Alright here's the next chapter.

BTW: When the Blue Spirit and Katara talk they're still using their code I'm just to lazy to write it all out….

Disclaimer: Oh, and I finally own Avatar the Last Airbender!! NOT.

"And no matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are…" She said to her son before giving him one last hug and departing from the place that she had called home for so long. She ran down the long, metal corridors, making sure to keep out of sight of the maids and her family members.

Blood had stained her clothes. She smelt of a mixture of her perfume, lilacs, and the iron that ran in the crimson liquid that she had to wash off her arms. Her hands and legs were shaking as she continued to walk.

I did for my son, was all she thought as she heard the muffled screams in the distance signaling that someone had found the dead Fire Lord.

The gate came into view and she quickly ran out of the palace, beyond the courtyard, and out of the home, leaving her son behind.

……………………………………………………

Au awoke in a cold sweat. She had thought about her again. Her, the person she thought she had abandoned a long time ago.

She hadn't had dreams about her in a long time. Why would she start having them now? It was all very strange.

She lay back down, resting her head on her cloak until she heard something else. Someone was talking and she sounded very familiar. Au got up and walked to the door trying to catch a glimpse of the person that she thought she recognized.

And her eyes widened. It was the next house over; she could see Iroh from his backside and he was staring at someone else, a woman with bright blue eyes.

Au knew who it was immediately. It was someone she thought died a long time ago. And with her realization, Iroh seemed to come out of whatever trance he was in.

She heard him yell, "Lien!" And they hugged. Lien had her eyes closed and when she opened them they locked with Au's. Au nodded her head and then walked back inside her the house that she was staying. She fell back on the ground and closed her eyes once more.

Maybe this time, she'll be blessed by seeing the good moments of her son, not the time that she left and made him into someone that she so truly did not want him to be.

From all the people that loved him, hated him, he chose his sister. Why would he do that? Didn't she raise him better? Why? Why?

……………………………………………………

"LIEN!!" Iroh yelled. He wrapped to arms around him. Lien wrapped her arms around the middle of his back and couldn't help herself but to smile. And then she saw someone. In the moonlight, she liked like Ursa. She saw the woman smile and go back inside the house that she must have been staying at.

Her attention was drawn back to the man that had been embracing her when he asked her, "What happened? I thought you were dead! Lien…"

He touched her face and stroked her cheek. "Iroh," Lien said removing his finger from her face. "Where is Lu Ten?"

He broke eye contact. "Lien, he—he died at the battle of Ba Sing Se a very long time ago after you left."

The old woman gasped, bringing her wrinkled fingers to her lips. She sat down on the dirt. Iroh sat down beside her, not noticing the two other people standing there behind her.

Lien felt her fingers being taken and then she looked up to see Iroh in tears. "Even if for just a moment," he started. "I prayed that I would get to see your face one more time, my beloved Lien." She smiled slightly. "And now that I have, I can tell you the truth. I'm never became Fire Lord, our son died in the war, and now I'm traveling with the Avatar to help him defeat Oazi."

The woman's smile became wider. "Iroh, you sure have changed since the first time I laid eyes on you." She wiped one of his tears away. "But yet, you're exactly the same. Your favorite tea, is still Ginseng, am I right?"

"Yes," the retired general replied. And then he pulled her into another tight embrace. His beloved Lien….She was still alive after all.

……………………………………………………

At breakfast time the next morning, everyone was rather shocked to see that one, Iroh's wife was still alive, and two that Pakku had been in jail and Lien, Iroh's wife, had rescued him.

The girl, known as Song stayed quiet through the meal passing questioning glances at Iroh. I know that he's Li's uncle, she thought. But they were calling him Iroh, a man of the Fire Nation. Could it be true?

"Song," a voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked over to a girl that called herself Suki. "Do you want to change into something more comfortable? Your clothes don't look very comfortable. Especially in this weather, you've gotta be hot."

Song looked at the girl confused for quite some time before she looked down at her peach and pink colored hanbok. She suddenly felt very protective of it. Her mother had made this for her….She didn't even know were her mother was now.

