40

The next morning, Aang gathered everyone who was awake (Zuko was sleeping in), and told him about waiting to fight the Fire Lord after the comet, when objections were voiced, Aang reminded them of how close the comet was to arriving, and how he was certain he couldn't be ready to fight in only three days. After a moment of silence, where the nearness of the comet's date hit all of them, they began to agree.

"That… That's probably the safest idea." Sokka said.

"Wait, hold on," Kotaro spoke up, "Are we seriously just gonna let this slide? He's the Fire Lord! If we don't want him to win the war, then—"

"Kotaro, Fire Lord Ozai's pretty much won." Hoshiko said, getting his attention, "He already took the Earth Kingdom when he took Ba-Sing-Se, and when they attacked the North Pole… well, you saw what happened. There's nothing more that he can do now that he hasn't done already, and Aang isn't prepared to face him." She turned to the monk, "I think it's safest to wait, too." He smiled at her. Kotaro sighed.

"Well…" He looked at the others, seeing that they were all in agreement, "I'd rather you'd just take out the Fire Lord as soon as possible."

"But I'm not ready, and it's not like I can go into the avatar state to defeat him." Aang argued. Kotaro sighed again.

"Alright, even if I am against this, it seems everyone else is on your side." He said, "And… I trust your judgment." Aang smiled at him.

"Thank you Kotaro." He said.

Kotaro and Hoshiko sat on the steps as everyone watched Aang and Zuko practicing fire bending. He was doing a very impressive display, but Zuko wasn't satisfied with it.

"More ferocious!" He ordered, and Aang shot out another blast of fire, "Imagine striking through your opponent's heart!"

Aang let out a frustrated groan, "I'm trying!" He exclaimed.

"Let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!" Zuko yelled.

Aang let out a roar, some flames shooting out of his hands and mouth.

"That sounded pathetic. I said roar!" Zuko said with a scowl.

Aang took a deep breath and threw his head back, letting out a loud roar, fire bursting out from his palms and mouth. When Zuko nodded in approval, Katara held up two hollowed out fruits and smiled.

"Who wants a nice, cool glass of watermelon juice?" She called. Instantly, Aang turned around with an eager smile.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me, me, me!" He began running over to Katara, only to have Zuko grab the back of his clothes and lifting him up off the ground to stop him.

"Hey, your lesson's not over yet! Get back here!" Zuko snapped.

"Come on, Zuko," Suki said, "Just take a break. What's the big deal?" Zuko scowled, but released Aang.

"Fine." The second the air bender was free, he dashed over to Katara, gratefully taking one of the fruits and drinking out of the straw she had put in it, "If you wanna lounge around like a bunch of snail-sloths all day, then go ahead!" He marched off angrily into another part of the house.

"Maybe Zuko's right." Sokka said after he was gone. Hoshiko looked down at him, "Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy, but I know just the thing to change that." He stood up and took off his clothes-with the exception of his underwear- and shouted, "Beach party!"

"My eyes!" Hoshiko cried, covering them, "They burn!" Everyone laughed at her except Sokka, who scowled. She laughed and looked up at him, "Oh, come on, Sokka. I'm just kidding." She stood up, patting his head as she walked past him, "I think a beach party sounds great right now! Last one to the shore is a rotten platypus bear egg!" She started running down to the shore, and the first person to start running behind her was Kotaro, and everyone followed suit, shedding their clothes on the way.

Once they got down to the water, Hoshiko was the first to jump in, Kotaro just behind her. They both came up spluttering sea water, and smiled at each other. Katara used her water bending to make a surf board out of ice and surfed along the water. Sokka kept going to the sea, to the shore, over near where Suki was getting a tan. He went to the ocean and got some seaweed, went back to get some water, and then began construction on a sand sculpture. When Hoshiko saw that Aang was making his own, she started walking out of the ocean, Kotaro still with her as they went over to see a huge Appa, and the real Appa getting a good look at it.

"Check out my Appa sand sculpture!" Aang said, after he had stuck in a couple pieces of driftwood for horns. The real Appa let out a grunt at the sandy one.

"Well done, Aang." Hoshiko said, comparing it to the actual Appa, "It's almost life-size."

"Not bad, Baldie." Toph praised him, "But I've been working on my sand-bending." She cracked her knuckles in preparation. "You're gonna love this." With a single motion, she had used her earth bending to create a miniature version of the entire upper ring of Ba-Sing-Se, with expertly designed miniature houses, and even little sand people in the streets. The three of them looked at Toph's work in awe. Aang bent down to get a closer look, and his eyes widened in awe at the detail.

"Wow! You even added a little Earth King and Bosco." He said.

"When did you learn to do that?" Hoshiko asked.

"Xana and I would practice sometimes when you and Wolfy were being all mushy." Toph said.

Kotaro looked over at Sokka and saw him working furiously on a huge pile of sand. "Looks like you're not the only ones making sculptures." He pointed over at him, and they walked over to see what he was doing.

"Sokka, what are you making?" Aang asked as they approached. He stepped aside, his chest puffed proudly as he showed them the product of his work.

