AUTHOR'S COMMENTS/NOTES

the story begins about one month after the prologue. Azula has had time to recover from her wounds, and has actually gotten better from her madness (or rather, I just can't write her as a crazy person very well), but isn't ALL back, just a enough that Zuko is willing to let her come with him.

Official pairings still stand, Zuko is married to Mai, and they have twins as well as a baby on the way. Sokka is married to Suki, but they have no children yet. Katara and Aang are getting married soon.

A lot of the characters have changed quite a bit from who they were 3 years ago.

Also, you know what would be wonderful, if the horrizontal rullers from my document actually carried over, Tabs would be nice too.

And now, without further ado.

Avatar: The Fifth Element

Book 1: Portents

Chapter 1

The massive airship descended onto the berthing platform as a crowd gathered. As the ramp extended, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and all the rest of the gang stepped forward to greet the first passenger off the Fire Nation Royal airship. As Zuko descended the ramp he yelled out to his friends. He shook Aang and Sokka's hands, then hugged Katara, Suki, and Toph.

"Its good to see you all again." he said happily to his friends.

"Hey, what about me!" Ty Lee shouted from the side as she ran up to the group. She did a flip and tackled Zuko in a great hug while he laughed.

"And you to, Ty Lee. All of you. Its been so long since we were all toge-..."

Katara gasped, and it seemed to spread across the group and into the crowd beyond. Zuko turned to see his sister walking down the ramp with her head hung low. The whispers spread amongst the crowd, and even his friends as she reached the end of the ramp. Azula raised her head to look at him, and he heard Ty Lee gasp again.

"Oh my gods..." Suki whispered in disbelief.

"What, what's so weird, its just Azu-..." Toph said, before being interrupted while Sokka whispered in her ear. Her face became surprised, and all she said was "Oh."

Azula was dressed in the hight of Fire Nation fashion. He nails were manicured just the way she had always liked them. Her hair was cleaned and groomed to perfection, not one strand out of place. Only one thing marred what should have been a most beautiful form.

A terrible burn scar over her right eye, mirroring her brother's.

"Azula, I-," Ty Lee started to say, but the woman only glared at her, and she was silenced.

Zuko could feel the tension in the air. His friends had always seen Azula as something dangerous, and enemy. Only Ty Lee saw her as at least a former friend, but her fear of the once princess was to great for her to feel easy around Azula anymore.

Sensing that he needed to break the tension before something snapped, "Why don't you guys go in and help Mai down. Between little Iroh and Roka, and the baby on the way, she's been a little stressed lately."

The others went up the ramp awkwardly, leaving Zuko and Azula in front of a quickly diminishing crowd. Azula glared at all of them as they went up. Finally, when she was sure none of them could hear her, she spoke.

"They still hate me."

"Yes, they do." Zuko responded.

Azula glared at him, "Aren't you supposed to say something therapeutic or comforting."

"Well, either I tell you that they hate you, or I lie to you, which would you rather I do."

"How do you know I'm stable enough to handle the truth."

"Because if you weren't, you wouldn't be bantering back and forth with me quite as well. Most likely you would be trying to kill me instead."

"I'm thinking about it."

That comment left Zuko a little surprised. But when Azula smirked, he returned it and laughed. "Thats the closest your gonna get to jocking isn't it."

"I'm afraid so."

"Come on, lets go see Uncle."

Ty Lee and Mai sat in the Fire Lady's personal steam wagon. It had been a battle tank, but now was converted into a two level wagon for the wife of the Fire Lord. Ty Lee had found Mai struggling to get her rebellious twin toddlers into the massive contraption, but they had instantly left the two women alone when Sokka promised to let them play with his boomerang if they rode up top.

Now Ty Lee sat across from her friend in awkward silence while Mai rubbed her swollen middle affectionately. They hadn't said a word in person to each other in over 2 years, and the incident with Azula had completely set the Kyoshi warrior off balance.

"So, how is your mother doing? now that she's a grandma and all."Ty Lee asked awkwardly, searching for something, anything, to break the silence.

Mai looked up, then turned her head to face out the window. "You don't want to ask me about my mother. You want to ask me about Azula." she said flatly.

"Yeah..." Ty lee whispered, looking down again.

Finally, after another long silence, Mai turned to her. "I regret it you know."

Ty Lee looked up curiously. "Regret what?"

"I regret betraying her. Our betrayal did this to her. Its taken her 3 years and half her face to get some semblance of sanity back, and its all because we turned our back on her."

