Author's Note: As promised, here is the next chapter! Like I said before I will do my best to update in a timely manner now that my writing muse is back in action. Read & Review, and of course enjoy!
~th3rdhal3~

"More ferocious! Imagine striking through your opponent's heart!" Zuko yelled. The scarred boy's arms were crossed over his chest and his usual displeased expression was on his face. With keen, golden eyes, he studied Aang's form and technique, not looking too impressed.

The rest of us observed from the steps of the Firelord's old manor. Zuko and Aang had been practicing a good long while that morning and I thought the avatar had made some progress. "C'mon!" Zuko pushed the air-bender further. The bald monk broke away from his kata and turned to face Zuko.

"I'm trying!" The boy groaned loudly in agitation. I could see the frustration in his eyes from all the way up the steps. And I couldn't blame the kid either; the prince had high expectations. I figured it was a trait he had inherited from his father.

"Let me hear you roar like a tiger-dilo!" Zuko demanded, regardless of Aang's protests. The air-bender spun 180 degrees, holding both arms out at his sides. Flames sprouted from his palms and a low growl evoked flames from his mouth. Even I had to admit it could have been done better. Zuko and I were on the same page. "That sounded pathetic." The avatar half smiled sheepishly, knowing his form was sloppy. "I said ROAR!" The prince bellowed. Aang tried again and this time the flames were much louder and the boy's sound carried. It even startled Momo! The frightened lemur took refuge behind Zuko's feet. Finally, the scarred boy gave a nod of approval.

With the help from Katara and Suki, Aang was able to take a much desired break-much to Zuko's distaste of course. It was pretty humorous to watch the monk race over to the water-bender who had a nice cold rind full of watermelon juice for him. Zuko scowled and kicked up some dirt.

"Lighten up, Zukes!" I called out to him. I wished the boy could stay optimistic for once instead of being such a downer. He didn't make any sign acknowledging me.

"If you all wanna lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!" And with that, the boy stormed off. I frowned a little by his actions. I thought after all this time the prince would learn to take a chill-pill and not get so uptight. If he wanted to change his image, regressing to child-like tantrums was not the way to do it.

"Beach party!" Sokka's shouting drowned out my thoughts and I was soon wondering why the Water Tribe boy had flung his shirt off into the air. The next thing I knew, the gang and I were having a good 'ol time down at the manor's private beach. The sky was clear and the water the perfect temperature- the only complaint I had was that the sun beat down a little harder on me because I wore a black bikini top and shorts.

Katara was catching some waves on a board she had crafted out of ice. Sokka and Aang began making sand sculptures while Toph practiced her sand-bending.

"Check this out, sifu!" She called out to grab my attention. The blind girl stamped her foot on the sand and pushed out, creating a magnificent sight; a giant circle was displayed in front of us and soon we could see a whole array of shapes and structures within it. I couldn't believe my eyes- my cousin had made a small model of Ba Sing Se.

"Whoa!" Aang marveled at the tiny King Kuei and Boscoe that had been created. My mouth was slightly ajar as well. I had learned to expect amazing things from Toph however.

"Have you been working on your sand-bending, Karuna?" the small earth-bender asked me. The last time we had been around sand was when we were stranded in the desert months ago.

"Not really." I answered honestly. "But I'll give it a shot." I rooted my feet as firmly as I could under the warm tiny grains. For a few moments I stayed this way. Growing accustomed to the feeling. Then, I slowly brought my arms forward. A calm and serene feeling began to inhabit me, and the pleasant sensation aided my concentration.

One by one, the small handfuls of grains became larger masses as they shifted around my ankles., as if the beach around me was alive. I soon felt the roughness slipping through and against my skin on my arms, legs and hands. The more I moved the sand, the more it felt like a living thing- like a serpent. And the more I worked with it, I began to feel in control.

