Notes: So here it is. Finally. Some of the scenes were hard to write, especially the Agni Kai, but I managed. As mentioned, from here on out I will try to post a chapter at least once a month but I won't make any promises.
I would appreciate if you could give me some feedback.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

"Man, I'm starving." Aang could hear Sokka shuffling around in Appa's saddle, searching through their bags. "I haven't had anything to eat since last night. A growing boy isn't supposed to go without breakfast." He almost sounded close to tears.

"You are 18 years old, Sokka" Katara snorted. "I think you should be mostly done growing by now". There was a wide smile in her voice.

"Muscles are always growing, Katara" Sokka said and Aang couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"Your bags were huge." He pulled on Appa's reigns to make the Bison turn. "Did you guys not pack enough food at the south pole? If you had told me, we could have made a quick stop at your village before we left"

"Oh no, with what we brought we should still have enough for another day or two. It's just that someone here apparently has a bottomless stomach and can't control himself"

"I'm sorry, ok" Sokka sat down in huff. "I just assumed that we'd have made a stop to resupply by now, but we haven't stopped for anything other than sleeping this entire time."

"I'm sorry, Sokka. I promise we'll make stop at the first opportunity to resupply after I'm done checking up on some stuff." Aang smiled and shook his head. "For now, you can have some of my food. It's mostly dried food and it's over 100 years old but it's still edible."

"Thank you so much Aang. You just saved my life." Sokka crawled over to the front of the saddle and started to dig through Aang's bag. "By the way" he said, his mouth already stuffed with food. "Where are we going anyway?"

Aang's face fell immediately. "We're going to the southern Airtemple. When I found out that I was the Avatar, my mentor brought me to a large door at the heart of the temple. He told me that, when I was ready, I would have to enter the sanctum and that I'd meet someone in there. He told me that they would help me in becoming a fully realized Avatar."

Katara climbed out of the saddle and sat down next to him. "And do you think you are ready?"

"I think I don't really have the option not to be."

After a short awkward silence Katara said, "Hey, maybe we'll even find other Airbenders there." She squeezed his shoulder. "Maybe some of them managed to escape and then came back once the Fire Nation left."

"Yeah maybe. The Airtemples are extremely difficult to get to if you don't have a flying bison and most of the Airnomads aren't at any of the Temples at any given time unless there is a particular Holiday being celebrated." Aang's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Katara smiled back at him. Her expression seemed very motherly to Aang.

She could hear the discordant sound of hammers clashing against metal ringing out around her as she walked across the Wail Tail Island Naval Yard. Uncountable numbers of workers rushed about, many in such a hurry that they didn't even stop to acknowledge her presence. Half-finished or damaged hulls littered the drydocks, men swarming them like ants, hammering away at them and welding more important piece into place with fire-bending. Even more ships lay at anker, many dwarfing her own. One of the vessels, an Empire Class Battleship, had a strange contraption built into the deck where the catapults should be. A long, thick rod, attached to a base with a rotating platform.

The smell of iron, sweat, salt and soot stung in her nostrils. Thick black smoke belched forth from chimneys, some of which were higher than then main tower of the Royal Palace in Caldera City. Yet, in spite of their height, smoke still settled near the ground, choking the air with smog making it difficult to breathe and her eyes tear up.

She had dreaded coming here, had hoped to avoid it at all costs yet her hunt for the Avatar had necessitated it. Her scar started to tingle. She couldn't afford to lose time, to lose his trail so soon after finally finding him, and this was the closest Naval Yard to the South Pole.

She had visited once, years ago, together with her father on an inspection. Long before the battle of Hulao Pass. It was the largest outside of the home islands and one of the main bases for the Admiral of the western Fleet. Of course, there was a chance that he wouldn't even be here. This was not his only base and it was even possible that he would be on campaign, supporting her brother in the southern Earth Kingdom, but the simple potential of his presence made her stomach queasy.

