there were endless places to sit down.

Shun considered my question. "If it were up to me, I'd stay in here as much as possible. But knowing you," he sighed, "that's not an option, so I guess this is simply someplace for you to hide out until I can get you off the ship. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid when you're wandering around."

I raised my right hand and swore. "Prisoner's honor."

Shun was inscrutable behind his engineer's mask, but I swore I detected a trace of sardonic humor in his reply. "Right. Anyway, make yourself at home. I have to get below before someone starts wondering why there's an engineer away from his engine." With that, he slipped out the door, leaving me with my boxes.

The next few days were rather eventful, to say the least. I spent most of my time patrolling the decks, trying to familiarize myself with the layout of the ship in case I ended up spending more time on board than I anticipated. Despite the size of the vessel, the pattern of halls, stairways, and hatches was fairly straightforward.

I was rarely alone, however; there was always another pair of off-duty sailors strolling aimlessly, another group of soldiers hurrying from one training to the next. Even when I passed groups of other firebenders, they just nodded to me and went about their business. Judging from the number of men on the ship, I suspected that we were carrying a full contingent of Fire Nation soldiers. For what, I had no idea; with his powerful prisoner suddenly "gone," I doubted Zhao would follow through with an attack on the fortress-city Omashu, no matter how many men he had on his ship.

I also dedicated hours every day to building my body back up. Being chained hand and foot for upwards of two years, while perfect for mental calisthenics, had done little to improve my physical condition, and I refused to go back to prison because I couldn't out-muscle one measly Fire Nation soldier or two. It was discouraging work; much like the Agni Kai, my muscles began to ache and tremble with even the simplest of exercises or stretches. I also worked on more active firebending techniques - I'd mastered the more "passive" art of sparks and heat transfer, as well as the breath of fire - trying to find a happy medium between an airbender's acrobatic agility and a firebender's straightforward thrusts and spins. It's a wonder I didn't set half the cargo boxes on fire.

I toured several areas of the ship, taking my time to note where on which deck each one was located. I quickly found the galley by following my nose (thank the spirits; I was almost constantly famished). I also explored the long, tall chamber that housed all of the catapults and their ammo, tar-covered boulders nearly the height of a man; I had to fight the urge to set the whole ship alight right then and there, but in the end, my self-preservation won out. The armory was a little trickier to find, but I wanted to make sure I knew where all the weapons were stored in case of emergency. Once, while taking a meal in the chow hall, I was nearly knocked down by an over-eager firebender that insisted I was going to be late for a "mandatory firebender sexual harassment briefing." I'd had a heck of a time talking my way out of that one.

What entertained me the most, though, was anything related to my sudden, mysterious disappearance. Against all odds, I managed to sneak into Zhao's personal interrogation of the two guards I incapacitated. As I'd expected, Zhao was beyond furious; if his voice once dipped below a shout, then I was a scrambled platypus-bear egg. I was holding back childish giggles the whole time. The two guards swore they didn't know a thing about it, and Shun was reported missing soon after, further enraging Zhao. The most popular explanation was rather disturbing, though: that Shun, out of a twisted sense of revenge against Zhao for his threat, had set me free, and that I'd killed him in a spirit rage before cutting off the bands on my chest and escaping into the spirit world. Zhao proudly refused to start a search for us, saying that Shun was a "worthless traitor scum," and that I was a "useless hybrid freak, anyway."

I didn't see much of Shun, unfortunately. I did manage to find the engine room, boiler room, and engineers' quarters, but they were always too busy to say more than a few words. I tried to steer clear of asking around too much, to avoid arousing suspicion, but there was no way I was going to find Shun just by looking around: all the engineers looked alike, from their faintly odd gas masks to their waist-mounted bags of tools and plans. He did finally catch me while I was napping in the cargo hold.

"I can't stay long," he told me, unbuckling his mask. There was a red line all around his face from the mask's seal, and he blinked a few times. "Phew. That's better."

I hopped off my box and sauntered over to greet him. "Shun! You are still alive! How goes the engineering?"

"Actually, I'm learning a lot about how the ship works," he told me, his face lighting up. "Did you know the bow hull is nearly a foot thick? It's for breaking through ice at the Poles. And the engineers are really a close-knit bunch of guys. I think you'd like it."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Shoveling coal into a furnace all day in the bowels of Zhao's warship?" Shun looked vaguely insulted, so I added, "Sounds like fun!"