Ty Lee was astonished. "How could you say that. You did what you did for Zuko, the man who became your husband." She started to become angry, years of rage and fear at the former Fire Nation princess welling up. "She would have killed him, his friends, you, me, the whole world, to get what she wanted. She was, is, a complete monster. She was plotting against us, and using us, from the day we first met her and you feel sorry for her."

This time Mai glared at her friend. "You don't get it do you. We committed high treason, attacked the princess. We should have been killed for what we did. The only reason we're alive is because Azula spared us, because we had been her only friends. She used us, she manipulated us, she had us wrapped around her taloned finger. But you know what," The Fire Lady sat up and raised her voice, "She was our friend. And I am sorry I betrayed her. I'm sorry I turned her into a babbling lunatic for 3 years."

"You wouldn't have done anything differently..."

"And that doesn't take away the blame. It doesn't take away the fact that I had to tell to my children 'I'm sorry kids, but you can't go see Auntie because mommy stabbed her in the back and made her crazy' when they ask whats wrong with her." Mai shut her eyes, and she started to cry. "The only time I've seen Zuko happier than when he first held Iroh and Roka was whenever Azula would have a break through. You have no idea how terrible it is to have caused possibly the single greatest burden in the life of the man you love."

Ty Lee looked down again, all the fire stolen from her. "You've changed, Mai."

The Fire Lady opened her eyes and wiped them dry. "So have you."

Aang, Katara, and the rest of the gang rode atop the large wagon, along with Mai and Zuko's twins, Iroh and Roka. The Twins both looked an awful lot like their mother, but were definitely their father's children, doing everything with intensity and emotion.

Aang currently held a sleeping Roka in his lap, while Toph amazed Iroh with her morphing piece of space-earth. They could all hear the intense conversation below.

Suddenly Toph spoke. "Their done fighting. Just so you all know."

Everyone smiled nervously, not sure of what else to do. Aang leaned over to Katara, careful not to disturb his spiritual great-great-granddaughter. "Maybe we should postpone the wedding, until things settle down a bit. Just about everyone is already here 2 weeks early anyway, its not like another 2 weeks is gonna hurt anything. Besides, that means that your Gran-Gran and Paku will be able to make it, as well."

"maybe your right, Aang." Katara said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh no you don't." Sokka interrupted, standing up. "I have to leave for my new play in a few weeks, and I am not going to miss this wedding." Suki then reached up and pulled him down with his beard, wich bore a striking resemblance to the one he wore in the Fire Nation.

"Then you can postpone you play. I think 'The Legend of Wang Fire' can wait a week or two, don't you." Suki said lovingly to her husband.

"But what about the fans, what am I gonna tell the fans."

"Tell them that 'Wang Fire' had to do some important hero stuff," Suki said as she kissed him.

"Yuck," young Iroh said as everyone laughed, "Old people are so gross sometimes."

Colonel Periswith looked out over Chameleon Bay, and up the river on which it was set. That river would take them as close to the great city of Ba Sing Se, as they could on water. And after that, their ultimate goal.

"Leftenant!" Periswith demanded.

The young officer appeared immediately and stepped forward in attention, "Yes, Sir."

What do you think of this land, Leftenant?" the Colonel asked.

"What do I think of it, sir?"

Periswith smiled. "Yes," he said, sweeping his hand across in front of him, "What do you think of it? Does it move you? Bore you? Do you hate it? Love it? Do you think it lovely? Abhorrent?"

The leftenant looked thoughtful for a moment, then responded, "Well, I suppose it is rather beautiful. If I had to put my finger on one particular feature, I would say that its the life here."

"The life?" the Colonel questioned further.

"Yes. Back in the homeland, you don't see very many places that aren't strip mined, plowed over, turned into city, or other wise developed and tamed. But this place still has a sort of wild beauty to it. Man has been here, but he doesn't come here often. Its not untouched, but its unused. Say what you will, there is a price to progress, and places like this are part of it."

Periswith merely smiled, "That is precisely what I wanted to hear. All of this, everything you see in front of you. All the beauty of this land. That is what we are fighting for. That is what we are fighting to preserve. Ultimately, our mission will save this land from devastation." He pointed to the mouth of the river, "If we fail, that river will be blockaded by enemy ships. Barriers would be set up, further baring entry, and marring the beauty of this place." He then swept his hand across the beach and up the mountains, "Enemy soldiers would camp here, and they would strip the land for their resourcs. This place would be made bare."

He turned to face the young officer, and then gestured to the ship they stood on, "And when our fleet arrived, and our armies marched over those hills, this place would be destroyed almost utterly." He put his hands on the leftenant's shoulder's, "Do you understand what we are fighting for. Do you understand what we must do.

The leftenant only nodded.