Though Toph couldn't see, she grinned at me and offered her compliments. "Nice, sifu. For not having practiced in a while, you're doing pretty good!" As usual, the praise helped boost my confidence. Aang studied my movements for a few extra moments in silence; it seemed he was taking note for future reference.

After a bit, he said, "that's pretty neat Karuna, but you're not gonna take out any bad guys with that!" The boy teased. I threw him a smirk in response and felt playful myself.

"You wanna bet?" I took a step forward, already feeling more confident in my bending and thousands of grains rushed out at my command. The avatar's eyes widened. I raised the sand in front of me into the air to confront him. "Sand burial!" I shouted in a menacing tone. The avatar hollered and scampered off while I chased after him with my sand.

Toph snickered at the sight of the two of us before checking out what Sokka was up to. The Water Tribe boy was still furiously working on a sand sculpture of his own. Pretty soon, Aang and I stopped our cat and mouse chase to observe. After several trips to the water and back, Sokka revealed his masterpiece...it was definitely something. I wasn't quite sure what he thought it was but all I could see was a sand monster with seaweed hair and shells for teeth.

"Is that a blubbering blob monster?" The air-bender seemed to share my thoughts.

"No!" Sokka objected, looking offended. "It's Suki!" the younger benders and I exchanged a wide eyed glance for a split second before exploding with laughter. Well, Sokka certainly did try.

"Oh man," I cried, wiping the corners of my eyes. "If my boyfriend made me into a beach monster, I might have to bury him on spot!"

"We'll all understand if you dump him!" Toph added.

Suki didn't seem to mind, however. She smiled up at her boyfriend from her seat on her towel. "I think it's sweet." She admitted, to which Sokka swooped down and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. Those two really were a cute couple. Suddenly, my sense began to perk up.

"But it doesn't even look like h-" The avatar began to protest. I smelled the sulfur as it came hurtling towards us and was able to act fast.

"Aang! Move!" I shouted, grabbing the monk by his arm and pulling him away from the sand sculpture before it combusted. The three of us closest shielded ourselves from the sand that rained down upon us. My first thoughts were: we're under attack! But how? And who?

When the air cleared, Zuko could be seen jumping over a low dune. His fists alternated punches, shooting out orange jets...our way. What? It didn't take long to put two and two together and realize he was targeting Aang. The avatar ran, hopping clear over Toph's sand Ba Sing Se before Zuko destroyed it.

So many thoughts ran through my head. What in Agni was the prince doing? Why?! The air-bender took refuge behind the sand App he had made only ten minutes ago. Once the prince dropped down to the beach, I called out to him. "Zuko, stop! What are you doing?" The scarred boy stopped his movements for a short moment. He didn't even look in my direction.

"Teaching him a lesson!" Soon after, a ray of fire shot out at Aang's hiding lace. The monk used his air-bending to dodge the blasts and then he bounded up the rocks of the small cliffs boarding the beach. Zuko fired right after him and then climbed up the ledges himself.

What does he think he's doing? Has he finally lost it? I couldn't ask myself any other questions because Katara came rushing out of the water.

"What happened?" She demanded. "What's going on? Where's Aang?" None of us had a clear explanation; it all happened in a second and for no reason it seemed. Sokka knelt down in the remains of his creation.

"Zuko's gone crazy!" He threw his arms in the air. "I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he destroyed it!" The tan boy tried fixing the damage that had been done. "Oh, and he's attacking Aang." He added as an after thought.

"That idiot is going to kill them both! I'm gonna stop them!" I declared, racing up the elevated path to the royal beach house. I could hear the others hurrying after me.

Though I couldn't see where the boys were, I could definitely hear them. The sound of fire was kind of hard to miss. I followed the noise up to the steps of the estate where we were earlier that day. I had a feeling they were duking it out inside the manor and the adrenaline rushing through my veins coaxed me to move faster. I burst through the doors and darted up to the second floor, listening carefully for the boys' whereabouts. At the end of the hallway I sprinted down, I could see Zuko sending a barrage of flames at what I assumed was Aang. I picked up my speed and charged at the prince.

