A.N Sorry for the delay. June and July got super crazy at work that it got hard to finish up the chapter. The sad thing is I

majority of it ready to go in May. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I do have to say that I am excited to write the next since

will have a couple things I do not have too much experience with when it comes to writing so hopefully it turns out well.

Have a great read and thanks!

"How long will it take to reach Kyoshi Island?" Inquired Zuko. After hearing from a merchant the whereabouts of the Avatar Zuko was quick to bark orders to the crew.

"We will reach the island in about seven hours, Prince Zuko, just before night falls," answered the helsman.

"Hmm, I don't like the idea of landing at night but this will give us time to prep our assualt. I want to convene here in two hours and go over the assault plan." Zuko ordered. "Uncle. Lee. I would like to request your presence in my quarters in ten minutes." WIth that last order Zuko left the bridge.

Iroh looked at me and smiled," Looks like we have some time to finish the tea."

"Oh...Great." I smiled weakly back at Iroh. He didn't seem to notice.

"Prince Zuko, Lee and I are here as requested." Iroh spoke. The both of us were outside of Zuko's quaters.

"Enter." With that we both entered the room and say Zuko at his desk looking over some books. After I closed the door Zuko stood up and turned towards Iroh and I.

"What's with the books, Zuko?" I asked. Zuko looked toward Iroh.

"Uncle, you always said that one should know there enemy if they are to beat them in battle." Iroh nodded in agreement. "These are some books I had that talk about the past avatars. I was hoping they would give me any insight about Kyoshi island due to its namesake being an avatar. Alas these books haven't proved useful yet. Uncle do you know anything about the islanders?"

Iroh was about to answer but I jumped, "The island is home to a proud group of woman warriors. Founded by Kyoshi roughly two centuries ago. Originally Kyoshi trained woman in the local area defensive arts to protect from mistreatment this eventually led to some of those women to become disciples and they prefected their style of combat. The style of martial arts they employ isn't about strength but instead using their opponents against them Their preferred weapon on fans similar to that of Avatar Kyoshi though they also are trained with Katanas and retractable shields. Lastly their garment and make up are made up like Kyoshi as a way to intimate their foe." Zuko and Iroh both stared at me in surprise.

Zuko regained compsure, "Lee, how do you know all of that?"

"I read it in a book back in the palace libary."

"I guess all that book reading has paid off," Zuko remarked. "Is there anything else you know about the island?"

"Nothing else. The book was only about different warriors and their fighting styles."

"We can work with what you have already provided. Sounds like we will have some resistance but I'm sure the Komodo Rhinos can give us an edge."

Iroh chimed in," Prince Zuko, Kyoshi island is known for its isolation and has stayed out of the war. We might not want to rush in and create more enemies."

"What would you recommend the Uncle? We have no idea how long the Avatar will stay on Kyoshi. We need to act fast. Diplomacy will slow us down."

"Why don't we go under the cover of darkness? We could hopefully avoid an open engagement with the Kyoshi warriors which is good due to our low number of solidiers. Plus we get the element of surprise which could aid us in capturing the Avatar." Zuko and Iroh pondered over my idea.

Iroh was the first to give his thoughts," That doesn't seem like a bad idea. We would need to cover up the ship's smoke during the day and wait for night to fall to get close to the island. Still it will be a dangerous mission going into unknown terriotory. Who would we send to do such a mission?"

"I will go! It is my duty to capture the Avatar."

"I must protest Prince Zuko. It is too dangerous."

"I can handle the dangers Ucle."

"And what if you get captured? This will not be good for the FIre Nation if the Crowned Prince was taken hostage." Zuko looked frustrated but Iroh had a point. I knew how badly he wanted to go but Iroh had a good point. I stepped forward.

"I will go for you Zuko." Iroh was about to protest but I continued. " I am one of the best fighters on this ship, I have the most knowledge on the Kyoshi warriors, and I have been trained just like... I have been trained in stealth." I was about to say like my father but I knew that would convince Iroh not to let me go.

"I agree with Lee, Uncle. If its not me going then it must be him." Iroh nodded though I could tell that he wasn't fully on board. He knew that when Zuko and I agree on something that it would be impossible to change our minds. "Alright, we need to start putting together our plan before we bring it up to the rest of the crew."

It was a chilly autumn night. It was a clear sky but fortunately the moon was a small crescent so the night was still fairly dark. I was waiting for the row boat to be ready for my departure. Iroh stood nearby me seeing me off for the mission. "Zuko should have been here to see you off."

