Katara waited for Aang to react. For him to yell or to cry or anything. Time passed, hours, even days. She tried time and time again to bring Kyoshi up to him.

To no avail. Aang would merely change the subject and run off. Laughing and chattering with Momo.

Sokka attempted to speak with him once. She had never seen the boy clam up so hard. "I don't want to talk about it," he had said, and he didn't. He wouldn't.

Blue would watch in agitation. Pace around and make desperate motions at them. Trying to make himself heard. Deciphering those messages was impossible. Not that it mattered, he got his point across.

"He can't bottle up his emotions forever. He's like a volcano waiting to explode."

Sokka grunted from his spot beside the fire. Fiddling with his knots and hooks so they'd be read to catch dinner tomorrow.

"I hate to say it but I agree with you. So long as he's denying himself the truth he'll be unable to access the avatar state."

Katara fumed at that.

"Is that all you care about! He's going to hurt himself!"

A soft hand rested on her arm. Katara looked over to see Blue. Mask tied to his belt. Concern clear in his golden eyes.

Katara softened.

"I'm worried about him too," Sokka said. "War is terrifying to see at any age, especially for a kid. Especially for a pacifist who's never seen conflict like that."

Memories of Aang floating into the air with glowing tattoos came to mind. How distraught he was at the air temple. Even before the battle of Kyoshi he was already pushing away his feelings, bottling them up so as not to hurt anyone.

Would Aang still be able to enter the Avatar state if she hadn't stopped him then?

Katara turned into Blue and buried her head in his shoulder. How could she possibly fix this? Kyoshi island reduced to soot. The Air Temple an empty hollow shell.

Aang told his jokes and laughed, but there was a hidden tone behind it that wasn't there before. A layer of grief. Buried deep below the surface and ignored. A level of denial about the war.

Blue wrapped an arm around her and held her gently. Almost afraid. Did he think she would break? Did he really see her as so fragile? No. He wasn't afraid of her. Katara felt stupid for even thinking it. This is probably the first time he's hugged someone in years.

Katara wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back.

He said nothing but she could hear him clear as day, we're going to help Aang.

Katara prepared dinner for that night. Sokka planned out their route and Blue brushed down Appa. Aang was nowhere to be found.

Next step, Omashu. He insisted on seeing the city where his friend Bumi lived.

It made her anxious. Could Aang handle losing anyone else? 100 years is a long time...

Omashu here we come...

Zuko scaled the city wall with practiced ease. It felt good to be moving around again after hours in the saddle. More than that he was excited to have free reign of his life again.

Omashu was a huge city and one he was more than prepared to explore. The second largest earth city in the world.

Tightly woven streets of clay and stone and all manner of earth. With tile roofs perfect for testing his balance.

The entire place wound with an intricate delivery system of chutes that could spread supplies across the entire city in seconds.

The Blue Spirit could go anywhere he wanted. With the others off in the city doing their own thing he had no obligation to be on constant guard.

Even in broad daylight the guards of the city couldn't dream of capturing him without him tipping his hand first. Him being as talented at blending into the shadows as he is.

Zuko briefly turned his thoughts to the team, they couldn't get in to much trouble. Sokka wouldn't want to let his guard down. Katara would be very protective of Aang, especially considering what happened the other day.

Another reason to be concerned. Aang's actions since Kyoshi. He had tried to get the boys attention, Aang new exactly what he was doing when he ignored him. A fact that still stung. When Aang walked right passed him like he wasn't there. Ignored his attempts to communicate.

He wasn't ashamed to admit that he wanted to grab the boy and slap some sense into him. Force him to listen.

Humor could lighten the darkest of situations but never replace them. There are times when a level of seriousness and maturity is necessary. If only he could put it into words. Being mute really sucked some times...

Then there's Katara, how concerned she's been for Aang. It was plain as day to see she adores him. They had a connection that one would have to be a fool to miss. Her concern for him had been growing steadily over time.

Blue wished he could tell them the truth. Wished he could sit down with Aang and show him he's not alone in losing everything. That while they may have led very different lives that they both had so much in common.

He wished he could tell Katara about his mother. How he understood her pain and anger at the fire nation. That he would do everything he could to make it up to her. Even if it would never be enough.

