Chapter 18: New Beginnings

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he was greeted by was a metal roof bathed in a menacing red glow.

He was dizzy, and his body felt rusty, like he had just woken up from a long sleep… Like when Katara found him on that iceberg…

Wait, that's right! The last thing he remembers is seeing Katara and Zuko, and then…

His head hurt. He really didn't know what happened after that. He had to get answers, somehow.

He tried to stand up, but a heavy exhaustion took control of his body. At least there didn't seem to be any pain, even if he was still a little sore. This was all too weird.

He tried to get his bearings back. The ship was metallic, and cold. He's felt this before, a long time ago… when Zuko had captured him.

His eyes widened. That wasn't a coincidence. This had to be a Fire Nation Ship!

And right on cue, he finally noticed the massive Fire Nation banner hanging from the wall of this room.

But how?! How was he captured?! Could it be that Azula…

No! He wasn't going to jump into conclusions. He needed answers, and he was only going to get them by getting out of here.

He grabbed his staff, which was surprisingly right next to his bed, and headed out. His legs felt heavy, and his eyes were still groggy, but he had to power through.

Going along the metal corridors, he found that the ship was weirdly empty. It took a little while until he finally saw two soldiers after rounding on a corner. One was absurdly big, while the other was tiny. They almost remind him of…

"Wait, who's there!"

Dammit, he got spotted. He knew he couldn't risk them being actual Fire Nation soldiers, so he blasted them with a powerful gust of wind before running the other way. His strength was slowly coming back, so he managed to run swiftly through a set of stairs that landed him right on the deck.

And that's when his confusion reached a peak. Momo was… playing with two soldiers?

"Aang!" He was tackled from behind by a powerful hug.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Twinkletoes!" He was punched in the arm which only felt worse due to his already sore body.

"I'm glad to see you're okay." A final voice he very much recognized managed to send his already spinning head into a completely bigger mess.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to get a better look at them. And just like he had thought, it was Katara, Toph, and… Zuko.

"…W-What's going on?" His voice was coarse due to lack of use. He really felt like he was seconds from passing out at any moment, but he's already missed so much by the looks of it. He has to get back on track.

"Aang! It's great to see you up and about, buddy!" A man that very much sounded like Sokka dressed in a full set of armor went to hug him. "It really is!" A girl's voice followed after him.

"…Sokka? Why are you dressed like that?"

"Don't worry, Aang." Katara said as she pulled away from him. "We'll tell you everything. Just take a seat on the floor, you still don't look fully recovered." Katara eased him to the floor, the cold metal digging through the thin fabric of his pants. "I'll get you a blanket so sit tight."

He sighed, he hoped that their bright attitude meant that nothing bad happened while he was out.


"Wait, what?! I turned into the Avatar state and almost killed you guys?!" That's possibly the worst thing he could've expected to hear. He endangered his friends! He almost ruined everything they worked for! And it's all because he couldn't control his emotions once again…

His heart was hurting deeply. And it wasn't just for the way Katara and Zuko seemed to sit closer to each other, or the way he looked at her every once in a while…

"Don't worry, Aang! We're all okay in the end, and that's what matters." Sokka put an arm on across his shoulders. "Plus, everything Azula told us turned out to be true after all. It's thanks to them that we got this ship, these uniforms and why Suki is here with us!" He squeezed her tightly while giving her a kiss on the cheek. "And Zuko too, I guess."

"But I put you guys in danger again! And it was because I…" Dammit, he still couldn't bring himself to tell them about the Guru, even if he knew he owed it to them after everything he did.

"Aang, seriously, don't blame yourself." Katara squeezed his arm, which did manage to calm him down a bit. "Kaze told us that it would've happened at some point regardless. If anything, we were lucky that he was there to figure out what to do… so don't feel bad about it."

He'll have to tell them the truth eventually, but for now, he'll take her words to heart and try to move forward. "Even then, I'm still really sorry guys…"

"Seriously Twinkletoes, stop apologizing already!" He earned a second punch. "I mean, it worked out better for us in the end that you passed out for two weeks."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Well, you see-" Toph made to answer but someone interrupted her.

