TLF - The Last Firebender

by Carrotine Clara

When all hope is lost, Aang is ripped from a dystopian world, only to find himself in a sick, distorted reality, forced to fight his friends alongside his foe. But can he really trust them? Trust people that destroyed his life? Trust those that don't even exist in his world? Against his own instincts, he may need to put his trust in one person above all: Azula, the last firebender.

37. Episode 17: Blue Spirit Part 2

Fire. Earth. Water. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Water Tribes attacked...

Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his bending skills are great, he is haunted by the memories of his world...

But I believe Aang can save this one.

---

Uviquiq looks out into the vast city below, slides going all over the place with streams of water dashing across them. She loved it here - loved the smell of the mountainous terrain, loved the slope-based design, and she loved it whenever packages ran across the aquatic postage system, one slide close to their house. The little girl is barely tall enough to look over their stone balcony, her little hair loops waving in the wind.

FATHER: Uvi?

Her father, clad in blue carrying features of a Water Tribes man, briskly walks onto the balcony.

UVIQUIQ: There was this huge box that just rushed down the slide, daddy!

He seems little invested in her story, picking her up and carrying her inside as she looks at him confused.

UVIQUIQ: What's wrong, daddy?

He lets out a worried scoff.

FATHER: Nothing, honey. Don't worry about it.

In reality, reports of a masked character and Earth Kingdom rebels breaching the city last night alarmed just about everyone in Omashu. He lets Uvi down again as her mother smiles at her from across the room.

FATHER: Listen sweetie, there's a... storm coming later today. We don't want you out on the balcony. Okay?

UVIQUIQ: But if I get wet, mommy can just bend the water off of me!

MOTHER: Listen to your father, Uvi.

She walks over, laying her arm on her daughter. Throughout the whole conversation, Uviquiq is unable to take her eyes off the water slide right outside their house.

UVIQUIQ: Okay...

---

Avatar: The Last Firebender

Based on Distorted Reality by Ogro

Written by Carrotine Clara

---

Book 2: Earth

Episode 17

Blue Spirit Part 2:

Below reason

---

Act I. – The Guru

---

If Zhila were to be believed, then the most damage done to the Air Temples was with the Northern and Southern. Aang assumed the worst for what was once his home after seeing the remains of the Northern, yet his joy was rekindled the moment he laid his eyes upon his destination.

The Eastern Air Temple was mostly intact, slightly worse condition than the Western, but still. It filled him with hope. Out of the three structures, only the one of the right looked heavily damaged, its bridge connecting it to the other two separated. The main building, other than some dust and cracks and poison ivy, looked rather... good.

He lands Appa on a wide, open courtyard, a staircase leading inside. As he hovers on his feet, the memories of meeting Appa for the first time resurface.

---

IIO: Choose well. A sky bison is a companion for life.

After picking up an apple, a very young Aang stares at the tiny bison cubs with big, glowy eyes. One finally approaches him, hovering as it takes his fruit-based offer, tackling him down and starting to lick his face as the boy laughs with joy.

AANG: I guess this means we'll always be together!

---

He looks back and the echoey laughter subsides. Warm colors disappear and are replaced by a century of decay and neglect. Appa lets out a loud groan, apparently remembering this encounter as well.

That's how it happened in his world. Supposedly, this Aang experienced it similarly, though he can't know for sure. Maybe Pathik will offer some answers.

---

Shahar shuts the door again, hectically pacing up and down the candy shop as she lights up her pipe.

BLAUFUSH: Can you not do that in here, please?

The earthbender gives him a glare akin to a middle finger. She then addresses Mai after taking a strong sip of nicotine.

SHAHAR: He'll be here in a minute or so.

The Crescent Warrior nods, her arms firmly crossed as her sharp eyes refuse to look away from a confined Blaufush.

MAI: Did you check his teeth?

Shahar briefly freezes up, expecting something terrible to happen. To their astonishment, the boy merely cackles.

BLAUFUSH: No, I don't have one of those poison pills disguised as one of my teeth.

KONKA (weak): You... you little traitor...

They turn to Konka, who sits upright, his arms stuck to the counter, glaring at Blaufush with a seething hatred.

BLAUFUSH: We already lost Bamser to this spying nonsense, uncle! It's time we stop!

KONKA (weak): You... ungrateful-

SHAHAR: There we go.

The girl nonchalantly carved a piece of rock from her prior pillar, forming a solid stone muzzle over the old man's mouth.

MAI: So, brother and uncle then.

Blaufush's expression takes on a grief-stricken frown.

BLAUFUSH: Bamser and I lost our parents when we were young. We fled the North Pole and came to Ba Sing Se for a new life. But uncle insisted that Bamser and I join this... spy network. He got us separate apartments and threatened to fire me from the candy shop if I didn't comply.

SHAHAR: Eventually you did, it seems.

Taking another sip, Shahar's face does carry a hint of sympathy.

BLAUFUSH: I was worried for my older brother. He was way into it, got a fake tooth and all, started doing dangerous stuff. He assured me he had it under control.

A soft film of tears covers his eyes.

BLAUFUSH: And then you two captured him.

He plays down his emotions via a strong exhale.

BLAUFUSH: It was his own choice. But after your crazy friend the earthbender started smashing up our shop, I realized that I can't run away from it. I didn't want to end up like he did.

Mai looks over to her partner, still very much baffled that the otherwise pedantic agent acted so rash. Shahar merely shrugs.

SHAHAR: Wasn't really following protocol, but I'm also not a Kimono Agent anymore so...

The girls share a brief smile.

A bell ringing announces someone just entered the store.

CARAMAN: What on Earth happened here?!

The Crescent Warrior boy accidentally steps on some glass shards and jellybeans.

MAI: We followed a lead.

Caraman briefly frowns at the whole setup, including the gagged elderly person the others seem to ignore.

CARAMAN: Aha.

Shahar is actually first to greet her friend, engulfing Caraman in a warm hug.

SHAHAR: Thank you for coming.