"I hope you are impressed by our new prototypes. It seems War Minister Qin has found a very capable inventor somewhere up north and, let's say convinced him to lend his skills to the Fire Nation. He called them 'bombards'. They are still in their testing phase but their results so far are most impressive." A dull ache pulsed in her cheek and Azula stopped in her tracks. Her fists clenched as he approached. "It is an honor to welcome you at my base, Princess Azula and General Iroh. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Azula's fists clenched.

"The pleasure is ours, Admiral Zhao." Her uncle bowed with a slight smile. "Our ship suffered some damage which needed repair. Fortunately, all of it stayed above the waterline so we won't need to burden you for long."

"Oh yes, I saw." Zhao stroked his beard. "It seemed like quite a bit of damage. I would love to hear more about it. It seems like it would make for quite the riveting tale. Might I convince you to join me for a cup of tea?"

"You really don't need to concern yourself with our minor troubles." Azula said before her uncle could agree. "There is not much of a story to tell, and we need to stock up on supplies."

"Admiral Zhao" an officer, a captain judging from the insignia on his uniform, approached the group "As per protocol for ships foreign to the western fleet, we questioned the crew. They stated that the ship was damaged in a confrontation with the Avatar". With feigned surprise the Officer turned to her and bowed deeply "Oh. Princess Azula. Was the crew yours? I apologize, we did not know." He was a very bad liar.

Admiral Zhao smirked. "Well, now I really must insist that you join me for a cup. I would absolutely love to hear more about your encounter."

Appa touched down on the temple grounds with a grunt. Aang had landed them on the southern courtyard of the Building for the children and monks in training. The same one he tried to teach the other kids his air scooter on. A chuckle and a sigh escaped past his lips as he thought of Sonam losing control and landing flat on his face. Laughter used to ring through this place. Now, there was nothing except the howling of the wind rushing through steep valleys.

Aang turned towards Katara and Sokka who were still getting used to dismounting from Appa's back. "Come on guys. Let's get to the main building. We should get this over with quickly so that we can get Sokka something to eat"

"Oh, yes. Let's get a move on" Sokka dusted himself off after letting himself drop the last 2 feet to the ground. "As good as your rations may be, they just can't replace a good piece of meat. … no offense" Aang shook his head and shrugged.

"Are you sure you're ok with that Aang? Don't you want to have a look around a bit. See what we can find?"

With heavy legs, Aang started to move. "I appreciate your concern Katara but I'm fine. I promise. We have more pressing concerns than searching through every nook and cranny of this place. The sanctuary is a bit further in anyway, deep in the mountain that houses the main building. If someone is here, we'll notice on the way." Behind him he heard her sigh and two pairs of legs starting to move.

Thick layers of dust covered the ground and the rotting wooden furniture as they walked through the hallway. A musty scent clung to the air. Doors to different rooms had large holes in them, some were ripped in half or torn from their hinges and shattered into planks and splinters. Some of them were scorched and charred black. Aang didn't dare look inside. Vines and moss had grown from cracks in the stone walls and floor, covering withered murals, and ripped and decaying tapestries.

As they left the training building, they found some of the smaller bridges connecting the mountain peaks had collapsed. The main building wasn't in any better shape. Walls were crumbled away, leaving large gashes, and many of the statues in the courtyard were eroded and covered in weeds.

"Oh, guys" Aang's face lit up as they came to one of the entrances to the main building's interior and saw a statue with a long stone necklace hanging around its neck. The base was covered in moss but otherwise it was in good shape, "I want you to meet someone. This is my mentor, Monk Gyatso" Aang walked up to the relatively intact statue and put his arm around the man's stoney shoulder.

"Wow. He looks so dignified" Katara said, as she examined the detailed masonry.

"He looks like he's asleep."

"He not asleep Sokka, he's meditating" Aang sighed, mostly in exasperation, a small smile still on his lips. "And all the statues look like that. He was actually one of the fun ones." Aang turned to regard the statue. "He taught me everything I know. From Airbending to meditation, to backing fruit pie, to throwing fruit pies as the other monks" Aang trailed off.

Katara put her hand on his shoulder and Aang gave her his best shaky smile.