"Tada!" He said, showing them the pile of sand that he had made with two pieces of driftwood for eyes, seaweed for hair, a starfish for a nose, and a long line of seashells for teeth.

"Is it a… blubbering blob monster?" Kotaro asked.

"No! It's Suki!" Sokka said, stomping his foot down angrily.

There was only a short pause before everyone burst out laughing at the sight of the poorly-made sculpture.

"Suki, we'll all understand if you break up with him over this." Toph said through her giggles.

"I think it's sweet." Suki replied. Sokka ran over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek, and she giggled again. Kotaro saw this and turned to Hoshiko.

"Would you ever want me to make a sand-sculpture of you?" He asked.

"No. I'm fine with you just being here." She replied, "Besides, we both know that art isn't exactly your forte."

Kotaro shrugged, "True enough."

Aang walked over to the sand Suki, "But, it doesn't even look like-" He was cut off when a blast of fire destroyed the sand sculpture. He looked up and saw Zuko coming towards them, blasting fire from his knuckles. Aang ran to get some cover behind his Appa sculpture, and Zuko followed him.

"What are you doing?!" Aang shouted at him.

"Teaching you a lesson!" Zuko shouted back, sending a slash of fire at him. Aang easily maneuvered away from his attacks, leaping up on the rocks. Zuko was quick to climb up after him.

"What in the world…?" Hoshiko muttered as she saw the two of them run off.

Katara rode up to the shore, seeing that things had significantly changed from a moment ago. "What happened?" She asked.

"Zuko's gone crazy!" Sokka said as he tried to put his sculpture back together, "I made a sand sculpture of Suki, and he destroyed it!" As an afterthought, he added, "Oh, and he's attacking Aang."

Suki grabbed him as they all ran to the beach house, they could see one of the trees in the front of the house had been burnt already, and they saw Aang and Zuko on the roof of the house.

"Get a grip before I blast you off this roof!" Aang shouted at him.

"Go ahead and do it!" Zuko challenged, blasting fire at him. Aang fled, jumping down into the house, and Zuko blasted through the roof to get to him. He chased Aang down a hallway and sent a flaring circle of fire down the hall, enveloping everything. Aang was very close to getting burned, but he spun and put out a section of the hallway to stand in with air bending. His eyes blazed with the reflection of the flames around him.

"Enough!" Aang shouted, using his air bending to blast Zuko out of the house and into the trees just as the others managed to catch up to them. Zuko let out a small groan as he pushed himself up as Aang came down to join them,

"What's wrong with you?!" Katara exclaimed angrily, "You could have hurt Aang!"

"What's wrong with me?" Zuko began, turning to her, "What's wrong with all of you?! How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's comet is only three days away?!" No one said anything and Zuko looked around at them, "Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?"

"About Sozin's comet…" Aang began, stepping forward, "I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord after it came."

"After?" Zuko repeated.

"I'm not ready." Aang said, "I need more time to master fire bending."

"And frankly, your earth bending could still use some work, too." Toph piped up.

"So… you all knew Aang was gonna wait?" Zuko asked.

"Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Fire Lord right now, he's gonna lose." Sokka said, Aang scowled at him a little over his shoulder and he raised up his hands defensively, "No offense."

"And nobody thought to tell me?" Zuko asked them.

"Well someone was supposed to." Hoshiko said, giving Kotaro a pointed look. He shrugged at her.

"What? I just forgot, okay? Sorry." He said to her.

"The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the war." Katara said, "But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba-Sing-Se. Things can't get any worse."

"You're wrong." Zuko said, "Things are about to get worse than you could even imagine." He sighed, "The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I dreamed about and wanted for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back." He turned to Hoshiko, "Kagemi was there, too. Do you remember any of it?"

Hoshiko held a hand to her head, trying to think, "Um… it's still a little fuzzy…"

She tried harder to remember as Zuko continued speaking.

Zuko walked into the war room, dressed in his finest clothes for the meeting. Azula sat at Ozai's left hand, and Kagemi just a few feet away at the foot of the stairs.

"Welcome, Prince Zuko." Ozai greeted him, "We waited for you." Zuko walked past the important generals in his father's army, all of them watching as he walked up to take the seat at his father's right hand. Once he was comfortable, Ozai turned his attention to his generals. "General Shaino, your report."

"Thank you, sir." Shaino said, standing. "Ba-Sing-Se is still under our control. However, earth bender rebellions have prevented us from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom." Ozai's brow furrowed unhappily at the news.

"Surprise, surprise…" Kagemi muttered quietly to herself, rolling her eyes. No one seemed to hear her.

"What is your recommendation?" Ozai asked.

"Our army is spread too thin." Shaino said, "But once the eclipse is over, and the invasion defeated, we should transfer more domestic forces into the Earth Kingdom."

Ozai let out a thoughtful hum and turned to his son, "Prince Zuko, you've been among the Earth Kingdom commoners. Do you think that adding more troops will stop these rebellions?" Kagemi turned to Zuko as well, wondering just what he would say.

"The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong." Zuko began, "They can endure anything as long as they have hope." Kagemi's eyebrows rose slightly, surprised at his answer.