I dived into the air and had just collided with Zuko's torso when Aang shouted, "ENOUGH!" There was a hint of gold in his eyes similar to the flames surrounding him. The monk rooted his stance and pushed out a tunnel of wind at us. Aang's eyes widened once he realized he had attacked me as well. The next thing we knew, Zuko and I were soaring through the splintered walls and into the trees surrounding the estate. The fall didn't feel too good mind you.

I grabbed at the tree trunk in front of me for balance as I stood up slowly. There were a few cuts on my legs from the wall we had just busted through; no doubt I'd have a couple bruises come the next day.

"Look what you did to her!" The scarred prince yelled up at the damaged balcony where Aang stood.

"What I did?" The avatar repeated before bounding down to our level. "This wouldn't have happened at all if you hadn't completely lost it!"

"What in spirits is wrong with you?" Katara chimed in. "You could have seriously hurt them both." Zuko rose to his feet and I could already anticipate a holler match that was sure to follow.

"What's wrong with all of you?" He reversed the question. "Sozin's comet is three days away- how can you all sit around having beach parties and do nothing?" I agreed that we needed to prepare, but attacking one another wasn't the best option in order to be ready. My friends starred at the scarred boy in silence. "What?" He demanded. "You're all looking at me like I'm crazy!"

"I was actually going to wait until after the comet came to fight the Firelord." The avatar admitted. My ears perked up. Aang had never once shared this information with me. I wonder if everyone else knew. "I need more time to master fire-bending."

"And you think three days is going to make a difference?" I stepped over some plants to join the group. "Why on earth would you wait until Ozai has the power of a hundred suns to fight him?" This plan seemed very illogical to me. "Aang I know you're the avatar and you're one talented and powerful guy, but Ozai's been around longer than all of us and he has way more experience. I've trained with the man, I've seen what he can do. I wouldn't want to fight him then." Aang looked at me with a slightly different expression on his face; there was worry in his eyes.

"Much can happen in three days, Karuna. You never know." Katara sighed. "Originally the plan was to defeat Ozai before the comet but now that the Fire Nation pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se, there's no point to rush it. Aang's going to fight the Firelord after the comet completely. It can't get any worse." Oh, but how wrong she was.

"Yes, it can." Zuko shared my exact thoughts. "It's gonna get worse than you can imagine. The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting..." The prince began to relay to us what happened that day and what plans had been made. The looks on everyone's faces when they found out about Azula's proposition to burn everything to the ground-had they not met the princess? though the scheme greatly worried me, it didn't surprise me one bit that Azula had come up with it. My blood still boiled. The Fire Nation was going to use the power of the comet to wipe out the Earth Kingdom. Completely.

Katara sunk to the ground. "I can't believe this." Well you better start believing it!

"I always knew the Firelord was a bad guy but his plan is just pure evil." Sokka breathed. Evil. Just evil? There was no word to describe the monster. He was a terrible father and a corrupted leader turned tyrant.

"Well what did you all think he was gonna do during the comet?" I suddenly snapped. "Sit back on his throne and take a snooze? Maybe play a little pai sho? Have you forgotten who we're dealing with?" My friends were a little shocked by my tone even- Zuko. I normally wasn't so quick to lash out but in all honesty they were being so thick-headed about everything. They were missing the bigger picture.

"I know this is scary," The prince sympathized with the air-bender. "And you're destined to save the world. But if you don't fight the Firelord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save."

The avatar's eyes were a dark gray and rightfully so. He held the burden of the whole world on his shoulders. "fighting the Firelord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever done together," He began. "But I wouldn't want to do it any other way." Our friends began to embrace and then called Zuko and I to join in on the group hug. I thought at first the scarred boy would refuse, but after a quick glance at me, he cooperate.

"Keep your hands to yourself, sparky!" Toph exclaimed.

