Ba Sing Se could be seen in the horizon. All while they were in the air, Zuko had kept a close eye on the ground, trying to see if he could see Kang and the twins. There were a few times when he thought he saw the earth moving, but thought it best to keep moving and not lose precious time.

"They'd be very excited to meet you," Seiya said, breaking the silence. "The firelord himself. Especially Koru. He's always wanted to go to the Fire Nation." She sighed. "I wish you could have met them under different circumstances."

"I'll take them to the Fire Nation," Zuko suggested. "And Koru can learn firebending under the best masters. Kani too, if she turns out to be a bender. You can all stay at the palace."

"I'd…" Seiya ducked her head. "I'd rather not leave Arlei."

"We'll bring her too," Zuko said, "even if she doesn't want to go. I'll drag her myself if I have to."

"I don't think you want to do that," Seiya replied lightheartedly. "You don't want to know what happened to the last person who tried to put their hands on her." Something on the ground suddenly caught her attention. "Wait, do you see that?"

Zuko followed her gaze. There was a small cloud of dust on the ground. "That could be anything," he said. "We should head into Ba Sing Se as quickly as possible."

"No, it's them!" Seiya cried, grabbing Zuko's hands and yanking them to pull the reins down.

"How can you be so sure?" Zuko asked.

"Look!" Down on the ground, there was a tiny figure sprinting away from the cloud of dust. Then, the earth underneath them sprung up, throwing them back. Emerging from the dust was a larger figure who caught the tinier one. Appa landed on the ground. Leaping from the saddle, Zuko summoned a string of fire from the tips of his fingers, which quickly grew into a wall of fire that blocked the figures' path. As the flames crackle, the dust settled.

"Let them go, Kang!" Zuko demanded.

Kang turned to face him. He was holding Kani by the hair and had Koru slung over his shoulder. "After I'm done with them, I'm coming after you two Fire Nation scum!" he growled. The man had transformed completely, changed from the innkeeper he had met so long ago. It was astounding how he had hidden the craziness that now oozed out of him. No doubt the madness had started festering the moment Jing Yin tried to execute him. "You, and that useless whore!"

"Don't you DARE call her that!" Zuko roared. He swung his leg and kicked towards Kang, sending a wheel of fire towards him. Instead of trying to deflect the attack, Kang yanked Kani in front of him.

Eyes wide, Zuko lunged towards the fire with his arms and tore the wheel apart so that the flames passed harmlessly on either side. When Zuko was vulnerable, Kang stamped his foot. A fist of rock shot out of the ground and hit him in the chest, knocking him back.

"Kani!" Seiya called from the saddle, about to climb over.

"No, stay back!" Zuko warned, scrambling onto his feet.

Suddenly, Kani head-butted her kidnapper as hard as she could. It caused Kang to stumble a bit. Koru, who had been struggling, slipped off of Kang's shoulder and landed on the ground. When Kang reached for him, Kani pulled him back. "Run, Koru!" she called. The little boy scampered towards Zuko. Kang raised a slab of rock in front of Koru and started dragging him back with it, but Zuko broke it with a burst of fire. He pulled the boy behind him.

"My sister!" Koru pleaded.

Kang gave Kani's hair another harsh yank as she tried to struggle. "You know where to find us." He slammed his fist down, creating a dust storm so violent that Zuko had to cover his face with both arms. By the time the dust cleared enough for him to open his eyes, Kang was gone.

"We need to go to the city now," Zuko ordered. He helped Koru onto Appa's saddle, where Seiya hugged him tightly.

"Yip yip!" Zuko commanded. Appa jumped up. Zuko looked back towards Seiya and the boy. He was hugging her tightly, crying hard.

"Mama, what's happening?" he sobbed. "Is Arlei dead? Is Kani going to die?"

"Everything's going to be fine," Seiya assured him, rubbing his back. "You just need to be brave, okay?" She lifted his head up and kissed his forehead. "Be brave, just like that little boy in the stories I used to tell you. Remember? He was always strong, even when he was scared. Can you be like that boy for me?" Koru nodded.

Zuko turned back just as they passed over the outer wall. He felt a stab of sadness as he listened to Seiya reassure her son. She sounded so much like how he remembered his own mother. They must have loved her so much.

"I know a place where you two will be safe," Zuko said as they flew over the Upper Ring. "There's a general, one of the Council of Five, named Jing Yin. I'll drop you off at her home, and she'll look after you."

"We'll take Koru there," Seiya said. "But I'm going with you."

"Seiya—."

"He has my daughter, Zuko. I'm going with you."

She had already been in enough danger. Zuko didn't want her where she could get hurt, but there was something in her voice that told him how important this was to her. When they landed on the general's estate, Jing Yin was already there to meet them.