"I do more than shovel coal, thank you very much," he said indignantly. "I also make sure the steam pressure in the boiler doesn't blow the ship up, and I make sure there's nothing that could present a fall or trip hazard."

"That sounds suspiciously like swabbing the deck in the engine room," I teased. "So what's new?"

Shun turned serious. "How are you doing? To be honest, I was a bit worried about leaving you on your own."

"I'm almost ninety years your senior, remember?" I laughed. "I know how to take care of myself when I'm not wearing chains. I've been exploring the ship!" Hopping up onto a nearby crate and patting the spot beside me, I told him all about my adventures on the ship. "You should have seen Zhao," I chuckled. "He was so mad I thought his mutton chops were going to explode. He nearly burned down his own office!"

"So he's not looking for us anymore?" Shun clarified happily. "That's a load off my chest."

"Yup! So all we have to do is hide out until we make land, then either swipe a spare steamer or wait until we dock to slip away." I rubbed my hands together gleefully; I could almost taste my freedom. 'And after that, all we have to do is follow any reports of the Avatar!' I realized that my plan for catching up to Aang was far from perfect, but it was all I had to go on at this point. 'Which reminds me…'

"Have you thought about what you'll do after we get away from Zhao?" I asked, eyeing Shun from the corner of my eye. "Will you come with me to help the Avatar?"

He looked momentarily bemused by my abrupt line of questioning, but he shook his head slowly. I was suddenly worried that that meant no - I was far from ready to lose my best (and only) friend - but he spoke up, saying, "I've tried not to think about it, actually. I'm trying to focus on what I'm doing at the moment."

I was secretly relieved, but I played it off. "My word, Shun. You've become a wise old engineer while I was away," I joked.

He laughed. "Didn't you just get done telling me that you're the old-timer?"

"So I did. You're a clever one!"

He sobered again. "Unfortunately, it might not be as simple as just walking off the ship with the rest of the crew. From the rumors going 'round the boiler room, Zhao is still on course for the Earth Kingdom. We passed into their waters yesterday."

"What?!"

"Word is that some general ordered Commander Zhao to support the assault on Omashu nearly two weeks ago," Shun informed me apologetically. "We were always headed for the city; Zhao was furious when he got the message. It was right when he learned that Prince Zuko had encountered the Avatar. Apparently, he found a clever way to satisfy both his orders and his own personal mission."

"But I'm not there to lead his army anymore…" I trailed off, taking in the fullness of Shun's words. "With or without you, he still has to send men to attack the city," Shun explained, saying what I already knew.

"Great. Fuckin' great." I continued to swear, colorfully and with great vigor, until Shun put a hand on my arm. "Easy there. Don't hurt yourself."

"This is no time for jokes!" I yelled. "How long do we have until we get to Omashu?"

"I don't know," Shun admitted. "I'm an engineer, not the helmsman."

I gritted my teeth. "It's okay," I breathed slowly, trying to convince myself more than Shun. "Engineers don't fight, so you're fine. I'll just have to hide in here-"

"No good," Shun interrupted. "This is where most of the siege gear is. It'll be impossible to go undetected here once we land."

"Then I'll find somewhere else," I snapped. "Or I'll just slip away in the confusion of disembarking. Either way, we'll be long gone before the army makes it anywhere close to Omashu." I resisted the urge to pace or blow up a box.

"Relax, Dao. It'll be fine," Shun reassured me. But I wasn't so sure. Would I be able to escape undetected from a harbor filled with a full siege complement of Fire Nation troops? And what about Shun? Someone was bound to find it rather suspicious if a solitary engineer was seen roaming the camp.

"I'd best get back to work," Shun sighed, heading for the door. "Do me a favor and try not to go looking for trouble, okay?"

"I don't look for it, it just finds me," I muttered, never too troubled to be a smartass.

Shun made a sound somewhere between a snort and a chuckle, then slipped out. I waited a few minutes, then popped on my helmet and followed him. I figured a few laps around the ship and a breath of fresh air would help me think of a solution to this new problem.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I'd just made it onto the stern deck and was standing at the railing, having discreetly removed my faceplate to enjoy the breeze, when I heard a voice bellowing at me. I quickly slid my faceplate in and spun around to see a firebender striding toward me purposefully. Being fairly unfamiliar with officer ranks, I fidgeted nervously, unsure of whether to act submissive or authoritative.