They were flanked on all sides by Zhao's escorts. The admiral was walking slightly ahead, leading them down long, narrow corridors to one of the upper floors of the main building of the naval yard. The oil-lamps hanging from the ceiling cast the metal walls into an orange glow, almost appearing as if everything was engulfed in an all-consuming fire. A stuffiness clung to the air of the poorly ventilated hallways, making her sweat underneath her thick clothing and ceremonial chest armor.

With a heavy 'clang' Zhao opened a seemingly random door on the side of the wall. He nodded slightly and bade her to enter. The room was small, the interior only sparsely furnished and not very extravagantly decorated. From the wall hung two banners, one showing the Fire Nation insignia and one the seal of his house. Armor sets and weapons were displayed in each corner of the room. A singular, low wooden table was at the centers, atop a square rug showing different kinds of patterns common in the Earth Kingdom.

A serving girl knelt and placed two plain clay cups on the table, bowed and left without a word. Azula noticed her hands tremble slightly as the girl walked past her and left the room.

Zhao sat down on a small red cushion on the floor, his legs folded underneath the table and gestured them to follow his example. "Please, make yourselves comfortable." He said with a smirk. "I am terribly ashamed that I can't offer you tableware of higher quality. You see, I have the honor of hosting a war council with Crown Prince Zuko in my humble base soon and most of our more presentable cups are required in the preparations. Your unannounced visit simply caught us at a bad time."

"It is no matter, Admiral Zhao" Iroh said with a polite smile as he took his place at the table. If he was bothered by Zhao's thinly veiled hostility, he didn't show it. "Tea is best served in a simple cup, in my opinion, so as to not distract from the flavor."

Zhao nodded and took a sip from his own cup, rimmed with gold and ornamented with a silver Fire Nation insignia.

Azula didn't open her mouth as she also took her seat, a deep scowl on her face.

"I see your wound has healed rather well. Rings can deal a lot of damage after all and your father wears quite many. Such a shame about that scar though. It probably won't ever leave you." Not a hint of sincerity crossed Zhao's face as he closed his eyes and shook his head. Azula brought a finger to her marred cheek.

"I hope that little … incident … hasn't caused your father any problems in finding you a decent match."

"I assure you, Admiral, that you have nothing to worry about." Azula took a sip of tea from her plain cup to center herself. Her upper lip twitched. "That accident was most regretful and I hope it didn't cause you too much grief." She took another sip before she sat the cup back down.

Iroh cleared his throat. "How is Zhang anyway. I hope he has recovered from his injuries."

"I thank you for your concern general and I am happy to tell you that my son has recovered fully and without issue." Zhao smirked "All that remains are some marks but thankfully his face did not end up quite so disfigured. I hear his new wife actually finds the scars that are still visible quite attractive."

Azula clenches a fist under the table, her nails digging into her palm, threatening to draw blood. "So, you have found Zhang another match. Congratulations." Her father wouldn't be happy about this.

Zhao took another sip from his gold rimed mug. "Thank you, princess." He bowed slightly. "Yes, we were quite fortunate to have found another good match this quickly." When he came back up there was a smirk on his lip that made her scar tingle. "She is the eldest daughter of the Yuan family. A pretty girl and quite bright, if somewhat shy. She will be a fantastic wife to him and a good mother. From what I hear, my son and her hit it off rather quickly. They are already expecting a child in the next two months." Zhao let out a soft sigh.

Azula tried to take another sip but her lip remained dry. Her jaw clenched. Yuan. The name of Sozin's elder brother who died before he could take the throne and it passed to Zhao instead of Yuan's young son. Their influence was still strong, especially among some of the outlying islands. Some still thought of their line as the legitimate one, though none would dare say as much in public. And they had no male heir.

Azula glanced at the banner carrying the sigil of Zhao's clan. A double-headed cobra-lion. Not many clans had their own sigils. But Zhao's clan was powerful. His great-grandmother was one of Sozin's daughters after all.

Iroh looked at her, eyes full of pity, before clearing is throat. "I suggest we should turn back to the topic at hand. Admiral Zhao, you had a reason why you brought us here, I assume?"