"What? I'm not even touching..." Zuko sputtered but then stopped after he realize she had only said it to give him a hard time. "Funny." All of a sudden. Our Sky Bison friend swooped down on us, knocking everyone off their feet into a dog pile.

"I guess Appa wanted in on this too!" Sokka chuckled.

After our little team chat, Zuko and I went to train with Aang in the courtyard. By then I had put some normal clothes on; the Fire Nation school uniform which I had torn the sleeves off of and shortened the pants length.

"There's a technique you have to learn before facing my father." Zuko inform the avatar. "How to redirect lightning." I was intrigued by the focus of this new lesson, as was Aang! It definitely was crucial to surviving the fight against Ozai but I was not aware that the prince knew how to do this. Zuko then showed us a demonstration. He started with both arms held up at an angle and then he pulled one down near his torso and then pushed it out at his other side. "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow. You basically turn your opponent's energy against them." The way he explained it reminded me of Suki's art form.

"That...that's just like water-bending!" The air-bender made the connection. Zuko nodded his head, glad that our pupil was able to recognize the familiarity.

"Uncle showed you this, didn't he?" I asked the prince. Though I knew Zuko was smart and skilled, I had a feeling someone else had taught him this particular move and my first guess was Iroh.

"Yes," The scarred boy answered me. "He came up with it himself by studying water-benders." the motion of the technique was loose and very fluid. It did look influenced by water-bending.

"Have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang asked Zuko as the boy's and I continued to practice the move.

"Only once. Against my father." The dark haired boy responded, looking grim. My eyes widened a tad. Shit. When had this happened? I had redirected Ozai's lightning once as well but it had been for training- not combat. Something told me the incident must have been hostile. The boy was brace to take on his father.

"What did it feel like?" Aang was eager to know. Zuko exhaled and brought his arms down in front of him into a ready position.

"Exhilarating." the boy breathed. That one word alone seemed to sum it all up. Instantly, my mind gathered pieces and fragments of memory of all the times I had dealt with lightning. The adrenaline, the surge, the rush. It was by far the greatest sensation in the world, in my opinion anyway. Better than a cup of Uncle Iroh's tea. Better than the thrill of the fight. Better than any intimacy with anyone; Jet, Katara, Azula or even Jin. It was bliss in a sense. "But terrifying." The brooding teen added and he couldn't have been more right. When you conjured lightning, you held a near unstoppable force in your hands, and when defending against it there was always the risk that it could end you.

"It's a lot of power to harness." I explained to the monk. "If you make a wrong move it could be over." The Air Nomad's already large eyes grew wider.

"Not over-over...I mean, there's always Katara and some spirit water action, eh?" The kid was scared; I could see it plain on his face. Even though he was trying to make a joke out of it, I could see right through him. The thought of dying was horrifying. The thought of failing the world frightened him.

From on the steps of the sidelines, the Water Tribe girl gave the avatar a solemn stare. "Actually Aang, I used it all up when Azula shot you in Ba Sing Se." Within seconds, the bald monk's face fell. I felt bad for the kid; I'd certainly want a plan B in case things got ugly.

"Can...can you show me how to create lightning?" The hopeful boy asked the scarred prince. Zuko scratched the back of his head.

"Um my uncle only showed me how to redirect lightning. I don't know how to make it." He admitted. Across from me, Aang looked slightly disappointed. I chewed my lip, mulling over the decision in my mind. Teaching Aang how to create lightning could take time-time that we didn't have. And on top of that, I had never instructed anyone on how to do so.

"I do." I decided at last. All six...er eight eyes were on me; Katara and Momo included.

"You do?" Zuko looked bewildered. I guess he had never seen me do it with his own eyes.

"Yeah. Before your sister even." I added smugly, the spirit of competition still lingering within me. In truth that was a pretty shaky claim. I had been away from the Fire Nation the year I had discovered how to generate lightning. For all I knew, the princess could have learned two days after I had left.