"It's okay, Iroh." I responded. "He already wished me luck. I can't really blame him staying in his quarters. He did really want to go on this mission."

"You are right Lee but if he is to become the Fire Lord he will need to deal with these situations more." It was weird hearing Zuko being referred to as the Fire Lord. It's hard to think that my friend who I goofed around with in the gardens was next in line for one of the most powerful positions in the world.

The row boat was finally ready and I got into it. I made sure not to trip over any of the supplies or the camo tarp."Lee, please be careful." Iroh looked troubled. Iroh had been a guardian to me ever since my father passed away and he's tried his best to protect me just like Zuko.

"Don't worry Iroh. I will fine." I gave him a reassuring smile while putting my hand on his shoulder. It seemed to help Iroh a little. With that the crew started lowering towards the sea. I had a lot of rowing in front of me. I wished I could just use my waterbending to move the boat. It would make things so much easier. "Oh well," I muttered, "at least the sea is calm." It didn't take a long time for me to get far enough away from the ship that it look small on the horizon. "So are you going to keep hiding under the tarp or are you going to help me row?"

"How did you know I was here?" Zuko came out from under the tarp.

"Really Zuko? How long have we known each other? I knew you would try something after giving up so easily before? You know Iroh will not be happy."

"It will be fine, especially when we finally have the Avatar." With that Zuko made his way to the oar and we both rowed in silence into the night.

After landing on the shore we pulled our boat on shore towards so bushes. We then covered it up with the tarp so it blended into the night. Both of us were in all black clothes we used when practicing our strealth. When we were both in the Fire Nation as kids Zuko took an interest in my father's infiltration skills. I guess Zuko had already been trying to learn how to be stealthy to avoid Azula. At first I did not really care to learn stealth preferring to learn different fighting styles but after a few weeks of being tormented by Azula and I found the usefulness of stealth and joined Zuko's lessons.

"Alright Zuko, whats our plan?"

"Why are you asking me? Didn't you already have one?"

"Well yeah but that was only for one person. Clearly you had some idea of what to do when you stowawayed?"

"Well... I umm..."

I laughed. "I'm just messing with you. Let's follow that path over there and try finding the village." Zuko nodded in agreement and we made our way to the path I pointed out. It seemed to be less traveled which hopefully meant less people. It lead away from the beach likely meaning this beach use to be more popular but something must have changed.

We didn't see much evidence of people traveling down the path. We were ever vigilant making sure no one was watching from the forest. It was a quiet night which created more tension for us. Quiet nights meant that we had to be even more careful as to avoid making noise. A branch out of place or crunching leaves could be heard much easier. It would have been nice if there were some cat-owls or possum-chickens to create some noise to cover us up. We had none of that so we had to move forward with the sound of blood pounding in our ears and getting louder and louder as we made our way down the path.

After what felt like hours though probably only a half an hour due to moon placement we came to a fork in the road. One sign had "Kyoshi Village" and the other had "Kyoshi Dojo." We were able to just make out lights in the distance towards the Kyoshi village way. Zuko broke the silence, "With that many lights at this hour it may appear that they are having a celebration."

"That would make sense if the Avatar was staying here. What better reason is there to have one? Hey it's the reincarnation of our founder."

"Looks like we know where we need to go next." Zuko began walking towards the village. I was about to follow when I noticed a light in the direction of the dojo.

"Zuko wait." Zuko turned back towards me. "Look up there, lights. There might be someone up there."

"Hmm... maybe we should spilt up and do some quick reconissance. I will go to the village and you go to the dojo to see if we can find the Avatar or get information like how many warriors we may be up against if things go south."

I looked towards the dojo and responded, "Not a bad idea. Let's meet back here in a half in hour." I looked back to Zuko to get a response but that's when I notice he was already gone. "Damn, he's good."

I tried moving as fast and quiet to the Dojo. It was unfortunate that it was by woods so the path was littered with leaves. I tipped toed past with great care making my way to the building. When I got closer I made my way off the path to gain some concelment. I had not seen anyone outside the building so it seemed like there was no guard duty around the perimeter. I made my way to the edge of the woods which was still some distance from the dojo. The lights were on as if someone was still there otherwise someone must have forgotten to dim the torches. I decided to get closer to see if anyone was inside. Maybe I would get lucky and there was someone staying late and I could get information out of them.

I swiftly crossed the gap between the woods and dojo. Its never good being out in the open longer you never know if you will get spotted. I was at the dojo in no time and was able to avoid making any noise. I climbed up the steps and placed my ear close to the door to listen. As soon as I leaned in the door opened and in front of me was a Kyoshi Warrior.