Burn My Dread FES

By Iain R. Lewis

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to Nickelodeon, some of the concepts are similarly inspired by Persona 3 and Persona 4, property of ATLUS games.

"I thought I told y'all to sit down or get down. I'm about'a hit ground."

- Mass Destruction FES

Lotus Juice

Chapter Four: Shadow

"And my theories continue to come together," Azula said. "Yue, it's us. How long have you been here?"

"Azula? Is that you?" the voice sounded incredulous. "Or are you more monsters like that other one."

"The other Yue?" Azula asked, "Interesting. You've met her, then?"

"Other Yue? So the one we met before is an imposter after all!" Katara said.

They heard someone approaching around the bend and when Yue appeared her eyes lit up. "Katara! It's really you! I thought you were some horrible joke on me at first." She approached them and looked at Azula. "And -- it's really you."

"Back from the dead," Azula said. "So to speak."

"I really thought you were," she said, quietly,

"Clearly I'm alive," Azula said. "Did you think I'd simply vanish into thin air?"

"I'm so relieved that it's really you," Yue said, "After that lookalike showed up, I didn't know if I could trust my own eyes."

"That imposter," Katara said, "We've met her."

"She's dreadful," Yue said, "Simply dreadful."

"Indeed." Azula watched Yue carefully, narrowing her eyes, looking for anything out of place. The way she spoke seemed natural enough, not a single hitch in her voice or strange irregularities, but that only spoke to a trained actress.

She was looking for something, anything, to confirm who this was. "Azula, how did you -- I mean where were you -- I, I don't know how exactly to ask you, but what happened to you?"

Azula started to answer, when the blanks in her memory became clear again. There was something there, missing, that was clear. But all the more worrisome, the blanks seemed larger than before. "I don't remember, actually. All I remember was I signed this strange contract."

Azula's eyes widened. Lee's words came back to her as she remembered something that had happened almost a year ago. Aang had mentioned, in a strange offhanded manner, a contract he'd signed.

A contract that they'd never given him. And then Lee's statement became clear. "Is something wrong?" Yue asked.

"Huh?"

"You blanked out on us again," Katara said. "Really, Azula, you've been acting stranger than usual since you showed up on our doorstep."

"I'm sorry, I just --" she looked around, "Perhaps there's someplace to sit down."

"Ah, yes, but -- I don't know if it's exactly the nicest place to be," Yue said. "There's a clearing nearby. It's actually the first place I saw in this maze of a garden. I'm too afraid to go any deeper into the maze, and --"

"And? Why did you stop?" Azula asked, concealing her irritation with Yue's sudden turn towards hesitance.

"Well, there's this pleasant little garden there, with a beautiful gazebo, I think they're called. The moon hits the gazebo in just the right way to make it light up, and it's quite nice, but --"

"But?" Azula said, her tension rising.

"But she's there."

"The imposter?" Katara asked.

Yue nodded. "She leaves every now and then to water the plants, but when she comes back, she always comes back to torment me more. It's so frightening, the things she says."

"It's all right, Yue," Katara said, "We're here. We'll make her pay for all the trouble she's caused."

Azula nodded. She just needed some time to think first. "Can you take us there?"

"Yes, I think it's the pathway of the moon lilies," Yue smiled, "I always loved Moon Lilies, but they were so hard to keep in the North Pole. I was thinking of planting some while I was at Ba Sing Se, but then --"

"They're really pretty," Katara agreed, hastily changing the topic, "But let's not sit around. Azula looks set to blow us down where we stand."

Azula frowned.

Something was not sitting right in the pit of her stomach. Something was definitely amiss in the garden. But she could not quite figure out what it was.

She could hear them whispering as they walked, excluding her from their conversation.; She picked up bits here and there. "She just appeared?" Yue asked. "That's really quite frightening."

"I know," Katara said, "But then she --"

She could hear Yue gasp, but Katara's whispering had become quieter, and she glared back at her. The civility from before seemed to have reached its conclusion all too quickly, now that she had someone else to talk to. Katara, wonderfully predictable as always, then said, "We're almost there. Maybe we can find a way out of here."

"I hope so," Yue said, "I don't want to be here any longer."

Azula nodded. The passage was filled with moon lilies, They almost looked like neon lights in the growing shadow. Clouds passed overhead, causing the moon to dim. It peeked out through the clouds looking like it was in disguise, spying on them.