But it was hot out.

She looked back at the girl that had been waiting an answer for quite some time now and she said, "Sure."

Suki dug through one of the Avatar's many belongings before handing her a pair of ragged green pants and a dirty light pink shirt. "Sorry," Suki said, "they're kinda dirty. But it's gotta be better than that." She pointed to Song's outfit.

The young girl only nodded, took the clothes, found a place to change, and changed she did. At once she felt much cooler and a lot better.

"When will we head out?" Haru asked after breakfast had been passed out to all the rebels and Song had sat back down in their circle.

"We need to head out as soon as breakfast is done," Sokka replied looking over to the earthbender that he had met a long time ago, "if we're gonna reach there by nightfall, that is."

Haru nodded slightly before continuing to pack up his things stuffing them into a small bag that he had brought.

Later, after they had started walking Sokka approached Song. "Hey," he said flirtatiously. Suki rolled her eyes.

She smiled up at him. "Hello," she replied.

"So, you're name is Song, huh?" he asked. She nodded. "That's a nice name. Why were you with Master Change–His–Ways and Missing Wife?"

"I stood up for the Avatar at a meeting that the Fire Nation Princess held with Ba Sing Se. Two Dai Lee officers took me away to jail that Lady Lien and Master Pakku were also at. They saved me before we met you."

Sokka looked ahead, lifting his head slightly, showing that he understood. Song followed suit and the two stayed quiet for a while.

"Aang," Katara said picking up her pace a bit to keep up with the Avatar who had been walking ahead of everyone.

He turned around and smiling, he said, "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to practice waterbending a little later on tonight. We haven't practiced in a while."

"Sure, Katara," he said smiling. "I wouldn't want to forget waterbending too." He giggled at his own joke and Katara smiled softly. Good, she thought. Then the whole "can't remember anything" thing isn't totally depressing him.

"Alright, then it's a date," she said clasping her hands together. She turned around and headed off, probably to Suki to talk about whatever it was girls talked about. Aang glanced back to the master waterbender and smile slightly.

"It seems that you don't like Sugar Queen anymore than a friend now," Toph hissed walking up behind him.

He jumped slightly and then looked down at the earthbender just a few feet behind him. "Toph," he said. "Since I've lost my memories…a lot of things have changed." He smiled again as Toph looked at him suspiciously.

……………………………………………………

Sunset was always beautiful, in Suki's opinion. Sometimes the day just seemed too bright, and at night it was too dark. But at sunset a calming peace washed over her like rain; it was the best time of rain.

This day the sunset was magnificent. A bright orange sun filled the whole western sky; pink and purple clouds like streamers in a party. Suki closed her eyes and felt the breeze pick up slightly.

And then she heard shoes crunching on the ground. She turned her head slightly to see Sokka, of all people, coming to sit down beside.

When he did she mumbled, "Flirter."

He laughed. "What? I wanted to make her feel welcome! Is that such a crime?" She shot him a yes–is–it–crime look. He shook his head and directed his attention back to the sunset.

"I always loved the sunset," Suki said suddenly.

"Really? I always thought you were a day person."

"Nah, the day can be too…what's the word? Bright? And the night is always so dark. And sunset everything is peaceful. Sometimes I picture my mom as the sunset. She was always so peaceful."

Sokka looked over to her, rather shocked. He had never heard her talk about any of her family members before. "What was your mom like?" he asked curiously.

Suddenly Suki had this faraway look. "She was beautiful for one thing. She had beautiful long hair. When I was younger I promised to let my hair grow out just as long as her's."

"What happened?"

"Well, one, It was always full of tangles so I never got it long enough before I just wanted to cut it again. And a few years back, she died. I never grow my hair, as kinda a way to honor her….Sounds kinda dumb now that I think about it

"I always loved my mom. With all my heart, she was my greatest hero." Suki smiled slightly. "I hope I've made her proud." Her eyes were locked onto that sunset like a Water Tribe child's to a fresh pot of stewed sea prunes.