"Yes, you're right." Ozai said, he scowled, "We need to destroy their hope." Zuko and Kagemi looked to the Fire Lord with wide eyes. Zuko tried to explain his meaning, thinking his father didn't quite understand.

"Well, that's not exactly what I-"

Azula interrupted him, "I think you should take their precious hope, and the rest of their land, and burn it all to the ground." Kagemi looked to the princess, her eyes giving away just how much hatred she felt in that single moment.

"Yes… Yes, you're right, Azula." Ozai said, he stood up from his throne and walked through the room, "Sozin's comet is almost upon us, and on that day will endow us with the strength and power of a hundred suns. No bender will stand a chance against us."

"What are you suggesting, sir?" Shaino asked.

"When the comet last came, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, used it to wipe out the air nomads;" Ozai began, "Now I will use its power to end the Earth Kingdom. Permanently!" Zuko's eyes widened, as did Kagemi's. Ozai walked onto the huge map of the Earth Kingdom as he continued to speak, "From our airships, we will rain fire over their lands. A fire that will destroy everything." Kagemi growled angrily and stood up, her fists clenching as she glared at the Fire Lord. Azula made a motion for her to sit, and she did so grudgingly. "And out of the ashes, a new world will be born. A world in which all the lands are Fire Nation, and I am the supreme ruler of everything!" The generals in the room applauded him for his plan. Zuko and Kagemi sat silently, Zuko shamefully looking down at the floor, and Kagemi doing everything she could to hold herself back from killing him.

"I wanted to speak out against his horrifying plan," Zuko said, breaking Hoshiko out of her sudden flashback, "But I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."

Katara's legs gave out and she knelt on the ground, unable to believe what she had just heard. "I can't believe this…" She said. Everyone else felt the same, all unable to move or speak out of shock. The only difference between them and Katara was that they weren't on their knees.

"I always knew the Fire Lord was a bad guy, but… his plan is just pure evil." Sokka said.

"What am I gonna do?" Aang asked. Zuko walked over to him.

"I know you're scared," He began, "And I know you're not ready to save the world, but if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes, there won't be a world to save anymore."

"Why didn't you tell us about your father's insane plan sooner?!" Kotaro shouted angrily at Zuko. He turned to him.

"I didn't think I'd have to!" He replied, "I assumed Aang was still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me he decided to wait!" Aang walked away from the group, holding his head in his hands.

"This is bad." He said, "This is really, really bad." Katara walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Aang, you don't have to do this alone." She said, the others coming over to the young avatar as well.

"Yeah! If we all fight the Fire Lord together, we got a shot at taking him down!" Toph said.

"We're all here for you." Hoshiko said.

"All right!" Sokka shouted happily, "Team Avatar is back!" He pointed to Aang, "Air," He pointed to Katara, "Water," He pointed to Toph, "Earth," He pointed to Zuko, "Fire," He pointed to Hoshiko, "Shadow," He pointed to Kotaro, "Lightning," He grabbed two leaves and put the long one in his hand and put the other fan-like one in Suki's, "Fan and Sword!"

"Fighting the Fire Lord is gonna be the hardest thing we've ever done together," Aang said, he smiled at them, "But I wouldn't wanna do it any other way." Everyone else gathered around the monk, forming a group hug. Zuko stayed out of it, letting the others have their moment. Hoshiko noticed this and called him over.

"Get over here, Zuko. Being part of the group also means being part of group hugs." She said.

"Whether you like it or not." Kotaro added. Zuko rolled his eyes but came over to join them, stepping in between the Shinjun couple, giving them a genuine smile. With a rumble, Appa butted his head into the hug and knocked everyone over. They fell on top of each other, laughing, as Momo skittered across their heads.

Hoshiko looked over the calendar, the day of the comet seeming to loom closer and closer with each passing minute. She sighed and tossed the calendar over to the other side of the room, putting her head down on the bed. She hated that this was going to happen so soon. Back in Ba-Sing-Se, it had seemed like it was so far away, they had months to prepare for it. To her, that wasn't so long ago. She didn't have much memory of the time Kagemi was in control, except for the few times she managed to break past her defenses. Everything else was like a blurry dream, and she didn't remember all of it. So it was only as if she had slept through all that time. Now that the day was so close, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. It's war, she thought, lots of people are scared. Yes, scared of what might happen to them because of the war, not scared of taking part in it! Even then, they were soldiers, seasoned for battle and ready to go. She wasn't a soldier, she wasn't ready to fight on such a massive scale, and she sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that.

She looked up from the bed and saw Kotaro leaning against the frame of the doorway. "How long have you been standing there?" She asked him.

"Long enough to know you're not happy." He said, moving away from the doorway and coming over to sit beside her on the bed, "And I think I know why, too." Hoshiko glared at the calendar and sighed, rolling over onto her back, looking up at Kotaro. "You're not the only one worried about the comet."

"I know." She sighed, "It's just… It seems like our time in Ba-Sing-Se was such a short time ago. Now it just feels like the comet snuck up and decided to show up early just to mess with us." She reached up and put her hand to her forehead, "Maybe I'd be more prepared for it if I hadn't been so stupid and let Kagemi just stay in there."