"What are you doing lounging around the stern?" the firebender demanded through his faceplate, and I deduced from his tone that I was wearing the lower-ranking prisoner disguise. I stood up straight in what I hoped was a good approximation of attention. "Sir?" I offered haltingly.

"Don't 'sir,' me," the bigger man snapped. He stopped in front of me, tilted his head, and gave me a once-over. "Say, aren't you a little short for a firebender?" he wondered suspiciously.

"Uh… Um, I'm just here to set things on fire, sir," I intoned, deepening my voice and standing up a little taller, trying to project a confidence I didn't feel. I wasn't at all comfortable with this "disguise myself and pretend I'm a ruthless killer" business; I'd much rather have just knocked this guy out and threw him over the side, but I knew that'd just lead to more trouble in the end. So I tried to keep calm while I sweated buckets inside my stolen uniform.

The soldier gave a bark of laughter that nearly had me jumping out of my pointy-toed boots. "Not to worry, Lieutenant," he assured me, "there'll be plenty of things to burn where we're going."

'Speak for yourself,' I thought fiercely. 'I'll be long gone by the time you get anywhere the city.'

"Come with me," the firebender ordered, getting back to business. "With an attitude like that, I know just where you belong." He made his way back to the hatch at the rear of the command tower, and I had no choice but to follow him. As I did, I got a glimpse in the distance that chilled my blood: land, and it was much, much closer than I would have liked. A collection of mountains stretched away into the distance, the nearest one squatting contentedly on a short, thick peninsula of land like a badger-frog. We were close enough that I could see the snow-line at their peaks. I was pulled belowdecks before I could see anything else.

"Quit dragging your feet," the firebender grumbled, letting go of me and setting off. Again, with just the two of us making our way through the hallways of the ship, I considered putting him to sleep for a little while and dashing back to my cozy cargo hold. But every few seconds I heard multiple sets of feet tromping purposefully through the ship, and I decided that the risk of getting caught was too high; after all, fighting a whole shipful of Fire Nation soldiers in an enclosed space with nothing but my fists and bending after being out of prison for less than four days wasn't at the top of my priority list.

So I followed the man through the corridors and down multiple stairwells for nearly ten minutes, heading for the bow, until he finally came to a stop in an area I didn't recognize. "Now, which one is…" he muttered, peering at a few doors before finding the one he wanted and yanking it open. Without warning, he shoved me inside.

I stumbled a step or two into the massive room, then quickly recovered and snapped to rigid, nervous attention. I was standing stupidly in front of three full platoons of firebenders, with five platoons of regular foot soldiers behind them. Professional to the last, only a few heads turned to look at me before raised voices ordered their eyes back to the front. I resisted the urge to wave cheekily in lieu of anything else.

Some officer in front of the whole shebang frowned so severely I thought the tendons in his neck would snap. "What is the meaning of this interruption?" he spluttered angrily.

Behind me, my firebender escort saluted the man. "I found him wandering around on the deck, sir," he reported. "Apparently he was so eager to get to work, he decided to skip formation."

The angry officer, who I decided might be a major, also appeared to see a measure of humor in this. "Well then I guess it's his lucky day then, isn't it?" he rumbled. He jerked his head toward the rows of men behind him. "Fall in!" he shouted in my faceplate.

Whatever that meant, he didn't need to tell me twice. I made my way to the very rear of the room, trying my best not to look too eager or reluctant. As the major stomped back to center stage, I noticed for the first time the giant map on the wall behind him. After studying it for a few minutes, I finally recognized it as Omashu and the surrounding area, which looked to be nothing but mountains and smaller mountains posing as hills.

Over the next few hours, my stomach slowly shriveled, crept up my esophagus, and tried to escape through my mouth as I listened with horrified ears to the war briefing the major gave. Most of the technicalities and particulars escaped me with room to spare, but I picked up the general gist. Commander Zhao's ship was ferrying a full Fire Nation battalion to Omashu, nearly seven hundred men. Five more of Zhao's ships were close behind us, filled to the brim with eager Fire Nation warriors. Once he landed at a previously-secured beachhead, Zhao was to immediately dispatch his full compliment of troops to Omashu, a march of only a few hours. Other Fire Nation forces were en route to support his effort, and the first reinforcements were less than a day behind. To make matters worse, my "adopted" company was to lead the assault on Omashu itself. I gulped nervously more than once during the briefing, hoping no one could hear my Adam's apple bobbing.

