The water nation got cold for the warriors pretty fast, but their visit went smoothly. Aang was a little lost because apparently its inhabitants had changed the layout while he was gone. It was meant to be "more efficient". There were now separate huts where food was cleaned and separate huts where food was stored. These were the ones right alongside the water, and they were usually filled with buckets of fish or fish guts.

Down by the water, Omi used his water-manipulating skills to catch about five fish at once and got drenched in the process. He froze almost immediately, but a nice boy from the village offered him a fur coat and the two of them warmed up together by the fire while the fish flopped on the ice.

Aang passed by and picked up a fish, then Kimiko, then Raimundo, and then Clay. The last one was left there until Momo prodded it with his foot and still decided to leave it. They spent the evening situated around the fire in one of the huts further inland, sitting on animal furs. The boy Omi met spent his time entertaining them all with stories of his tribe. Omi knew from earlier that the boy couldn't waterbend, so he tried to keep the conversation away from this subject the whole time they were talking. Eventually it got awkward with the little warrior cutting everyone off mid-sentence, so everyone just decided to lay back in the snow and warm their feet.

Dojo was anxious about returning to his own world and wondered how long they had been gone, so they left the Water Tribe behind to continue their tour of Aang's land even though Omi could have stayed longer.

The boy who had befriended Omi picked his coat up from the ground and went back outside to catch more fish. He wasn't sure what to think of the waterbender, but he knew he was nice. He realized what he had done last night, not wanting him to feel left out. He thought bending was really cool, and he definitely wished the fire-lighter could have showed him her ways.

"So guys, how long have we been here anyway?" asked Dojo after 10 minutes of flying in the same direction, indistinguishable clouds hovering over them. They were flying over water and everything was beginning to look the same.

"Time flies when you're smelling the roses!" Omi added, not having a care in the world at the moment. He just let the fabric of his shirt flap in the wind, which he was enjoying because he had no hair that could blow into his mouth.

"Could be an hour, hour and a half. Who knows how far apart anything is in this place?" Raimundo chimed in.

"Okay maybe he does," he said, pointing ahead to the small figure on the sky bison's back. "But he could have told us!" He shouted this last part, hoping Aang could hear him above the wind and take the hint.

"I don't really enjoy flying blind like this," complained Dojo. He was used to having some inkling of where he was headed.

As it turns out, Aang was planning on taking everyone to the Fire nation, thinking that once the strange visitors experienced more of his world they would understand it better. He actually felt bad about his fear of the Fire Nation earlier now that Zuko was ruling.

They arrived in the foreign nation about an hour before sunset in a dusty, remote clearing and Aang advised Dojo to hide himself. He figured he could curl up in a jacket pocket or something, but he did want to see the city. Appa was apprehensive about entering the city. He groaned when led closer to the limits and hid as best he could behind some bushes.

Clay followed him, his boots kicking up dust clouds.

"You okay, partner?" The white bison seemed to be frowning with his big mouth, so he continued: "Aang, you got anything that'll cheer your fellow up? I know cows like grass and horses like apples, but I'm not sure that carries over to...flying creatures."

The avatar, from the clearing, assured him that apples were fine if he had any.

"Does it matter which kind? Apple pie is best with Golden Delicious."

"I've never tried apple pie, but the Fire Nation is so big I'm sure somebody sells it somewhere."

All five teenagers looked hard again to get a clear idea of the direction of the place they had spotted from the air-on the lower slope of a hill.

"Um, this doesn't look like a nation of fire to me," said Raimundo.

To most people, i.e. the citizens of other nations during the war, he would have been right. No black steam from the naval ships crowded the sky, and soldiers had withdrawn from all the inland towns, leaving them peaceful except for the occasional skirmish between neighbors. But there were a few scattered temples here and there, a few other specific jobs, and scattered logos on a few of the towns structures that let visitors know exactly who they were with.

"You're right. It just looks like a village. The scarier parts are on some of the older islands, but I have friends there. Also, some of these people are just normal people. Not everyone can bend," Aang explained as he started walking downhill, his staff giving him the silhouette of a grass, unkempt and devoid of any pattern earthbenders could have created in it except for new footprints, brushed their legs as they headed towards the small houses and huts below.

"Clay?" Kimiko called.

"Don't worry, I'm comin'!" he shouted back. "I just wasn't sure if Appa was feeling too good."