"It's only a little bit further."

The clearing opened up itno a fine little garden, where a variety of plants were being kept in a planter's box, and with nurture and care, were growing ever so perfectly upwards despite the lack of sunlight.

The Gazebo took up most of the center, shimmering a brilliant silver as the moon came out from behind the clouds, spreading its own pale glamour across the clearing.

"This is beautiful," Katara gasped.

"Yes," Yue said, in agreement, "But it grows tiresome quick."

"Agreed," Azula said. She walked out into the clearing and looked around for a sign of anyone. "Let's sit down," she said, but she was stopped by Yue, whose hands gripped her tightly. She pointed to the gazebo, and the single occupant already there.

She had seen them already, though, and rose from her seat.

The Goddess Yue, looking opulent and transcendental as ever, stepped down from her seat and smiled at Yue, without a single ounce of warmth in her entire form. The garden itself seemed to bleed into her.

"You came back," the Goddess Yue said and she smiled. "I knew you would."

"Okay, so this is nice. Taking a walk with Taddius," Sokka said, "Moonlit garden, sparkling flowers, no hideous monsters in sight. This is really nice."

"Taddius?"

"You know, our pal there," Sokka said, pointing at the tadpole that flopped behind them like a little lost puppy. "Really Toph, you didn't forget about Taddius did you?"

"I remember the tadpole, why are you naming it?"

"It seemed a bit odd to just go around calling him 'the tadpole' so I gave him a name," Sokka said.

"There are times I worry about you," Toph muttered.

The moonlit garden seemed to go on endlessly, and the tadpole started to leap on ahead with a large boost of speed. It seemed drawn to something, like it had heard a bell and hurried to answer. "What got into that thing?" Zuko muttered.

"I don't know," Sokka said. "Hey, Tad, wait up!"

The tadpole swerved around a corner and down a long straight corridor. The overgrown briars wrapped around every plant, and the passage seemed dark even under the full moon. Only the brilliance of the silvery gazebo in the distance seemed to shine any light.

"Wait up!" Sokka called after the creature. He stumbled after it, but every time he got a hold of it, it just slipped through his arms. Toph shrugged and Zuko rolled his eyes, watching the sight before him.

The tadpole leapt towards the gazebo and with a great squeal of joy leapt into the waiting arms of the Goddess Yue. "Ganga! Good girl," she said, a cruel smile on her face. "Everyone's here now. Our party can begin."

"This isn't much of a party," Azula coolly said. She looked over at Sokka and the others, and arched an eyebrow, "You survived, excellent."

"Sokka!" Yue's eyes lit up, "Toph -- and Zuko too. Everyone, everyone's here. I've missed you all so much."

The Goddess Yue rolled her eyes, petting the tadpole gently. "Welcome to my private garden, all of you. I'm most impressed you survived my tests, but surely, a goddess would never associate herself with ordinary individuals."

She cast her eyes across all of them, and then turned to glance at Yue. "All my life, I've wanted friends, equals to call my own. It's almost a pity that this is the best we came in contact with. Really, you're all pathetic losers. I mean, great rescue attempt, my friends, but you failed miserably."

"What -- we don't even know who you are, or what you are!"

Azula put her hand up, "Actually, I've been curious about something for some time now. I suppose it's best to ask ourselves which Yue is the real Yue, first."

"What?" Yue called out, "Azula, what are you saying? I know who I am!"

The Goddess Yue smiled, looking at Azula, "Oh, you were always so good, so arrogant, Azula. You presume to put yourself above me. And you presume too much."

"I don't care about your opinions," Azula said, coldly, "We have been stumbling around in here because of you. You've tried to kill us at every turn, but I cannot dismiss the possibility. Are you the real Yue?"

"Yes."

"And she's the imposter?"

"No."

"I see," Azula said, closing her eyes. "This isn't exactly what I was expecting, but, close enough."

"What?" Yue blinked, "I'm not the imposter!" she began to protest, and the Goddess Yue smiled at her.

"You're not the imposter, you're me. And I'm you. Always polite, always friendly, never saying anything bad about anyone, in case they might not like you. How pathetic! You were a princess, now you're a goddess. These people don't mean anything to you!"

"That's a lie!"