"Don't beat yourself up about that." Kotaro said, reaching over and grabbing her hand. "You couldn't have known that Kagemi would have lost, and you couldn't have known the results for it. Do you honestly think you would be happy if she was still around? Still talking to you and whispering in your ear?" Hoshiko sighed and shook her head.

"No, I don't want that." She said, she tightened her grip on Kotaro's hand, "It's just… whenever the battles got really tough, I'd let her take over. She's always fought my hardest battles because she had that… resolve, you know? She was able to kill a hundred guys at once and not feel anything. I can't do that. I always tuned myself out to that, and I didn't want to look at what she had done." She closed her eyes and sighed, "I'm not a warrior. I'm a bender, yes, and I can fight, but that doesn't mean I want to." She opened her eyes when she felt her hand being moved and Kotaro held it in his both of his hands, letting it rest as if it were a baby bird.

"Hoshiko, I know you're not a great warrior." He said, "But I didn't become your hanbun tamashi because you were born to be a soldier. I became your hanbun tamashi so I could be with you for all time. So that no matter where we were, or what we'd do, we'd always have that connection, so I would never feel like I was without you." She blushed a little at his words, and she noticed he was flushing a little as well. "Hoshiko, I love you, not because of how you can fight, but because of who you are. I don't care if you're a fighter or not, and I know that a battle like this seems daunting. It's the same for the rest of us. It's going to be the biggest and greatest fight of all our lives, and it's going to be the most important." He grasped her hand a little tighter, "I don't want to lose you in this fight, and if you would rather stay out of it, I can understand that, and we can find somewhere safe for you to hide out if that's really what you want. But I know that you're strong, stronger than you think you are, and I know that you can fight in this battle. And if something happens to you, and you start falling, I'll be right there behind you to catch you."

"…Promise?" Hoshiko asked quietly. Kotaro smiled and kissed her fingers.

"I promise." He said, he bent down and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, which she was happy to return. She wrapped her arms around his neck, accidentally throwing him a little off balance and making him fall on top of her, his head landing on her chest. They both laughed a little at his stumbling before Kotaro moved to make himself more comfortable, the both of them lying on their sides, holding each other.

"I love you, too." She murmured to him before they shared another kiss.

Kotaro went out to the porch of the house, looking out at the beach that lay just down the path of the house. He could hear the waves crashing against the shore, and the wind that seemed to always be at the beach flowed through his white locks. He looked up when he heard the wood of the porch creaking and saw Sokka standing in the entrance way.

"Hey." He greeted, walking to stand beside him.

"Hey." Kotaro returned, resting his arms on the railing of the porch.

"You doing alright?" Sokka asked, Kotaro shrugged.

"Yeah. Just thinking." He replied. Sokka nodded in understanding. There was a pause of silence before Kotaro spoke up again, "Can I ask you something, Sokka?"

"Sure." Sokka said.

Kotaro hesitated in speaking, "I… Um… Do you… There's…" He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "The battle during Sozin's comet… it's going to be really big isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah." Sokka said, his tone pointing out that it was pretty obvious.

"And… there's a chance we won't all make it back, right?" Kotaro asked him. Sokka raised a curious eyebrow.

"Yeah…" He said slowly.

Kotaro looked around them to make sure no one else was listening to them, and he looked back to Sokka and said in a quiet voice, "Do you think it's a good idea if Hoshiko and I get married before then?"

"WHAT?!" Sokka shouted in surprise, Kotaro quickly shushed him.

"Shut up! You want the entire island to hear you?" He hissed.

"You're going to propose?" Sokka asked, his voice much quieter than before.

"Well, it's not like I have a betrothal necklace or anything," Kotaro began, "But… I just…" He huffed out a breath, "I just want us to be together, and I… It's a big battle! One of us could die, and we're both of marrying age, so…" He sighed again, moving to rest his head in his hands.

Sokka paused, thinking about it for a minute, "Well…I can see where you're coming from, but don't you think it's a little rushed?"

"I've been in love with her since we were children." Kotaro said dryly, "I'm pretty sure it's not that rushed."

"Point taken." Sokka relented, "But who would we get to perform the ceremony? It's not like we can walk up to some official and ask, 'Hey can you marry these two people?' I mean, we're on Ember Island, which is Fire Nation territory. They probably respect your people here as much as they do anywhere else."

"Good point." Kotaro said. He thought for a moment, "What if… What if we got Zuko to perform the ceremony? I mean, he's Fire Nation royalty, he's an official. He could do it."

"You think he'll want to?" Sokka asked. Kotaro grimaced a little.

"Another good point." He said. He sighed, "Maybe… I should wait until the war is over."

"That's probably for the best." Sokka said, "Things should start calming down after that, and then a wedding would be perfect." Kotaro nodded.

"I suppose so." He said, moving away from the railing, "Thanks for the input, Sokka."

"No problem." Sokka replied, "Oh, and before you go, you get a couple extra copper pieces?"

Kotaro raised his eyebrow at Sokka, "Why?"

"I need a melon to make a fake Melon Lord so we can practice fighting the real deal." Sokka said.