CARAMAN: Hey, no problem. Anything for my friend and former boss.

Mai, in contrast, seems very confrontational when it comes to Caraman.

MAI: Mhm. How does it feel to be in charge?

CARAMAN: Oh, it's pretty cool. The other Warriors actually respect me and I get to give personal updates to the King-

Shahar clears her throat in an impolite fashion, though it might be the smoker lung.

CARAMAN: Right. Mission.

BLAUFUSH: Is he here to take me in?

CARAMAN: Uh...

MAI: No.

She walks over to the storage room, Shahar putting out her pipe and emptying the ashes into a box filled with glazed nuts.

SHAHAR: We want you to question Blaufush.

CARAMAN: Who?

BLAUFUSH: Me.

CARAMAN: Oh. Cool.

The dork finally catches the hole in the ground the girls are staring down with nervous anticipation.

CARAMAN: Uh... what will you two be doing?

MAI: Squeeze everything out of him that you can. Then get the intel back to the palace.

SHAHAR: Go to Madame Tamao directly. Not the King or anyone else - Madame Tamao. Understood?

Caraman nods nervously.

BLAUFUSH: No need to "squeeze me", I am cooperating.

CARAMAN: That makes my job easy.

His brow furrows.

CARAMAN: But again, what are you two-

MAI: We're going in there.

She looks over to Shahar for reassurances. Though she and the earthbender hadn't agreed to this earlier, Shahar gives her a reaffirming smirk regardless.

MAI: If we're not back by nightfall, tell Madame Tamao to come here with the other agents and warriors.

Another concern boils inside her as Shahar begins her descent, climbing down a metal ladder.

MAI (quietly): What about Yue?

Shahar lets out a breath that smells like cigarettes.

SHAHAR (quietly): I'd rather not worry her before we found anything. If we don't go in now, the network will be on high alert and possibly relocate. Time is not on our side.

The girl takes another step before letting out a humorous scoff.

SHAHAR (quietly): Plus, this is totally our mission, Mai. Be honest.

Mai can't help but to roll her eyes while her mouth forms a smile against her will.

MAI (quietly): No way I'm letting Caraman get all the glory...

With that, all concerns are settled. Time to start having some new ones now...

---

They pass through more of the temple, Aang admiring the surviving murals and statues, all depicting Air Nuns, Avatar Yangchen represented more than enough times. He briefly stops as Appa starts chewing on some kind of metal railing, coughing out dust shortly after. Aang gives him a loving pet before reaching the outside of the temple again. A narrow, winded road leads to the very edge of the temple grounds, a lively forest behind it. As the boy walks up the spiral staircase, he lets his mind relieve the events with the guru in his world, how achieving the final chakra seemed impossible, and was then closed off for good after Azula... well, killed him. He might've not been really dead and only severely wounded, in a coma, and dying... but still. He thought so, so did Katara.

Would he be able to fix his mistake now? He takes one final breath before reaching the top, a circular platform made of stone ahead.

AANG: Uhhh ... hello? You're Guru Pathik, right?

Aang tries sounding as naive and believable as possible. He wonders if this is the way to go.

AANG: The person who sent me a letter?

The thin old man chuckles, seated in a lotus position. His long beard waves in the wind as he opens his eyes.

PATHIK: Indeed. I was a spiritual brother of your people and a personal friend of Monk Gyatso.

Aang nods respectfully.

PATHIK: But you knew that already, didn't you?

Instead of reacting shocked, the Avatar lets his mask fall off naturally with a humble smirk.

AANG: I had a suspicion you would know.

He places himself down across from the guru, imitating his seated position as he takes a sip of onion banana juice from a wooden bowl, not questioning the odd taste for a second. In reality, he had missed it.

PATHIK: Destiny, is a funny thing...

He shuts his eyes as the boy listens closely.

PATHIK: For the past hundred years or so, the lines between the worlds started to... blur. Not many can sense this. To the average person, they might not sense anything ever in the course of a lifetime. But for some... with intense spiritual focus, we can open small windows into these other worlds.

The old man takes a deep breath. Aang appears on edge. Appa has meanwhile found a resting spot somewhere in the forest.

PATHIK: You are wondering if one of those windows can be made into a door.

Aang nods, this time reacting with a bit more open shame.

AANG: I admit, it does sound appealing.

The guru opens his eyes halfway.

PATHIK: You will not find the answer here. However, I sense that your spiritual energy is connected to this world now. You must complete what it is you are meant to do. Only then, I believe, can you return back home.

The airbender scratches his bald head.

AANG: I figured that one too. I need to restore balance to this world before I can restore the balance in mine.

The old man gifts him a faint smile.

PATHIK: You must gain balance within yourself, before you can bring balance to either world.

Aang takes a deep breath, trying to find his center.

AANG: That's why I'm here. I'm ready.

Pathik nods.

PATHIK: I can sense that you are afraid, but you mustn't be. Many Avatars in many worlds have struggled with their own problems. Some of them even sought wisdom with other versions of myself.

At hearing those words, Aang's neurons are activated tenfold.

AANG: Really? Tell me!

The old man recalls these stories with his eyes closed again.

PATHIK: Well... there is another Aang who was invited as well. He struggled to unite the Water Tribe and Fire Nation against the Heavenly Kingdom of Earth, if I recall. He had a difficult time to pick a side with those he loved from one nation over the other.

Aang reflects deeply on his words, trying to find a parallel. Katara and Azula immediately jump to mind.

AANG: What did you say to him?

PATHIK: I didn't say anything. But a very lovely woman guru advised him not to force himself to choose. That he can love both and needed both in order to restore balance.

The boy nods, finding the story more important than perhaps any other wisdom he has received here.

PATHIK: There was another Aang who actively searched for me, though I wasn't in any of the Air Temples. He grew disillusioned with the war led by the Air Union, and wanted to know if there is redemption for him.

A shudder creeps down his spine as he hears this.

AANG: So... in another world... I am evil?