The tadpole made a little coo as it looked up at his mistress, who just smiled, ever wider. "Is it? For so long, you've been left in the Spirit World, forgotten, a relic of your friends' past. It's just like what happened to Oma. And you remember what they did to her, don't you?"

"That would never happen," Katara said, "Yue's our friend."

"Oh shut up!" the Goddess Yue snapped, "I've had it up to here with you, Katara. All of you! Humanity bores me, I want nothing more to do with any of you."

"That's just not true," Yue murmured, "Stop saying these things."

"Why do you keep denying how you feel?" the Goddess Yue said, approaching Yue, "Why do you deny me, a part of yourself?"

"You're nothing but a lie. Go away! Go away!"

The Goddess Yue laughed. It started cold, but grew in fervor until it reached maniacal overtures, "Yes, deny me! Keep it up!"

Yue tried to say something, but her legs gave way and her eyes darted up into the back of her head. She crumpled in a heap in front of the Goddess Yue, whose laughter was now so hard she held her sides. "Finally, I'm rid of her!"

Around her, the garden seemed to be thrown into darkness, leaving nothing behind it. The tadpole's glowing speckles grew brighter and it leapt into the darkness, as though it were water, leaving a ripple.

Suddenly, everything seemed familiar to Azula.

The green of the garden withered as the shadows spread out from the other Yue across the entire length of the maze. The leaves fell onto the black with tiny ripples across. Azula reeled, her vision getting blurry.

"I've been here before," she whispered. Zuko turned to look at her, but she did not notice.

The moon, however, was different, she realized. This was not the place she'd been, the place that she could just remember like a fading dream. A light breeze chilled them all to their bones as the other Yue wrapped herself in the darkness.

She emerged changed.

She held a small silver orb in her hand, and her unblemished white robes were now black and flowing, wrapping into the shadows beneath her. From the darkness, a large crescent shape emerged and the other Yue grabbed onto it and looked at them from beneath her silvery-white locks.

Her face was pitch black, like tar, and her eyes and smile shone like white through it.

"Finally, I'm my own self," she said, "The true self!"

The crescent swung about as she lifted her feet off from the ground, "What did you do to Yue?" Katara demanded moving to shield the unconscious girl from her sinister doppleganger. "What did you do?"

"She denied her true self, and set me free," the other Yue said, "I don't need her anymore, but I can't have you going and being heroic."

Azula couldn't quite focus on what was happening, but Sokka scoffed and stepped forward. "And what are you going to do to stop us?"

"Idiot," Toph muttered, "Don't pick a fight like that, you'll only tick her off more."

Zuko remained focused on Azula, his eyes not wavering. Azula stumbled forward and closed her eyes, trying to focus on regaining her composure. She could not afford a relapse now, in this place, at this time. "Whoever or whatever you are, I can't just have you going about killing my teammates. It just won't do."

"Oh, Azula, is it?" the other Yue said, swinging herself forward and back on her crescent swing, "That's so absolutely darling of you to do, for a hypocrite anyway." She pushed the small orb outwards and it landed on the ground, sinking slowly into the darkness.

"What did you do?" Zuko demanded to know, watching the orb dissolve into the shadows.

"Would you think a goddess would sully her hands with mere mortals' blood? Never! I chose to delegate."

"Delegate?" Sokka repeated. "Oh that's not good."

The darkness beneath them churned and the orb emerged with black trailing behind it, wrapping around it and taking on a massive shape. It blended in with the darkness, and only the light twinkle of starlight gave it any distinction amongst the blackened, withered garden.

Large claws snapped and it lunged forward.

"Protect Yue!" Katara called out, drawing her whip clumsily. "We've got to get her someplace safe."

"No place is safe here," Zuko grunted, "This shadow seems to go on forever."

"We need her someplace safer than here, anyway," Sokka said. "Azula, what's the battle plan?"

Battle plan?

The words echoed in her head, as if mocking her state of mind. Nothing was coming to her head, not one of a thousand plans she would otherwise have concocted. It was a harrowing experience, as if pieces of her mind continued to fall away and drift into oblivion.

"I don't know," she said. "That nucleus, maybe."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, too," Sokka said. "This is just like La."

Azula felt a sharp pang as she realized something. La was only one half of the equation, and it was unlikely that this doppleganger would construct one half without the other. She tried to figure out what that meant.

Her mind raced, adrenaline started to kick in. She smiled, this was much more like it.

