Soliel opened her eyes slowly a dull thudding in her head stopped her from sitting up but she turned her head to look around her. She was back in the Prince's chamber tucked softly into heavenly pillows and blankets a damp cloth resting on her brow.

"So you're finally awake now are ya? That is very good, very good indeed! The Prince will be beside himself You gave us quite a scare there Miss. We wasn't sure if you were gonna recover. Well I didn't think something like this would take ya under, you've always been a fighter. That's what I told his Highness, I did. You've made it through worse things than this."

Soliel smiled at Onigata as she kept babbling on about what had been going on while she had been unconscious.

"Onigata…how did I get here?"

"Well what don't you know, the Prince himself carried you up here. He sent Linus down to grab me as quick as he could, he was pale as a ghost when I got to the room. I offered to take you down to the infirmary but he wouldn't hear of it. Right set determined he was about keeping you here, said you'd be more comfortable he did. Well naturally he was right, of course, the royal chambers are far above the…"

Onigata's voice faded into the background as Soliel tried to remember what had happened. She vaguely remembered being lifted into the air and a pair of golden eyes boring into hers. Frantic eyes, full of concern and…tenderness… She shook her head. That can't be right, tenderness? From the Prince? She thought back to why she fell. Why am I in so much pain? Images came racing back a jolly fat old man, a fire burning deep within her and a bag, black as night and as heavy as hell.

"I moved it. I really did…I moved it!"

"Is that really the only thing you can say after the scare you've put us all through?"

"Linus!"

"I'm glad to see you awake. No doubt you'll be up and about by sunset knowing you."

"Linus I…"

"I know. Prince Zuko told me everything. Apparently a little brunette burst into the training room spitting fire and was too focussed on that punching bag to see him going through his forms. The way he tells it you sounded like you were ready to storm the palace the way you marched in there. He saw you kick the bag with everything you had and then let out a bone chilling scream. He thought you had shattered your leg right then and there. That would cause anybody to scream like that, but we had Onigata check you out and we couldn't find a single thing wrong with your leg. In fact we couldn't find anything wrong at all."

"The bag didn't hurt me, I hurt myself. I exerted myself to much I tried to…to burn off some energy but I ended up getting burned instead. Sorry to cause you all so much trouble."

"You don't need to apologize you just need to not push yourself so hard. I know how much you love working with the Elites, but honestly Soliel what good does it do if it kills you?"

Onigata was gathering her things and scurried out of the room with a nod from Soliel.

"I feel much better thank you for your care Onigata."

"A pleasure to serve my lady, a pleasure to serve."

Before Soliel could protest about not being a lady the older woman left the room followed by her assistant. Taking a deep breath Soliel looked back a Linus who was studying her carefully.

"Training with the Elites is the only thing keeping me alive and you know that. I have to burn off my chi somehow. Today I pushed too hard, I prodded my inner fire and made it hotter. It was stupid of me but I was angry and I've never had much control over my temper."

Linus smiled sadly, "You're never going to give up are you?"

"You know I can't. To stop fighting is to stop living. I refuse to lay down and die."

"Then it looks like I'm going to have to stay around to keep an eye on you then."

"You've been a wonderful friend to me Linus. Thank you for that."

Linus stood up with wink, "One day I'll make you pay the piper. Now get some more rest, the Captain won't appreciate you showing up to practice tomorrow burnt out."

The smile Soliel gave him made his knees want to give but he gave her a smile of his own and quickly exited the room. Once outside he leaned against the closed doors and took a deep breath. She's going to be the death of me for sure.

The moment Aang touched down in the camp Toph was there waiting for him. He looked away from her sightless eyes knowing that they saw more than most people's.

"Toph I…"

"Lets take a walk Aang. There's no need for you to wake the others."

Aang nodded and silently followed after his earth bending sifu. She was petite, barely coming up to his shoulder, yet she was the strongest person he'd ever known. She could lift a hundred pound boulder with the flick of her wrist as well as handle emotional scars that would have snuffed out any other person's fighting spirit. She was smart, brave, fierce, beautiful and somehow delicate. A paradox that never ceased to amaze him. She brought him to the top of a hill that over looked camp. With a stamp of her foot Aang was sitting on the ground, hard pressed not to grimace as he landed with a thud.

"I hope that hurt, Twinkle Toes."

"Toph, I'm sorry. I needed to get away…to think."

"You should start thinking before you run away Airhead, it would save us a world of hurt."