"Ah. Yes, I did." Zhao dropped his grin as if he had just remembered. "Princess Azula, with all due respect, I must ask you to cede the task of hunting the Avatar to me. The Avatar is the largest threat that the Fire Nation faces and you are simply not experienced enough for his capture to be left in your hands. I also have vast amounts of resources at my disposal which would allow me to organizes an effective search effort"

"I appreciate your concern, Admiral, but I can assure you that I am perfectly capable of hunting down the Avatar myself. You should place all your efforts into continuing your efforts to conquer the Earth Kingdom. This is the most important thing for you to accomplish and you have proven to be an invaluable asset in that regard. It would be a shame if you were to let such a minor issue distract you from it" Azula bowed and rose to her feet.

Zhao stood up as well. "I am afraid I will have to disagree, Princess. The avatar's capture should be top priority. More resources are needed than a teenage girl and her uncle's ship. And I hold command of hundreds of Warships." Zhao walked around the table to stand in front of her. "You've had your chance. You've had the avatar in your grasp and you failed." He said calmly, as if chiding a child.

Azula's nostrils flared. "He caught me of guard." She said, raising her voice. "I wasn't aware of his identity at that time. I thought he was simply an Airbender from a group that could have survived until now. It won't happen again." She was no failure.

"It seems that I won't be able to make you see reason." Zhao sighed and turned around. "In that case I want to make a proposal. An Agni Kai. At sunset. If I win, you will allow me to take over the search for the Avatar."

Azula narrowed her eyes. "And if I win?"

"If you win, I will grant you the right to command the hunt and as many resources as you need to conduct it. Or as much as we can spare, at least."

An obvious lie. "Deal." But she wanted out of this conversation as quickly as possible.

"This door is huge" Sokka's voice echoed through the barren corridor. After hours of walking they had arrived at the entrance to the sanctuary which was blocked by a wooden door, 30 feet tall and almost as wide. The four iron hinges attaching the door to the wall were themselves each as large as a human torso. The door was decorated with carvings of Air Nomad symbols and a mechanism of wooden pipes wound along its surface before ending in two large funnels turned outwards. No hint of rot nor rust exposed its age.

"Sokka. Show some respect."

"It's alright Katara" Aang shook his head. "This temple used to be so lively. It's good to hear a loud voice echo through it again."

Aang looked at Sokka, who was gaping at the door and craning his neck up, with a smirk on his face. Sokka's reaction reminded him of when he had first seen this door. He had been 14 at the time, two years ago now, or rather 102 years ago. The entire core of the building was usually restricted, only allowed to be entered by the elder monks, but they had made an exception when they told him that he was the Avatar.

Gyatso had told him that they had revealed to him two years too early that he was the Avatar. That they should have waited until he was 16. But they had felt trouble brewing. That the world would need its Avatar faster than usual. They had told him two years too early, but now he was 100 years too late. He took a deep breath. He was ready.

"Aang, are you ok? Are you sure you are ready to go in?"

"I'm fine Katara, I promise" he gave her a smile. "Seeing the temple being so empty was a shock but I'm ok now."

"Your determination is inspiring and all but first we'll have to figure out how we are even supposed to open this thing" Sokka put his palm against the wood and pushed a few times. "It's heavy. And really well made. Maybe I can …" He took a few steps back from the door and then threw himself at it with his shoulder. "Ow. It won't budge. You don't, per chance, have some sort of key for this thing on hand, do you?"

"The key, Sokka, is Airbending" Aang got into a low stance and took a deep breath. He jumped forward, sweeping his arms as if they were wings and sent two streams of air into the funnels. The air travelled through the mechanism, activating switches. Low whistles came from some of the pipes after they were activated. A rumble shook through them. Aang stopped bending and slowly the door opened.

"Here you go." Aang turned to Katara and Sokka with a self-satisfied smirk. "Let's get going then."

The inside of the room was dark. Light only fell in through the door and deep ventilation holes that dotted the side of the chamber. Aang couldn't make out a ceiling. The walls simply disappearing into blackness. Hundreds, if not thousands of live sized human statues were arrayed in front of them, spiraling upwards until they too faded from view.