"We should be ready for a second attack," she said, "But for now, this thing is our first priority. Mission critical objectives include its destruction and Yue's survival, understood?"

"Huh?" Toph asked. "I don't get you, Azula."

"We win if we beat up the amoeba and make sure Yue's not hurt," Zuko translated.

"Oh, so business as usual, save the world, beat up the monster," Toph said. She drifted into a rough earthbending stance, "I can totally do that."

"But you can't bend," Azula began, "You should protect Yue --"

"Like fun I'm going to do that. I was beating up guys before I could bend, Fancy-Britches."

Azula raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "Very well. Katara, protect Yue with your life. I'm trusting you."

Katara looked Azula dead in the eye, and she stared back, unwavering. Katara bit back a comment, and nodded. "You can count on me."

The shadowy amoeba spirit's lunge came short, but a massive claw snapped at them. This twisted imitation of La felt hard and solid as its claws clamped down at Toph. Though blind, she was able to react with enough speed to push it to the side, throwing it down.

"See? I can fight!" she said.

"She's not going to back down," Zuko whispered to Azula, "She gets like this."

"Let her fight," Azula said. "She's good. Better than I thought she'd be without her bending."

Sokka readied his sword and charged the creature, slashing down across a surprisingly hard carapace, and pushing down as hard as he could, continued to tear away at it. He shouted again and slashed down. A slimy trail came off his sword as it cut through the carapace and darkness dripped down into the endless expanse beneath them.

The other Yue watched bemused as the amoeba-like creature reared on Sokka and brushed it aside with its claw. "Yes, yes, keep fighting."

She swung casually back and forth as Zuko entered the fray, his Dao blades connecting with the large claws and pushing back. She looked down at Katara, who hovered close to Yue's prone form. And she swung ever closer, and something lurked beneath the surface.

Azula grabbed her gun and aimed, firing and watching the bullet ricochet off of the hardened carapace around the orb. She readied herself to fire off a blast of air, when she noticed the other Yue moving towards Katara. She spun on her heel and shot the blast at Katara, blasting both her and Yue clear back.

They rolled about, and a groggy groan from Yue confirmed that the girl was still alive, but she did not stir from her unconsciousness. Katara looked over at Azula with growing irritation. "What was that for? Did you think that was funny? The enemy's over --"

She stopped. The other Yue dove down close to the ground and then spiraled upwards as a massive shape broke out of the darkness where they once stood, and massive teeth snapped at nothingness. The shape landed back into the water, speckled starlight on its back shimmering and casting a low reflection on the darkness as it descended once again.

The other Yue scowled, "Azula, you naughty, naughty girl! You spoiled my sport!"

"Is Yue all right?" she said to Katara. Katara looked down at Yue and nodded fiercely, "Good. Get her away from that thing, now. I'll keep it occupied."

"Azula," Katara managed to murmur before picking up Yue.

"Well, now the catfish is out of the bag," she said, "So to speak. These are my most faithful pets, Tigris and Ganga. And since you denied Ganga her dinner, I guess it's up to you to feed her now."

Azula smirked, and assumed an airbending stance, not a single tendon pulled any further than it needed to be, no hair out of place.

Ganga lurked beneath the surface, while the other Yue swung about, watching Azula carefully. "I'm certain you couldn't do that before," she muttered quietly, then with a haughty shout, asked, "What other secrets have you been hiding from me?"

Azula didn't answer, breaking into a dash, wind pushing her forward at great speeds. The lurker below followed her, a massive fin emerging as it picked up speed. Azula could see it just behind her. Waiting, ready to snap up and devour her. She grinned.

Tigris lunged at Toph, but was pushed back as the diminutive fighter slammed her fists forward. The carapace that held off the attacks started to crack, and moonlight poured out of the cracks, as black fluid dribbled down.

"Take that!" Toph laughed, "Did I get him?"

"Don't get cocky," Zuko grunted. "We have bigger problems that that thing now."

Sokka struck the creature with his sword, but the blow was deflected as the creature dove back underneath into the darkness, the orb emerging just above the surface and moving. "Well," Sokka said, "That may be, but we can't just ignore it."

"This is stupid, they're both just distractions," Zuko said, "We shouldn't be focusing our efforts on the minions, we should be taking out the real threat."

"That other Yue?" Toph muttered. "That cocky little -- she's been playing us this whole time, hasn't she?"