More to the point he wished he could talk. Time and time again he came back to it.

He wanted to laugh at sokka's jokes. Loud and hard and happily.

He wanted to tell them all his favorite stories. His favorite plays and songs. Tell them about the places he's been and the things he's seen.

And on some level he wanted to tell them about his father. He wanted to warn them. To make them understand. So they wouldn't be walking in blindly.

Blue jumped silently to the closest building. Scanning the skyline. The others were inside somewhere—

But for the moment it was just him, and it felt strange to be alone again. Funny how a few days can wash away years. Can make you forget. But what the mind forgets is one thing, the reflexes drilled into your body was another.

Blue couldn't helped that he flinched behind his mask at every hand that reached out to touch him. The self control it required to not run, to not tense up, to not react. Stand there and take it.

As he ran across the rooftops his mind drifted. He remembered another time when he was just beginning to understand how really alone he was.

Walking aimlessly through the winding streets of one of the many fire nation villages. Stowing away on boats that traveled to other islands far away from caldera, still with white sand beaches and rolling green hills and large adorned red buildings with curved, gold adorned roofs.

He remembers the yearly fire festival, the first one since his supposed death. Flinching away from every torch and candle. Cowering away from every person who walked by. His newfound blue spirit mask dug into the delicate burns on his face. But it covered his scarring and that's what mattered. It hid his identity. Just another masked face in the crowd.

Fire was terrifying to him. So why go to the fire festival?

He just had to. Part of him needed it deep down. He missed home so badly it ached. Like mourning for his mother all over again.

The left side of his face throbbed. He'd done his best to treat the infection that had followed. But medicine was harder to steal than food and clothes. More expensive. Better protected.

Music played in every street. Talking and laughing echoed all around him.

The boy walked around in a daze. He ducked into the shadows where few could see him. Walking around the light with soft quiet steps from a time where he lived in palace and didn't want to be seen, didn't want to be heard.

It was the dragon that caught his attention. Dancing across the stage and over the heads of the audience so high up that even Zuko could see it over the much taller crowd. A dragon made of fire. It swooped down towards the tied up girl.

"Don't worry! I will save you," the performer declared.

His fire bending controlled the dragon discretely, in a show of incredible discipline and skill. The performer lashed out with his bending, ensnaring the dragon with a leash of fire.

Zuko stared on in awe. His fear of the flame dwindled as his focus became entirely entranced by this display. The loud noises of the crowd faded into a low hum.

I didn't think fire could be so beautiful, He thought.

He wished his mom was there with him.

"Look how the performer broadcasts his voice across the stage Zuko," she would say. "Watch how he discretely moves the flames so the crowd can suspend their disbelief."

The performer fought the fiery dragon like a hero from one of moms stories. Like the protagonist in a play.

The dragon didn't look like the fiery hand of the Fire Lord he saw in every flame. It twisted and turned in a scaly shape.

The performer threw chemical salt into the dragons mouth as it looped around behind him. The flames changed colors. The dragon became a rainbow for just a few short minutes.

Zuko watched in fascination as the man on stage defeated the beast and saved his damsel in distress. The crowd applauded the performance. Zuko remained still and silent.

Can I do that?

That night he lay in a clearing in the woods. Looking up at the stars. All alone in the world. He thought about the performance he'd seen. The colorful dragon that danced on stage so smoothly and gracefully. So different from the fierce violent fire bending style he knew.

The prince sat up.

He stared down at his hands for a few moments. I'm a fire bender. He imagined himself up on the stage in place of the man. Fighting a dragon, and earning the honorary title of dragon like his uncle. Saving a damsel in distress like the hero's in the plays.

"Fire Bending is passion Prince Zuko," his tutors had said, "Reach deep inside to your inner flame."

Zuko had held out his hands. Nothing happened.

"You need to feel anger Prince Zuko. Let it fuel your fire."

"Anger? But I'm not angry?"

He eared himself a fire lash on his knuckles for that.

"Not angry! Make yourself angry. Think of the war Prince Zuko, think of those savages refusing our blessing. Turning their eyes from Agni. Think of how they kill our people. Make yourself Angry."

He tried, he really did. All he felt was sad though. His first flames were small and week. Zuko didn't have the anger he needed to fuel them. He tried though, he really did.