I grabbed the monk's shoulders gently. "I want you to understand this: lightning is one of the most destructive things you will ever encounter. If Ozai uses it, and I can guarantee you he will, the best thing to do is get the hog-monkeys out of the way. Unless you're too close to him, dodge and evade. Don't try to tackle the lightning unless you have no other option. It's not worth it." Aang nodded his head. I let go of the boy and took a few steps back. "If someone uses lightning on you in combat, but better hope the spirits grant you vision because you'll be a lucky turtle-duck if you can see it coming." I made sure the two boys were far enough away from me before performing.

I slid my feet apart into a nice horse stance and began to gather energy in my hands. I formed a zigzag pattern with my arm. It had been months since I had last cast lightning, yet somehow I was able to harness up the energy needed quickly. Bits of static formed around my wrists until I took my right arm and executed a sudo high into the air. The white and blue sizzling energy escaped my fingertips and crackled in the sky for mere seconds. As soon as the rush hit me, it was gone. I stood there positioned in my follow through, breathing heavier than I had been previously. I couldn't believe how long it had been since I had last conjured lightning. How I had missed the adrenaline pumping through my veins. The pure energy was truly the best feeling in life.

"You see that?" I asked the boys, specifically Aang. "If I was aiming at you, you'd barely have the time to raise your arms up in defense. "That's why you'll need to stay close to Ozai but not too close."

"How come we've never seen you use it before?" The Air Nomad asked me after some moments in silence. "Not even after the eclipse."

"It drains you." I informed the avatar. "Maybe not at first but it catches up to you eventually. It's too much power for one person. That's why I'm not going to teach you how to bend lightning." The avatar's eyes grew once more. I could see disillusionment, and possibly anger. "Not yet." I finished my statement.

Later that afternoon, Sokka brought the team up to a more mountainous terrain of the island so we could practice battle tactics and strategies. "Gather round team avatar!" We all sat near the Water Tribe boy. He was in the process of adding a carved melon on top of a post, which acted as our 'Firelord Ozai.' We even had spare robes to dress it in; it was like a Firelord scarecrow. "If we're gonna take out the Firelord...or Melon-lord, our timing has to be perfect." the darker skinned boy took a stick and began drawing plans in the dirt, describing what each of us ought to do; he and Suki would attack from the left, Katara and Zuko would charge straight in and Aang would sneak in from the right, unnoticed, to deliver the final blow while I covered him. It was a battle technique I had seen before and it rarely ever faltered. "And Toph, you're the Melon-lord's forces."

"I get to chuck flaming rocks at people?" To everyone's dismay, the answer was yes.

Soon after, we all were stationed in our positions waiting for Sokka to give the signal. My cousin was cackling and I began to wonder if making her our 'enemy' was a good decision or not. Then, Sokka and Suki began to move left near the ledges while Zuko and Katara took the path straight forward. Boy were they surprised when rock replicas of Fire Nation soldiers popped out of the ground. Toph was doing a great job acting as our opponent. My friends were able to get passed the stone soldiers but when the flaming boulders began to fall was when I started to worry a little.

"Watch it Toph!" Sokka hollered after nearly getting crushed and burned.

"I am not Toph!" My cousin declared from the angled ledge she defended. " I am Melon-lord!" More evil laughter followed suit and my concern doubled. I feared the blind girl was having way too much fun. The black haired girl went right on launching her ammunition, this time aiming for the prince and the water-bender. I had to admit, for elements opposite of one another they made a pretty good team. Then it was my turn.

I hopped down from my place on top of the rocks and sprinted down the right route Aang was supposed to take. I did this ahead of time in order to clear the way for him. I kicked and smashed my way through Toph's soldiers and I barely had to use my bending. Only once did I almost lose my head from flying, flaming rocks. Aang then sprung up from the plateau he had been waiting on and was coming down fast onto the Melon-lord. Then...

The monk stopped once he hit the ground, staff raised slightly above the Melon-lord's head. What was he doing?