PATHIK: Good and evil are always relative. This Aang was told from birth that his purpose was to help bring peace to the world. Is he evil for having believed it, or good for having grown out of this?

The implications alone send Aang on a nauseating spiral. Or perhaps it's the onion banana juice.

AANG: How would this even happen? The Air Nomads turning violent? It goes against our core values.

PATHIK: And have you yourself not committed any violence?

Without needing to think too much about it, Aang knows that the answer is Yes.

PATHIK: These other worlds are not merely copies of one another. The events and people that inhabit them are fundamentally different from what you or I know. To understand these differences, to understand that people do not act out of inherent qualities, that it is their environment that shapes them into who they are, is crucial to understanding the conflict within yourself.

For the first time, Aang feels some clarity in his fate. Not just to understand what he must do here, but perhaps... why he has to do it.

AANG: Is that why I'm here? Was I sent to another world to learn to empathize with my enemies?

The old man reacts with a polite shrug.

PATHIK: I cannot answer this for you. Sometimes it is pointless to see the good in others. Darkness can corrupt someone beyond saving, even when it seemed possible at some point. But it is impossible to face those kinds of challenges if you don't at least try. Your enemy is merely a reflection of you at your worst.

He scoffs once again.

PATHIK: I believe that is the advice another Pathik gave to Avatar Yue.

Aang's eyes widen, though he quickly focuses back on the task at hand.

AANG: I think I know what you mean. Maybe it wasn't done on purpose. But getting to know people in this world that I call my enemies in another... maybe it means something.

PATHIK: If you consider it meaningful, then yes.

He ponders this for quite a while. His memories of Katara start intertwining with those of the raven-haired girl.

PATHIK: I believe in your world, you came to me to help achieve the Avatar State.

The boy gets his emotions under control before answering.

AANG: I want to try. The other Avatars said it won't be possible.

Aang has to take a second to take everything in.

AANG: What... what will opening my chakras achieve then?

With quiet agility, Guru Pathik rises, his hands folded behind his back.

PATHIK: We will see.

---

The girl nervously taps her fingers on the stone slab, everyone else standing in the cave. She looks over to Kenora's sleeping bag, her other stuff partially in her rucksack, which also remained here for now. She clenches onto her necklace with her right hand as she stares into nothingness.

BANDIT: So it was all a waste of time?

Zuko reacts with a headshake as Ty Lee tosses a worried expression over to Azula. Her lemur briefly nudges her in the side before realizing it does nothing. Sokka is meanwhile busy rolling up Bumi's blueprints for Omashu.

ZUKO: Azula saw its face. Or... her face. We know she's a person, not a spirit.

Bandit coughs up a scoff that sounds as revolting as a gagging sound.

BANDIT: Great. You can add that to your ghostly encyclopedia - but what did it actually accomplish?

She stomps the ground on the word "actually".

No one reacts for a few seconds. As Azula finally speaks up, she carries herself as though she was having a separate conversation in her head.

AZULA: You know Bandit, you don't really sound too happy to be here.

Finally, her head turns, appropriately cold. This is when Ty Lee hugs herself, focusing.

AZULA: You keep complaining about what we do or how we do it. You demand that we only enforce ideas that you personally handpicked. That doesn't sound very grateful to me.

She flicks her brow as her stare continues to be ice cold. This is unlike the more relaxed Azula the gang has dealt with in recent times. In fact, this is unlike anything they have dealt with.

Bandit's next scoff carries a very clear level of unease with it.

BANDIT: You're the one talking. We only did this little adventure so you could spend time with your girlfriend-

AZULA: You know, I don't very much appreciate your tone. Perhaps I'll have a word with Aang later about your continued membership of Team Avatar.

This makes everyone in the room shudder a bit. Even Sabachi flies over to Sokka in protest. Bandit merely scoffs a third time, seeming genuinely on edge now.

BANDIT: Fine by me. He knows earthbending now. You guys clearly don't need me anymore.

With that, the earthbender stomps away, slapping aside the entry vines as she leaves.

Sokka gets up too, giving Azula a glare that he very much liked not needing to do anymore.

SOKKA: Too far, Azula.

The raven-haired girl doesn't respond, checking her nails instead. After doing so, Sokka goes after Bandit.

ZUKO: What's going on with you? You're acting like a spoiled brat again.

She gets up from her seated position. A laser focused mean look is all he receives as an answer at first.

AZULA: Spare me your scoldings, Zu-Zu. I'm exhausted. I need to rest.

The girl picks up her sleeping bag before returning to camp, not meeting either person's eyes again before doing so. Zuko gives his girlfriend a concerned grimace as he shakes his head.

ZUKO: Not this again. She's back to calling me "Zu-Zu". That means, whatever it is, it's bad.

He expects to find Ty Lee agreeing non-verbally, though she instead stares after the girl with something akin to... fear?

ZUKO: You okay?

As he grabs her shoulder, she lets out an exhale sounding more than uneasy, the air escaping her mouth in audible shakes.

ZUKO: Her aura too?

She shakes her head quietly. He lets out a sigh, trying to solve this problem like a tricky puzzle.

ZUKO: It has to be about Kenora again. She gave her her necklace, which means something good. But... she also stayed behind? Maybe it didn't go well and it was a goodbye.

With his hand scratching his scalp, he once again looks to Ty Lee for any response whatsoever.

ZUKO: No? You think it's something else?

She shakes her head once again, her body language still that of a frightened house cat.

TY LEE: Her aura felt... wrong.

He frowns as he hears this.

ZUKO: Wrong? Was it that bad?

TY LEE: No. It... felt too different. Nothing like her.

Zuko's idea of helping her is a tight hug, followed by some pecks that... seem to make her happy, though they don't visibly cheer her up one bit.

TY LEE: I'm worried, Zuko.

ZUKO: She's been hurt, clearly. She lashes out, lets it out on others. I know so. I know her. Whatever happened, she'll get through it.

She puts her hand on his chest as she looks up at his eyes.

TY LEE: What if it's worse than that?