Kotaro looked at him oddly, but shrugged his shoulders and pulled a few copper pieces out of his pocket, "That has to be the most random answer I've ever heard to any question ever."

Sokka scoffed as he took the money from him, "You and I haven't hung out enough." He walked away from the Shinjun and he in turn headed towards the courtyard, where he found Hoshiko and Katara watching Aang and Zuko training together. He came down beside her and kissed her cheek in greeting. She smiled and took his hand in hers once he was comfortable.

"There's one technique you need to know before facing my father." Zuko said, beginning another lesson, "How to redirect lightning." Aang's face lit up a little in excitement at the idea, and Kotaro's interest became piqued. He watched as Zuko demonstrated the motion of the technique, "If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You turn your opponent's energy against them."

"That's like water bending!" Aang exclaimed, knowing the fighting style of water bending and recognizing the motions.

"Exactly." Zuko said, "My uncle invented this technique himself by studying water benders." Aang followed along with the motions, getting it right away. He practiced the motion a couple times.

"I didn't know it was possible to redirect lightning." Kotaro said as he watched them perform the motions.

"It took my uncle a while to perfect it." Zuko said, "The key is making sure that the lightning flows through your stomach, and not your chest. The stomach is where all the energy in your body is made. If it goes through your chest, the lightning could hit your heart, and it could kill you."

"So… have you ever redirected lightning before?" Aang asked.

"Once. Against my father." Zuko said.

"What did it feel like?" Aang asked.

Zuko stopped performing the motions and faced Aang, "Exhilarating, but terrifying. You feel so powerful holding that much energy in your body, but you know if you make the wrong move, it's over."

"Well, not over over." Aang said, "I mean, there's always Katara and a little spirit water action, am I right?" He looked over at Katara.

"Actually, I used it all up after Azula shot you." She said.

"Oh." Aang replied, his shoulders slumping.

"You'll have to take the Fire Lord's life before he takes yours." Zuko said. Aang grimaced to himself as Zuko walked away, their lessons done for now.

"Yeah… I'll just… do that." Aang said quietly.

"Gather round, Team Avatar." Sokka said as he pushed down the melon he had carved up to look like a face down on a scarecrow body. "In order to take out the Fire Lord, or in this case, the Melon Lord, our timing has to be perfect." He knelt down on the ground, drawing out their plan of attack in the dirt. "First, Suki and I will draw his fire. Then Katara, Zuko, and Kotaro will charge in with some liquidy-hot offense, and while the Melon Lord is distracted, Aang swoops in and bam! He delivers the final blow."

"Uh, what about us?" Toph asked, pointing at her and Hoshiko.

"For now, you guys are the Melon Lord's forces." Sokka said.

"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?" Toph asked.

"Whatever makes the training feel more realistic." Sokka replied.

"Sweetness." Toph said with a grin.

"Sokka, as much as I love to burst your bubble," Hoshiko began, making Sokka frown, "This plan only works if Ozai is alone."

"I know that." Sokka said, "If he's not alone, then our top priority is to get him alone."

"And while you take on his guards, he'll escape." Hoshiko said.

Sokka frowned, "You just adore bursting my bubble, don't you?"

"My father's never really appreciated guards, and he prefers working alone." Zuko said, "Plus, he thinks he's going to be the 'supreme ruler of everything.' He'll think he can do anything. I doubt he'll have people protecting him, or run from a fight. There's a very good chance we'll have the opportunity to fight him alone."

Hoshiko nodded, satisfied, and she and Toph stood up, going to get the huge boulders ready for training as the others went to find a place to get started. After lighting up all the sources that would set the rocks on fire, Toph was more than ready to start the training, and she even let out an evil laugh, "Mwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Hoshiko rolled her eyes at her enthusiasm, but she did so with a smile on her face.

Down below, Sokka made the signal for them to go, and they all started moving. Suki and Sokka headed straight for Toph while Katara, Zuko, and Kotaro curved around at her. Hoshiko used her shadow bending to create some fake soldiers, all of them an inky black color, with two holes punched through at the top for their eyes. She had them move towards Sokka and Suki, and they fought their way through them. Toph threw a flaming boulder at them next, and Suki easily jumped over it, while Sokka tumbled back, not comfortable with the close proximity between him and the fiery rock's landing spot. He stood back up and angrily hollered, "Watch it, Toph!"

"I am not Toph!" She hollered back, "I AM MELON LORD! MWA, HA, HA, HA, HA!" She lit another boulder and sent it off to where Katara, Zuko, and Kotaro were.

"Well, at least you're having fun." Hoshiko said, though she was a little worried she might actually hurt someone in this training.

When the boulder landed, Zuko and Katara swerved to avoid it, while Kotaro blasted through the rock with lightning and kept running. Hoshiko had some of her shadow guards come in and surround the three of them, and they easily bended their way through the inky shadows.

"Now, Aang!" Sokka shouted as they all ran towards the Melon Lord. Aang leapt off a rock, his staff in his hands, ready to take down the scarecrow, but he stopped and landed beside it instead without doing anything.

"What are you waiting for?!" Zuko shouted at him, "Take him out!"

