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.

"In the light men are crossing over dried river, without hope for water to stay long."

- Want to be Close - Reincarnation-

Yumi Kawamura

Chapter 7: All Laid Bare

There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Azula rationed herself carefully, but it was hard to tell how long had passed. There was no indication. She couldn't trust her body. Her body ached from the walking, the heat pounding at her like she'd never felt before.

There was nothing in the desert, absolutely nothing but the distant caw of vulture-wasps. Scavengers, waiting for her to keel over and die, hardly a death befitting someone as powerful and beautiful as Azula Houou.

At least, that's what she kept repeating in her head. Underneath that bravado, traitorous thoughts rebelled. She was dying, there was no explanation for the aches of her body, and the fact that despite how much water she drowned herself in she would only get thirstier. A losing battle in a desert with no end.

She sank to her knees. The fatigue was too great, and she couldn't go on. The dry wind washed over her, and she shivered. It was so hot, so unbearably hot, and the sand seemed as welcoming as any bed.

She laid herself down and stared up into the empty sky.

The sun was there, certainly, bearing down on her with its unrelenting heat. The sun was a funny thing. So bright, so comforting, and yet unbelieveably powerful. To a Firebender, nothing else in the universe was greater than it.

The sands brushed against her face as another breeze picked up. She was so tired from walking. She could just close her eyes here, let the winds wrap her beneath the sand, forgotten forever in this desert.

It was surprisingly comforting.

Her eyelids drooped.

It wasn't so bad, actually. Just sleeping, right? She'd wake up and shake off that sand and continue forward.

Just a little more and her eyes would be closed --

"What did I just stand in now?"

That annoyed voice, the loud exclamation, the abrupt disruption of her dignified final moments: Azula knew who this was. Her eyes darted open and she stood up, throwing the barefeet on her chest up in the air as she did. "Toph!"

"Where'd you come from, Azula?"

Azula quaked in fury. Toph's flippant smile was amplified by the brightness of the sun, and she threw her hands behind the back of her head with such casual ignorance for what she'd done. It was insincere enough to make Azula's head hurt.

"Never mind that," she answered, from behind her teeth. The sanctity of the moment forgotten, Azula wrapped her arms around herself and frowned. "This place has a -- a feel about it."

"Tell me about it," Toph said. "Is there any end in sight?"

"It's better you don't know."

"That bad, huh?" she frowned, but then exchanged it for another flippant smirk, "So, what were you doing on the ground anyway?"

"I was tired," she answered. She was glad that the strange, invasive impulse had left her. There was something else about the desert that unsettled her. It was wearing at the shreds of sanity that she had, the heat and the hopeless expanse like a grindstone. She'd had to have been here for days.

"So? Keep moving! You stop here and some big sand worm's liable to swallow you whole."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Walk," she paused, thinking for a moment, and adding, hastily, "Without rhythm."

"Am I the only one you found?" Azula asked, pointedly ignoring the previous statement. She couldn't walk forever, and it was only a matter of time before fatigue and heat would lay her so low she wouldn't have any other choice.

"Yeah," Toph said, slowly. "What hit us, anyway? I thought we'd just go through the door like last time and then I wake up and find I'm all alone and everything's all sand-ish."

"Good question," Azula answered, entertaining theories in her head silently. "It seems this maze seeks to divide and conquer us. Be alert, Toph, it may try and separate us again."

Toph nodded, casually. She kicked a lump of sand up and shrugged. "So what else am I going to do?" Azula simply scoffed, turning to trudge through the deep sands. The heat of the sun seared the ground, leaving it a baked, golden color as the sands were gently turned by the passing wind.

"Always moving in circles," Azula said, weakly.

"What's that mean?"

Azula turned to Toph, frowning, "It means I don't know where we're going. I keep ending back where I started. It's infuriating. Whoever is responsible for this is going to feel my wrath."

"Don't look at me," Toph said, putting her hands up, "I'm not the one who made this place."

"As far as you know," Azula retorted, snorting angrily. "Anyhow, we need to find some way through this maze. There must be a trick of some kind, some clue or landmark that I'm missing."