He smirks humbly.

ZUKO: We're her family. We'll help her.

Not a hint of hesitation as he uses the term. Clearly he has accepted Ty Lee a lot farther into his life than she had assumed. They finish the unusually uncomfortable talk with a much-needed hug.

---

The room the Tribe uses as Kenora's personal prison is somewhere inside the palace, still reminding her of the original Earth Kingdom design, yellow-ish stone walls and tight air holes making it seem like an empty storage space. The only thing that seems to have been adjusted is an actual door, made from wood and steel. The girl had assumed that, prior to Omashu being taken over, that door was probably bending-based. She is tied to a sturdy chair, both her arms and legs restrained, firmly tied against the chair's armrests and legs.

At least the room offers great acoustics, which Kenora had taken note of about an hour ago.

KENORA (singing): ...put him in the bed with the captain's daughter, put him in the bed with the captain's daughter, put him in the bed with the captain's daughter - early in the morning! Way hay and up she rises! Way hay and up she rises! Way hay and up she rises - early-

With a tired screech, the door opens.

KENORA: ...in the... morning.

Katara closes it, a firm pout chiseled into her features. She makes sure to emit a loud, long, audible sigh before talking.

KATARA: So. Here we are.

Kenora gestures oddly with her head.

KENORA: Here we are!

Surprisingly, Katara's follow-up reaction is a disappointed frown.

KATARA: Do you have any idea the position I am put in because of this?

Kenora cannot hold back her impish smirk.

KENORA: Standing?

The motherly disappointment quickly turns to anger.

KATARA: This is serious, Kenora! I liked you more when you actually took yourself seriously.

The Pirate Princess howls like a sailor.

KENORA: Right. When I was your little watchdog doing all the dirty work? When I was a huge asshole that no one liked, so everyone started following your orders instead?

Katara's arms cross as her pout returns.

KATARA: You made me captain.

KENORA: Yeah, looks like it worked out pretty well for you. Me? Not so much.

She tries to accentuate her point via raising her arms, which she is physically unable to do so.

KATARA: Don't put this on me. This is all you. I didn't let you go so you could join up with the Avatar.

KENORA: Avatar? Who said anything about the Avatar?

Countering her famously bad skills as a liar, Kenora attempts to keep up a humorous equilibrium during the entire conversation.

KATARA: Don't lie to me. I know you and his friends snuck in last night.

KENORA (cold): Oh really? How do you know?

Her lighthearted tone very quickly shifts as Katara is unable to hide that inch of unnerve that it revealed.

KATARA: You say that as if any of you were subtle. We got reports for earthbending, an airbender, a firebender with swords, and blue fire.

KENORA: No Avatar?

The Crown Princess deliberately refuses to respond.

KENORA: Right. Then I don't see why those guys breaking in and me trying to stop the Blue Spirit are related.

Katara's features form an intrigued frown.

KATARA: The Blue Spirit?

The Pirate Princess nods.

KENORA: Mhm. You're welcome for that. I am actually trying to stop Zorak's killer. Stumbled into the Avatar folks and we made a quick truce since, you know, bigger threat and all.

Katara lets out a dismissive scoff.

KATARA: The Blue Spirit is no threat compared to the Avatar and his massive army at our gates. That gate actually got destroyed by the firebender last night. We don't even know how.

As she says those words, she catches a very odd smirk from Kenora. Clearly her prisoner is hiding something in that reaction.

KENORA: Sounds like shoddy craftsmanship.

Katara hides it, though internally she smirks at the revealed information.

KATARA: Alright. Well, thank you for destroying the collective reputation of female waterbenders in the Tribes. It'll be fun to try and fix that.

She turns around, headed to the door...

KENORA: Sokka asked for you.

...before turning back around.

KENORA: You know, he'd love to see you again. He really misses you.

The Pirate Princess finds nothing but a hateful glare.

KATARA (cold): He knows where to find me.

With that, the door closes with a loud clank. A few seconds after, Kenora lets out an overly dramatic sigh of relief. She was not sure whether or not Katara would kill her in here.

---

In one of the lowest parts of the temple, stalactites and stalagmites mark the massive cave surrounded by fog. It almost feels like a different climate here, though as Aang focuses, he can clearly make out the spiritual energy that surrounds them, much like in the temple grounds above. He has taken off his shirt and boots for this, taking another sip of onion banana juice that he finally finds repulsive.

PATHIK: It will come back around again.

They both share a smile. The two are situated on an elevated platform somewhere in these caverns, barely visible by light.

AANG: Why the onion banana juice?

Pathik grins as he empties his own bowl.

PATHIK: Some have called it the Water of Life. I personally just like the mix of savory and sweet flavor. Pick whatever you like.

With a dismissive expression, he empties the rest of his bowl. Immediately, his mind goes back to thinking about the other worlds, and other Avatars.

PATHIK: Tell me, what do you remember about chakras?

He recalls his lessons, which at this point are more than three years ago.

AANG: They're pools of spiraling energy within our bodies. There's seven and they're blocked by a specific emotion. If I want to open all seven, I have to do it in one go.

Pathik nods like a proud high school teacher.

PATHIK: Before we start, you need to clear your mind first.

Aang doesn't know how, but suspects that the old man has some way of telling that his energy isn't focused enough yet. Maybe he can read auras. Or maybe it's just experience.

AANG: I wanted to ask you something first. You mentioned one of the Avatars was Yue, right?

PATHIK: One of the Avatars in the other worlds, yes.

The boy nods patiently.

AANG: I... or, Aang... wasn't supposed to be the Avatar here. That's the reason my previous incarnations don't trust me.

The guru scratches his beard, deep concern written all over his wrinkled features.

PATHIK: That is most interesting. The Avatar of another world taking the place of the one who was supposed to be the Avatar here.

Aang sighs, immense guilt washing over him. If he remembers correctly, he might have to deal with that one later.

AANG: I want to know who was supposed to be the Avatar here. I want to return these powers eventually.