"Actually, I think it's better that I explain it." It was Zuko, who was standing behind Katara all this time.

"Suit yourself, hotshot." Toph said with a shrug.

Zuko shot her a glare before composing himself. "My sister's plan included one final thing she didn't mention. She wanted to be sure you had agreed to our help before she said anything."

Well, that sounded ominous.

"And what was that?" He asked hesitantly, almost too scared to hear what it was.

"Basically, we needed you to die."

What?

"What?! What does that even mean?!" How was him dying actually part of their plan?! Weren't they supposed to be helping them?!

But before he could answer, Katara flicked Zuko in the forehead, making him recoil in pain.

"What this idiot wants to say is that we needed the world to THINK you were dead. That's it."

"But how is that any better? If the world thinks I'm dead, won't they all lose hope in winning the war?" He really couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Well, maybe for a little while…" Added Sokka. "But if the Fire Lord thinks you're dead then no one will come hunting us anymore. And more importantly, that way he'll be too busy celebrating his victory to even see the invasion coming!"

"And this was all in Azula's plan?" Even if it made sense, it was such a conniving scheme that he couldn't help but feel ashamed for it. "And what if we had refused?"

Everybody looked at each other awkwardly before Zuko decided to speak up. "Actually, I'm pretty sure they never really planned for that. With the way those two are, they most likely completely believed you guys would agree in the end." He said while shaking his head with a laugh.

Meanwhile, Aang just sat there wide-eyed. It seems he was right about them. They really were a terrifying duo.

But since he couldn't come up with anything else to say, he decided to back down. He was feeling pretty exhausted anyway…

He'll just have to trust his friend's judgement.

He just hopes the world will hold out on his absence until the eclipse.


Kaze couldn't hold his excitement at going back home. He hasn't seen his family since he had left all those years ago for the academy, and he would make sure not to delay that any longer than he should.

"Would you sit down already?! You're making me anxious just by looking at you!" Azula shouted at him as she was sitting in the bed of her quarters. "Weren't you going to tell me what happened with that spirit of yours before that whole thing with Long Feng?"

Oh right, he did promise.

"Oh yeah! Sorry about that." He said sheepishly before settling right beside her. "Well, basically, that spirit that wanted to take my soul was the spirit of the Ocean, La."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that the spirit meant to symbolize the entire ocean had some sort of vendetta against you?" She raised an eyebrow, almost not too keen in believing him. But she did anyway.

"Why?"

"Well, because of my dad." He smiled sadly. "Apparently, he wasn't alive when he was born, so his parents begged him to somehow save him. And he did, but only after he sensed how powerful he was going to be… He wanted him to become a weapon to destroy the Fire Nation." The memory of what he saw still haunted him every once in a while, he's just glad he managed to avoid letting La turn him into that. "My dad managed to drift into the coast near a town called, Hira'a after decimating a waterbender prison near the south pole… it's there that he met my mom. It seems like ever since then, La believed his quest for revenge to be started but… my father refused, and so he killed him for it."

Seeing his dejected look, Azula took a hold of his hands. "I'm sorry about everything. Not just your dad but the prisons as well. I'll make sure to find out how many there are so we can deal with them as soon as we can."

"Thanks, I'm happy to hear you say that." He then remembered the most important detail he had to tell her. "I also learned one more thing… About Lady Ursa." He saw the way her hands tensed as he said her mother's name. It's been a while since they had talked about her after all.

She didn't say anything, so he decided to go on. "I found out that she was friends with my parents before… well, before she married your father."

"But… How is that possible?" She was now looking at him with hopeful eyes, this would be the first time she's learned anything new about her mother ever since she disappeared, after all. "What did you see?"

"She was from that same town, in the outskirts of the Fire Nation. The town called Hira'a. She lived with her parents and worked in a greenhouse until one night the Royal procession arrived. That's when they took her."

"But why would grandfather choose a peasant girl to marry my father… it's practically unheard of."

"That's the other thing… It seems like your mother's grandfather was a previous Avatar. Avatar Roku."