"I don't know, Spicegirl," Toph muttered, "Seems to me that we just got to keep on trudging through this place. It ain't like some oasis is going to appear in the middle of nowhere if we keep looking hard enough."

"Where is Yue?" Azula shouted, angrily. "If we just had her here, we would know where to go."

"Don't be so sure of that," Toph said. "Look, if we keep poking around in the desert, the others are sure to pop up. Why don't we just keep going on going on, okay?"

Azula frowned, but nodded. There wasn't any other choice. The endless desert welcomed them further into its expanse.

"Water. Water."

Sokka hacked dryly, his parched lips reaching out for the bottle on Zuko's pack. The other boy's eyes narrowed and he moved away sharply. "We need to conserve this, Sokka. We'll ration it out when we've found the others."

"But we've been wandering around this place forever!"

"I know that!" Zuko snapped. The two boys exchanged glances, and a tense silence fell over them. They were both caked in sand, and the wind fiercly whipped up around them, assaulting them with even more.

"Man, just a sip, please?"

"Just a sip," Zuko levelled, holding the water out, "If you gulp down another mouthful I'm going to punch you in the stomach."

Sokka took a quick sip and handed it back, "I may be thirsty but I'm not stupid," Sokka shot back, angrily. "Really, what's gotten you so ticked off anyway?" Zuko glanced at the desert, and then glanced back. "Okay, so, fine," Sokka stuttered, "That's a good reason, but we're okay."

"What makes you think we're safe here? What if there's a spirit as strong as whatever that thing was back there."

"Well, then we just run for the hills."

"What hills?"

"It's an expression, okay? Don't be so literal," Sokka muttered. "This is strange, really strange."

"Tell me about it."

"This is a maze," Sokka said, "But there aren't any walls. An infinite number of passages to go down, and no indication where they end. It's like a video game!"

"You'd know about that, wouldn't you?" Zuko glowered.

"Like you've never played a video game in your life," Sokka countered. He looked around and frowned, "Still, I hate those things, and this is a little more complicated than go up, down, left, or right."

"So we make a wrong turn and we're lost forever"

"I don't think so," Sokka answered. "I think we just end up walking in circles. We'll be wandering forever if we don't figure out something."

"Perfect." Zuko grumbled, looking about the desert. "There's got to be something. The sun, the wind, the way the sand is blown, something."

"That's just griping over small details," Sokka said, "It's got to be easier than that. We need to find Yue. Not only with her amazing moon powers will she be able to divine the path we have to go through, we'll be able to find everyone."

"I don't think I like this desert!" Yue cried out, angrily.

This was rare. Rarer still, she was lost. Totally, hopelessly lost. Her senses kept yelling back at her. Sight and sound were still okay, as far as she could tell. The desert went on endlessly, the vulture-wasps were getting noisier, and her nose was working since she could smell the sweat. She wiped her brow.

Taste was a bit rougher, her lips were parched and her tongue was dried out. Touch, well, she could feel the sweat as she brushed it off her hand. It was her sixth sense that was missing.

Being the Moon Spirit had its perks. The Spirit World was a wild, untamed place with a tendency to move around to confuse those not native to it, this translated in spirits being naturally capable of sensing the world around them and anticipating where the world would move next. This extended further, as well, as being able to sense people.

The desert threw all that out of order. Everywhere she looked, there were barriers, but if she walked through them, she'd just end up disoriented and lost and back where she started. To make matters worse, her friends were jumping about as well. She could faintly sense Azula and Toph close together, while Sokka and Zuko were literally bouncing back and forth as they moved, and Katara was the worst! She was in two places at once. She grumbled.

"This desert is, is," she struggled for a word strong enough to voice her displeasure, "So mildly annoying!"

The desert sands brushed against Azula's face and Azula raised her hand to brush it off, lowering it slowly as the futility of the effort settled into her head, and she fell back into her steps. Toph, besides her, would not stop talking.

She wasn't really saying anything meaningful, just snippets of thoughts as they popped into her head, and Azula's temper was beginning to wear thin.

"So, what's up with you lately?"