"I'm sure you have," Sokka said and he looked up at the sunset as well."

……………………………………………………

After dinner that night, Aang, Toph, Katara, Sokka, and Iroh walked to the first Fire Nation town. They were only a couple miles away from their campsite when Aang groggily looked toward the west and saw houses approaching.

"Look there it is!" Aang said realization setting in. "Come on guys! We gotta hurry!" The gang immediately started to sprint while Iroh continued to walk saying something about "being too old" or "to much of Suki's tea."

The gang ran ahead and when they reached the town they immediately saw people that they had only run into a few times before; people like Toph's parents; high class snobs.

They looked at the children, whose clothes were dirty and worn from their travels, with disapproval and stuck their noses higher in the air (if that was possible, in Toph's opinion, feeling the people's vibration stretch to their limit).

They all suddenly felt very small. Until they saw a boy about eight or so run out of an alleyway. He was small with black, ruffled hair and tattered clothing. He glanced at them, smiled and ran across the streets, dodging the traffic of people.

Katara sighed. "So, I hear there's a king of this town, who do you think it is?" she asked to no one in particular.

Toph shrugged. "Probably someone high and pompous like the rest of these people," she replied, rolling her eyes. Katara nodded agreeing.

"Maybe…" Aang trailed off suddenly recognizing this town. He ran ahead weaving through people like straw in a basket as his friends struggled to keep up with him.

"Aang!" Katara yelled extending her arm out to try and reach him. "Aang, where are we going? Aang!"

The Avatar didn't answer his friend's yells. He rounded a sharp corner and continued running, the nobility status of the town increasing also. He rounded one more corner, almost hitting an elderly woman in the process, and then approached a beautiful furnished house.

Unlike most places, this house had two stories and was made entirely of concrete that had the cleanest white Aang had ever seen. There were four windows in all: two on the first floor and two on the second floor. The door was a dark brown-violet color as were the window seals. It was a beautiful house.

And it was almost more familiar to Aang as his own room was. Inside, there was a beautiful set of furniture with chairs and couches. There was a dining room that had a table that sat at least twelve and two huge bedrooms upstairs.

He knew this place so well, for it had been like a second home to him. Aang cautiously approached the building and knocked on the door.

A young girl, about seven or so opened the door. She had black hair that fell past her shoulders. She was wearing a pink dress. "Can I help you?" she asked her hands planted firmly on the door.

"Yes," he said. "I was wondering if Kuzon still lived here."

"The king?" she replied. He nodded slightly. "Well," she replied digging her toe into the ground. "He"—

"Kai?" they heard a man shout from somewhere inside the house. A very old man, Bumi's age or so, walked to the door and put a hand on the little girl's shoulder. The man looked a lot like Aang remembered him to look like. Still had his amber eyes that had always frightened Aang a little. And he still had his small nose and creased mouth. It was Kuzon alright.

"Kai who was at the door?" the man asked not looking at Aang who was grinning as his friends finally reached him, bending over to catch their breath.

"The Avatar, grandpa," she said pointing to Aang's tattoo.

Aang could see the man's eyes widened as he looked up at Aang. The man straightened his back and took in the sight of the friend he hadn't seen in over a hundred.

"Kuzon," Aang started, scratching the back of his neck. "You're looking healthy for a hundred and twelve, almost thirteen, year old man."

The man that Aang had played with over a century ago leaned down and expected Aang carefully. "Aang?" he questioned. "Aang, is it really you?"

The Avatar nodded. "It's a long story….You see there was this storm and then I when I woke up I saw Katara…" He glanced at Kuzon and noticed that the old man was very close to tears.

"I thought….I thought you were dead. Aang," he replied.

Aang smiled. "A lot of people did and still do."

"Wha—what are you doing here?" he said as his granddaughter (or great granddaughter) skipped off, back into the house somewhere.

"I need your help," Aang confessed. "I know that you're Fire Nation and all…but on the day of black sun my friends, myself, and a huge rebel army are going to storm the Fire Nation palace and defeat the Fire Lord. We already have a lot of people, but we still need more.