A hum is emitted by the bearded man.

PATHIK: I cannot give you the answer to that.

He takes a deep breath as Aang listens closely.

PATHIK: Princess Yue, in this other world, became the Avatar after their Aang was found much earlier than you were in your own world. As he passed, the cycle began anew.

The airbender lets those words sink to the bottom of his head slowly, evaluating them with clear care and precision.

AANG: The Avatar in this world might've died before I broke out of that volcano. That would mean...

His eyes widen as two faces appear in front of his inner eye - Adithya, and Azula.

PATHIK: Or perhaps the cycle was distorted by your presence.

He thinks about this even longer. Now it's Katara and Kenora he sees.

AANG: Maybe the next Avatar became a waterbender, since that's how the cycle goes where I'm from.

PATHIK: Or this new Avatar died also and you are now looking for someone within the Earth Kingdom.

So what now? Bandit? Shahar? Haru?

PATHIK: You are occupied with a question that cannot be answered by merely thinking of a solution. It is something that will reveal itself to you eventually, rather than you finding out.

Aang nods, the storm cloud of questions slowly fading away. He takes a deep breath, seated in the lotus position, his features expressing determination above all.

PATHIK: Opening your chakras will reveal the truth. Are you ready?

He lets his worries drift down and below and join the fog.

AANG: I'll do whatever it takes.

---

Act II. - Aqua Vitae

---

मूलाधार

Earth

---

PATHIK: First we will open the Earth Chakra, located at the base of the spine. It deals with survival, and is blocked by fear. What are you most afraid of? Let your fears become clear to you.

Aang closes his eyes and lets the emotion wash over him.

His vision takes on a red color as he relives events that frightened him to the core. Seeing Sozin's Comet arrive as he is powerless to stop it. An incident in which Fire Lord Azula almost shot down Appa as they narrowly escape. Seeing Katara's face in the Southern Air Temple as he desperately tries to enter the Spirit World.

But also, new image from this world. The dread of needing to face Sokka as his opponent. Seeing bison fall at the Battle of Dibuang. Arguing with Adithya, begging her not to sacrifice her life like Yue. And the dread of facing Katara as his opponent too.

His vision comes to a crescendo, still drenched in red color, with the stormy ocean - the massive creature hidden in shadow - Ogro the Leviathan.

PATHIK: Your visions are not real, Aang.

AANG: What if I fail again? What if I fail this world too and plunge it into chaos?

He shields himself in the real world as his vision still persists.

PATHIK: I didn't say your fear isn't justified. But you cannot let it control you. Let your fears flow down the creek.

With those calming words, the red vision slowly fades into nothing, like a 30mm film burning down as it's playing. A gong sound echoes through his head as he exhales in relief.

PATHIK: Very good. You have opened your Earth Chakra.

Aang opens his eyes again, feeling a bit stronger, yet also lighter.

---

The two finally reach the sewers proper, bricks colored in a strange shade of dark green, reminding Mai of a lush forest. With a strong move that involves both her arms, Shahar quietly closes the hole above, darkening these tunnels even further.

SHAHAR (quietly): There. Looks unsuspecting again.

Mai is meanwhile busy playing down her gag reflex.

MAI (quietly): This is disgusting.

The Crescent Warrior had briefly forgotten that, being beneath the earth inside Ba Sing Se's sewer system, would include... well, sewage.

SHAHAR (quietly): It's also our best lead. I doubt the Tribe will want to work next to that. We'll follow it down to wherever the smell is the least pungent.

Mai drops a mean side-eye in response.

MAI (quietly): You throw up in a candy shop but this doesn't bother you?

Shahar, who does seem unphased by the disgusting odor, shrugs quietly.

SHAHAR (quietly): To each their own?

The conversation ends rather unceremoniously as Mai takes the lead, seeing as her sensitivity to the smell makes her more qualified here. An occasional green crystal gives these narrow hallways enough light to not get lost in them, though suppose Shahar could simply bend up in a straight line if it came down to it. As they intend to turn around, footsteps and distant voices alarm the girls. To their misfortune, the sound appears to grow louder.

SHAHAR (quietly): Hold your breath.

Following her hasty suggestion, Shahar next bends off a good chunk of the wall, holding it in place as an awkward kick creates some room behind. The two girls enter and Shahar bends the wall back in place and over them. By sheer skill alone, none of this made any noise. The kimono girl made sure to leave a tiny hole to let them know when the figures pass by.

MAN 1: ...yeah, I can't wait. I'm starving.

MAN 2: I'm just starving to be back in the part of these tunnels that don't smell like shit. Seriously, why did it have to be the sewers?

MAN 1: Why does it always have to be us...

A few seconds pass and boots stepping on metal are heard, the sound of a ladder close by. Once the air is clear (hopefully), Shahar repeats her stunt from earlier, again, with no sound. The girls take quiet but repulsive gasps of air, nausea building up in Mai's head.

SHAHAR (quietly): I didn't see much but they definitely looked like Water Tribe.

Mai nods, leaned over, expecting to throw up.

MAI (quietly): Your... breath control... is pretty good... for a chain smoker.

Shahar wipes some dust off her sleeves as she ever so slightly frowns.

SHAHAR (quietly): Please - just smoker is fine. Now come on.

Mai finds her equilibrium and the two follow down the same path the guards just went towards. Voilà - another hole with a ladder leading down further below. Though rather than taking the ladder, and making a whole bunch of noise, Shahar instead breaks off a perfectly round piece of stone floor from the very bottom, removing it from the ground like you would a bottle cap, before hovering it upwards. Having two people on it is certainly a fee, though Shahar can handle herself, lowering the platform with a grace and elegance that Mai has not seen in any earthbender before. Finally, the round rock is place back into the ground, now turned in the opposite direction to make it fit again.

MAI (quietly): I never asked this but - where did you learn earthbending?

The two find themselves in a medium-sized storage space, the most noticeable feature the high ceiling. They walk behind a few crates and out of sight as Shahar answers her inquiry.