Azula looked at him in disbelief. "W-What? I'm related to Avatar Roku?" She seemed to struggle to form words. Kaze remained quiet, letting her process his words. "Is that why… I'm so powerful? Because of my lineage being both from the royal family and an Avatar?"

"Hm… well I really can't say." He didn't ]think that could be all it was though. "I honestly think you would've been amazing regardless of that."

She deadpanned. "Flatterer." She said with a huff, before breaking into a smile. "But thanks, anyway."

She then put her head in his shoulder. "Do you think my mother went back, then. To her village."

"Well, it's definitely a possibility. It's so out of the way that it'd be a good place to hide after being banished… Although we could never now without going there first." He seriously believed giving Hira'a a visit would be worthwhile no matter what. "Either way, I'm sure there are people there who still know about her even now."

"Then we will head there after we deal with the whole invasion thing. I'm going to find out where my mother is no matter what." Her eyes glinted with the determined shine he grew to love. "But first, your family. We still haven't decided how we'll sneak them out of the capital. Even with the war being practically won for the Fire Nation, I doubt father would let them go freely. He's that type of paranoid, after all."

"Actually, I sorta already came up with something…" He smirked. "It involves our new friends, including the particularly big and furry one." His eyes looked mischievous, like Azula hadn't seen in a while.

"Really? And when were you going to tell me about it." She sounded playful, but there was still edge in her voice.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I."

But she just responded by pinching his arm with her sharp nails. "Hey! Cmon I was just kidding!" He yelped before breaking into a bright laugh.

"Don't act like you don't need me to make sure your plans don't fail spectacularly. You're smart but you're as distracted as they come sometimes. It honestly worries me."

"Yeah, yeah. What would I do without you…" He leaned into her lips, as they melted into each other.

After some amount of time later, they pulled away and Azula suddenly hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Kaze, for finding my mother."

"Hey, if you want to thank someone, thank the spirit guy. He's the one that showed me everything."

"Seriously?" She looked unamused. "I'm not going to thank a fish for anything." She huffed.

Oh, he'll get her to thank the fish.


"Oh, come on Mai! Don't be so sad because Zuko decided to go with the Avatar and his friends. It's not like he really had a choice after all."

"I'm not sad!" Mai raised her voice at Ty Lee. "If Zuko would rather go run away with some peasant waterbender, then it's his problem. Not mine."

"What's going on with her?" Kaze whispered to Azula as they were making their way to their palanquin. "Also, I'm not riding that."

"Well, it seems like Zuzu somehow managed to get close with that water peasant, Katara, while I sent him to convince her about the plan." She giggled. "Not the method I would have used but it seemed to work didn't it."

"Yeah, knowing Zuko he probably didn't even realize what was going on." Remembering the way he used to scowl at everyone in the academy, he really hoped he wouldn't mess whatever he had with Katara.

She then entered the curtains of the palanquin. "You sure you don't want to share? Nobody will be able to tell anything that goes on inside." She was smirking playfully.

"No." His said firmly, ignoring the little voice in his head telling him to go in.

"Fine, suit yourself." She said as she closed the curtains.

He sighed. Guess some things never change.


"Azula! Kaze! I see you've arrived safely." Fire Lord Ozai greeted them from behind the fiery throne.

"It's good to be back, Father." Azula and Kaze were currently kneeling in front of the wall of flames. She knew Kaze wanted to meet his family as soon as they could, so she would have to make sure to keep this report short.

"I heard about your exploits in the city of Ba Sing Se… I must say, I am proud of what you two have accomplished." His grin turned menacing. "I knew placing my trust in you all those years ago was the right choice, Kaze."

"Thank you, my Lord." Kaze bit his tongue, not letting his real feelings show.

"But to conquer the city from the inside by taking control of their secret elite order of earthbenders. You truly do bring out the best from each other, and I expect you to continue bringing glory to the Fire Nation."

"Thank you, father." She once would've been happy to hear his praise, but that time is long gone. Not with her mother stuck in some village in the middle of nowhere. "He truly was incredible."

"Yes, it seems like your judgement of him was accurate. He really did surpass all expectations." He then nodded, as if deciding on something. "Very well, next week I will have a meeting with my advisors. I believe you two, as well as those other girls, deserve a vacation. You are to go to Ember Island, for a few days."