"Who are all these people?" Sokka asked as they explored the room.

"I don't know. This is the first time I've been in here too. It's strange though. I feel like I know all of them somehow." Aang walked up to one of them. It was a tall woman, taller than Sokka. Intricate details where carved into her face. For a moment he almost mistook the smooth stone for soft skin. The robes she wore seemed to flow. Her hair was shaved at the front but kept long in the back and an arrow decorated her forehead. "This one's an Airbender"

"And this one a Waterbender, and an Earthbender, and a Firebender. These are your past lives Aang."

They stopped in front of the last statue in the line. It was a man, the same height as him. Part of his long hair was bound into a tight topknot, the rest flowing down his back. His face was kind, deep creases were carved by his eyes and mouth. A Fire Nation symbol was carved into a clasp, pinned between his collarbones and holding a robe.

"Past lives? Don't be ridiculous Katara. That's just fairytale mumbo jumbo"

The statue seemed to blink and smile at him. A deep voice hummed through his head, close, yet distant. It echoed through his head. There was an urgency in it. Aang strained to listen but only one word formed clear enough to hear.

"Hey Aang?" Sokka shook his shoulder. "Hey, you okay there, buddy?" He looked at Aang, his mouth twisted into a worried frown. "You were staring at this statue for a solid minute. Do you know this guy?"

"That's Avatar Roku. He was the Avatar before me." Aang looked at the statue again. "I think I heard his voice. The only thing I could make out clearly was his name but he sounded like he wanted to tell me something important. Like he wanted to talk to me as quickly as possible."

"And? Do you know how you're supposed to do that? He's been dead for over a century now" Sokka stroked his chin.

"No. I don't. He didn't tell me."

"Maybe you can find a way to contact his spirit somehow?" Katara said.

"Contact his Spirit? How's that supposed to work?" A sound echoed from the sanctuary door and they seized up. Sokka put his finger to his lips. "Hide" he said, pointing at some of the statue.

The soft tapping of footsteps came closer and closer.

"Fire Nation soldier." Sokka whispered. "I'll count to three and then we'll jump him at the same time. He won't know what hit him. One … Two …"

Sokka raised his third finger in silence and they sprang forth from behind their statues. A small creature sat in the door way, looking at them, its head tilted in confusion. Its body was long, and thin, a long tail sprouting at its rear and a pair of large ears from the top of its head. Leathery wings spanned between the arms and the torso.

"A Lemur!"

"Dinner!"

"Don't you dare Sokka." Aang glared at him. "I'm going to make him my new pet."

"Sorry Aang but I'm starving right now." Sokka said and charged at the Lemur.

Aang sprinted after him down the corridor leading out of the temples core. Aang jumped over Sokka. He turned around and pushed Sokka back with a blast of air. The creature ran out onto a balcony and looked back at him before jumping off.

Aang jumped over the railing. The wind rushed over his face as he fell down a cliff face making tears form in his eyes. He slowed his fall before landing on a lower ledge and looked around. The end of a tail disappeared into a small building.

"Don't worry little guy," he said as he pushed aside the cloth flap that hung over the entrance. "I won't let him hurt you. No need to be … scared"

Aang trailed of as he entered the room. Bones littered the cold hard ground. Dozens of skeletons lay against walls and overtop each other, some of them had their limbs at odd angles. All of them were dressed in old Fire Nation armor. Rust had formed at the edges and joints. Black scorch marks still covered the walls. His chest tightened and he started to have trouble breathing. The air in the room seemed colder somehow.

At the back of the room yellow and orange shreds of fabric peeked out beneath the red metal. Many of them were charred and their edges frayed. His hands became clammy, cold sweat running down his back.

Against the back wall leaned a skeleton, wearing torn up and burnt yellow and orange robes. A brown stone pendant rested on the sternum. The rest of the chain had already rotted away. Aang's could feel his heart pounding, reverberating through his entire body.

Aang recognized the particular symbol that was engraved into the surface. Everything went black.