I elbowed a regular foot soldier next to me, making his armor plates rattle faintly against each other. "So how long until we get off this damn ship and get to crushing some earthbender scum?" I asked jauntily. I figured sticking to my crazy, overeager, psychopathic firebender persona would be my best chance of gaining these monsters' trust until I could slip away after the major was finished prattling about how best to kill Earth Kingdom soldiers and conquering a peaceful city.

The man managed to look at me like I was an idiot and his respected superior at the same time. "In about ten minutes," he said gruffly.

I was glad my skull faceplate hid the blood draining from my face. "Ah," I answered weakly. "Thanks." I turned back to face the front. 'Ten minutes to get out of here. I've had worse odds, right?' I forced myself to relax, taking long, slow breaths. Even if I couldn't get away before we docked, I could still grab Shun and disappear while everyone else was busy unloading the ship. Hopefully.

Up front, the major had apparently finished his lecture, as uproarious applause and impassioned, eager war cries filled the air. The major accepted it with a modest bow, then indicated for the noise to cease. "Right face!" he thundered, and the entire room, more than seven hundred individuals, turned to the right. I hoped I didn't look too out of place as I hurriedly twisted my body in the same direction, keeping an eye out for a convenient opportunity to escape.

Unfortunately, that opportunity never came, as someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around smartly, intending to play my part and give some low-ranking non-bender a piece of my mind, but my voice died in my throat as I clapped eyes on the major. Behind him, two big firebenders stood as silent as ghosts.

"At ease," he told me testily, as if he could sense that I didn't know how to stand properly, anyway. "What's your name, Lieutenant?"

"My name?" I repeated dumbly. "Uh, let's go with Kuzon. I mean, it's Kuzon. Sir." The name just kind of slipped out before I could stop it. But as soon as I'd uttered it, a little warmth blossomed in my chest, just a quick flare of recognition, and the name suddenly felt right, somehow. "Lieutenant Kuzon, sir," I said again.

If the major suspected I was lying, he didn't show it. "Well, Lieutenant Kuzon," he sniffed, "I appreciate your eagerness, but I can't have my firebenders just wandering off whenever they feel like. From now on, you'll be escorted everywhere by Lieutenants Kiko and Zophan."

"Really, sir, that won't be necessary. I can-"

The major, still red from the climax of his pep talk, grew a shade redder. "That was an order, Lieutenant!" he snapped. "These men are here to keep an eye on you; you are not to leave their company for any reason until you report directly to me after Omashu is secured! Is that understood?"

There was nothing I could say except, "Yes, sir." I watched miserably as he strode away, leaving me with the two impassive firebenders. 'Fucking fantastic,' I thought, turning away in disgust, all too aware of the men flanking me. 'Now I'll have these two idiots looking over my shoulder all the time.' Chi coursed angrily down my arm, and I clenched my fist before a mess of sparks could cascade off my fingertips.

For the next ten minutes, I could only stand in silence, listening to the occasional steel groan of the ship around us. At one point, someone shouted, "Brace!" just before the ship lurched forward drunkenly, presumably as the ship cut speed to come into harbor. With a hiss that nearly deafened me, the entire wall at the far end of what I realized was a staging area fell forward, letting the strong, clean light of dawn stream into the ship. Taking a deep breath of sunlight-infused air, I reveled for just a moment in the purity and power of the sun, feeling it course through my veins and lift my spirits. 'I rise with the sun,' I reminded myself. 'I'll figure something out, one way or another.' It was a small measure of hope, but it was hope nonetheless.

With nowhere else to go, I followed the other firebenders when the order came to move out. I marched down the great forward ramp directly onto the sand, taking in the sights for a moment. The same mountains I'd seen earlier loomed over the sizeable Fire Nation harbor we were docked in, heavy and foreboding now with their caps of snow and impassive cliffs. Down the beach, other ships were disgorging streams of troops and fierce komodo-rhino cavalry; I even spied a platoon of great metal contraptions I'd never seen before that rumbled across the beach on four thick iron wheels. Far in the distance, peaking over a jagged ridge of stone, sat the great city of Omashu; ringed by three sets of thick stone walls, it was second in might only to the Earth Kingdom capital itself. Squinting, I knew that it unfortunately wouldn't take long at all to get to the city's doorstep. Knowing that I'd be practically leading the way didn't do anything to alleviate my apprehension.

