Quick note: In the previous chapter, I got east and west mixed up in my mental map of the area, and had Junjie telling Zuko that the house was on the west side of town, when it should have been east. That has been corrected.

Author's note: I actually got a nice bit of quiet time to sit down and write, so here is a new chapter as my holiday gift to all of you! And if I don't get the chance to update again before Christmas, then may you all have a wonderful and joyous day!

And now, back to the 'show'!


Katara felt as if her whole world was crumbling around her…again. It wasn't enough that her mother had been lost in a Fire Nation raid, that her father then went off to fight in the war and had been absent from her life for two long years. Now her brother was being taken from her too, filed in among the ranks of the enemy as one of their own.

This couldn't be happening. She was not going to let this happen.

With steely determination, she stepped out of the crowd with every intention of taking her brother back by force. But before she could impulsively dash out across the square to him, she felt a vice-like hand clamp down on her arm.

"Katara, we can't!" Toph hissed in her ear.

Without saying another word, and not waiting for the older girl to respond, the small but deceptively strong earth bender started dragging her friend back through the throng of people. Once they were in a side alley, away from the ears of the crowd, Katara yanked her arm out of Toph's grasp, spinning on her angrily.

"What are you doing?" Katara demanded harshly. "We can't just leave Sokka!"

"Well we can't take on an entire garrison of fire benders either!" the blind girl snapped, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"I am not going to stand by and do nothing," Katara growled, turning away to head back to the plaza.

"Right now, we have to," argued Toph adamantly, once again grabbing the water bender by the arm and holding her steadfastly in place. But her voice softened and she relaxed her grip as she continued. "I don't like abandoning him any more than you do, but there are just too many soldiers here, and getting ourselves captured or killed isn't going to help him."

As much as Katara wanted to deny this logic, she knew that Toph was right, giving her no other option but to resign herself, and her brother, to their current situation.

"Besides," Toph added hopefully, "Iroh might know of a way to get Sokka out of the army. He was a general after all. Maybe there's a loophole or something."

While she didn't put much faith in this possibility, Katara nonetheless merely nodded her head in defeat.


Sokka's eyes anxiously skimmed the crowd, completely ignoring the condescending speech being given by one of the 'recruiters'. He'd caught sight of Katara once, but when he looked back toward her a second time, she was gone. Craning his head to see around the other boys he was gathered with, he hoped (prayed) she wasn't up to something as stupid as a rescue attempt. It would be suicide.

Still fretting over this likelihood as he cast his gaze about the plaza, he didn't even notice the shadow that fell over him until the burly sergeant leaned down and barked into his face.

"Pay attention, soldier!"

"Yessir!" Sokka squeaked, whipping his eyes forward and thumping a fist to his chest in a sloppy salute, earning him a few sympathetic glances from the other boys nearby.

The intimidating officer seemed about to shout something else when a younger man rushed up and handed him a scroll.

"Is this all of them?" demanded the sergeant crisply, unrolling the paper.

"Yes, Sir. The general is ready to leave."

The sergeant glanced over the page briefly, nodded, and then turned to address the new recruits as he rolled it back up.

"All right, girls, you heard the man. Now move out!"

The group of boys turned as one, and began slowly marching out of the town square. Just as Sokka was about to take one last look around for his sister, the sergeant yelled in his direction.

"And keep your eyes forward!"

Sokka immediately snapped to attention and continued walking, deciding it was best to obey.


The long line of soldiers leaving the city looked like little more than tiny ants from the distant hillock where Zuko was crouched. He had originally intended to stay on the overgrown path leading around the east end of the town down to the sea. But curiosity got the better of him, and before he could think better of it, he had crept to the top of the hill, staying close to the ground where he could stay hidden in the tall grass.

Relief washed over him when saw that they maintained their course heading south instead of fanning out into search party formations. When a soft trill from Momo on his shoulder reminded him that he still could be spotted if he wasn't careful, he gently eased himself backward down the rise of the hill.

He still had a house to find.


It was mid afternoon by the time Katara and Toph returned to the camp and Aang lept up on a gust of air to greet them with a big grin as they approached.

"Hey guys! How was-" he stopped abruptly when he noticed the expressions of worry and sorrow on their faces. Then looking past them, he realized something even more disturbing. A wave of anxiety settled over him and his voice carried the full weight of his fears when spoke.

"What happened?"

Throughout the entire trip back, Katara had managed to keep herself together, stoically placing one foot before the other with numb automation. But as soon as she heard Aang's fretful question, her composure disintegrated like sand scattered by the wind, and she fell to her knees in tears. At the same time, Toph's head bowed forward in shame.

"Sokka was drafted," she stated dully.

At this, Iroh bounded to his feet in alarm, and he listened in shock as the earth bender continued with a tone of disquieting calm.

"While we were in town, an entire regiment of soldiers came in and rounded up every man between the ages of sixteen and twenty, and they're taking them to a training camp south of here. Sokka is with them."

It took a moment for Aang to recover from the abrupt news, but as soon as he did, he quickly stepped forward and kneeled down in front of Katara, placing his arms on her shoulders.

"We'll get him back, Katara," he assured her firmly, "I promise."