The sun hung low over the sparring grounds, already touching the top of the walls surrounding the open air dojo that was attached to the barracks of Zhao's command. The sky was tinged in red and purple. The area was smaller than the one she had been trained in. Or perhaps it just felt that way because she was so much smaller then. A salty breeze brushed through her hair. The air was getting colder but Azula couldn't afford to use to much of her chi or she would tire herself out before the fight. Firepits were set up in each corner, burning silently but their warmth didn't reach her.

Azula was kneeling on the sandy ground, breathing deeply. Condensation rising with every exhale. She could feel her heart pounding, resonating through her body, drowning out all other sound. Her stomach had twisted into knots and cold sweat ran down her body. The excitement before a fight. It had to be. She was not weak. Her pauldrons and chest piece weighed heavy on her shoulders.

The itch had turned into an almost searing pain running through the scar on her cheek, but she wouldn't move her hands from her thighs. Azula closed her eyes. Zhao was late. Goosebumps formed on her skin. It was getting colder. She knew he was trying to irritate her. Make her impatient and waste her chi on keeping herself warm. Cheap tricks.

Azula clenched her jaw. She had to stay calm. Defeat was not an option. She would avenge the shame he caused her. Her disgrace. Her right hand moved from its place in her lap to her cheek, brushing over the welts of her scar. The skin felt rough. It was a stain. Ugly. A blemish on her otherwise flawless features.

But the Avatar had said that it suited her. That it looked nice. It had caught her shamefully off guard. Most people either averted their eyes in revulsion or looked at her with pity. Azula didn't know which one was worse. Many tried to ignore it. They pretended it simply didn't exist even while she could see their glances when they spoke to her. And yet the Avatar had said that he liked it. And the worst part was that he seemed sincere. Even in that heated moment there hadn't been a hint of deception. For once, her scar hadn't made her feel repulsive. For once, it didn't feel like a blemish.

She could hear the crunching of footfalls on the sandy ground behind her and she rose to her feet. "Princess. Have you thought this through? Are you certain fighting Admiral Zhao is a good idea?" Iroh's voice was calm and gentle.

"I am." Azula said. "I cannot afford to let him take the glory of capturing the Avatar. I will defeat Zhao and I will win back father's favor."

"You don't need to prove anything Azula." Iroh placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your father's love isn't something that you need to earn."

Azula brushed his hand off her shoulder. "I don't need your platitudes, Uncle. Zuzu gained fathers favor by capturing Hulao Pass. I will capture the Avatar and prove to father that I am still Zuko's superior. He will not take father from me like he did with mother."

Azula clenched her fist. She heard Iroh sigh and mutter something she didn't quite hear.

The sun was now half hidden behind the wall and the fires in each corner became more dominant as sources of light. In the east the sky was already turning a dark blue and the first stars appeared. She could feel her chi weaken with the onset of night.

"My apologies for the delay, Princess." There was no sincerity in Zhao's voice nor hurry in hiss steps as he finally arrived. "Gathering and analyzing reports for the war council simply demanded more time than I previously expected and it was far too important to leave for tomorrow. I certainly hope you didn't have to wait too long."

"Of course" Azula frowned. She knew he was trying to get a rise out of her by letting her wait. She wouldn't let him.

"Now then. I suggest we don't waste time any further before nightfall is fully upon us." Zhao shrugged off his mantle. "Let's get this over with quickly."

'Don't worry, this won't take long' Azula thought as she unclasped the leather straps of her chest armor and pulled it over her head and dropped into her stance.

Zhao shot a fireball at her chest. Azula ducked underneath. Coming up, she pushed out her fists, sending her own blue flame at him. Zhao deflected it with his own. He swept his feet low creating a wide arc directed at her shins. Azula jumped and shot at Zhao's feet. He took a step back. She shot again and Zhao took another step.

Azula kicked, sending a torrent of blue towards Zhao's chest. Zhao brought his hands together and split it. He shot two fireballs from his fists, aiming at her face and stomach. Azula lost her balance and fell backwards. She rolled off her back, sending a long arc of blue flame towards Zhao.