"I can't." Aang replied, shaking his head. Sokka, a little peeved Aang hadn't done as he had instructed, marched up in front of him.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, pointing an accusing finger in his face, "If this was the real deal, you'd have been shot full of lightning right now!"

"I'm sorry!" Aang said, "But it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like… myself." Sokka raised a dubious eyebrow and took out his sword, chopping off part of the Melon Lord's head.

"There," He growled, "That's how it's done." The melon piece fell to the ground and Momo started happily eating the pinkish insides as Aang hung his head. He walked away from them and Sokka watched him leave with a frown.

"So… does this mean fun-flaming-rock-chucking-time is over?" Toph asked.

"It was practice." Sokka said, "And you got way too into it! You almost killed me back there!"

"Hey, you wanted it realistic, so I gave you realistic!" Toph shot back.

"Well, to be honest, I don't really think this training is what Aang needs." Hoshiko said, coming over to the group. "He's still a child. He needs to deal with the fact that he's going to take the Fire Lord's life. It's a hard thing for him to deal with, especially since he grew up with monks. We need to give him some time."

"So… no more rocks?" Toph asked again. Kotaro sighed and put his hand around the girl's shoulders.

"I'll attack you so you have an excuse to chuck them at something." He said, Toph let out a cheer and went back over to the rocks as Kotaro headed back down to get ready. Hoshiko stayed behind to watch how things went as the others went back to the beach house.

That night, everyone gathered outside in the warm night air for dinner. Suki had made dinner tonight, and she had made a good meal of rice, cooked vegetables, and meat. Everyone was seated comfortably together, but Aang sat further away, looking down at his food without touching it.

Katara came bouncing up happily to the group, holding a rolled up scroll, "I have a surprise for everyone!" She said in a sing-song voice, "I was looking for cooking pots in the attic, and I found this!" She unrolled the scroll to reveal a picture of an adorable dark-headed little baby playing in the sand.

"Lookit baby Zuko! Isn't he cute?" She cooed. Everyone laughed at the picture, the girls all letting out a small chorus of 'Aww…' minus Toph.

Zuko looked at the portrait with a dark expression.

"Oh, lighten up. I'm just teasing." Katara said to him when she saw his face.

"That's not me." Zuko said, "It's my father."

The humor in the air suddenly died.

"But… he looks so sweet and innocent." Suki said, pointing to the portrait as Katara rolled it back up, suddenly uncomfortable looking at it.

"Well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster." Zuko said, "And the worst father in the history of fathers."

"But he's still a human being." Aang said.

"You're going to defend him?" Zuko asked, his voice hard. Aang got up from where he had been sitting.

"No," He said, turning to face them, "I agree with you. Fire Lord Ozai is a horrible person, and the world would probably be better off without him. There's gotta be another way."

"Like what?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know." Aang's face suddenly lit up when he had an idea, "Maybe we can make some big pots of glue, and then I could use glue bending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore!"

"Yeah," Kotaro began, playing along, "And then you can show him all those baby pictures and all those happy memories will turn him into a good guy!" The others held in their laughs at his words.

"Do you really think that would work?" Aang asked excitedly.

"No!" He snapped.

Aang deflated and sighed as he began to pace. "This goes against everything I've learned from the monks. I can't just go around wiping out people I don't like!"

"Sure you can!" Sokka said, "You're the avatar. If it's in the name of keeping balance, I'm pretty sure the universe will forgive you."

Aang turned around, suddenly furious, "This isn't a joke, Sokka! None of you understands the position I'm in!"

"Aang, we do understand, it's just-" Katara was interrupted.

"Just what, Katara? What?!" Aang growled.

"We're trying to help!" She snapped back.

"Then when you figure out a way for me to beat the Fire Lord without taking I'd love to hear it!" Aang shouted before storming away from them.

"Aang! Don't walk away from this!" Katara started to go after him, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go." Hoshiko said, "He needs time to figure it out on his own." Katara huffed out a sigh, not happy with the idea of leaving him alone, "He has a point. None of us can really understand the weight on his shoulders because it's not on ours. Nothing we say to him can help him in this."

"Besides, I'm sure if you check on him later, he'll have calmed down, and he'll want to talk to you about it soon enough." Suki said. Katara nodded, relenting and sat down to eat her meal.

Hoshiko was walking through a white void. She couldn't see much of anything. In the distance, she saw someone's figure. She walked towards them, but stepped back when she began to recognize the dark form.

It was Kagemi, but she was different somehow. Her body used to be a dark, inky blackness that blended into the darkness around her. The darkness of Hoshiko's mind was her home, but now, in this white void, she could see her feet for the first time. Her body seemed frailer, and dirty, she reminded Hoshiko of a sick child. She could see parts of Kagemi's dark body falling off of her and landing in a small, greyish-black circle around her. She looked up at Hoshiko from where she was sitting, her eyes still dark, but sad.

"You're here…" She murmured. She wrapped her arms around herself, "I'm surprised you came, girl."

Hoshiko looked at her in shock, "What happened to you?"

"What do you think?" She snapped, "I'm dying." She showed Hoshiko her hand, and she was surprised to see that where the dark parts of Kagemi's body came off, there was a hole where she could see straight through her into the whiteness she sat on. "You've killed me you know."