"Oh, I don't know, Toph," Azula sighed wearily at the sudden question, "Perhaps I spent the past few months in a comatose state, perhaps I'm a little on edge, or maybe, just maybe, I'm as crazy as you think."

"Hey, lay off, Power Princess."

"Toph, I am trying to figure out a system to get out of here, and your talking is not helping!"

"Don't try so hard, then," Toph snorted, "You're like not saying anything at all, I keep thinking you've died since I can't hear you."

"Obviously I'm okay."

Toph grumbled angrily and kicked up some sand at Azula. Steady and emotionless, Azula didn't even turn to face Toph, and just closed her eyes and lifted her hands up. The sands blasted up in the sudden burst of wind and Toph was knocked clean off her feet and tumbled backwards.

And then she disappeared from sight.

Azula stared for a while, dumbfounded by the sudden disappearance. "Toph?" Azula slowly approached where Toph stood and called out, quieter now, "Toph, where are you?"

"That hurt, you jerk!"

The voice was clear and near, but she couldn't see Toph anywhere. She looked down at the sand before her and noticed for the first time that there was a sudden drop there.

At the bottom of the small crevice, Toph stood, steadying herself against the cliff-face. "Toph, are you okay?"

"No, I just fell from something. What did you do that for?"

"This is remarkable," Azula said, "Wait right there, I'm coming down."

"Like I got a choice," Toph grunted, her bangs keeping her eyes carefully hidden from view. Azula descended with a soft 'woomph' and the kicking up of some sand. "So what's the big idea, you see this drop and say, hey, that'd be funny."

"No, I didn't," Azula said, "It was just by chance. Perhaps a trick of the light, but this little secret passage has a clear direction we can take."

"Great! Progress at the cost of my heart. You really know how to make everything all better, Azula."

"What can I say? It's a gift. Come on."

Azula stepped forward walking sideways to pass through the narrowest portions of the crevice. It was a hidden passage, just small enough to hide from the eye beneath the distortions of heat and exhaustion. Toph was easily able to squeeze through these tight spaces, as tiny as she was.

"What?"

Azula scoffed, confused.

"Feels like you're staring at me," Toph muttered.

"Not at all," Azula answered.

Besides the size of the passage, there was also a degree of coolness not afforded in the desert above, a pleasant spring breeze wafting from somewhere in the depths of the crevice. "Wonder what that is," Toph stated, wondrously, as if stumbling upon the same obvservation as Azula reached moments earlier.

"We'll have to find out," Azula said, but she had a clear idea already.

And not even a few feet further did it come into her sight. A door in space, just like the one within the garden before. Azula started to laugh, "Well, let's find out whose past we visit now."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're about to find out."

Azula approached the door, and twisted the handle open. She was assaulted by spring-time, the light colors and pleasant breeze entered the sands like they were invading, bursting throught the frame, no longer wanting to be contained. "What did you do?" Toph wondered as Azula stepped through the door.

"Come on, and watch your step."

"Watch my what now -- Ooph!" Toph stumbled through the door and landed hard against the pavement. "What did I just hit?" She groped at the ground, suddenly very familiar and did a brief sweep of the ground again to be sure, "No sand?"

"No sand," Azula confirmed. "This is the main gate of our school."

"Great, that so narrows down who could have made this place to everyone."

"No," Azula said, watching with great care as a girl stumbled up towards the school, looking mousy and completely overwhelmed by the place's Fire Nation architecture. Her hair done up in loops in front and tied up in back. Azula frowned. "Katara."

Markings in the sand, arrows that began to wear away as the wind blasted the sands across them, led their path slowly through the desert. Sokka busily crafted another one as they moved. "I don't know how well this will work, but at least we'll know which we went last time, right?"

Zuko nodded. He had to admit, this wasn't a bad idea. "I think we're making some progress."

"Me too," Sokka said. "Feels like we're getting somewhere, finally."

Zuko nodded in agreement. The formerly endless expanses of sand seemed less intimidating now, and though sometimes they had to guess which way they went previously, they'd made it further than they had before, more and more unmarked lengths on the trail.