SHAHAR (quietly): I learned sandbending back home. When I came to Ba Sing Se, Madame Tamao actually taught me. That was even before I joined the Kimono Society.

Both stop at a stack of barrels. Mai multitasks, inspecting the contents of these wooden containers as she talks.

MAI (quietly): You and that Madame Tamao really go way back.

A bittersweet smirk as Shahar reminisces about the polite, well put-together woman with a constantly reliable energy.

SHAHAR (quietly): I said it before. I owe her a lot.

A wooden click sound as Mai puts away her shuriken, carefully opening the lid of the barrel.

SHAHAR (quietly): Ew, that smells horrible.

Mai shakes her head at the comment. Down here the sewage smell is finally gone, and now Shahar finds this repulsive? But wait... what if...

She looks down at the contents of the barrel, a clear liquid appearing dark, only a distant light crystal giving it any color.

MAI (quietly): Maybe you didn't throw up at the candy.

Mai turns to an intrigued earthbender.

MAI (quietly): You were able to enter the candy shop without any hiccups after, right?

SHAHAR (quietly): Right. But I've been training myself-

MAI (quietly): Do you know what this is?

The sharp, chemical odor pierces right through Mai's nose as well.

SHAHAR (quietly): Smells familiar, but-

MAI (quietly): That's ethanol.

Metaphorical alarm bells ring in both girls' heads.

MAI (quietly): Me and the other warriors used it for tiny bombs back home.

As Shahar thinks critically, she is thrown back into the alley with the metal grate, the smell now seeming familiar. It is the same that made her puke when they first came to the candy shop.

SHAHAR (quietly): I didn't throw up at the candy...

She turns back to Mai.

SHAHAR (quietly): It was definitely sweet, but it smelled like this also.

The Crescent Warrior nods, clear concern written over her face.

MAI (quietly): Ethanol is one of the main components in making blasting jelly.

A dramatic head turn as Shahar's heart skips a beat.

MAI (quietly): Which is a highly explosive substance that smells...

SHAHAR (quietly): ...sweet.

Dread engulfs her, both actually, though Mai is clearly more adept in hiding it.

MAI (quietly): And by the looks of it...

They inspect the rest of the storage room. There are more than a dozen ethanol barrels and who knows what else in those crates and boxes.

MAI (quietly): They'd be able to make a lot of it.

Shahar gulps. Fear freezes both their bodies for a short time.

---

स्वाधिष्ठान

Water

---

Aang and Pathik move to a slightly elevated level, still far beneath the temple grounds. Another cave, this time with a waterfall behind them and daylight illuminating the stone platform they are seated upon, again, lotus position.

PATHIK: Next up is the Water Chakra. As you could've guessed.

Aang looks behind him, refraining from making a childish comment.

PATHIK: This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. Now, look at all the guilt which burdens you so. What do you blame yourself for?

Once again, the images wash over him, this time like a tidal wave drenched in orange.

He sees himself leaving the Southern Air Temple all this time ago. Failing his world and his friends, watching their dour expressions as they seem lost, unable to continue. Then, he and his friends on the run. There was more than one situation in which he had to resort to violence. Very likely lethal. He also only started eating vegetarian again in this world. Back home, on the run, scraping for whatever they could get, he would often resort to eating meat alongside the others. He thinks about the day the comet arrived. About how powerless he felt. For a brief moment back then, he blamed the war on the weakness of the Air Nomads.

AANG: I strayed away from what the monks taught me.

More images rise to the surface and drench him. Countless situations with his new friends in which he refused to be peaceful, refused to be patient, refused to help.

AANG: I feel like I had to but... maybe I didn't. Maybe I could've kept my values throughout all of this.

Finally, he sees himself in the Air Nomad Villages, as well as in Dibuang.

AANG: I don't even feel like an Air Nomad anymore...

A very harsh statement that causes him to feel like he's drowning.

PATHIK: Accept the reality that these things happened. You did what you thought was right, and it is not too late to change back to being the person you want to be. Do not let these feelings cloud and poison your energy. If you are to be a positive influence on this world and your own, you need to forgive yourself.

The boy takes a deep breath. Forgiving himself has seemed impossible up until now. But he can feel it. The energy, the stream of chi as it flows stronger within his body. His memories fade out like a drizzle and he hears the gong sound again.

---

KENORA (singing): She had not been two weeks from shore, when down on her a right whale bore. The captain called all hands and swore, he'd take that whale in tow - HUH! Soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. One day, when the tonguing is done, we'll take our leave and go!

This time, her shanty is not cut in half in the middle of a line. The door opens and Akari enters. Kenora reacts surprised, as Akari is not wearing her Princess Squad uniform that has essentially been inseparable wardrobe for the athlete. Instead, the girl wears a strange new outfit, very aloof, with orange and yellow fabrics giving her the appearance of a special off-brand of Air Nomad. Suppose that's what she is regardless.

KENORA: Hellou?

Akari snorts with her arms crossed.

AKARI: Drop the spiel, please. I do not have the energy for "Funny Kenora".

KENORA (funny voice): Don't know what you're talkin' about!

The airbender rolls her eyes. The waterbender finally takes note that something is off with this encounter.

AKARI: I'm not here on Katara's orders. No one knows I'm here, actually.

Kenora reacts cautiously optimistic.

KENORA: Mhm. And how can I trust you?

Akari reacts with a certain kind of nonchalant coolness that Kenora had honestly missed.

AKARI: I'm not here to give a speech. Do it or don't. I think, since I trust you and you punched me in the face, you might want to think about owing it to me.

Guilt creeps into the Pirate Princess' system at those words. She decides to be a bit more open.

KENORA: Fine. What is it that you want?

AKARI: What did you tell Katara?

That initial openness shuts off again. Akari grunts, in frustration, though it sounds more like desperation according to the waterbender.

AKARI: I don't care if it's the truth. Just tell me what you said.

Strange starting position. Alas, what pushes Kenora over the edge is the fact that... she does trust Akari. Long way to get here.

