Much of the flight had been spent in silence. Zuko looked over his shoulder back at Seiya. She sat at the back of the saddle. Her solemn gaze seemed to wander into the distance.

"Hey," Zuko said, scooting closer. Seiya looked at him. "Don't worry. We'll keep them safe." She didn't say anything. He moved until he was next to her. Katara and Aang were sitting up front on Appa's head. In a low whisper, he asked, "How old are they?"

"Four. Both of them," Seiya answered softly.

"So it's too early to know if they're firebenders," Zuko commented. A part of him wondered who their father was, and what kind of bender he might be. But the thought of such a man caused a small bit of rage to bubble in the pit of his stomach.

"Koru is a firebender," Seiya said. She looked up at Zuko's surprised face. "I can tell."

Zuko gave her a small smile. "No one knows better than Mom, huh?" It felt so strange and inappropriate calling Seiya a 'mom.'

Seiya lowered her eyes. Suddenly, a gust of wind caused one of the metal flowers in her hair to finally come loose. It twirled away and fell straight down to the ground. Both of them turned their heads to watch it. Zuko turned back to Seiya. With her head turned away, her neck cuff was especially visible. He suddenly remembered the dark truth behind it.

Without thinking, he reached out to touch it. Seiya spotted him. Her eyes filled with fear and she pushed his hand away.

"Sorry," Zuko mumbled quickly. He rested a hand over hers. "After all of this is over, after we take that man and lock him somewhere he'll never be able to reach you, we'll take that horrible thing off. We'll find a way."

"I'm too scared," Seiya admitted. "I don't think I want to take it off. I know what'll happen."

"You don't have to be. Katara has amazing healing powers. She'll help you. We all will."

"He threatens to pull them off all the time," Seiya continued, her eyes filling with tears. "Any time we work too slow, or do something wrong, he tells us he's going to take off our cuffs. We've seen him do it before. He took the neck cuff off of a girl and her head lolled to the side. She collapsed and didn't move. Or talk. Or breathe. Ever since then, whenever he mentions the cuffs, we all get so scared and do whatever he tells us."

As Zuko listened, he felt his heart drop. "That won't happen to you," he insisted. He desperately wanted to lighten the mood. He noticed the remaining metal flowers in her hair. He had never thought about it, but they were probably quite heavy. Gesturing towards Seiya's hair, he asked, "May I?"

Seiya reached up, plucked a flower from her hair, hand handed it to him. He held the short stem with the tips of his finger. Then, with a flick of his hand, he sent the flower spiraling away. Seiya watched it.

"Try it," Zuko invited. Seiya pulled another flower and tossed it out. Instead of twirling, it flipped end over end. "That one was always the clumsy one," Zuko joked. Seiya let out a little giggle. She turned her head to the side so that the last flower was facing Zuko.

"There's one left," she offered. Zuko reached over and gently pulled it out. As the flower's stem slid out, Seiya's hair spilled down and billowed in wind. Zuko stared, suddenly filled with nostalgia. With her hair down, Seiya looked so much like when she was younger.

"Shouldn't you set that one free too?" Seiya suggested. Zuko realized he still had the flower in his hand.

"I don't know," Zuko said as he leaned back. He held the flower up next to his ear. "I think I like this look. What do you think?"

Seiya raised a hand to her mouth as she laughed. "I think you look like a proper lady now," she teased. Zuko held the flower out with an open palm. It twitched as a few breezes pushed at it. Then, a large gust of wind caught it up and threw it out into the air. Seiya placed her hands on the edge of the saddle and looked over the edge as it fell. Then, she let out a little gasp. "Wait! We're here!" she called out over her shoulder. At the front, Aang pulled at the reins. Appa spiraled downwards.

As they got closer to the ground, Zuko noticed that the cottage was in shambles. He had an awful feeling that they were too late.

Appa landed on the ground. Immediately, Aang and Katara hopped off. Zuko stepped over the edge of the saddle to help Seiya slide down Appa's tail. As he helped her onto her feet, he saw Seiya's eyes widen.