"Yeah," Sokka said, "And if Azula didn't notice it --"

Zuko nodded.

"Guys, that other one's gone under! Where did it go?" Toph grunted angrily and snarled, "Stupid bending, work!"

"Azula's distracted," Zuko muttered. "Sokka, we need a plan."

"We do?" Sokka asked. "Wait, you mean, you want me to come up with one."

"I know, a lot to ask," Zuko grinned.

"I think I've got one," Sokka said, "But it'll take a crack team of operatives with pinpoint timing."

"Too bad," Toph grinned, "We're all you got."

"Well, I can work with that, too."

With a loud splash, Ganga shot out of the shadows, teeth gnashing at air as Azula grabbed hold of a withered branch and kicked off of it with enough force to fly straight overhead. She spun in the air and drew her gun, firing off three shots as she descended. The bullets sunk into the massive oozing body, floating harmlessly in suspension as the massive black form descended again into the ground.

Azula frowned, and reholstered her weapon, landing elegantly with one hand steading her. She leapt to her feet with a great boost of speed and charged forward to meet the creature, as it reared around, snapping its massive teeth.

The other Yue grabbed hold of the crescent tightly, and shouted, "Ganga!" The creature did not listen, charging back and forcing the crescent to swing backwards with sudden speed, causing the other Yue to screech. "I command you to stop!"

Azula drew herself back, grabbing the rush of winds between her hands and swung it out with great force, blasting the large fish right out of the shadows. It landed on the ground not with a splash but an ignoble flop, and the false Yue's cries turned to panic. "Get up!"

"There," Azula said, confidently. She began to approach as the ground under her shifted and churned. A tendril grabbed her leg and pushed her down, the orb rising from the inky black and taking shape. It raised her up and tossed her away.

"Azula!" It was Katara crying out to her. She grabbed her whip and struck at Tigris. Parts of the creature splattered across the surface of the ground, melting into the dark, but it just turned its attention to Katara, who stood resolute. "Come and get me, freak!"

"Katara, you idiot," Azula murmured, grabbing her side. She landed hard, and she wondered if her rib had been bruised by the fall. "I can handle this."

"Not alone, you can't," Katara said.

The other Yue straightened herself, standing up and looking with a clear glare of repulsion at Ganga. "Useless beast!" She began to clean her dress when she heard a light whirring noise. "What the heavens is --"

She reeled as the boomerang hit her in the back of the head, pushing her forward with the force and the surprise of the attack.

"We need to focus on Yue, Azula," Sokka said, "Or else we'll be fighting these things until we exhaust ourselves."

"I was doing that fine until you lost track of the other one!" Azula accused.

"In case you haven't noticed, we can't just follow it around," Toph said, "It's like this floor is water to them, but it's solid ground to you or me."

"Less fighting, more butt-kicking," Sokka said, quickly. "She's not going to take that sitting down, and my boomerang didn't come back!"

"Boomerangs don't work that way," Azula muttered. "All right, Toph and Zuko on --"

"Yeah, Tigris, I'm with you on taking down Yue," Sokka said, "We got it all worked out." Azula arched a brow, and shrugged.

"Well, very good, then," Azula said. She clenched her fists tight. "As long as we keep that fish from diving back down, this will be a simple matter. I don't expect this to take more than a minute."

Toph grappled with the mass of tendrils shooting forth from the amorphous Tigris' body. "Okay, great, get on it, because this is gross!" Zuko cut her free from the writhing mass of shadows, but more emerged in their stead, and Tigris struck back at him, knocking him clear away.

"Well, you heard her," Sokka said, "Let's go!"

He took his sword and raised it high, charging towards the other Yue. The girl opened her eyes, and they absolutely shimmered, pushing him clear back as she regained her composure. "This is unbelievable. This cannot be. You can't be trying to harm me, I won't allow it!"

She stepped forward, and ice started to form at her feet, spreading out around her with each step. Snow began to fall from the sky, and Ganga and Tigris began to move sluggishly as ice began to form around them.

"Want to push back that estimate, there, Azula?" Sokka asked, getting to his feet. "No more than a minute?"

"I merely miscalculated," Azula snapped, "Two minutes."

"Oh, two minutes, yeah, sure," Sokka added.