There was a slight incline to the sand now, and it grew sharper as they moved forward. Reaching the top of the incline, they looked out at a large ruined structure, pieces that fell into the sand and large struts that held strong, made of some white stone that shimmered in the sun.

"Whoa," Sokka said, "That's massive."

"It looks like we found something, finally," Zuko said. He stared at the slope down and frowned, "You lead."

"Why me?"

"Because if anyone's going to slip and fall, it's going to be you."

"Baby," Sokka muttered. "All right, I, Sokka Floes, shall lead our expedition into the ruins. And take all the glory that comes with it, also. Can't forget that."

And it was a treacherous climb down. The sands sifted through his fingers when he tried to grab hold of something. Sharp, hidden stones lanced at his feet as he went down, and Zuko just watched, following him from a safe distance across the path.

"See, this is nothing," Sokka said. "We'll be there in no time whatsoev-ahh!"

The sand beneath his feet gave way, causing him to fall several feet and land harshly upon a cold stone floor. The sand that had welled at the bottom had broken his fall, but his body still ached afterwards. "Sokka?" Zuko called down, "You alive?"

"No, I think I broke my neck," Sokka moaned, trying to straighten his head and get a look around the cavernn he'd stumbled upon.

"Good thing you led, huh?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," Sokka muttered. Zuko's smirk was too smug, he thought, he'd have to punch it off him later. He walked about the cavern, his eyes narrowing at the torches that, while unlit, seemed to only recently have extinguished. "Someone's been here," he concluded.

"What?"

"Someone's been down here. Maybe one of the others. There's a tunnel here, maybe we could follow it."

"Coming."

Sokka turned and saw Zuko descend from above, landing perfectly on his feet, and rising from the crouch, he just glowered back at Sokka's dumbfounded expression. "I could have done that," Sokka said, blustering, "I just didn't want to."

The two followed the tunnel a while, groping the walls for guidance. They kept quiet, speaking only when necessary, and growing ever more anxious.

After a while, Sokka whispered, quietly, "I'm not so sure that it was one of ours that lit those torches anymore."

Zuko grunted in agreement.

"Better be careful, you take the lead."

"Fine."

Zuko took to the lead, passing through the passage slowly and deliberately. Sokka stayed behind, looking even more anxious as they went further in. The soft light of a burning torch in the distance made it all the quicker to move through, but they continued at a steady pace.

"Do you see anything?" Sokka wondered.

"Yeah."

"What?"

"A whole lot of doors."

"You know what, on second thought, I don't really want to know -- what?"

"A lot of doors," Zuko said,. He looked at them, all floating mysteriously, most without any handles he could see. "This is weird."

"Just like in the maze," Sokka commented. "Azula said there were some in the garden, too. They led to the past, or something?"

"So they said," Zuko said.

"See if you can open one of these," Sokka said. "I've got to see this for myself." He tugged at a door, then pushed, neither seemed to provoke a response. "Come on! Open already!"

"No luck here," Zuko said, "Looks like they're locked."

"I got it," Sokka said, snapping his finger, "We need Azula's key to get in! That's the only logical explanation."

Zuko shrugged. "Well, then we have to find Azula. So, let's get to it, partner!"

"Wait a second," Zuko said. Sokka looked over at him, and nodded. Something was amiss. Sokka let his ears and eyes scan the surroundings. Sure enough, foot steps, and they were getting closer. "You hear that?"

"Yep," Sokka said. He drew his weapon, slowly, "Think it's something nasty?"

Zuko nodded, drawing as well.

"I see you boys are happy to see me," a sultry voice drawled, stepping behind doors, practically traipsing through the room, just out of sight. Whoever it was, they moved light, and when they turned to catch a glimpse, all they saw was a flash of hair.

"Who are you?" Sokka said, his voice anxious. His ears, he reasoned, were playing tricks on him. "Show yourself."

"From the top," the voice said, pushing a door open, "Ka," another door flung open just as suddenly, causing the two to turn, "Ta."

"Don't finish that --" Sokka warned, turning as another door burst open and a girl slunk through the empty frame.