"No!" she cried, rushing forward. Zuko turned and saw them.

"Uncle? What are you—?" he stopped when he walked around and saw Arlei. Her chin and neck were soaked in blood. There was the end of a pointed rock stuck through her body. Her eyes were half closed and her head leaned back towards the ground. He thought she was dead at first.

"What happened?" Seiya demanded, kneeling down next to Arlei and Iroh. "I-is she…?"

"No. No yet," Iroh responded gravely. He mopped the blood off of her chin with his red-stained sleeve. "But she doesn't have a lot of time left." Arlei coughed weakly, her whole body shuddering. More blood erupted from her mouth, staining her chin again.

"Arlei," Seiya whispered sadly, gripping the woman's hand with both of hers. "I never wanted this to happen to you. I'm so sorry."

Arlei's hooded eyes slowly looked towards her. She lifted her hand from Seiya's. Slowly, weakly, she lifted her hand and gently touched the girl's cheek. "I… I…" Arlei began, her voice faint. "I… couldn't protect… them…" She coughed again. More blood.

"Don't blame yourself. Please don't blame yourself," Seiya pleaded, pressing Arlei's hand closer to her face. "Don't leave me, Arlei! You were the only one there for me!"

Zuko clenched his hands into fists, fighting the lump in his throat. He had never liked Arlei, but at that moment, he didn't want her to die. Suddenly, he heard running footsteps.

"Aang and I checked around," Katara said as they ran up. "We couldn't find the tw—oh no…" She hurried over and crouched next to Arlei. "Let me help." From her pouch, she pulled water out. She formed it into a ring that hovered around the stalagmite and over the wound.

"There's no time!" Arlei snapped, her frail voice gaining a bit of volume. "Th-the kids!"

"We can't just leave!" Katara insisted. She looked up at Zuko. "I need Aang here with me."

Zuko understood. He stood up. "I'll find them," he told Seiya. She rose to her feet too. "I'm coming with you," she said.

Before Zuko could argue, Aang said, "Take Appa and head back to the city," he said. "That's where he's going, isn't it?" He looked at Seiya. "He's going to bring them into the tunnel. I'll catch up with you later."

Zuko and Seiya ran over to Appa and climbed onto the saddle. As they rose into the air, Zuko gripped her hand. "I promise you, we're going to save them," he said to her. She nodded wordlessly.

Katara looked up as the rain began to fall. The drops fell clear onto Arlei's face, and when they rolled down and dripped off her face, they were red.

Katara spotted a large rock structure near them. "What's that?" she asked. Iroh looked over at it. "He trapped the cheetah wolf when he attacked," he said.

"Cheetah wolf?" Aang repeated.

"It's hers," Iroh said, looking back down at Arlei. "This entire time, he wouldn't stop howling. Until now. He probably feels her fading."

Pressing her lips together, Katara kept her eyes trained downwards. But they couldn't stay out in the rain. Arlei had already lost a lot of blood; she wouldn't be able to retain much body heat. Katara needed both of her hands to tend to the wound, and the cottage looked like it was going to collapse at any second. Then, an idea came to mind.

"Aang, make an opening in that structure," she instructed, nodding her head towards Sho's cage. "We need to carry her over there before she gets too wet." Aang shoved one of the structure's sides back into the ground. Iroh carried Arlei over to it. As soon as he set her down, Sho let out a whimper and gently nudged her head with his nose. The cheetah wolf stepped out into the rain, lifted his face, and let out a long, melancholy howl.

Katara split the ring and coated her hands with the glowing water. She passed it over Arlei's abdominal area. "Her insides are… I can't tell any organs apart anymore," she whispered, her voice trembling. Suddenly, her voice became fierce. "I can still do something."

Her determination was admirable, but Iroh knew it was pointless. He had spent many years fighting earthbenders. He came to know many of the wounds they could cause. And he knew which ones were fatal.