Azula drew herself back and pushed forward, a gust of wind at the tips of her fingers as she thrust. The gale passed by her, ruffling up her hair, but she kept walking, frozen to the ground beneath her. Frost patterns formed on the ground like ancient runes.

"What do we do?" Sokka asked.

Azula frowned, "Improvise."

"With what?"

"I don't know, improvise that part, too," she snapped.

"Just admit you're out of ideas."

"You're only out of ideas if you can't think of anything else to say," Azula retorted.

"So you're out of ideas."

"Almost," she muttered. She bit her lip. What was she missing. They were at a stalemate, it was clear that the shadow Yue had no real strength of her own, but for the cold and ice she was bringing, but her defenses seemed impenetrable. No matter what Azula thought of, all she could do was stall her opponent.

"This is bad," Toph shouted, "It's gotten really cold here."

"What happened?" Zuko asked. "I feel kind of --" he yawned and his eyelids drooped, "Not again, not now!"

Azula felt the lulling of her senses as the other Yue moved closer to them, her eyes absolutely radiant with power.

"It's so cold," the other Yue said, "I'm so alone. No one will keep me warm." She was murmuring to herself like a small child. "Why won't anyone come keep me warm?"

"We need to get Yue somewhere safe -- We need to," Katara yawned out, "Need to protect her."

"No," a tired, but firm voice said. They looked over, and Yue opened her eyes with a flutter, "I'm not going to run away from this anymore."

"Yue?" Katara murmured softly, "It's okay, we'll protect you."

Yue smiled at Katara, and said, her voice warmer, "This isn't something you all can protect me from." She stood and stared at the other Yue, and winced, but did not turn away. "She's right, you know. She is me."

At this, the other Yue stopped, her eyes dimming and her real eyes shining through, the eyes filled with a sinister light that softened as Yue stepped closer. The drowsiness and cold subsided as the shadows began to sink, slowly, out of sight.

"What?" Sokka managed as he shook off the last feelings of sleep left in his eyes, "But you would never treat us like that --"

"No," Yue said, "But I felt it. At first, I was envious of you all, watching you live your lives, while I had become the silent observer. But I knew you couldn't just stop your lives because my life had changed. All my life, I'd had duties that put me separate of others, I was used to it. At least, I told myself that."

She shivered, "It's so cold in the north, especially when you were as ill as I became. I never had any friends, and my father was always busy. While everyone was kind to me, and they were like a family to me, it wasn't the same as having true friends."

"You have us," Katara said, "We're your friends."

"I know that," Yue said, "And that's what makes the truth so awful. I wished you'd stopped your lives right in place just as mine had -- I resented you all for living such a carefree life without me. It was awful, and I couldn't admit it, but, it was true. I felt so guilty, like I'd betrayed all of you."

She looked at the other Yue, who stared back, wordlessly, "And this is what all of that became. A mockery of who I am, but, at the same time, an undeniable part of me."

"Oh, Yue," Katara murmured.

"You resented us?" Azula asked.

Yue nodded, "Not for anything you did. Don't apologize, especially not you, Sokka," she looked paler than usual, and a bit weak at the knees, "I don't think I could bear it if you all apologized to me when it's me who should be apologizing. I'm so sorry."

The other Yue looked at the real Yue, and bowed her head and began to melt away, and the darkness subsidde. The garden, covered in a thin layer of snow, emerged from the blackness. The moon still hung high in the air, and the garden seemed to shimmer silver.

"Wow," Katara managed, "It's beautiful."

"It's cold!" Toph said, "My feet are going to freeze off."

Yue looked so weak, and Azula looked quite perplexed. "Katara, help Yue stand. We need to find a way out of here before Toph complains us all to death."

"Oh, gee, thanks for the compassion, Power Princess."

"You -- you're not angry with me?" Yue asked, amazed, "I thought for certain --"

"Yue," Zuko said, "You had every right to feel like that. We shouldn't have just treated you like a tool to help us in the Spirit World. You're more than our ally."

Sokka rummaged through the snow, and picked up his boomerang, "Yue, come on. We've all felt like that sometimes. Look at Zuko, he basically lives his life resenting my awesome."

"I'm going to beat your --"

"Please, stop, both of you," Katara said, "You're being immature brats. Ignore them, Yue, they're always like this." Yue smiled bashfully.

"It's all right. Strangely enough, I've missed all of this."