" -- Ra." She smiled. It was Katara, all right, but every brotherly impulse in his body was flaring up. Everything was wrong. She was dressed for a day at the beach, but the clothes were certainly more revealing than anything Katara would wear in public.

He glared over at Zuko, receiving only a confused retort, "What?"

"Now, now, don't get jealous, big brother," Katara giggled. "Zuko's too much of a gentleman, that's why he can't even get to second base."

"What!" Zuko's eyes bugged out, and then he backed away apprehensively, "Who told you that."

"Mai, though she told me to keep it a secret. She's convinced we were an item and really, who wouldn't. It was nice letting people think I had the new hotness on a leash."

"I know this isn't the real Katara," Zuko muttered, "But this is ridiculous. You're just making stuff up now!"

"Am I really?" Katara's other self asked, her darkened eyes glistening sinisterly, "Zuko, you once told me that you killed my mother. And you really believed it too! It was so funny when it turns out that Agni killed her, I almost couldn't take you seriously for a week."

"Whoa, Katara, calm down. He was like eight when that happened," Sokka said.

"Yeah, same age as you. I remember how you used to wet your bed when you were eight, that was a riot. But of course I had to do the washing, so thanks a lot, bro."

"Hey, you promised not to tell anyone that!"

"Oh, sorry, I totally forgot," she said in a airy deadpan. She twirled her hair between her fingers, "Anyway, what was it I wanted to tell you. Like, I remember now!" Zuko averted his eyes as she reached onto her person and pulled out a strangely shaped piece of metal. "You were looking for this, right?"

"The key!" Sokka shouted, "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, I know what you're thinking. But honest, I didn't take it from anyone. If I did, I'd tell you for sure and junk."

"Give it back!" Sokka shouted.

"No way, bro bro," she said, spinning it expertly into the air and catching it, "Finders keepers losers weepers. I totally called dibs on it, so it's mine. Too bad, so sad!"

"And I thought Yue's other self was stuck up," Zuko growled. "This can't really be another side of Katara, right? This is just some joke."

"I don't buy it, either,"

Bouncing suddenly between the bubbly persona she had taken towards a darker sort, she prowled forward with every intent in her sinews being focused on the two in front of her, she gave a sexy smile and said, "You boys don't believe I'm the real thing? Too bad. You won't be getting this key, then."

"Hey! Stop that!" Zuko shouted, looking about nervously.

"All I wanted to do was play a little game. It's so boring waiting for her all alone, won't you boys keep me company?"

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Sokka said, he looked apprehensively towards Zuko and with a glance communicated they both knew that they had no other options, "But what kind of game."

"Oh, like, for real?" Katara's eyes bounced back to life. "You won't regret agreeing!"

"I don't recall making saying that!" Sokka shouted, but it was too late. Katara opened a door and threw them in with a shove.

"Oh, come on, bro! It'll be great!" she shouted as Sokka plummeted down through the door, "All you got to do is, y'know, find me!"

"That's Katara?"

"Yes," Azula said. Toph and herself hid behind the trees planted along the gate to follow Katara through the school. The thinning crowds of students and the clock teetering closer to the beginning of classes made this all the harder, but Katara also tended to stay apart from the crowds.

"No way. Sugar Queen's like a total popularity snob," Toph protested, "That can't be her."

"This is her first day," Azula pointed out. "Just transferred from another school. Taken a bit by surprise, but my father's offer was one they couldn't refuse."

"Yeah, but people make friends on the first day, right?" Toph suggested. "She's just keeping to herself."

"And looking awkward, too," Azula pointed out, wryly. "That's how I remember meeting her, actually. She's out of her element, here."

"No kidding," Toph said, "She couldn't be more of a fish in a lava pool than this."

Azula nodded.

They probably would have been more alert if they weren't so busy following Katara, and they would have noticed the looks they received from one student, who then proceeded to bump into another in an entirely too subtle way, and that student's suddenly brisk walk inside would have set off klaxons.

But they missed all of those signs, and when a low, dry voice from behind them asked, "What are you ladies doing?" they nearly jumped out of their skins.