"All we can do is ease her pain," Iroh said. He saw Katara scowl.

"No!" she insisted. "I'm not letting her die!" Katara was young. She had only ever seen the end of war. She hadn't experienced it long enough to lose that kind of hope. Was that better or worse?

"Aang," Katara stated, "we need to get this thing out. I need you to earthbend. Very slowly." Iroh couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to object, but decided against it. They had nothing else to lose.

Katara faced the outside and began making grand, pulling motions with her arms. The raindrops began to bend and drift towards her. She continued until she had gathered a hefty amount of water. She set it aglow and covered Arlei's entire stomach with it. "Now, Aang."

Aang pointed his hands at the stalagmite and carefully moved them upwards. The rock slid out a little bit.

Suddenly, Arlei jerked up into almost a sitting position. Katara jumped back and nearly dropped her water. Iroh was startled, too. He thought she had lost consciousness a while ago. But it seemed like she was more awake than ever. This wasn't going to be a pleasant experience.

"I need you to keep her still," Katara instructed Iroh, hovering her hands over the water. Iroh took Arlei by the shoulders and gently pushed her back down. As he did, her eyes suddenly fluttered open and looked up at him. They were filled with terror. Her breathing grew haggard.

"No… stop…" she began pleading, but her voice was drowned out by Katara's.

"Let's try again. Okay, Aang. Keep going."

The stalagmite piece began moving again. Arlei's eyes shot wide open. She began struggling again. It took everything Iroh had to hold her down. She seemed to fight him with inhuman strength. Then she opened her mouth and began to scream. It was a scream filled with pain and fear and torture. The sound chilled Iroh to the bone.

They heard scrabbling, and then Aang cried out. Sho had run to them, grabbed Aang by his sleeve, and thrown him back in an attempt to protect his master. Aang pulled himself onto his feet. "Stay back!" he said to the cheetah wolf, which bared his teeth and growled in response. "We're trying to save her!" The cheetah wolf lunged forward with his jaws open. Aang ducked to the side and pulled the rainwater around Sho. When the cheetah wolf's body was encased in water, he froze it and locked Sho into place. Only his head was untouched. Sho howled and struggled fruitlessly.

Aang hurried back over to the others. Katara ran her hands over the water, trying her best to keep the wound covered. The water was turning pink. Arlei had stopped writhing, but was gasping heavily.

"Ready?" Aang asked, his face somber.

"Go," Katara said in a quiet voice.

Arlei nearly threw Iroh off. The screams started again. This time, she began pleading. "STOP!" she shrieked. "MAKE IT STOP! JUST KILL ME! KILL ME!" It lasted for an eternity. The water grew redder and redder.

Finally, the stalagmite was out. Quickly, Katara shrank the blob of water to fit into the wound. She closed her eyes to focus. The water glowed brighter.

Arlei lay still. With every breath, she groaned, like it hurt just to pull in air. Her eyes slowly began to close. For a split second, Iroh thought he saw them turn completely white. He shook it off and decided it was just his nerves making him jittery.

Katara's eyes opened and she frowned. "I've never seen this happen before," she mumbled under her breath. She expanded the water to cover Arlei's stomach again. "I think I've got things under control. Aang, you should go find Zuko and Seiya."

Aang picked up his glider from off the grass. "Good luck," he told Katara.

"You too."

As he opened his glider, Aang also unfroze Sho. The cheetah wolf stretched his neck out and shook himself dry. "Sorry about that," Aang apologized as he jumped up and flew off.

They say it's easier to just give up

Like the promises we made weren't strong enough

Can we turn down the road

No one else seems to go with a pioneer love

There's a time to kick down the door

There's a time to run away

There's a time when all you can say is

Let it rain

"Let it Rain" by Mat Kearney

Addendum: And you thought pulling out a dry tampon was bad enough.

Wow, this story is going to be finished sooner than I thought. There's probably just a few more (four-ish is my prediction) chapters left. Again, I'd like to thank you for reading. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far!