KENORA: I came to Omashu to stop the Blue Spirit. Made a truce with the Avatar's friends to have them help me.

Surprisingly, the athlete's first reaction is a scoff.

AKARI: Aha. And she bought it?

KENORA: I sure hope so. It's also... technically not a lie. Just left some parts out.

AKARI: Like that one?

With her index finger, she points towards Kenora's sternum, an iconic piece of jewelry missing.

AKARI: 100 gold pieces it's dangling around the firebender's neck right now.

Using up all of her inner strength, Kenora holds back the blush like a dam does hundreds of tons of water.

KENORA: No?

Akari lets a piece of her facade break off before continuing.

AKARI: I'm new to it but... I think I know when you're lying. Your aura becomes all janky when you do.

Interesting trivia for the tied-up princess.

KENORA: Oh. Look at that. Congrats.

AKARI: It's why I'm here.

She hugs herself before stepping closer.

AKARI: Katara is lying too.

Kenora snorts comically.

KENORA: No shit. It took you that long to figure it out?

AKARI: She told us you're the Blue Spirit.

Immediately, Kenora's casual demeanor shatters.

AKARI: That's when I felt like something was off. I don't believe it's you.

KENORA: I fought it twice, case and point.

Akari's brow furrows.

AKARI: Twice?

KENORA: Yeah, months ago when Bato captured Azula. I saved her from that and... it.

The athlete lets out an odd smile.

AKARI: Now everything makes sense. Azula rejecting you is what turned you into an asshole. Now that you guys are together, you're nice again.

Kenora acts with something resembling insult.

KENORA: My entire journey is not simply based on this one person but sure, if you want to make me look as superficial as possible, you can sum it up like that.

AKARI: So you guys are together?

Kenora loosens up again with a smile.

KENORA: No comment.

Akari reciprocates appropriately before returning to her serious nature.

AKARI: You're definitely not the Blue Spirit. Maybe when we started I would've believed it, but you're not that person. You're a goofball.

KENORA: Thank you?

AKARI: So, if it's not you, why would Katara-

Not needing Kenora's confirmation, Akari answers the question herself, stumbling back as her heart races. The waterbender's reaction is a sassy "I told you so"-glare.

AKARI (quietly): No...

KENORA: I don't know for sure. But Azula took its mask off. Her description fits.

A plethora of thoughts rushes to the athlete's head.

KENORA: I stayed in Omashu to find out if it's really her. And to warn you two.

In a reversal of roles, it is now Akari feeling deeply guilty.

KENORA: You two need get ready to leave. I assume that's what you want regardless, Katara being the Blue Spirit or not.

AKARI: I can't leave. Not without Suki.

Kenora frowns curiously.

AKARI: She still clings onto Katara. I think she's deliberately using her trauma to control her.

KENORA: As if Katara couldn't get any worse...

With a plump noise akin to dough, a small pouch of water drops to the floor.

AKARI: You get out of here. Find out if it's her, then go back to your friends. I'll take care of things.

KENORA: No!

She stops the athlete, who was about to grab the door handle.

KENORA: After I get my confirmation, I'll find you and warn you. We can go back together.

Akari lets the thought play out in her head. But alas, it is too good to be true.

AKARI: Appreciate the optimism. But you should save Azula first.

Not another word or look is exchanged before Akari quietly exits. Kenora takes a second to find her inner strength, then proceeds to whip the pouch's contents with her finger and wrist movements alone, cutting her restrains within seconds, before getting back up with a cocky smirk.

KENORA (quietly): Best waterbender in the fucking world.

---

मणिपुर

Fire

---

New location, a ledge snaking around the mountain leading further up. The two now sit next to each other, staring out into the distance, the fog replaced for thick clouds.

PATHIK: Third is the Fire Chakra, located in the stomach.

Aang briefly holds his, the "Water of Life" currently plowing through his digestive track like one of Bandit's rock avalanches.

PATHIK: This chakra deals with willpower, and is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?

Now Aang's visions are dunked in yellow, a heat rising to his head as he lets the emotions burn through his system.

This time, it is not images of his world. He sees Azula's innocent face as she finds him in the volcano. Immediately after, he blasts her down the mountain. He remembers doing it again after his friends confronted him in the swamp.

AANG: I lied to them. I treated them unfairly because who they are in my world.

He pictures flying on Appa with Adithya, a beautiful smile between clouds.

AANG: I pushed people away because they don't exist in my world.

Finally, he clearly visualizes Azula's reaction to finding out about his secret. Then again...

AANG: Even when I promised to be honest, I still lied. I didn't trust Azula, even though...

He pictures the firebender as she sits on a hedge surrounded by luminous bugs, her eyes reflecting in their serene light.

AANG: She was with me from the start. And I treated her like... like a monster.

The words seem to have an effect on Pathik as well.

PATHIK: You are feeling ashamed because you denied yourself of that love.

As his vision dissolves, the bad moments are replaced by happy ones, joyful faces that surround him and support him. Azula. Zuko. Ty Lee. Adithya. Sokka. Mai. Shahar. Bandit.

Before his chakra can open, it gets clogged by another vision. His other friends. Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki - so many others that are now gone or imprisoned because of him.

PATHIK: Choosing to love people is not a burden. You can love your new friends and still carry the love you have for your old ones. They are not gone. You need to power through your shame and accept that. You cannot find balance if you force yourself to weigh one love over the other.

With much more exhaustion than the prior chakras, Aang can finally let the dark thoughts burn to a crisp. The image he has of the beautiful waterbender that found him in the iceberg appears in balance next to the image of the beautiful firebender that found him in the volcano. This time the sound of the gong seems muted and unclear.

PATHIK: Hmm... that chakra opened less like a flowing creek, and more like a...

AANG: Burping bison?

Pathik snickers at this.

PATHIK: I hope you are not offended by me repeating myself. I am simply speaking what comes to mind in this world.

Aang nods respectfully. He exhales as he feels his stomach burning with energy.