"Did you find him?" she asked.

"We did, but he got away," Zuko answered as he lowered Koru down from the saddle. "I know where he's going. Can you look after this one?"

"Of course," Jing Yin replied, a little flustered. She saw Seiya sitting up on the saddle. Her eyes went to the cuff on her neck. "Good luck. Stay safe." She crouched down to Koru's level, giving him a reassuring smile. "I have a son about eight years old. Let's go meet him, okay? I'm sure he'd love to play with you."

"What about my sister?"

"Don't worry, honey. They'll bring her back." As she led Koru into the house, Zuko climbed back into the saddle.

"The Avatar will be there too," Zuko told Seiya as they flew off towards the Lower Ring. "We've taken out guys tougher than Kang." When they got to the Lower Ring, they landed Appa by the Silent Falls Inn.

The metal gate that led to the back alley was open. When they ran back there, they found the tunnel entrance by the furnace open. Without hesitation, Zuko jumped down into the tunnel, followed by Seiya. The crystals could barely illuminate the darkness. "Stay close to me," Zuko said. He felt Seiya take his hand. They ran down the tunnel. The stone door at the very bottom was already wide open, as if inviting them in. Zuko felt Seiya tense.

"You don't have to go in there," he told her.

A determined look appeared her face. "I've been in there before," she said. "And I'm not scared." Zuko nodded. They crossed the doorway together. Just as they stepped through, it slid shut.

There were enough crystals jutting out of the wall to dimly light the room. Kang was nothing more than a shadowy figure standing across the room. He couldn't see Kani.

"Where is she?" Seiya demanded loudly. They heard the little girl cry out, "Mama!"

"I'm still debating whether to just kill you now," Kang mused, his voice reverberating in the chamber, "or leave you here to rot."

"You can't talk like you have the upper hand," Zuko said. "Everyone knows who you are now. They'll make sure you get prison for life!"

"What are you going to do? You can't firebend. Right now, you're at MY mercy!" A large brick flew out of the wall and slammed into Zuko. He hit the ground and tumbled across its dusty surface. Before he could get up, the stone underneath him rose and threw him across the room. He felt himself land on a body. The dress flattened as the dry corpse immediately disintegrated under his weight. Zuko pulled himself onto his feet. He dodged another brick that Kang threw at him, feeling the ground shake as it slammed against a wall. He ran straight for Kang, dodging the moving earth that tried to trip him. When he reached Kang, he threw a punch right at the man's gut. But it was like bunching a solid wall.

Even if he couldn't bend, he was still adept at hand-to-hand. He landed strike after strike before dodging out of the way of Kang's heavier attacks. But Zuko wasn't doing much damage; how could he take down an opponent with exponentially greater weight and stamina? Especially when that opponent could bend, and he couldn't. Zuko hit as hard as he could, but it felt like he was just scratching the surface.

He felt a fist collide with his head. Zuko saw nothing but white until after he hit the ground. Kang's attention was now on Seiya, who had found Kani pinned to the wall and was pulling helplessly at the stone cocoon. He pulled the wall next to her out, grabbed her, and held her to the wall as well.

"Let them go!" Zuko demanded as he pulled himself up. "You can deal with me. Just leave them out of it!"

"You are all going to die." Zuko saw the ground shoot up at him. He rolled to the side just as the stalagmite reared up. His entire body hurt. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last.

Suddenly, he heard an explosion. For a wild second, he panicked and figured that somehow, he had managed to firebend by accident. But instead of flames, he saw bits of stone fly everywhere. He realized that the chamber's door had been busted in.

Zuko saw the figure in the doorway for only a second before they did a grand sweeping motion with the glider in their hands. A violent gust of wind flew through the air and hit Kang. He hit the wall and fell on the floor.

"Aang!" Zuko called out. "Get Seiya and Kani! They're trapped to the wall!" Aang looked over to where they were and freed them.

"Get them out of here!" Aang instructed. "Just run! I'll take care of him!"

"Seiya, let's go!" Zuko said, grabbing her by the wrist and running for the door. But before they could reach the exit, he felt her being ripped out of his grip.

"No!" he heard Kang roar. "You will all die!"

Zuko turned. He saw Seiya being pulled back, dragged by her neck. Then, the cuff opened. With a final motion, it was pulled off. The cuff, with its thin, bloody rod, clattered on the floor. And next to it, Seiya collapsed.

"No!"

We are the fire burning in the world

We gonna light up the darkest nights

We are the kids with the hungry hearts

And they will never keep us apart

"Hungry Hearts" by Nause

Addendum: Anyone else having trouble uploading files onto the doc manager recently? Bleh.