"I knew that after the invasion." Hoshiko said. Since she sensed no hostility towards her from the dark being, she sat down, crossing her legs to make herself comfortable.

She almost stood back up when a huge pair of gates appeared a few yards away. They were huge, and looked to be made of pure obsidian. They were a pair of gigantic, plain black doors that stood ominously. Hoshiko felt a little fear as she looked at them. Kagemi glared at them, but did nothing more.

"What are those?" Hoshiko asked.

"The gates to Hell." Kagemi said nonchalantly, "They've been calling to me ever since you cut me off. If I go through them, I'll go to hell for about an eternity or so before I'm reborn again as someone else's ni-nin. Or, I can stay here, and waste away until I no longer exist." She looked down at her hand, watching as her fingers began to fall apart and land on the floor.

"No longer exist?" Hoshiko asked, "You mean… you'll no longer be here, there's no chance for you to ever live again."

"I know." She said, "But it's better than the alternative. I have no want to go through millennia after millennia of torture before I'm even applicable to be reborn again." She turned to Hoshiko, "And the chances of that are slim, given my situation."

"What do you mean?" Hoshiko asked.

"I lost to you in a battle." She said, "Granted you cheated with some help from outside, but you still won. Ni-nins that lose to their hosts aren't exactly smiled upon." Hoshiko noticed that her body began to wither away faster and faster. "My old man wouldn't be happy with me."

"You have a father?" Hoshiko asked. Kagemi turned to her.

"Who do you think made us?" She asked, "Of course we have a father. A spirit of great power created us hundreds of centuries ago, so that we might live on earth as humans do, and take earth in his name. It hasn't come to that yet, but we will rise someday… Or, so I hoped." She sighed, and Hoshiko watched as her legs began to disappear, the pieces of her body floating away on a non-existent wind. She looked up at Hoshiko, "I don't know when, but some day, you will encounter another ni-nin, and when you do, they will take your life for my vengeance." She glared at her, "So I'd be careful if I were you." The last parts of her broke away, her eyes closing just before her head came apart and was whisked off in the strange wind.

Hoshiko woke up, looking at the ceiling of the room she was in. She turned her head and saw Kotaro sleeping soundly beside her. She let out a deep breath, thinking about her unusual dream. But she brushed it off as a dream, and tried to get back to sleep.

The next morning, everyone packed up their things and got ready to leave. It was best to be ready before facing the Fire Lord and his soldiers, so they decided to head out early and do a little reconnaissance to help figure out a plan.

Sokka grabbed Hoshiko's things last, as she was the last one to finish packing and put it in Appa's saddle.

"Okay, that's everything." He said once he made sure it was secure.

"No it's not." Toph said, "Where's Aang?"

Everyone shared unsure glances and began to search for him, going to different rooms in the house, calling out for him.

"Aang?" Zuko called out as they went towards the room where Aang had been sleeping, "Aang!"

"Come on, Lazy Bones, let's go!" Toph shouted.

They split up and began to look in every room in the house they could get to, all of them opening doors to rooms that hadn't been touched in years, calling out for the young monk without ever receiving a response.

The search ended with them near the balcony where Aang had decided to meditate. Upon arriving, Sokka found Aang's staff leaning against the railing. He went over to it and picked it up as the others came into the room.

"He left his staff." He said, "That's so strange."

"Aang's not in the house." Zuko said as he came in, "Let's check the beach." They headed down to the shore, and Hoshiko lifted up a shadow, making it ten feet tall, and then spread it out on the sand, finding the imprints of Aang's feet heading straight out towards the beach from the balcony.

"Look, there's his footprints!" She said, she followed the pathway to the end, where it stopped at the ocean, "The trail ends there."

"So… he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki asked.

"Maybe he was captured." Katara suggested, looking out at the ocean worriedly.

"I don't think so." Sokka said, examining the footprints, "There's no sign of a struggle."

"I bet he ran away again." Toph said.

"Uh-uh. He left behind his glider and Appa." Sokka said in disagreement.

"Then what do you think happened to him, O Sleuthy One?" Toph asked him.

"It's pretty obvious." Sokka said, "Aang mysteriously disappears before an important battle, he's definitely on a Spirit World journey!"

"If that was the case, wouldn't his body still be here?" Hoshiko asked.

Sokka's confidence deflated, "Oh yeah. Forgot about that."

"Then he has to be somewhere on Ember Island." Kotaro said.

"Let's split up and look for him." Katara suggested.

Toph immediately dashed to Zuko's side and took his arm, the sudden contact making him flush embarrassedly as she exclaimed, "I'm going with Zuko!" Everyone looked at her oddly, wondering why she would give such an eager response. She noticed their silence and said, "What? Everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn!"

"Okay then. Toph and Zuko, you guys should search around the outside of the island." Sokka said, "Katara, you and Suki go into town and see if you can find him. Kotaro, you come with me and we'll take Appa to see if we can find him from a bird's eye view. Hoshiko, you stay here, in case Aang comes back." Everyone nodded when they got their plan, and went to work in searching for Aang.