Azula turned and came face to face with Long Feng. The Disciplinary Committee's faculty advisor and the most feared man on campus cut a rather intimidating profile in the spring sky, darkening clouds for miles around.

"Miss Azula," he continued, "I'd expect more from you."

"Of course you would," Azula said, without missing a beat, "Which is why this test was absolutely necessary."

"Test?"

"Yes, test. Are your ears going?" she asked, testily, "My father wanted me to make sure that the school's disciplinary committee was doing its job. That was a hefty budget you put in this year, you know."

"Well, yes, but all necessary," Long Feng said, suddenly a bit off-guard by Azula's apparent omniscience.

"Absolutely, I can see that now. Your committee acted without prejudice, and I thoroughly believe we all should be held to the same standards. Don't you agree, Long Feng?"

"Absolutely. Absolutely true, Miss Azula. I'm glad to see you have a good head on your shoulders."

"Thank you, Long Feng. I'm glad we have as reliable a supervisor as you. I fear without you, the Disciplinary Committee would lose direction, focus. You're an essential part of this school, and I'm going to let my father know that. Chairman Zhao will also be alerted."

"You're too kind, Miss Azula," Long Feng said, "But I'm afraid I have other things to attend to, today. Do behave yourself from now on, I'd hate for further misunderstandings of this sort to occur"

"Understood," Azula said, nodding her head. When he was gone, she rolled her eyes, "That old fool is more trouble than he's worth."

"How did you do that?"

"What?"

"Lie like you had it all made up in your head. I know you didn't expect the Dail Li."

"No one expects the Disciplinary Committee," Azula bristled, "I merely knew that he was a worthless sycophant and considering when we are, I knew he would fall in line. If we'd been a few months later, I doubt that would have worked so well."

"I see. Man, oh man, you were a pro. I wish you weren't totally crazy, I'd totally be your biggest fan."

Yes, Azula wryly thought, that was just what she needed. Setting aside the disparaging cmoments of her sanity, Azula just didn't know how she would deal with a tagalong Toph. There'd be times when she'd be useful, certainly, but she was beginning to wear thin already. "Let's just move out."

"So what do we even do here? Is there like another door we need to find?"

"I don't know," Azula frowned, "Last time, Katara just broke the whole thing."

"Oh, right, right. Well, let's get to breaking it!"

"It isn't that simple," Azula said, testily, "It isn't so easy as creating a time paradox. If it were, all I'd have to do is find and talk to myself." She frowned, "And that opportunity may be presenting itself right now."

"Why?"

"That car," she said, "The one that pulled in. It's Zhao's. He must be briefing me on our newest recruit. This was a few days after Zuko's little tantrum, I think," she tapped her chin, "Or had that happened yet?"

The younger Azula slunk out of the passenger's side door and walked around to the gate, and Azula studied herself intently. She was only a year or so older now, but still, she really seemed different than that mocking parody she saw in the mirror.

So elegantly, she walked to the front, the entire crowd parted for her, and a hush fell over them. "They feared me," Azula said, smiling, watching.

"You sound way too happy about that,"

"Why shouldn't I?" Azula hissed, "The school respected me, for my influence and power. I was going to run for Student Council president that year."

"Yeah, yeah," Toph muttered, "I know. And you won, even though there were better candidates."

"If I weren't --"

"Whatever, let's just go! Stop gawking at yourself and let's move. We got to find Katara, remember?"

Azula hesitated, and relented. The crowd was thinning, following the other Azula inside, They entered at the tail. The school itself didn't change much in a year, but the people milling around seemed so different.

"Hey, Azula, I thought you were off to the Principal's office," someone said, "Why are you still hanging around the foot lockers."

"Sorry, Miss Houou, my boyfriend's not very polite --"

"It's fine," Azula said, sighing. At least they didn't notice that she looked so much older anyway. "I merely forgot something. I'll be on my way then."

"Um, Miss Houou," the girl said, as Azula walked away. Azula froze, knowing all too well what was coming next, "The Principal's Office is the other way, down the hall."

"Yes, I know," she answered, "I decided not to go."