She tried to nod her head, but a sob overwhelmed her, and Aang drew her close instead, letting her cry onto his shoulder as he threw a tentative glance at the retired general.

But the resigned look of sorrow on Iroh's face didn't give the Avatar much hope that he'd be able to make good on his promise.


The afternoon sun beat down on the ranks of new recruits winding their way across the open countryside. All was silent except for the steady thump of feet and the occasional cough as dust was kicked up from the dirt road.

Sokka looked around at the faces of the boys gathered with him, noting that some seemed excited, but a larger portion looked about as downcast as he felt.

"Man, I wish I hadn't worn these shoes today," grumbled a teen to his right. "My feet are killing me."

"I hear the standard issue boots are worse," remarked another boy dully.

"That's not true!" piped up a gangly lad from behind Sokka. "My brother let me try on his pair once, and I thought they were comfy!"

"No talking within ranks," commanded a burly teen haughtily from just in front of Sokka.

"Who made you the sergeant?" scoffed the boy with the sore feet.

"Hey, my father is a-"

"Yeah, yeah, your father is a lieutenant," snapped the skinny one, "that doesn't make you one, Chan!"

"Just you wait, 'Zero'" sneered Chan, "I bet I'll be your commanding officer is less than a week."

"It's Zhi'Ru," said the skinny boy through clenched teeth with his fists balling at his sides.

"Whatever."

"Grr, if I were a fire bender-"

"You'd what? Challenge me to an Agni Kai?" jeered Chan as he looked over his shoulder, lighting up a ball of fire in his hand with threatening intent.

Sandwiched front and back between the two bickering boys, Sokka feared he'd need to start ducking blows when another teen in full uniform, who looked to be less than a year older than Sokka, stepped in from outside the ranks and smacked Chan's hand down.

"That's enough!" he shouted forcefully.

Chan reacted immediately to the uniform with respect.

"Yes, Sir! Sorry, Sir!"

"All of you keep your traps shut and march," ordered the soldier. "We're nearing the camp and Sergeant Kang will not stand for loudmouths and troublemakers among his recruits."

"Yes, Sir!" the boys surrounding Sokka all shouted in unison.

With a satisfied nod, the uniformed youth stalked away, his eyes continuing to scan the troops as he briskly continued his rounds up and down the line. Sokka watched him go, and then glanced once more at the boys around him letting out a doleful sigh.

How was he going to get out of this?


Waves of orange and purple blazed across the windswept sky, the late sun bathing the landscape in scarlet and gold. Long shadows stretched out into the overgrown lawn of an empty mansion and weedy vines twisted through the gaping cracks crisscrossing the backs of two massive stone dragons flanking the front gate.

Zuko's shoulders slumped slightly in defeat; the place looked utterly abandoned. Lost in his own frustration at having come to yet another dead end in his search for Ursa, he didn't notice the hunched figure hobbling up the path from the rocky beach.

"You there," grated a female voice, "what are you doing?"

Startled, he spun around to see an old woman, one hand gripped around a gnarled cane, and the other awkwardly hugging a large wicker basket that smelled of freshly caught fish to her chest. Letting this slide down to the ground with a sodden thump, she boldly took a few steps forward.

"I…I'm here looking for someone," he answered hesitantly, pulling the drawing out of his tunic and holding it up to the woman. "Have you seen her?"

The crone snatched the paper from his hand and held it close to her nose, squinting her eyes in what seemed to be an effort to focus on the page. Whether this effort was due to the failing light or poor eyesight, it was hard to say. She stared at it intently for a few seconds, let out a short 'hrmph'.

"Never seen her," she stated curtly, thrusting the image back at him.

"Oh," he responded, unable to hide his disappointment. Taking the page back, he carefully folded it up and tucked it away again, turning back to look at the ruined manor as he did so. "I was told she might live here."

"Not been anyone living in that house for over twenty years," the woman informed him brusquely.

He hung his head sadly. "I see."

Wrinkled eyes regarded the hooded teen thoughtfully for a moment, softening at one point and then tightening with aged resolve. A brooding hum rattled in her throat and one gnarled finger rubbed the worn tip of her cane before she nodded and emitted another 'hrmph'.

"Well, no point staying out here where you'll get rained on," she quipped in an admonishing tone and started walking away.

Zuko blinked and glanced at the sky, then at the woman.

"How do you know it's going to rain?"

His question was met with a wry toothy grin as she turned back to face him, tapping her stick against her knee.

"I can feel it in my bones," she rasped with conspiratory humor.

With that she began hobbling off again, leaving the prince standing by her basket. After taking a few steps, she pivoted yet again, pointing her cane at the container expectantly.

"Well come on then," she prompted before moving off once more down the path.

He looked at the basket, then at her retreating back. Momo's head popped up out of the satchel at Zuko's hip, and the lemur gazed up at him with bright eyes and an inquisitive purr. Glancing down at his traveling companion, the prince merely shrugged.

Seeing no other recourse, he picked up the basket and followed after the old woman. And when Momo reached out a hand with the intention of sneaking one of the pungent fish from the basket and into the satchel, Zuko muttered warningly under his breath.

"Don't even think about it."


All I want for Christmas is for everyone who is reading this to leave a review… :-)