"If you could get your people, King Kuzon, to help us fight and free the other Nations. Please help."

Aang looked back up at Kuzon. The man was greatly confused. He put his hand to his chin and thought for a while, occasionally passing glances at the young airbender who was waiting for his answer.

Then he smiled. "Of course I help you," he said. "Finally, gonna defeat the Fire Nation. It's time to do that."

……………………………………………………

Preparations for leaving the city began almost immediately. After every person in the rebel group had somewhere to stay that night, the next morning King Kuzon, personal friend of the Avatar, held a town meeting asking for volunteers for the Avatar and his rebel group.

Several people volunteered despite the doubts that Aang was having. They were all Fire Nation, after all. Why would they want to help the Avatar, who was trying to stop the Fire Lord? And then he realized that they only wanted to do it for the social status. Typical for higher classes of people; such as Toph's parents or Kuzon's had been.

The night after they had came to the Fire Nation city Katara walked through the streets seeing men and women pack their belongings, walking through their houses finding the last of their things.

She smiled at them. Besides the fact that Aang and Toph had to find the Guru to master the Avatar State everything seemed to be going according to Sokka's plan.

She heard slight tapping in one of the alleys. Katara looked down the place where she thought she heard the tapping. And she smiled. She saw the familiar mask of the one person that she had told herself to trust. It was the Blue Spirit.

Katara walked down the alley and she and the Blue Spirit slid their backs down the brick building and then sat in the dirt. The Blue Spirit picked up a stick and wrote in the sand:

Nice job at Ba Sing Se.

She smiled and wrote her answer:

I didn't see you there. Where have you been?

His reply:

Who's stalking who now?

She laughed out loud on his last remark, quickly replying that she was worried about him and that she wasn't stalking him.

Oh, well I had to help…my family at our farm.

Secret identity?

You could say that.

They were silent for a long time. And then, at the same moment, they both reached for the stick and their hands brushed over one another. Katara blushed and looked away while the Blue Spirit picked up the stick and handed it to her.

She took it smiling and wrote in the dirt:

Do you want to join our group?

His reply:

I like to help from the shadows.

She nodded not really needing to reply. They sat there awhile without writing, a comfortable silence coming down upon.

Soon the stars above them started to show and twinkle as the night finally approached.

Unexpectedly, Katara picked up the stick and wrote one more thing before telling him, out loud, that she needed to get back to her friends.

Thank you.

And she was gone.

……………………………………………………

Zuko lay in on top of the tarp staring up at the midnight stars. His hands were together and laying on top of his chest. He was in deep thought.

He pondered her last words before departing. Thank you. What could that mean? Thank you for what? Writing her?

Zuko wasn't sure what to answer to that. He brushed some of the longer locks of black out of his face. His hair had grown out a lot since the battle of Ba Sing Se. It was strange. Since he didn't have to put it back in a ponytail his scar wasn't that noticeable.

He smiled at the thought, closing his eyes a bit. Tiredness ran through him like water through a valley. He turned over on his side away from the fire and slowly drifted to sleep.

As he lay there, the same four spirits that had put the spell on the Blue Spirit mask appeared above him.

Love looked down on him and smiled. "It's working," she whispered. "He's starting to fall for that girl…"

Doubt nodded. "Though, I am doubtful that he will still choose her over his own family….He did, after all go to them and not her, even after she had almost healed his scar."

Love and Trust glared. Trust spoke, "You just wait, Doubt, I'm sure that he's close to knowing his crossroad like Iroh."

"And it's all up to him now," Hate said. He drifted down until he was by the Blue Spirit mask and he moved his right hand in a swift motion.

The mask slowly levitated and was illuminated by a white light. Together the four spirits said before going back to their realm, "May a man know his destiny, not by his honor or his pride, but by his heart. And nothing else."

And the white light grew increasingly bright and then disappeared in a flash, the spirits along with, as the blue mask fell by Zuko's side.

And there you go. R&R.