Aang looked down at the ground ashamed. He would have much had her yelling at him, threatening to squash him like bug if he ever did that again. Her outer calm was unnerving him the longer she kept silent. Finally she sank down to the ground next to him.

"Who are they?"

"What…?"

"When you left you said there was only one person who ever loved you for you. I want to know who that person is."

"Toph I…"

"Shut up and just tell me the truth! If I'm going to be accused of not living up to something I deserve to know what that is!" Toph's milky green eyes were shining with unshed tears in the moonlight. He had hurt his dearest friend, he had hurt them all. He looked out across the moonlit night and took a deep breath.

"Was. She's gone."

"She? So it was a girl. I should have known, Sugar Queen won't like that…"

"No, that's not what I meant. She…she was like family. A sister you could say." Speaking about Soliel was tougher than he imagined it would be. He thought about her constantly but to actually say out loud that she was gone was another matter entirely. He cleared his throat, he didn't want Toph to know how much this was upsetting him. He owed her an explanation.

"So this other girl, she loved you better than any of us have? How?"

"I shouldn't have said that Toph."

"No you shouldn't have, but you did and I want to know why you said it. You weren't here to see the damage you left in your wake. Katara was devastated. We all were really, but I think she feels responsible for you in some way. Like it's her fault you ran away."

"It's no ones fault. I'm just not able to do this alone. I'm pathetic I know."

"You're pathetic for thinking you're alone. Do you really think that we would drop everything we had ever known and follow just anybody? Yeah you're the Avatar and we believe that in some crazy way you're going to end up saving us all, but it's more than that Aang, we're you're friends. We risk our lives daily for our friend, not the Avatar. There will always be another Avatar but there will only ever be one Aang."

He wondered if she could see the tears falling down his face or the sad smile he wore.

"She gave up everything for me. She traded in her future, her home, her family, to protect me even before I became the Avatar. I had ruined all of her hopes and dreams and yet she still loved me. And you guys have done the same for me. You've all sacrificed so much. I'll never be able to truly thank you."

"Just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Never run like that again. If you're going to accuse us of not being there for you don't you run away from us. Talk to us, yell at us, hell bend us into oblivion, anything, but just don't run away."

"I promise."

"Good now go to bed because tomorrow I'm going to make you wish you were facing the Fire Lord instead of me!"

Aang grimaced knowing she meant to make good on her threat. She started to walk past him and then he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Toph…"

She stopped, her clouded green eyes widening in surprise as the young monk pulled her into a hug. She stood there a moment unsure of what to do and then slowly returned his embrace.

"Thank you."

"You can be such an idiot sometimes."

The map Zuko had been staring at for the last few hours told him nothing of how to solve his problems.

"The Avatar is still out there somewhere, dammit! Why haven't I heard anything? Someone should have seen something by now!"

For a group of kids the Avatar and his companions were giving him more trouble than he was tempted to believe they were worth.

"If it wasn't for my honor I would have quit a long time ago."

"And that dear brother is why you'll never be Fire Lord."

Princess Azula sauntered into the room smiling one of her coy smiles that could cause snow to feel chilly.

"Get out Azula, I don't want you in here."

"Yet here I am. Funny isn't it? How you never get what you want?"

"I don't have time for this I'm busy."

"Of course you are. Busy chasing down leads that take you no where, training for a fight you have no hope of winning? Do you really think that you can capture the Avatar? You with your inferior scheming and resources? Not to mention your pitiful attempt at fire bending. I'm surprised they ever graduated you from the academy. If it were up to me I would still have you training with the first years."

"Well it's not up to you is it."

"Yes you're right, but not for long. Father will never allow a weakling like you to sit on the throne. Once I am crowned Fire Lord I'll make sure your exile is permanent so I never have to see your charred face again."

In an instant a red ball of flame flew towards Azula wiping the smirk off her face. She hid her surprise with a glowering smile.

"Do you really think you have a chance Zuzu? I've always been better than you and that will never change. But that doesn't mean we can't be civil now can we? I'll change the subject. How did you enjoy my gift of the water witch? Has she finally decided to submit? Is she chained up in your room? I would love to see her cower. Take me to her. I've still got a bone to pick with that miserable little ingrate."

"She's in the infirmary. She's unconscious."

"Unconscious? Could it be that my big brother has finally developed a back bone and put the Water Tribe bitch in her place? Extraordinary, I never would have thought it possible."

Azula's laugh was mirthless as she walked to the window. Turning she smiled at Zuko and moved toward the doors of the study. Just before she crossed the threshold she stopped and looked back at Zuko.

