"These battle scars

Don't look like they're fading,

Don't look like they're ever going away."

- Guy Sebastian

So far, it has been a quiet trip back to the South Pole. Aang is seated at the front of Appa's saddle, holding the reigns. Toph is across from me, one hand gripping the edge of the saddle tightly. She hates to fly and her nauseated moans of displeasure are proof of that.

We stayed two weeks more in the North Pole. Most of our time was spent rebuilding what the Fire Nation had managed to destroy. But we all attended Yue's funeral, which was tragic and beautiful. It was held at night and the entire city was there. Everyone knows how she gave her life to protect the city and everyone in it. Her spirit lit up the sky, shining down and reminding all of us of her bravery and our own.

Sokka is with the other warriors on their boats and headed home as well. He is brave in front of them and all of us, but I know that when he's alone at night and looking up at Yue's spirit that he will be still. Atleast her light will be there to comfort him.

I don't know what happened to Zuko after Aang and I left him lying on the icy ground. He was alive, obviously, but whether or not Zhao came back for him, I don't know. If he wasn't there with Zhao in the first place, I still don't understand what he was doing in the city anyway. Looking for Aang, I suppose. Whom I can tell is wondering how Zuko and I ended up as the last two people on the plaza with the ocean about to swallow us. But he hasn't asked. And for that I'm glad, because there is a lot of backstory between Zuko and I that I haven't shared with anyone. And I don't plan to, either.

"Guys…" Aang starts, his voice hesitant. He doesn't turn back to either of us.

"Yes?" Toph answers for the both of us, hugging her body tighter in an attempt to shield herself from the wind.

Aang's head tilts. "I just… I'm starting to wonder if I'll be ready to face the Fire Lord by the time Sozin's comet arrives."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well…I can't find a fire bending teacher for the life of me. And the Avatar State…" He pauses again.

Toph sits up. "What about it? Katara said you looked terrifying."

"I did not!" I say sharply. Although, I probably did say that. But I don't want Aang thinking that I'm afraid of him. The Avatar State is an important skill that he needs to master. He needs to know that we support him. "Alright, well, maybe…but I didn't mean it that way. You looked powerful, is what I meant to say."

Aang sighs, his shoulders deflating. "Well, it felt terrifying. The Avatar State gives me the power of all the previous Avatars."

"Sounds cool." Toph reports, oblivious to Aang's unease toward the subject.

"Maybe if I knew how to control it. But I don't see how that'll be possible." Aang scoffs.

I frown. "Why not?"

"Because whose gonna teach me, Katara? I don't even know how it happens! I just saw that water and I saw you and I was so mad and scared and then all of the sudden…" He shakes his head back and forth.

"Aang." I move to sit next to him. "We still have time. I'm sure there's someone in the spirit world who can teach you. And you'll find a fire bending teacher, don't worry. You and Toph will be back in the Fire Nation tomorrow."

"Yeah, twinkle toes. Don't worry." Toph chimes in. "I can always threaten someone into teaching you how to fire bend."

I nod. "See? There's always that."

Aang makes a tsk sound with his tongue.

"C'mon, buddy. We're just trying to cheer you up." Toph tells him in a softer voice. I nod to show that I agree.

He sighs. "I know. Thanks, guys."

Suddenly, a burst of blue lightning lights up the sky, nearly hitting Appa. He dives to the left and I tumble backwards into Toph's legs. I can hear the crack of another lightning bolt as it splits across the sky. I listen for the accompanying thunder, but the only rumble I can hear is from Appa as he barely dodges another bolt. I'm pretty sure that we're flying too high to have encountered a storm, even if there was a storm cloud in sight.

I push myself up onto my knees, just able to catch a glimpse of three Fire Nation airships before Aang grabs me. "Get down!" He shouts, shoving me face first into Appa's saddle. I don't think I've ever heard him yell with such conviction before.

Appa makes another sharp left turn, dodging another bolt of lightning. "What's going on?" I demand.

"I'd like to know the answer to that also!" Toph has a white knuckled grip on Appa's saddle and her face is turning a queasy shade of green.

"It's Azula!" Aang explains, gritting his teeth as he pulls Appa's reigns in an upward motion.

The familiar sound of flames shooting towards us causes me to lift my head and reach for my water skin. Aang presses harder into my shoulder to keep me down. "Who? They're fire benders, Aang, let me help!"

"No!" He scolds, giving Appa's reigns a hard pull to the right. "She's the Fire Lord's daughter, she-" We take a quick dive down to avoid another burst of fire and my stomach lurches. "She knows who you are!"

Oh. I didn't know Zuko had a sister. I guess the opportunity to talk about it never did present itself. Well that's just great. Now we have two royal Fire Nation kids trailing after us to worry about.