I received an unexpected poke in the back. On reflex, I seized the offending digit and spun around, ready to rip it off with the slightest provocation. My other hand balled into a fist, my first two knuckles protruding slightly.

"Ow! Unnngh, hey!" the lieutenant grunted in pain, his arm twisted at an awkward angle. "Let go!"

I released him, and he cradled the digit next to his chest for a moment, wiggling it experimentally. "A little tense, aren't we?" he asked tersely. "Come on, we need to get moving." He nodded toward the lines of Fire Nation troops already lining up for the long road to Omashu.

I nodded and followed the two to a spot near the head of the column, where only other firebenders were gathering. I noticed something suddenly and asked, "Hey, where are our weapons?"

The other lieutenant - Zophan, I think - laughed harshly. "Right here," he sneered behind his ghastly mask. He raised his bare fists, which caught suddenly alight with a whoosh. With a yell, he thrust a fireball into the sand, blackening the spot. "These are the real weapons, greenie," he bragged, winking at me.

"Only peasants and non-benders have to use clumsy spears or swords," Kiko agreed. "Fire is all we need, right?" he elbowed me, hard.

"Hell yeah!" I shouted with false enthusiasm. No wonder most firebenders were such assholes; they'd been born thinking they were naturally superior than everyone else.

The two men laughed again, told me to shut up, and waved me onward. I followed reluctantly, sweeping the area quickly in the hope of finding an easy escape route, then trudged after them, not bothering to try and get in step with the rest of the firebenders.

It was going to be a long walk.

As usual, I was right: it was a long, boring, rough, exhausting walk. The Fire Nation rolled like a plague over the land, happily ferrying pain and suffering toward Omashu, and I was stuck right in the middle of them. I walked with my head hung tiredly, concentrating on not tripping on the rough, uneven roads that the Earth Kingdom apparently favored. Every so often, I'd look up to see Omashu getting closer and closer.

After a while, we were ordered out of formation; apparently, the risk of attacks from earthbender scouts was too high for us to march in close ranks. Instead, we broke into loose groups of ten or twelve firebenders each and continued the march. Most groups stayed on the road, within easy earshot, but some ranged so far afield that I lost sight of them. I tried to slip away while Kiko and Zophan were distracted, but they saw me at the last moment and pulled me back into their team.

Around midday, the whole column stopped for a quick break at the bottom of a large, craggy hill. Spots of snow still sparkled here and there in the sunlight, reminding me that, even though I was no longer in the bitter cold of the South Pole that I had grown used to, it was still winter.

As rations were passed around, I eyeballed the top of the hill. Turning to my two escorts, I pointed. "Hey, do you guys mind if I go up there for a quick look?"

"Right now?" Zophan grumbled, taking off his faceplate and revealing a face with surprisingly sharp features. "I just sat down!"

"I meant by myself," I spelled out for him. Kiko squinted at me, then at the top of the hill. "It's right there; I'll stay in sight," I promised him. He grunted and made a shooing motion.

'I can't believe they bought that!' I thought, scrambling elatedly up the hill. 'Aang, here I come!' I made the summit easily, but what I saw stopped me in my tracks. Any notion of getting away was washed from my brain as I tried to contemplate what I saw.

The formidable fortress-city of Omashu was spread out proudly in front of me, perched like a confident hawk on a pinnacle of stone that rose mysteriously out of the mist. Four distinct pyramids of stone soared up from behind the thick stone walls, each one taller than the last. Even from this distance, I could see the legendary chutes and tubes of the Omashu mail system. The great palace was set solidly on the point of the highest stone hill, seemingly holding court over the whole city. A thin streamer of stone led to a point on the walls: the road we were currently following. There were several of the rolling metal boxes I'd seen at the beach dug into temporary positions on the road, with balls of flaming pitch ready in spring-loaded baskets on either side of the iron body. Already, smoke was rising from several areas of the Earth Kingdom; I could hear the occasional cry carried to me on the wind.

But for all its war-torn splendor, the city itself wasn't what had drawn my attention. Rather, it was the smooth-edged opening where the road terminated, the neat gap in the impenetrable walls: the open, inviting gates of Omashu.

**Note from author: I'm sorry if you don't exactly get the sexual harassment brief joke; it's kind of a military thing, but I just couldn't resist putting it in there.