"That's who you are Zuko," his mom had once said, "someone who keeps trying even when things are hard."

Hidden away in the clearing Zuko stared down at his hands. He reached inside and stroked his inner flame. Still there, he thought.

Zuko tried to light his palm. He imagined the war, and his people dying because of those wretched peasants. He tried to make himself angry.

Nothing happened.

He tried harder. He imagined himself fighting the dragon from the stage. A dangerous monster that had a girl tied up in need of rescuing. A monster he wanted to fight.

Still not angry.

He imagined himself inside the palace walls on Caldera. A hand reaching for his face. A fire burning brightly in the palm, red and angry and cruel. He felt the pain. He smelled his flesh burn. He heard himself scream.

Fear.

His inner flame trembled like a fire doused in ice cold water, struggling to stay alight.

Zuko scrambled back in horror at the memory, till his back hit a tree. Unbridled fear overtook him, freezing him to the bone. Imagined fire danced through his mind. Coming towards him. Cupping around his narrow face.

The prince shook. He sucked in ragged terrified breaths and sobbed silently. Salty tears ran down his face making his scar sting.

Prince Zuko leaned back against the tree where he sat shaking all night.

Katara clung to the side of the mail cart as the plummeted down through the streets of Omashu. Sokka held on just barely behind her yelling with her. The only person who seemed to be enjoying himself was Aang.

Wherever Blue is, I hope he's having a better time than me, Katara thought.

She closed her eyes and braced for the crash landing.

Zuko heard the clamor from the other side of the city. It could only be the gAang in trouble. The horrible feeling in his stomach agreed.

He ran across the rooftops. Whatever was going on he had to reach the others. Splitting up was a horrible idea. He had loved it at first, it gave him the break he needed from his new friend group, but now he just regretted it.

What was he thinking going off on his own leaving them unsupervised. Had Kyoshi Island taught him nothing?

Pushing heat through his legs he jumped across the street and onto the neighboring roof. With leaps that should be impossible if not for the extra power he bent through his body, he reached the crash sight insanely fast.

Not fast enough. People were milling around the crater talking about what they had seen.

"They'll be taken to the King, he'll deal with those trouble makers."

"What do you think he'll do?"

"Execute them."

"Throw them in prison?"

"String them up by their livers."

"Probably bury them under the city."

"Nah, he's crazier than that. I'll bet he feeds them to Flopsy."

They argued over what insane tactic the king would use. The horrible feeling in the Blue Spirits gut grew stronger. I have to save them.

It felt like only yesterday he was breaking Aang free from the ruthless clutches of an insane man. Now it was happening all over again.

The Blue Spirit made his way to the palace at the center of Omashu.

We never should have come. I should have put my foot down after Kyoshi.

Blue remembered his attempts at communicating that the Avatar had actively ignored. It made bile rise in his throat. Aang didn't understand how it felt to be ignored. Just like all the rest of that kids problems. If you don't like it, pretend it isn't there until it goes away. He had tried. He shouldn't have given up. Never give up.

Blue slowed as the Omashu Earth palace came into view. He crouched down and studied the building for a moment.

He watched soldiers pour out of the front entrance escorting a man out.

"–but my cabbages! They need to pay!"

The soldiers moved him out to the street.

"you heard the king," one of the soldiers said, "now go away."

The man dropped to his knees in the street.

"But my cabbages!"

The Blue Spirit moved silently around the side of the palace in a hurry to get away from the mourning cabbage man.

He searches the side of the building for an entrance and settled on a high up window. Checking to make sure nobody was watching, the Blue Spirit scaled the wall. It almost felt good to be sneaking around unseen again. Almost, if not for the dread pooling in his stomach.

Silent as the early grave his father had tried to sentence him too, Zuko snuck in through the window.

The palace of Omashu was absolutely nothing like the one on Caldera. There were no golden frames hanging from the wall and no lavish rugs and curtains. The walls weren't a fiery red and the torches on the wall didn't hold a candle to the brilliantly crafted chandeliers from home.

The Blue Spirit wandered around and entered a large room at the end of the hall. He hadn't encountered anyone yet.

The room was barren except for a lot of rocks. Do all earth kings decorate with boulders? Zuko surveyed the room. I guess it must be cheaper.