"I told him to stay here since we're not staying the night in the city. I figured we could get a look around right now and then come back up soon for some rest. But now that I think about it, I guess I could bring back some apples."

Aang's shaggy companion licked the Texan affectionately.

The person next to Appa decided to stay there for the night as he was tired and he couldn't keep his eyes from drooping. The fur he was leaning on, dirty from any bugs he had flown through, was softer than his pokey hay at home. After his fellow warriors left, he fell asleep against the snoring airbending animal with the brim of his hat pulled down over his forehead.

"Bending. That is a cool name for controlling the elements," flattered Omi. "I will see if Master Fung would like to use that term. It is so much more exciting than 'controlling the elements'."

By this time the benders had all made it into the quiet village. The first house they passed allowed a couple windchimes to hang over the front porch, but no breeze rattled their chimes. In every one there was a centerpiece in the middle that held a dancing flame. It was these that lit the humble streets of these proud people while they slept.

Most of these villagers worked hard at their jobs during the day and jumped at any chance of rest they got. Even Aang was surprised at the stark difference between their lives and Zuko's. Raimundo, Kimiko, Omi, and Aang all enjoyed the warmth provided by the burning flames. Dojo could also feel it through Kimiko's shirt pocket.

"There aren't many people to meet right now, but I could show you a temple. You have temples where you come from, right?" asked Aang.

"Of course! We actually train at one," said Kimiko. "Since we're out this late I'm really glad we won't have to get up early in the morning for training."

"I know. It's so nice to be out here and feel free," added Raimundo. All the stands lined up along the road were closed and shuttered and didn't seem anything more than plain. The wood looked cheap, but sturdy. Aang recognized that any one of them might still have food inside, and he thought that when he got some, Appa would be happy that much sooner.

Between the folds of his robe he could hear the jangling of a few coins he had picked up long ago. It was annoying to carry them this way instead of safe with his luggage on Appa's back, but he didn't have shoes, so he did what he could.

The coins jingled faintly and wasn't any louder than a flaming wind chime would have been in a light breeze.

The green dragon yawned.

"Is anyone else hungry? I can't help thinking we should get some food on the way. Temple food tends to be a little bland."

He poked his head out between the folds of Kimiko's pocket, but put it back as there wasn't much to see.

The tattooed boy skipped ahead of his tired company and quietly blew the covers open on some of the fruit stands.

The wind cushioned the wooden shutters before they could bang against the stands and wake anyone up. Inside most of them were a few chairs and boxes, left empty from the day's sales and shop owners wanting to protect their fruits from bugs or thieves.

Aang blew the window covers shut, leaned against the wall, and slid down to the ground. The Xiaolin warriors continued on and looked down the alley around the stand. The town wouldn't have been any darker if it had been draped in a blanket.

The alley led back out into the field, but this part was relatively well-tended; the grass was greener and shorter and grew around a fruit tree.

"Who's there?" a voice called.

"It is I, Omi, an unknown warrior in these parts but not any less—"

"It's the avatar," blurted Raimundo.

After the voice spoke a few more words, even Dojo could tell it was coming from above. He peeked out and saw an apple tree. Theleaves didn't rustle until Aang use his airbending skills, which still didn't reveal anything.

"Is anyone there?" the quiet voice yawned again. "Hold on-the avatar? My mother told me that you saved the world after I was born, but—whoa—" the girl nearly fell trying to get a good view "—I was too young to remember, so I wasn't sure if you were real."

"Yeah, I'm real," confirmed Aang.

"Um, hello?" started Kimiko. "Do you live here?"

Dropping down to the lowest branch, the girl nodded. Aang brought her to the ground on a cloud of air.

"My house is that one at the corner." But she caught herself and then said: "I mean the corner next to this one, out of sight. But my dad lives on that hill over there, so I could be at any of those houses at any time. So you probably won't find me again."

Even though she was new to the world, the young short-haired girl was used to moving around a lot like her family did during the war, and just couldn't stay in one place. She sometimes came back to the tree to pick apples for her mother to sell, which she wouldn't admit to enjoying.

"Would you mind if we took some apples?" asked Kimiko. "Aang'll pay."

"No, it's okay. I'm tired, anyway. As long as you can get them yourselves, they're yours for free."

Omi observed the fruits hanging above him. Although they didn't look too high up, he couldn't even scratch the bottom of one. The little warrior didn't stop jumping, though.