"You should bring her to dinner one night. No doubt Father would love to see the girl in her new state of humiliation. I'll arrange it with him and let you know when a day is decided. What fun it will be to have a savage at dinner!"

Before he could respond she slammed the door throwing some of the papers off his desk. He sank into his chair defeated. He hadn't thought it possible, but his day had just gotten that much worse.

Soliel bit her lip as she struggled out of the bed. It took all of her concentration to ignore how the room spun as she moved. She had grown accustomed to the burning sensation in her abdomen but the burning in her legs was going to take some time to getting used to. She had been able to block out the previous pain and she would work hard to make sure she would be able to do it again. Straightening she smiled triumphantly and took a few precarious steps to the free standing mirror across from the bed. She smiled again at standing without a support and then her smile dropped as she met her own eyes in the mirror. She was pale and withdrawn. Her eyes had sunken back into her head a little and her check bones stuck out casting a shadow down her face. So they couldn't find anything wrong with me, huh? She needed to regain her strength, to eat, exercise, be active–anything but lay in bed. She had been surprised to find herself waking up in the Prince's bedchamber. After all that had happened she still had yet to even look at the guy. Where has he been sleeping? I thought royalty were supposed to be stingy about these sorts of things… She felt a gentle caress of warmth as rays of sunshine poured in through the balcony's french doors. Smiling, she walked gingerly to them and pulled them open. She was greeted by the midday sun washing over. She walked to the railing and leaned against it. She smiled up into the brightness and whispered, "Hello Baba, I've missed feeling you like this." The sun seemed to shine a little brighter the temperature rose slightly warming the young woman further.

"She's sick."

"Agni she's fine. Human's get sick all the time."

"No she's sick. Did you see her face? She's pushing herself too hard. It needs to end."

"Sweet devotion Agni! She's fine! There's nothing we can do to help her right now. We just have to wait and be patient."

"I can see her chi levels, they're higher than a mortal should be able to stand. She's burning from the inside out Fate! It could kill her if we don't do something!"

"Well it's a good thing she's not fully mortal then isn't it. The only thing we could do is bring her here for a time and see if that helps. Reconciliation might not hurt either you know."

Agni turned, his robes billowing as he stepped. He was stubborn, he knew that. But even greater than his stubbornness was his love for his daughter. No deity had ever had a child before. The only time a god was born was when the people's devotion made it so. They would see something they couldn't understand and poof, a deity was born. It had been millennium since the last divine birth and it wasn't likely there were going to be anymore. Yet he had broken every rule and had fallen in love with a mortal woman. Yes many a god or spirit had dallied with human love affairs but none consummated it with a child. It was easy enough to make sure that reproduction didn't occur in the mortal but Agni could not bring himself to seal her. Most who were sealed by the gods were never able to have children at all. He loved her so much and he had wanted a child with her. A part of her that would always be his. At first he was scared when she had come to him and told him she was pregnant, but joy soon replaced fear and he reveled in her changing form and the baby growing inside of her. He had been careful to not draw the attention of the hall of deities as he courted her but he had thrown caution into the wind once she conceived and he spent every moment he could by her side. He had taken her to the Sun Mountain where the boundary between the Mortal World and the Spirit World was less significant due to the presence of the Masters. He had a small hut built for her nestled within a cliff that allowed her to see the sunrise so she would always remember that she was the reason the sun rose to greet the world each morning. Six months it had taken for their child to grow. She had been worried. Said it was too soon for the child to be healthy. But she was born as healthy and alive as any baby could hope to be. The Sun Warrior's midwife had helped birth the child and when she pulled the tiny baby from her mother's womb she had given a yelp of surprise.

"She has…I mean her…her eyes!"

The midwife had handed the baby to her mother and Agni had leaned in to see what had caused the midwife's fright. Agni had let out a loud hearty laugh as he looked into his daughter's crystalline serpent eyes. The child gurgled and smiled at her two adoring parents. She scrunched up her face for an instant and then sneezed. A great burst of flame erupted from the baby's mouth and nose causing Agni to jump back in surprise. He chuckled and stared in wonder at the half mortal half immortal child. The mid wife however had fallen on her hands and knees kneeling before the couple and the child.

"You have given birth to a dragon my lady, my lord."

Such a long time ago it seems yet it has only been 117 years.

"Agni? Is everything alright?"

"Yes Fate I'm fine, just remembering some things I'd forgotten."

"I'm sure you can reminisce later. Now what are you going to do about Soliel?"

"Can you summon her Fate? I've waited far too long already."