Azula looked over Yue, and scoffed, "And you lost your arm band," she said. Yue put her hand to her arm, and nodded.

"After Aang sealed the worlds apart, I thought I didn't need it anymore --"

Azula removed her own band and handed it to Yue. "Do not lose this one. Did you forget what I said when I gave you it? It made you a part of this team."

"Yes, I remember," Yue said, "It means a lot to me to hear you say that."

"Let's get to that gazebo, and out of the snow," Zuko said. The group nodded and hurried to the gazebo. Yue stood at the edge, gazing out at the snow, looking tired but at the same time relieved. "You look happier."

"Oh," Yue said, turning to look at Zuko, "Yes, actually. I had worried for so long you'd all be angry at me, or yell at me, if I even let myself show even the smallest bit of anger at you. I wanted to be accepted so badly that I was too scared to show my feelings around you."

"That stops right now," Toph said. "If we do something to tick you off, you tell us, in the most blunt way possible, got it?"

"Yes," Yue said, smiling, "I will! For example, Toph, you should be more respectful towards everyone. You are our underclassman, still." Toph made a face, and Yue could hardly contain her laughter, "Well, you said to be honest!"

"As long as you don't demand we treat you like a goddess, we're cool, senpai," Toph said, with a smirk.

"I wonder where we proceed from here. I was certain something would be here in the center," Azula said, "Positive."

"Oh, yes," Yue said, closing her eyes. "There's a strange doorway not far from here."

"Wait, you can sense that -- you said --"

"I can feel my awareness waking up," Yue said, "It's still a bit fuzzy since this isn't exactly the Spirit World, but it's coming back to me slowly. It feels like I was the only reason it wasn't working in the end."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Sokka said.

"That's not a word," Azula snapped. "Let's go, then. I think Toph would appreciate us returning to the maze instead of hanging around here."

"Maze is at least warm," Toph murmured.

"Maze?" Yue asked. "May I ask, what's going on?"

"We'll explain when we find someplace safe," Sokka said. "Maybe we should try and find a path back to the entrance, and rest for a bit."

Azula pressed against her rib, and winced, "Yes, a very good plan. Well, Yue, welcome back to the team. I'm glad to see you've rejoined us."

"And I'm glad you've come back to us, as well," Yue said, "If Aang were still here, he would be excited. He never gave up hope in you, you know."

Azula paused, "We'll discuss what's been going on when we return so you are up to speed. And then I'm expecting you to finally tell me whatever it was that happened to Aang."

Yue gasped, "You haven't told her?" she asked, aside to the others.

"No," Zuko said, "I couldn't -- she just -- I can't say why I didn't, but I just felt wrong telling her."

Yue shook her head, "She needs to know. Aang gave up everything for us, and she deserves to know that."

"Yeah, but," Toph said, "I don't think she'll take it well. You know how she --"

"She'll take it like always," Katara said, coldly, "But if you don't mind, I don't exactly want to be around to watch her gloat."

"All right, Katara," Sokka said, "You don't have to."

The group looked downcast, and stared at Azula, who turned back to look at them, tapping her toe impatiently, "Do you want to spend more time having a picnic in a barren garden, or do you want to leave?"

"Coming, Azula," they chorused.

Yue smiled, though, "Azula, I've been curious. Could you give me your lecture on punctuality, I've heard so much about it and I really wonder if it truly is exactly thirty minutes."

"I don't feel like it right now," Azula muttered, "And I wouldn't know, I've never timed it." Yue burst into a fit of laughter, weighing herself down on Azula's shoulder for support. Azula fought back the urge to push her off, wondering, strangely, why it felt so good to see her laughing like this.

Somewhere, in the back of her head, it just felt right.

... that garden however did hide more surprises than I'd thought, when I first entered it. Yue's repressed resentment had created an other-self, and I suppose, that garden was just a part of it. Even I'd been struck how beautiful that garden looked, covered in pure white snow.

But, even as we left that garden behind, I couldn't help but wonder what other twists remained in the Labyrinth. It wouldn't be long before we realized just how deep the passages ran, but at the time, I remember being struck with a deep curiosity about those doorways that led us to the North Pole.

Where exactly was this Labyrinth, I asked myself. And, I further wondered, was there really an escape from it? I banished such thoughts from my mind. They were not productive, there was only one question I allowed myself to ask.

What will I need to do to survive?