"Aang come on! What are you waiting for?" Zuko called out to him. "Take him out!" The air-bender lowered his head and gaze. Sokka sheathed his sword and stormed up the ledge.

"If this was the real thing, you'd be shot full of lightning right now!"

"I'm sorry!" The avatar apologized. "But it didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself. "I could sympathize with the boy. We were asking a lot of him; to take someone's life. It was a touchy subject, one I knew all too well in fact. But the warrior boy was right. Zuko was right. We had to keep pushing Aang or he'd never defeat Ozai. We had to keep pushing him or we'd never win this war.

"You have to strike Ozai before he has the chance to strike you." I said to the bald monk. I turned my torso and pushed out my arm towards the Melon-lord. A smaller bolt of lightning struck the melon, making it explode into pieces all over the ground; its juices spilled out onto the dirt and Momo came to pick up the scraps in a heartbeat. "Otherwise he'll do to you what I just did to this melon."

Aang was pretty quiet and to himself for the rest of the day. I felt bad for earlier; we were all trying to get him to do something he clearly wasn't comfortable with doing. He even sat away from us that night when we ate in the courtyard. His back was turned to us as well. I picked up my plate and went over to join him. "Hey buddy." I greeted the air-bender. Aang shrugged his shoulders silently and pushed the food around on his plate with his chopsticks. I frowned. I hated seeing the boy this way.

"Aang, I'm sorry about earlier. We all kind of shoved the whole Firelord thing at you. I know you think there might be another way but I don't think there is a second solution this time." The bald monk sighed and began shifting food around his plate again.

"No one understands how hard this is for me." the boy stared down at his hands. "I mean, it goes against everything the monks ever taught me." His gray eyes were sad and confused. His people believed that all life was sacred. All his life he had been raised to live a peaceful life and now we were all asking him cast that away and partake in an act of violence. It was a lot to request and it wasn't exactly fair.

"I know. I wish you didn't have to do it either. I wish there was another way out of this. I don't want anymore deaths in this war either, but it's Ozai. This needs to-"

"He's still a person." The air-bender interrupted me. For a split seconds his gaze was very intense and almost hostile. I admired him greatly in those moments. How he valued every single life regardless of benevolence or malice. And while the avatar was right, my position on the issue still stood.

"You're right Aang." I corrected myself and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "but if you knew him the way I did, you'd think differently." The two of us shared a glance before the monk began to eat his dinner slowly.

"I have a surprise for everyone!" Katara announced once she had returned from inside the mansion. In her hand was a rolled up scroll. I wondered if it was a document of some sort.

Before anyone could so much as ask what it was, my cousin blurted out, " I knew it! You did have a secret thing with Haru!" It was so unbelievably random, that all anyone could do was stare at Toph. The pale girl smiled happily, looking very pleased with herself for her 'great epiphany'.

"Uh...no." Katara dismissed the accusation.

"Ohh ohh! Can I guess again?" My cousin didn't even wait for an answer. "You and sifu had a-" I shot up from my seat and walked over to the others. That was quite enough out of Toph.

"Whatcha got there, Katara?" I asked her, drowning out Toph's voice. The look she gave me said 'thank you' and she continued.

" I was looking for cooking pots in the attic and I found this!" She unraveled the scroll for us to see. It was the portrait of a child that couldn't have been over a year old. "Look at baby Zuko!" The water-bender giggled. Our friends laughed and cooed with her; the baby on the scroll was pretty darn cute. Somehow, I had a feeling it wasn't actually the prince. Maybe it was because the dark haired teen didn't seem as embarrassed as I would think he'd be.

"You know that's not me right?" He asked us. "It's my father." The silence was so alarming and sudden that you could hear a pin drop. It seemed as though no one was expecting that plot twist.

"But he looks so cute and innocent." Suki protested.

"Yeah well that cute and innocent kid grew up to be a monster." Zuko pouted. "And the worst father in the history of fathers." The prince slumped forward, resting his chin on his arms. I tilted my head to the side.