Three hours later, Hoshiko watched as everyone came back one after another, empty-handed, saying they couldn't find Aang anywhere. Suki and Katara told of how, when they searched through the city, the closest they came to finding Aang was finding the actress who had played him in 'The Boy in the Iceberg'. Toph and Zuko said they found no signs of the young monk. Soon enough, Sokka and Kotaro returned, the bison's saddle empty of their air bending friend.

"Judging by the looks on your faces I'm guessing you guys didn't find Aang either." Sokka said upon arrival as he and Kotaro got off the bison.

"Nope." Hoshiko said, making a popping noise on the 'p'. "It's like he just… vanished."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Toph said suddenly, "Has anyone noticed that Momo's missing, too?"

Sokka turned around, suddenly panicked, "Oh, no… I knew it was only a matter of time!" He pried open Appa's mouth and looked inside it as he yelled, "Appa ATE Momo!" He moved inside his mouth, "Momo! I'm comin' for ya buddy!"

"Sokka, Appa didn't eat Momo." Katara said dryly, "He's probably with Aang."

"That's just what Appa wants you to think!" Sokka said as he continued to climb inside Appa's mouth, who closed it once he was almost completely in.

"Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka." Zuko called to him, "We have a real problem here. Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away."

"What should we do, Zuko?" Katara asked him as Appa pushed Sokka out of his mouth, covering him in bison saliva.

"I don't know." Zuko said, standing. He noticed how everyone's eyes were on him, staring expectantly, "Why are you all looking at me?"

"Well, you are kinda the expert on tracking Aang." Hoshiko spoke up.

"Yeah, if anyone's got experience hunting the avatar, it's you." Toph agreed.

Zuko frowned, thinking for a moment about what to do.

Kotaro sniffed the air for a moment, and then let out a disgusted groan, covering his nose and mouth with his hand, "Sokka, you reek!"

"I do not!" Sokka said, sounding offended, "It's Appa's drool that reeks!"

"Well, either way, go take a bath or something and wash it off." Kotaro said.

"I can't smell anything." Hoshiko said, "It's not that bad."

"Yes, but your sense of smell isn't as strong as mine." Kotaro said.

Zuko's eyes widened for a moment, "Kotaro say that again."

The wolf Shinjun looked up at the prince oddly, "What? Your sense of smell isn't as strong as mine?" He asked.

"Everyone get on the bison." Zuko said, "I know what to do now."

"Can we at least dump Sokka in the ocean before we go?" Kotaro asked, "I'm not sure if I can take the smell of bison spit wherever we're going." Sokka made a face at him immaturely. Katara rolled her eyes and used some water bending to quickly wash off her brother before he got on the bison.

After about thirty minutes of flying, Hoshiko noticed they were heading eastward. She moved closer to the head where Zuko was sitting and asked, "So, just where are we going, Zuko?"

"We're going to the Earth Kingdom." He replied.

She quirked a curious eyebrow at his answer.

"Zuko," Sokka began, "I don't wanna tell you how to do your job, but why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom? There's no way Aang's there."

"Just trust me." Zuko said.

Sokka turned back to the others with a confused shrug, and they responded the same way. They didn't say anything more about it and let Zuko continue with his flight.

They arrived at a relatively rural part of the Earth Kingdom, Zuko landing the bison near an old, dirty looking tavern. As they approached the building, they could hear the sound of drunkards yelling, as well as the sound of glass breaking, as if a fight were going on, while music played in the background.

"And the reason you brought us to a seedy, Earth Kingdom tavern is what now?" Katara asked.

"June." Zuko said, pointing to a dark haired woman with dark make-up and clothing, with a snake tattoo on her arm. She took a swig of a drink while disarming and hurting a man who was about to attack her with only her legs.

"Oh yeah," Sokka said when he saw her, "That weird bounty hunter with the giant mole."

"Mole?" Hoshiko said, she took a good look at the woman, seeing no kind of blemish on her skin at all as she began to skillfully dodge attacks from a second man without spilling her drink, "But her skin is perfect."

"No, she has this giant mole creature she rides around on." Sokka specified.

"A shirshu." Zuko said, "It's the only animal that can track Aang's scent anywhere in the world. It's the one shot we have of finding him."

Before them, the fight continued with June dodging the second man with ease. After a second, she threw her drink up in the air, grabbed the man's arm as he attempted another punch and flipped him over her shoulder, making him land on a table a few feet away. She looked up and easily caught her drink, taking another big gulp.

"Damn." Kotaro said, in awe of her fighting skills.

"I don't know who this June lady is," Toph began, a big grin growing on her face, "But I like her!"

Hoshiko and Kotaro shared a glance, unsure of this technique Zuko had in mind. But, if it didn't help them find Aang, what else could they do?

A new chapter! We're getting close to the end. I know there aren't a lot of you guys out there, but I still love every review you give me :)

So, I was wondering... Do you guys want this fic to end when the television series ends, or should I add on the parts from the comics The Promise and The Search (When it comes out). Also, do you want to see a sequel to this series for the Legend of Korra?

Just a few questions I'd like answered. Other than that, I hope you all have a Happy Halloween with awesome parties and sweet candy! ;)