He heard movement behind him. Spinning around the Blue Spirit came face to face with the Earth king. He was wearing the most hideous outfit Zuko had ever laid eyes on.

"Ah, I see you found my practice room."

Blue pulled his dao from his sheath.

"Now Now, there's no need for that. You must be the mysterious Blue my guests keep whispering about when they think I can't hear them."

The Blue Spirit stepped back into a fighting stance. Dread curling around him. If you hurt them I'll give you a slow painful death.

The Blue Spirit didn't speak out loud but the crazy King grinned anyway.

"And they say I'm the insane one."

Zuko attacked. He leaped at the old man with unmatched speed and strength no man should have.

The old man was expecting it and threw a nearby rock in his direction. The Blue spirit flipped over the rock and charged again, only to be met with another boulder flying at him.

This was not a problem, as Blue had never missed a leg day in his life and brought his heal down on the boulder. It cracked straight down the middle and fell to either side of him.

Zuko continued to attack, slashing at the smaller rocks and dodging the larger ones. The earth bender was good. The best Zuko had ever fought. He dodged rock after rock as he advanced on the King. Getting close enough to slash at him.

The breaking of rocks caused dirt and dust to cloud the room. The King grinned at him through the haze and with the lift of his hands the entire room became dark with with dust.

Zuko couldn't see. His mask kept him from breathing in the sediment. But the King was now out of his site.

Blue moved across the room with sure feet, that had moved through the unseen for years. That had carried him silently through the night as a feared vigilante.

Zuko felt out with his fire bending. The Earth King had a heat signature. It was coming towards him steadily. Twisting around the blue spirit swung with his swords. He caught empty air.

Something hard hit him in the back. A rock. Rocks don't have heat signatures fool. Blue grit his teeth and lunged at the unseen earth king.

The heat signature danced away and Blue got hit with another rock. That's gonna bruise. The Earth King laughed like he could hear him thinking.

Zuko felt the ground shift beneath him. He was sinking into the ground. He tried jumping but rocks wrapped around his legs holding him in place.

They rolled up his torso and chest trapping him in a rocky prison. His dao clattered to the floor as his arms became stuck as well. They creeped up to his neck holding him immovable. Zukos breathing became labored. This is not how I'm going to die!

The dust cleared to reveal the king in front of him. Scrawny old man he was not. He was extremely shredded from the torso up that Blue could see. Having shed the hideous cloak that he wore before.

"Now that was quite the workout."

The Blue Spirit snarled silently under his mask. Not that the crazy King could see. He squirmed in the rock prison.

I can't let him hurt the others.

The rocks holding him exploded outwards. Fire raced up the Blue Spirits arms. And Zuko charged.

The King moved out of the way cackling madly.

"It seems you've got a hidden pai sho tile up your sleeve," the King pulled out a white lotus tile as if to prove him point. Zuko moved into a fire bending stance. The Old King flipped the tile and caught it as if to say, bring it on.

Zuko attacked.

His flames burned white with heat, only becoming an orange red after it had traveled a few feet from his body.

The earth king fought with a grin on his face. Throwing boulders and then pulling them back towards him hoping to catch the blue spirit from behind. Zuko leapt and dodged and flipped around them. Keeping his feet off the ground as much as possible so he wouldn't be caught in another trap.

The Fire Nation Prince threw streams of flame after the Earth King, and in similar fashion refused to let them dissipate. Instead he coiled them back around the room shortening the arena.

Diving the prince grabbed his dao and rolled to his feet. Swords were better for close range. White hot fire wrapped around the blades.

Zuko lunged for the crazy Earth bender again. Taking the offensive to another level. The heat didn't warp his blades just as the fire didn't burn him. Slashing down next to the earth kings side with one blade, Zuko twisted his other hand and brought the hilt of that sword into the kings sternum.

Extinguishing the fire the Blue Spirit pinned the earth bender to the wall with his swords crossed over his throat.

"Hmmm, if only your friends could fight as well as you."

Zuko froze and dread filled him again. The rock slammed into the side of his head.

"Silly Zuzu" his sister voice said, "don't you know caring will only get you hurt."

Everything went black.

It's been a long time since I last updated. Life's been hectic. Enjoy this chapter. :)