"I can vouch for him. Ozai was a kind of awful parent." I said rather bluntly. "No wonder you and Azula are so screwy in the head." I leaned forward to mess with his hair.

"I don't care what any of you say," Aang stood up, his plate in hand. "The Firelord is still a person like us, and trying to dehumanize him like that won't make a difference." The young monk walked past all of us swiftly and into the manor.

Katara stalked after him to stop him but then Zuko said to her, "Let him go. He needs space and time to figure this out." I hoped he was right. But how much time did the boy need? How much could we spare?

Soon after, the gang and I decided it was a good time to cool down for the rest of the night. For a while I stayed in my designated room and did some yoga to relax my mind and strengthen my body. The routines were good for flexibility and agility; soon I was at ease. It was when I stood up after my exercise to light some candles by my bed when I felt this strange build up in my back. It wasn't quite pain, more uncomfortableness than anything. At first I thought maybe I needed to crack it. I performed a back-bend over the carpet and soon figured out that wasn't the solution. Next I tried laying on my stomach on my bed. That worked for all of two minutes. The discomfort in my back distracted me from drifting off into a peaceful sleep. I sat up on the mattress and pivoted my torso to the right and to the left. I felt a couple pops in my lower back but that didn't solve the problem either. I sighed heavily and soon gave up. It seemed as though sleep would not come easily to me that night.

It wasn't long until I left my room to take a midnight stroll. I did my best to remain quiet so I wouldn't wake my friends; I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate being kept up. I wandered out onto a balcony that was still intact on the second floor. I looked out at the night sky. Though it was dark, I could still see clouds up in the air. The moon was reflected in the crystal clear waters of the beach. I leaned my arms against the railing and sighed, enjoying the cool breeze of the night.

"Trouble sleeping?" I'll admit, the voice startled me a tad. I turned to my left to see the Kyoshi Warrior crossing the threshold to join me. "I thought I heard you come out here." I smiled at her and nodded my head.

"I was fine earlier, I don't know what happened. It just feels like there's something in my back...maybe I pulled something?" I tried to reach behind me to the part of my back that was bothering me.

"It's probably a knot." Suki explained. "Here let me help." Her hands were instantly on my shoulders and back, working out the kinks. Her touch was firm but at the same time it felt pretty great. "Wow you've got a lot of tension. I can feel it." I half laughed.

"Yeah I guess I do. Don't know why though." For the next couple of minutes, a comfortable silence filled the gap between our dialogue. We simply stood on the balcony enjoying one another's company while also enjoying the view.

"So lightning, huh?" Suki said after a bit. I titled my head to glance sideways at her.

"Yeah, did you hear it?" I chuckled.

"Well Katara mentioned it too." The warrior girl told me. That made sense; she, Sokka and Toph were most likely in town while the water-bender stayed on the estate with the other two boys and I. "You know, the last time I saw lightning, up close anyway, was back on Kyoshi Island." The blue eyed girl continued. "Before Azula and her minions captured the girls and I." Suki referred to her fellow warriors. I had almost forgotten about her encounter with the Fire Nation princess. Azula, Mai and Ty Lee had attacked and captured the Kyoshi Warriors in order to pose as them in Ba Sing Se. They had been able to take the city down from the inside because of their disguises.

"It seems you had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting the royal princess." I laughed dryly as Suki worked out the tension around my shoulder blades. "She definitely loves her lightning." I nodded my head. "More than life itself." Suki giggled at my quip.

"I've been meaning to tell you..." She began in a more serious tone and I wondered what news she had to bring me. "After Azula's posse had beaten us, and we were still held captive on the island, I caught bits and pieces of a lot of their conversations. She often mentioned someone who I guess used to be a friend or an ally. Betrayal came up a lot. At first I had no idea who they were referring to and I tuned most of it out, but then a few weeks ago when I heard Zuko call you 'Sankari' it all made sense. Azula had been talking about you."