Ember Island? With Kaze? Now that was an interesting thought. "Yes, a vacation does sound nice, doesn't it Kaze?"

He looked at her a little surprised, but quickly smiled at her. "If that's what you want, princess."

"Good." Her father started making his way out of the throne room. "The war isn't over just yet, and I'm sure you two will play a vital role in seizing full control of the world. Do not disappoint me." And with that, he exited towards his office.

"Yes, we'll make sure to end it, once and for all."

"I can't believe this is the first time you'll be seeing your family in five years, Kaze!"

"Yeah, honestly me neither." And he would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. "I mean, the kids must've changed so much. What if they forgot about me!"

"Don't be a dummy. Those kids seemed to love you when we saw them three years ago, there's no way they would forget you." Azula said as they rounded the corner leading to the orphanage.

:What I can't believe is that we were allowed to come here without any pushback. I thought you said your father was holding them hostage." Mai spoke up from slightly behind him.

"Well, he is, but he's taken a liking to Kaze, so he allowed it." Azula said with a shrug.

Kaze was honestly surprised at how easy it was. He hoped this meant that getting them out of here would go easier than he had hoped.

Arriving at the door, Kaze hesitated to knock.

He sighed. There was no reason to be nervous, he knew how much they loved him and in turn how much he loved them.

So, he steeled himself and opened the door with the key always carried with him.

"…I'm back…" He peeked slowly.

"Kaze's back!"

Oh boy.

He braced himself for the incoming stampede, but quickly realized it was futile. The kids were a lot bigger now and they managed to bring him down with ease. He felt the impact from the floor as he landed on his back.

He groaned in pain. "Yeah, yeah… I'm back!" He smiled despite being splayed in the ground.

"Wow! You guys got so big!" Ty Lee gushed as the three made to stand around him.

"Hey! It's Ty Lee!" Milo, who should be about ten now, jumped off from him and ran towards the other girls. "And the scary lady!"

"I want to leave." Mai responded with a scowl.

"And princess Azula!" The youngest of the girls, Paya, rushed to her. "I'm so happy to see you again!"

"Oh really. Why is that?" Her tone was confident, and yet she did look a bit flushed at the attention.

"Because you're a princess!" Paya was jumping around her. "And you're so cool and pretty!"

This only prompted Azula to laugh brightly. "I like this one!"

"Okay, kids that's enough. You're troubling Kaze and his friends." A girl called out from the doorway. She looked older but he knew exactly who she was.

"Yiyi!" He jumped to give her a hug.

"Welcome back, Kaze!" She returned the hug until she realized she was being lifted off the ground. "Okay, you've gotten tall. Can you let me down?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry!" He laughed sheepishly. "Where's mom?"

"Oh, she's-"

"I'm right here, sweetie." He heard a voice from behind, to which he quickly turned around.

"Mom!" He hugged her. "I missed you so much!"

"Welcome home, honey!" She hugged back. "Wow you've grown so much, and… you look just like your father." She said as she gave him a loving smile.

"Let's get inside. I'm sure there's a lot you want to talk about!"

"Yeah, like you don't even know."

It took a while, but he was finally back.


"Wait, you're the ones that captured Ba Sing Se?!" Yiyi looked stunned as they talked about everything that they went through.

"Yeah! You should've seen Kaze! He was all 'You'll have to go through me!' and scared the Dai Li into following him!" Ty Lee seemed really excited to tell that story.

"I don't sound like that!" He tried to sound offended.

But Azula simply started laughing. "No, that's exactly how you sounded!"

He groaned, but then started laughing himself. It's been a stressful couple of weeks, so this was fine.

"But how exactly did you manage to do something like 'bloodbending', it sounds terrifying." His mom looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Actually, that's part of what I really needed to talk to you about…" He took a deep breath, as Azula squeezed his hand under the table. "It has to do with dad."

"Your father? How so?"

"I learned what happened the day he died…"

Her concern shifted into shock. "But how is that possible..."