She landed back on her feet. Zhao charged pushing through her attack. He covered his hands in fire and swung at her face. Azula ducked under the fist. Zhao continued throwing wild punches. Azula danced around them, bobbing and weaving but some still graced her.

Zhao kicked low, trying to sweep her legs out from under her. Azula jumped but Zhao stopped his attack. A feint. He punched, catching her right in the stomach.

Azula was pushed backward, air was forced from her lungs and she had to gasp to keep the contents of her stomach inside. She landed on her heels, stumbled and fell on her back.

Azula balled her fists. Her back hurt. She was nauseous and exhausted. Azula wheezed, trying to catch her breath. That blue arrow and a cocky grin flashed across her mind's eye. She couldn't let it end like this.

Azula pushed herself of the ground with a burst from her hands. Zhao swung at her stomach again. Azula put her hands on his fist and pushed off, flipping over Zhao and kicked him in the back. Zhao stumbled forward but caught himself. He whirled around swinging his arm, shooting a wide arc at her.

Azula ducked and swept low, kicking at the side of Zhao's calf. Zhao jumped over it. Azula pirouetted, boosting her leg with fire. She turned with incredible speed, bringing her leg high. Zhao tried to move back but Azula's foot caught him in the side of the head. Dazed, Zhao stumbled back, clutching his head in his hands. He wobbled.

Azula shot a fireball at his chest. Zhao fell on his back and Azula put her foot on his chest.

Zhao took a deep breath and shook of the daze. "Congratulations, Princess. It's seems victory is yours today."

Azula stepped of his chest. Zhao sat up. He pushed himself of the ground and slowly rose to his feet. He was breathing heavily.

"As promised I will leave the capture of the Avatar in your hands. I will also provide you with additional help and supplies." Zhao smirked. "Of course, I can only give you what we can spare. We are planning to assault Omashu soon and we will need all the men we have to accomplish a swift and decisive victory."

"So it is finally time." Iroh furrowed his brow. "How long until the attack?"

"If everything goes according to plan, a month. At most two. Crown Pince Zuko has made steady progress while in command of the Army of the Southwest these past four years and slowly taken the area around the city, cutting them off from their supplies and reinforcements. We have them surrounded and cut off. The only thing left is to take the city itself. The Crown Prince will be the one leading the actual attack himself." Zhao's gaze turned to Azula. "Of course I will still do my utmost to aid in your efforts as much as I can, however limited it might be." Azula knew he was lying.

"I don't need your help. I can capture the Avatar on my own. " Azula said. "We will only take some supplies and leave as soon as the repairs on our ship are finished." Azula turned and started heading for the gate of the arena, Iroh following her shortly after. The sun had fully vanished behind the dojo's walls when they left.

Sokka was panting heavily by the time he reached the bottom of the staircase, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Like the rest of the temple, the ledge he arrived on was silent as death. Small patches of snow covered the ground and what was free was exposed frozen, gray earth and dead, brown grass. A few gnarled, leafless trees, their trunks twisted and bent, still managed to stay upright.

A small building stood at the center. Part of it's walls were crumbling and black spots marked the stone. Sokka walked up to it slowly and peered through the open entrance. His breath caught in his throat. Human bones and pieces of Fire Nation armor littered the ground. On the opposite end of the room he found Aang, kneeling with his back turned to the entrance. Aang's head hung low, his shoulders shaking slightly and Sokka thought he could he quiet sobbing.

"Hey Aang?" Sokka approached Aang slowly, careful not to step on any of the bones. "You know I was just joking. I wasn't really going to eat the lemur." He put a hand on Aang's shoulder but there was no reaction. "Hey, are you … Oh, no." As he looked over Aang's shoulder he saw a skeleton. A stone pendant with a familiar engraving rested on it's sternum.

Aang's tattoo's started glowing white. The ground rumbled and strong wind began to blow in the room. Aang started to rise into the air. A burst of air blasted out from him like a bubble, tearing through the building's crumbling walls. Sokka was flung backwards. He managed to grab a piece of the wall still standing and pulled himself behind cover.

