"Help her." Zuko said. Katara kneeled on Avery's opposite side and uncapped her water pouch, the water flowing around her hands. She placed her hands to Avery's wound and the water began to glow...

Avery coughed weakly and groaned, unconscious but alive. Zuko smiled gratefully and his eyes lit up.

"Avery!" He exclaimed. But something was wrong. Katara gasped and ripped her hands back as if stung. The blue glow stayed on Avery's wound, began glowing green, and then spread over her whole body. The group scrambled back as Avery began glowing a dangerous radioactive green. And then she disappeared in a burst of light.

-Avery POV-

I sat up and gasped in breath, clutching at my chest as if it would calm my heart.

"Avery." Some said behind me. I looked and saw Chi. My eyes widened.

"Am I..."

"No, you aren't dead. I made the decision to keep you here in the Spirit World, to keep you safe." Chi said. I stood, angry.

"You did what?!" I exclaimed.

"I took you from the mortal world, and brought you here." Chi said.

"And you just decided to end my life without my consent!" I yelled.

"You're still alive." Chi said. I frowned.

"Send me back."

"What? No."

"SEND. ME. BACK." I said.

"You are staying here where it's safe, and that's final." Chi said in a stony voice. I turned and sat, giving the middle finger to my dad. "Avery, come on."

"No."

"Aver-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled, my voice echoing around the swamp. Chi took a step back in shock before storming away. I hugged my knees to my chest and tried to process what had just happened. My dad kidnapped me from the mortal world. He took me to the Spirit World. I miss Zuko.

I shook my head, clutching my hair, not even feeling the pain of my hair being pulled. I felt so angry that I was numb. What was Chi thinking?! I have a life! I want to live it!

I leaned over the water and looked into it, my salty tears mixing with those of my reflection. I felt something nudge my shoulder and looked to see Hei-Bai, a panda spirit, looking at me. I smiled a bit.

"Hi." I said weakly. Hei-Bai waddled to the waters edge and shot a beam of light at the water. It rippled and shook, before clearing into a small glassy surface. Hei Ba grunted at me and I blinked in surprise.

"Uh... show me Zuko." The glassy water rippled.

"I hope I made it the way you like it." Zuko says, handing a cup of tea to his uncle. Iroh downs it and grimaces.

"Good. That was very... uhhh... bracing." He is handed another cup, which he throws out secretly behind his shoulder.

"So Uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."

"No, she's crazy, and she needs to go down." He rises from his spot on his bed. "It's time to resume your training."

I smiled a bit and lazily ran my finger over the surface, deterring the image. I layed on my stomach, Hei-Bai settling at my side, and watched another scene play out.

"Lightning is a pure form of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind." Iroh says.

"I see. That's why we're drinking tea, to calm the mind." Zuko says, taking a sip of his own cup.

"Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes." Iroh says. They move outside, leaving their cups of tea inside. "There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang. Positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning." He steps up, and generates lightning, and shoots it away from them.

"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko says with excitement.

"Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first." Iroh instructs. Zuko takes a deep breath. He tries to generate lightning, but instead an explosion launches him back. Iroh shakes his head in disappointment.

"Poor Zuko..." I said. Hei-Bai nudged my shoulder and I rubbed his head.

"I know, I won't get obsessed. I just want to watch." I said. He huffed in his way of saying 'fine'. I ran my hand through the image and watched.

Another attempt by Zuko to generate lightning fails.

"Why can't I do it? Instead of lightning it keeps blowing up in my face... like everything always does." Zuko says.

"I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you." Iroh says.

"What turmoil?"

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away." Iroh says.

"But I don't feel any shame at all. I'm as proud as ever." Zuko says, unconvincing. I gasped as it hit me. He thought I was dead, and he blamed himself.

"Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." Iroh says.

"Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately." Zuko mutters.

"I have another idea. I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn't know, because I made it up myself."

It was too much. I slashed my hand through the water. Hei-Bai grunted beside me and I shakily sighed.

"I know Hei Ba. I should stop. But..." The next image began playing.

"Fire is the element of power." Iroh draws the firebending insignia in the dirt. "The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy to drive and achieve what they want. Earth is the element of substance." He draws the earthbending insignia. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring. Air is the element of freedom." He draws the airbending insignia. "The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor! Water is the element of change." He draws the waterbending insignia. "The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

"Why are you telling me these things?" Zuko asks.

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." He divides the four insignias into separate sections. "Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole." He draws a circle around the insignias.

"All this four elements talk is sounding like Avatar stuff."

"It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful, too. You see the technique I'm about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders." Iroh says.

The image buzzed and rippled as it fast-forwarded.

"Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning." Iroh tells Zuko.

"You can teach me to redirect lightning?" Zuko exclaims in surprise.

"If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips, up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi. Only in my case it is more like a vast ocean." Iroh laughs. I smiled. "From the stomach, you direct it up again, and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion, to get a feel for the pathways' flow, like this." The two begin to practice the redirection motion. "Now, are you focusing your energy? Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?"

"I think so."

"Come on, you've got to feel the flow." They practice the motion for a few minutes. "Excellent! You've got it!"'

"Great, I'm ready to try it with real lightning!" Zuko exclaims.

"What, are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous!" Iroh says. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I thought that was the point! You teaching me to protect myself from it!" Zuko says.

"Yeah! But I'm not going to shoot lightning at you! If you're lucky, you will never have to use this technique at all!"

"Well, if you won't help me, I'll find my own lightning." He rides away.

I looked to Hei-Bai.

"That can't be good." I said. Hei-Bai grunted.

Zuko has tracked down a storm, seeking lightning. I gasped.

"Oh, Zuko..."

"You've always thrown everything you could at me! Well, I can take it, and now I can give it back! Come on, strike me! You've never held back before!" Zuko screamed. Thankfully, no lightning strikes him. Tears stream down Zuko's cheeks, and he yells at the top of his lungs.

I ripped my gaze from the image, tears streaming from my eyes. Hei-Bai nuzzled my neck and I looked to him.

"Thank you, Hei-Bai." I said, rubbing at my face. He grunted.

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