While Aang is distracted with steering Appa, I lift my head in the slightest so that I can get a glimpse of her. She's holding onto the metal pole of a Fire Nation air balloon, her other palm moving in a large circle as blue jolts of electricity spark from it. I've heard that some firebenders have the ability to bend lightning as well. Although, I've never witnessed it until now. And I would be impressed, if I didn't know that bloodbending existed.

Azula is smiling in an off putting way. She's beautiful, with dark black hair pulled behind her face, showing off her pale face and red lips. But not even that can hide the evil in her features. She looks a lot more like Ozai than Zuko does.

And now that I think about it, I vaguely remember her sitting beside the Fire Lord during mine and Zuko's duel. If I had been paying more attention, I would have realized that she was wearing a Fire Nation crown as well. But I do recall being somewhat distracted at that time. That's strange, because I don't remember seeing any other women around the Fire Lord. I wonder where the Fire Lady was and what she looks like. I wonder if she has an evil face, too.

"We can't go back to the South Pole with them following us!" I tell Aang, hiding behind Toph's fur blanket.

Fortunately for us, though, Appa is faster than any Fire Nation airship. Aang leans forward and fixes his grip on Appa's reigns. "I know where we can go to be safe for a while; the Western Air Temple."

Appa finally zooms out of the Fire Nation's shooting range. Despite Aang's warning, I sit up and use my bending to obscure the Princess' line of sight with a few massive clouds. We're far enough away that she wouldn't have been able to see me, anyway. Appa climbs higher into the sky, leaving the airships beneath us and taking off in the direction of the temple.

Appa flies fast enough that we reach the Western Air Temple in under two hours. It's not like any other Air Temple I've seen. The collection of houses are underneath a cliff, suspended downward. The tiers are connected by stairs that are built into the cliffside. It's like an upside-down city.

And it's beautiful, too. It seems almost untouched by the Fire Nation, if you don't count the complete absence of Air Nomads. The other Air Temples I've visited with Aang had remnants of the Fire Nation soldiers, things like helmets and armor pieces. But this place still appears peaceful.

Aang led Appa to a courtyard at the base of one of the tiers. Appa collapsed into a nap almost immediately after we landed.

The first thing I did was take a seat at the edge of the large fountain in the courtyard, peel my boots off, and stick my feet in the water. The air out here is nice and warm, but the wind is enough to make me keep my long sleeves on.

Toph plunks down a few feet away from me. I can tell that she's relieved to be back on solid ground. "Welp," She tucks her knees beneath her chin, keeping her feet planted firmly on the ground. "now what are we gonna do?"

With a quick burst of air bending, Aang is seated directly beside Toph, looking rather worn out. After a moment, I realize that both of them are looking at me for an answer. "We need to let Sokka know what happened." I offer.

"Right." Toph nods, her tone suggesting that I've given her useless information. "And what are we gonna do about finding Aang a firebending teacher?"

I shrug. "We'll just stay here for a few days and then go back to the original plan. Drop me off at home and you two get to the Fire Nation."

"No way!" Aang says. "Azula will find us again."

"We can't hide here forever." Toph says.

Aang glances toward the sky in a way that suggests he wishes we could.

"I think Azula finding us was an accident." I say, slipping my socks and boots back on. Aang is shaking his head, disagreeing with my statement. "Aang, both of us were cloudbending. There's no way that she could have seen us through all of that. I think we're the ones who found them. If we just lie low for a day or two, then we can get back to the South Pole without any problems."

"What if you're wrong?" Toph asks.

Then Aang won't learn firebending and the Fire Lord will take the Avatar powers and we'll die and the Fire Nation will win the war and thousands of people will suffer. "I'm not." I say instead. Neither of them seem too convinced. "Alright, what other choice do we have?"

Toph sighs. "None."

Things definitely aren't looking up right now. For one thing, Aang doesn't know a single thing about firebending. Then there's the fact that if anyone from the Fire Nation recognizes me, they'll offer me up to the Fire Lord for money and there'll be one less person trying to help the Avatar. And worst of all, the Fire Lord now has a meteor that can take the Avatar powers from Aang. If Ozai manages to capture Aang for even a few moments, everything will be over. For all of us.

I press my fingertips to my temples, trying to rub away the oncoming headache. "Why don't we just try to get some sleep for now?"

They both nod solemnly.

After getting our sleeping packs from Appa's saddle, Aang leads us into an area surrounded by large, open metal doors. Wordlessly, we unroll our sleeping bags beside eachother in an awkward triangle shape and lie down.

Listening to Aang and Toph's hushed whispers usually manages to put me to sleep. They only start talking once they think I've fallen asleep, but I don't mind hearing their voices. It's a comforting reminder that they're beside me and not in any danger. I just focus on their voices, rather than the actual words and soon it starts to sound like some kind of lullaby. But not even that can put me to sleep tonight. Sleep is a hard thing to come by these days.

A/N: I promise the next chapter will have Zutara. And the one after that. And the next. And yeah :) You get my point. Thankyou to my new followers and every person who's even glanced at this story. I love you all!