"Omi, man, come on, be more dignified," the Brazilian chided.

Before he could continue, Kimiko used the Lotus twister to snatch three apples. All of them returned to the town after Aang left coins by the base of the trunk. To get back to clay and their campout, Aang led the the same way they had come.

Kimiko noticed a dropped windchime and looked around to see if any of the houses were missing one. As far as she could see every house had these fiery beacons, so she put it in her pocket for safekeeping: a souvenir.

When they got back to the clearing it was late, and Dojo insisted that the pagoda would have been much more comfortable because tatami mats were better than dirt. Clay didn't stir as they arrange themselves for the night.

"'Night, Appa," Aang whispered.

Kimiko curled up next to Appa, but he scooted away and Clay fell back on the ground, still snoozing. She put out a hand to pet his head, but the bison backed up.

At a loss, she curled up in the nearest tree like the girl she had just met. She seemed nice.

Under the paw of Aang's companion, she thought she could see their bag. Apparently he had shifted onto the Shen Gong Wu. Wait. Was that...was that the Reversi Mirror under his heavy paw? Was it broken, or just the fire girl's mind playing tricks on her?

The sun rose and Appa groaned loudly, sounding like a foghorn in the morning mist. Not many of them remembered arriving here because it was so early. The young airbender was completely baffled as to why there were glass shards in his bison's paw. One was particularly big, and Kimiko felt terrible as he drug it out. The worst part of the wound was covered by white fur, but that didn't hide the pain.

Last night's suspicions had been right. The mirror had shattered. Chase Young and all of the Haylin villains were still in China as far as she knew, so they might not have needed the Wu for a while.

"Stay calm, Appa, just stay calm," Aang encouraged.

Kimiko's arm was numb from sleeping and red from the bark, but she could move it enough to press the buttons on her wrist communicator.

"Master Fung?" she asked. "Can you hear me?" This was the first time her father's technology had failed her; he had even upgraded their watches before they left. Only static filled the screen and softly crackled.

"Clay? Rai? Omi?"

The brown-haired boy was the slowest to wake up; in this way he reminded Aang of Sokka. He had a feeling something was wrong, though. Clay wasn't too mad about finding himself flat on the dirt.

Kimiko hopped down from the tree, glad she hadn't removed her shoes last night. As it was her feet could feel rocks poking them from underneath. She rummaged through her bag and retrieved her phone before pulling the drawstring to close it again. The mobile device couldn't find any service on the seemingly isolated island. It went back in the cloth bag.

The avatar placed the bloody glass in a pile to make it safer. Opaque blood covered the design that had graced the magical item, and it didn't even look special anymore. Just like a hideous weapon.

"Well obviously the Reversi Mirror broke," stated Raimundo.

"It's one of the Shen Gong Wu," Clay clarified, petting Appa. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, yeah. While we were gone, a nice girl gave us some apples," said Kimiko, walking over to feed Appa. He still shied away.

"I guess Appa doesn't like me," she mused aloud.

The farmer's son grabbed the apple after Kimiko set it on the ground, wiped it with his shirt, and saw it crunched by the sky bison without incident. Kimiko seemed to be right, although she didn't know why.

"Uhhh..."

The shortest of the group stood at the edge of the clearing, drooling. He hadn't known that Shen Gong Wu could be broken. It didn't seem right, and it made the new world seem like it really ws strange enough to come out of some yo-yo.

"Shouldn't we fix it? Master Fung will be very disappointed when he hears abouthis broken looking glass," warned Omi.

"It's not exactly a looking glass," said Clay. "Just a mirror. Since we fight with it, we don't really use it that way."

Kimiko had used it that way a few times, and it was surprisingly helpful.

Birds tweeted around Appa's head, symbolizing just how worn out he felt. They then landed at his feet, pecking at various seeds and pine-cones that had fallen during the night. A few curious ones flew over to the glass, where Raimundo shooed them away.

"Do you really think Master Fung knows about this? I mean really, sometimes it seems the guy has a sixth sense about stuff like that," Dojo pointed out.

Steering clear of the sharp remains of the metal object, Aang climbed over his other leg and found his bag, which he pulled a sheet out of to bandage his paw. He hoped it would heal soon. Really, the mirror was so small it shouldn't have been more than a thorn in his companion's side.

But the thorn bush had to be fixed, and Dojo insisted tape wasn't an option.