"Sokka, what's going on?" Sokka heard Katara behind him, her voice almost drowned out by the rushing air. She pushed through the wind and sat down next to him behind the wall.

"We need to leave. Now! Or he'll blow us of the mountain."

"What happened?"

"There was a skeleton with a pendant inside. I think it's Monk Gyatso. We have to go."

"We need to help him." Katara stood up.

"No. That's far to dangerous." Sokka grabbed her wrist but Katara slipped out of his grasp jumped out from their cover.

"Aang, can you hear me?" she yelled into the howling wind. "I know how you feel right now, having lost your family. I understand." Sokka watched as she pushed against the wind, trying to get closer to Aang. "I felt the same way when my mother was killed. I felt alone and hurt but I had Sokka and Gran-Gran there for me to help me through it. I know you feel alone too, but you aren't. You are not alone. Just like I had Sokka and Gran-Gran, you have Sokka and me. We are your family now."

The rumbling stopped, the wind dying down. Slowly, Aang descended back to the ground and the glow of his tattoo's faded. Aang groaned, his knees were wobbly. He took a few stumbling steps. His legs gave out under him but Katara caught him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

Sokka put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "Katara's right. We are here for you buddy."

The sun was setting by the time they returned to Appa. It had taken him a while to come out of his daze after Katara had stopped him from tearing off an entire cliffside and finding a patch of ground that was soft enough to bury Gyatso's body had cost them even more time.

"So this is it. I really am the last Airbender." Aang sighed as he looked over the temple one more time. "If they found this place they definitely also managed to get to the others and they probably also managed to hunt down all the Airnomads that were wandering around. Otherwise, some would have come back here." He tightened his grip on the engraved stone pendant and held it to his chest and turned towards Katara who was watching him from a slight distance.

"How are you feeling? Will you be ok?" she asked, concern clearly written on her face.

"Don't worry. I think I'll be fine. It just takes some time to get used to." Aang gave her a weak smile. "But we really should get going now. We need to get to the north pole to find ourselves a teacher and there is some other places I want to show you on the way." Katara looked skeptical for a moment but she seemed to let it go.

"I really hope we can make a stop to buy something to eat soon. I don't know how much longer I can take it", Sokka said as he leaned against one of Appa's legs and slowly let himself sink to the ground.

Aang ruffled through Sokka's hair. "Alright, Sokka. I promised we'll make a stop the first opportunity we get."

A small chirping noise echoes from one of the doorways. The small flying lemur from earlier stepped out of the shadow on its hind legs. It's small arms, using it's wings as a sort of bag, were filled with a variety of fruits. The lemur waddled towards Sokka and dropped the fruit onto the ground before scurrying onto Aang's shoulder.

"Hey, little guy. Guess you want to join us on our journey too?" Aang scratched the lemur behind the ear. "And it looks like Sokka already made a new friend."

"What are you going to name him?", Katara asked.

Sokka grabbed one of the peaches from the pile of fruit and the lemur let out a panicked screech. It dropped from Aang's shoulder and jumped at Sokka. It ripped the peach out of Sokka's hand and ran behind Appa's leg. Peaking out from behind, it took a small bite out of the peach.

"I think I'll call him Momo."

Aang and Katara burst out laughing.

Endnotes: Yes, I gave the Fire Nation cannons. It always bugged me that the show gave the Fire Nation the technological level of Japan during the first Sino-Japanese for and in season three even the Russo-Japanese war and even later and then decided to put catapults onto their large, metal vessels. That the equivalent of the British putting trebuchets onto their dreadnaughts. But, as Zhao said, they are still just rudimentary prototypes. There isn't a whole lot of them so don't expect them to appear to much. It's mostly just a little world building thing for flavor. Same goes for the additional political intrigue I put into the Fire Nation.

Again, I would appreciate if you could give me some feedback. Specifically about the fight scene. What worked, what didn't. Also, please tell me if the formatting for this story is ok or if I should leave more space between paragraphs. Luckily that's something i can fix post facto relatively easily.