"Why were you going to the Principal's Office? Do something bad?" Toph teased once they were out of earshot.

"Don't be ridiculous," Azula scoffed, "I was merely requesting the first year room rosters to find Katara. But, thankfully, I remember which class she was in. Ah, here we are," she said, looking up at the room's number.

1-D.

"So, what do we do?"

"Wait."

"Super."

There was a crack in the ground.

It was long, and it didn't seem to be precisely part of the ground, Sokka thought, more like the crack on an old painting, where the paint began to chip, somewhat removed and yet wholly a part of the ground around them.

"Oh that's not good," he concluded. "Where are we, anyway?"

"I don't know," Zuko muttered, "It looks like Ba Sing Se."

"Sure does," Sokka said, frowning, "But where in Ba Sing Se are we?"

There was a storm brewing in the night sky, and there was a building in the distance that lit up the skyline brighter than daylight. The storm seemed to be focused around it, ominously, like a mad scientist's laboratory in the middle of an unnatural experiment.

"Oh no," they both came to a sudden and stark realization.

"That's the main city headquarters, where my Uncle's lab --" Zuko hesitated, "We have to get there, we have to stop it!"

"Zuko!" Sokka said, grabbing his friend by the arm, "We'll never make it in time. It's too late to stop it."

"What do we do, then? Watch?"

"No, we find her," Sokka said, "We find that fake Katara, get that key back, and track down the others. Once we get Katara to get rid of her other version, we get out of here and find a way out of this maze once and for all, got it?"

"But --"

"We don't have any other choice," Sokka said, "I know, I want to stop it too, but we can't, not now anyway."

As a flash of lightning lit up the sky, it became apparent how great the damage already was; Like massive spiderwebs, the night sky was full of cracks and shattered fragments began to fall from the sky, slowly.

"Oh man," Sokka said, "She did a number on this place."

"This isn't right," Zuko frowned.

"Well, we got to find her," Sokka said, "Preferably before the sky falls and kills us. I can't believe I actually said that."

"Waiting is boring, and so is pretending to be going to the bathroom to every Dai Li scumbag that eyes us."

"I know," Azula frowned, "But it's almost lunch."

"What's so important about lunch? We've been here like three hours!"

"Four," Azula answered. "Or at least, it seems like it."

"I'd rather sit in on one of Mad Scientist Bumi's lessons," Toph huffed. Whether or not it really had been four hours wasn't exactly clear to Azula. For all she knew, these projections of the past could just be elaborate illusions of her head, though that didn't explain Toph -- maybe the entire maze was just the last musings of a dying brain.

Azula grimaced. It didn't suit her to have such grim thoughts.

The bell sounded.

"Okay! It's lunch! Great! Now what?"

"Hear those footsteps?" Azula said. Toph nodded, slowly, "Those are mine. I'm coming to meet Katara, to offer her a chance to join the Bending Club. Interesting, yes?"

"Maybe," Toph said, hesitantly. "What's so important about this?"

"I don't know," Azula said, "But I have a theory that it may prove enlightening."

And Azula from a year ago was walking down that corridor a little ahead of the bell when the classes started to file out into the halls to meet with friends, homecooked lunch boxes at the ready.

Katara stepped out alone, and froze when she saw the younger Azula coming straight for her. She didn't know what to make of this, and hesitantly, she began to breathe ever so slowly. "Miss Floes, I presume," Azula watched herself say, and in her head, she was going through the memory of the conversation.

Katara stepped back slowly, "Miss Houou." Yes, she knew her well, she hated her already and didn't even have a reason. Azula's older face grinned wryly, she would soon have plenty of reasons.

"I'm glad you accepted out invitation to this school. I know the first day can be rough, so, how would you like to join me for lunch?"

"Thanks for the invitation," Katara said, her back totally rigid, "But I'd rather eat seal blubber."

"Yuck," Toph intoned from their vantage point. "You two sure did get along perfectly."

"Quiet," Azula hushed Toph with a low hiss, "I'm trying to listen."