"You see, the nightmares and the visions he had, they were all the work of a spirit. The spirit of the Ocean… He wanted dad to become a weapon to destroy the Fire Nation. But he refused." He lowered his gaze. It was still painful to go back through what he saw. "So, the spirit tricked him into killing a woman from your village… And that's when he begged you to take me and run away…"

She looked speechless, with eyes wide-lidded. He knew she would probably need time to process this, but he didn't know when they would be able to come back. "And after doing that, the spirit set his eyes on me."

"But you're okay… right?" Asked Yiyi.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I managed to overpower him before he got me. It's because of him that I was able to bloodbend, and why I finally learned the truth."

Everyone remained quiet. He was glad he waited until the kids went to sleep to bring it up, because the air grew seriously tense.

It took a while, but his mom finally spoke.

"The night you were born, your father told me he felt like his sins were catching up to him. That he knew it was coming, and soon. I'm guessing it was that spirit… But why him. Why did he choose him?"

"Because dad was powerful… the same reason he chose me next. That's it really." He could only hope La would relax now that he dealt with him.

"But we're fine now. He's not going to bother us again."

He tried to smile reassuringly, but his mom's face was stilled riddled with worry.

But he needed to keep going, as now they needed to talk about Lady Ursa.

"There's one more thing." He then looked at Azula, who gave him a nod in support. "It's about Azula's mom."

She looked at him for a second before realizing who he was talking about. "I see. Sorry I didn't tell you before but… Yes, I did know Ursa. She was my best friend since we were children and… then she left for the capital to be married." She gave a tired sigh. It seemed like she had been holding on to this for far too long. "When we reached the capital ourselves, I hoped that I would be able to see her again, but… there was no way to get close to the palace as a commoner." She shook her head, as sadness started overtaking her.

"So, I gave up. Ever since then, I've been trying to not think about anything related to Hira'a or my past in general."

"I'm sorry. It's all my family's fault…" Azula spoke up. "I just wish there was something I could do…"

"No, it's okay. Even if your father or your grandfather committed awful things, their sins don't carry over to you. Besides, I know how good of a person you are." She gave Azula a kind smile, to which she could only respond by lowering her gaze.

"But why do you want to know?"

"Well, after Lady Ursa was banished, she disappeared from the any record and document in the palace, so our only real lead is her hometown. We wanted to hear what you think?" Kaze was hopeful that going to Hira'a would lead them to Ursa, but they still weren't too sure.

"Hm… Getting to Hira'a on foot is practically impossible for anyone not from there. The jungle is too thick, and there's tales of malevolent spirits roaming them. If anything, it's the perfect hiding place for anyone looking to escape the outside world… I believe there's a good chance she might be there."

"Would you come with us then? To Hira'a, I mean." Azula asked nervously. "We could really use your help."

"I don't know if I'm ready to go back…" She stayed thoughtful for a few moments, before coming to a decision. "But I do owe it to Ursa. She's my best friend after all."

But her confidence then turned to confusion. "But wait, how are we going to go there when leaving the capital is pretty much impossible for us. And what about the kids?"

Kaze could only smile at her question. "Don't worry, we got a plan. But it'll only work until the night before the invasion." He met eyes with Azula.

"So just wait for a little more, okay?"


"Kiyi! Come back inside! There's a storm coming!"

"Aw, but mom! I wanted to go look at the Flying dolphin fishes…"

"You can do that another day, okay? It's too dangerous right now."

"Fine…"

Once inside, Kiyi settled down to play with her doll. Although she wasn't really into it, not really.

It was rainy season in Hira'a so she had to spend more time indoors than outside. She's only lived here for five years, and she already wanted to go live somewhere else.

It really sucked. She only wished her brother and sister were here to play with her.

"Hey, mom?" She would try asking her one more time.

"What is it, sweetie?" She started stroking her daughter's hair.

"When am I gonna meet Zuko and Azula?"

Her mom smiled sweetly.

"I'm sure one day we'll see them, after the war."

"But when is that? I'm really lonely here…"

"I'm sorry, honey." She leaned down and gave her a kiss on the head. "But I'm sure they're fighting really hard right now to end this terrible war. So we just have to be patient, okay?"

"Okay…"