I swallowed and felt a slight lump in my throat. I hated talking about the princess. It wasn't because she was evil; I already knew that when I started dating her in the first place. It wasn't because I resented her. It was because of the memories. "We were good friends once." Yes...friends...I decided that was a story for another time. The whole world didn't need to know about mine and Azula's relationship. Plenty were already informed as it was. "We both thought we were going to conquer the world." I grinned, remembering our younger and more reckless years. "But we had different goals in the long run. If I betrayed her, she definitely betrayed me. The Boiling Rock. That was all it took for the stinging sensation to return in my eyes. I shut them tight to prevent them from leaking. There were times when I wished we lived in an alternate world, where there was no war and there was no conflict among the nations; so I could return to the princess and things could be the way they were once. But our paths were written and no amount of ink or paper could rewrite them.

"Hmm seems like everyone wants to conquer the world these days." The Kyoshi Warrior teased. I leaned my head back to glance at her.

"It's getting kind of old if you ask me." I continued our banter. "Maybe I'll become queen of the Si Wong Desert." The auburn haired girl snorted.

"Good luck with that. At least you won't have to burn everything to the ground to get what you want." I waved a finger at her and made a face.

"Well that's the way you do it, don'tcha know?"Suki raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side then." Nothing but sarcasm. She was awesome.

"Don't worry, I'll spare you." I reassured the warrior girl. "The others too- damn how are you so good at this?" I glanced at Suki over my shoulder. The knot in my back had pretty much vanished and the rest of my muscles were loosened and relaxed. The blue eyed girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Beats me."

"Oh you know, now I'm starting to feel it in my left side. Like over here." I pointed to the spot I described. "And then like right here too." I guess the Kyoshi Warrior didn't buy it because soon she was calling out my bluff.

"You don't have to make up excuses. I can keep massaging your back if you want." She smirked subtly at me and I began to feel a little sheepish. I rested my chin against the wooden railing in front of me.

"Sorry, you're just really good at this."

"I know," Suki chuckled. "It's a gift.

The next morning, we loaded up our Sky Bison in order to move camp again. We had loaded all of our belongings onto the beast when Toph noticed something. "Where's Twinkle Toes?" On cue, everything looked around, but our avatar was nowhere to be seen. It was a little bothering that no one knew where he was. He could have just overslept; it was uncharacteristic of the monk but given the situation he was in now, it made sense.

Katara, Toph and Suki went back inside the mansion to see if he needed to wake up while Sokka, Zuko and I checked the beach. Maybe the air-bender was practicing down there. When the three of us got down to the sand, we saw a set of footprints going straight into the ocean. It was eerie and thoroughly confusing. There was nothing out in the water. Where could the Air Nomad have gone?

"So he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki tried piecing together what we had so far. No one had an answer.

"Maybe he was captured!" Katara thought of the worst scenario. But wouldn't we have heard a tumult of someone came for Aang? Sokka studied the prints in the sand.

"I don't think so. There's no sign of a struggle..." The boy stood up again.

"You think he voluntarily left? He didn't take his staff with him, or even Appa." I deducted. My cousin crossed her arms.

"I bet he ran away again." At first I felt she was being mean but then I remembered that the air-bender had done that once before when he was afraid. That could have been the explanation. "What do you think, oh sleuthy one?" The blind girl addressed Sokka. The Water Tribe boy paused, glanced at the tracks then back to the estate.

"Aang's on a spirit world journey." The warrior boy declared. "Think about it; he disappears right before an important battle. Where else could he be?" It was a good hunch only one teensy tiny flaw...

"But if he were in the spirit world, wouldn't his body still be here?" Zuko brought up an excellent point. The six of us glanced back and forth at one another nervously. Our avatar had gone missing and it was urgent that we found him quickly. He could be anywhere on the island or maybe...elsewhere even.

"The comet is only two days away." I reminded the group, my tone grim. " We have to find him before it arrives."