Whatever Azula had then said was lost in the noise, but the next thing Katara said made it perfectly clear her feelings, "No, I don't like you one bit, Miss Houou. Your family ruined my life."

"That's a bit extreme," Azula's younger self said, "The official stories say it was an accident. Don't you believe them?"

"No, you're all liars as far as I'm concerned," Katara hissed. "I don't want to eat lunch with you, I don't ever want to see you again."

"You're being unreasonable," Azula said. "What if I told you that I'm offering you a chance to find out what really happened to your mother."

Those words broke the tension. The frustration and anger that Katara held was unleashed and she pushed Azula down to the ground. Watching herself being pushed to the ground, she knew what was going to happen now.

Crowds would form, slowly at first, but with word of mouth, more and more of the school would be eager to see the new girl trying to beat up the most popular girl in school. It was not a real fight. Katara fought like a boy, probably learned from her brother, Azula realized in retrospect, and she did hit hard.

The vague memory of the stinging in her gut from that first punch still lingered in the back of her mind. Azula, however, couldn't fight back, not at her best, at any rate, without blowing the whole thing wide open.

So she had to settle for fighting back with a few good slaps and scratches of her own. Pride wouldn't let her be beaten there.

The crowds were getting larger now, it was getting harder to see.

"I wish I could have seen this! Er, you know what I mean." Toph slammed her fist into her palm, "So, did you beat her up or did she take you by surprise?"

"We didn't finish."

"What is the meaning of this?" Long Feng bellowed as he broke through the spectators. He pulled the younger Azula off of Katara and looked both squarely in the eye. "Who started this?"

"I did," the younger Azula answered, looking at Katara, pointedly. The shock on Katara's face would have been evident to anyone who looked at it. "I made some remarks I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, Katara."

"Twice in one day, Miss Azula," Long Feng said, disapprovingly, "I don't think you can get out of this one so easily."

That was different.

Twice in one day? Obviously, he remembered the meeting with her before, but he didn't meet her that day prior, that was the problem. Around the floor, cracks started to jut out with growing speed, multiplying and growing.

But as entire fragments of the world began to float into space, unnoticed by those around them, another series of cracks started to rush towards them.

"This is not good," Azula reasoned, even as her younger self was lead way. "We need to get out of here, now."

From between the cracks, sand began to blow in.

"Where are we going?" Zuko asked.

"I know this street," Sokka said, rounding across a short alley, "I came this way from school when I was like eight."

"Oh." Zuko frowned deeper, "So we're going to your home?"

"That's the idea." Sokka broke into a sprint, "We're nearly there, come on!"

They ran up the hill to a large complex building. There it was, Sokka's eyes said, home sweet home. Zuko looked at it more objectively. It was a good sized complex, and the apartments were probably pretty expensive. However, it was a little out of the way, and more importantly, it looked a little empty.

"So this is it?"

"That's right!"

"Where is she?"

"Who knows. Inside?"

"How do we get inside? Breaking a window?"

"We could knock?"

"And then?"

"I'll think of something, okay?"

Zuko grimaced, but followed. There were very few lights on, and in the distance, the building's bright lights seemed to drain the rest of city of energy. Was it just a building asleep, or was something else going on, he wondered.

He felt more apprehensive.

Something was moving, watching them, he was sure of that now. "Sokka," he said, "You go ahead. I'll watch your back."

Sokka approached the building and Zuko's gaze fell all around them, at the darkness that surrounded them. Was this an ambush? He couldn't shake it, but he didn't know who would pop out.

Who or, as the case may be when dealing with the Spirit World, what.

Jittering shadows, caught only in the brief glimpse of light during the storm, with their large, buglike eye that stared from between the cracks -- they saw him and they knew he saw them. "Sokka! Watch out. It's a trap."

Sokka turned and drew his blade just in time, as a large swarm darted out of the cracks around them, surrounding them quickly. "This is bad," Sokka concluded. "This is real bad."

To be continued.

Author's Note: And we end our return on a cliffhanger. Well, what else could I do? This story's not gotten enough of a focus lately, and I feel bad about that. But, I'm going to focus on it for the next couple of weeks and hopefully build up a nice lead.