---

Azula breathes heavily, leaned over her bed as she takes off her boots. It's a good thing she scared the others off. She has to deal with this on her own.

I liked you in there. More of that, please.

The raspy voices echoes through her again. With terror in her heart, she clenches onto her necklace.

AZULA: You can't be back. I got rid of you.

Her voice sounds weak and feeble, a fever creeping into her system.

AZULA: No. I won't let you.

Oh, no need to worry, I'll take my time with you. How about we start by taking that silly little necklace off?

Her hold tightens even more as she falls down, pulling her blanket up all the way to her chin, lying down sideways.

AZULA (quietly): Don't take her away from me.

Ah, you are too sentimental. Why don't you rest for a while and we'll talk about it later, hm?

The voice is almost soothing in a way, though Azula's will holds firm. She pictures Kenora's face smiling as she closes her eyes.

AZULA (whispering): Don't take her away from me...

Kenora fades to smoke, replaced by a black void. A spec in the distance takes shape as it moves closer. She finally makes out to be a massive creature, long and scaly, with predatory eyes and razor-sharp teeth.

Sleep now Azula...

The Blue Dragon pauses for a moment. Its mouth does not move as it talks. Azula holds on to her necklace for dear life as her heart pounds out of her chest.

Sleep... just like MOTHER!

---

अनाहत

Air

---

The two are now on higher grounds, seated in the actual temple proper, or at least an area connected to the temple grounds. Two massive staircases, one leading up, the other leading down. The stone roof above them is partially collapsed, and out of the dozen or so Air Nun statues, many are missing or destroyed entirely.

PATHIK: The fourth chakra is located in the heart. It deals with love and is blocked by grief.

Aang looks over to a partially smashed statue, once again depicting Avatar Yangchen. Despite the familiarity, he can't bring himself to smile.

PATHIK: Lay all your grief out in front of you.

This vision is green. Aang is floating on a field of clouds above the heavens, watching as a collection of the Air Nomads rises from below, then blows away into dust.

PATHIK: You have indeed felt a great loss.

In his vision, Aang is plunged below, landing on hard rock floor, burned to a crisp. He watches his friends as they all run away from him, further and further, until they eventually disappear out of sight.

PATHIK: And you have continued to feel it.

The boy can tell how tears stream down his face in the real world.

AANG (teary): We lost so much. The whole world looked up to me, and I let them down. So many people that suffered because of me...

PATHIK: And you feel that with your journey to this world, your world as a whole is now lost forever...

He pictures himself standing on a hill, watching as a scenic landscape gets engulfed by fire within seconds.

PATHIK: But you mustn't allow all this grief to devour you. Grieving is itself a form of love. It shows that the people you loved are still here, that you still carry them with you in your heart.

Instead of picturing his world in flames and beyond saving, he remembers a campfire at night. One of the last peaceful moments at the Southern Air Temple before Azula's attack. He remembers them being happy, telling him that they'll always stand behind him, whatever happens. Katara even reached for his hand in a gesture of empathy. Or... well, love.

PATHIK: Both the Air Nomads and your friends in the other world are never really gone. You carry the love they have for you wherever you go. And that love that you feel is constantly reborn, taking new forms.

In his vision, Aang rises to the skies above again. The clouds seem calmer now, forming a shape, a face at first, then a head. A girl with raven black hair and two bangs hanging down on each side, giving him a crooked smile that she is otherwise not used to showing to people.

PATHIK: Let the pain flow away.

The gong sounds in his head once more. As Aang opens his eyes, he wipes off his tears, a mixture of his sorrow and joy. His grief and love.

---

After a while, the girls found the canteen, a ladder leading down to a massive hall with dozens of tables and more than a hundred soldiers, fortunately all gathered for lunch. Shahar was quick to redirect them some other way before someone caught them. After avoiding a few more guards and almost getting lost in dingy hallways, Mai finally stops at a door. Despite it being pretty nasty here, at least the sewage smell is completely gone.

MAI (quietly): What do you think of this?

Shahar, who was a few paces ahead, rejoins her partner with essentially inaudible steps.

SHAHAR (quietly): "Chemistry Lab". Hm.

She nods to Mai.

SHAHAR (quietly): Promising.

The earthbender keeps guard as Mai takes out a knife, beginning the process of unlocking the massive steel door. A cool stream of air constantly drifts through the corridors, probably how this operation is able to keep the air breathable.

After a few more seconds of no success, Shahar emits a soft sigh.

MAI (quietly): I'm working on it.

SHAHAR (quietly): No, it's not you.

Mai doesn't take her eyes off the task at hand, though Shahar can tell that the girl is listening closely.

SHAHAR (quietly): We should've told Yue. I should've told her.

The Crescent Warrior thinks back to her conversation with the princess yesterday.

MAI (quietly): I'm sure she will understand. But you two should talk regardless.

Mai is almost embarrassed to give away Yue's thoughts this bluntly. But alas, Shahar seems to have her own string of thoughts she hangs onto.

SHAHAR (quietly): When we're back home, I'll tell her that I love her.

Now this makes Mai stop for a second. She resumes her lock picking as she responds.

MAI (quietly): A bit early, is it not?

Shahar tapping her foot surprisingly makes no sound whatsoever.

SHAHAR (quietly): Maybe. But she needs to know. She deserves to know. She already went through so much in Ba Sing Se. I need her to know that I'm here for her.

Mai tries finding a middle route between not directly getting involved in someone else's relationship while still trying to help her two friends.

MAI (quietly): Would you go to the North Pole with her if she asked you?

The kimono girl scoffs with insult.

SHAHAR (quietly): Absolutely. Wouldn't like it too much in the cold with no earth to bend, but I would go in a heartbeat if she asked.

A faint smirk appears on the knife girl's face. It quickly morphs back to anger, as the mechanism is harder to open than she thought.

MAI (quietly): What about Ba Sing Se? I thought it was your dream to be here.

SHAHAR (quietly): And it is still. I still love it.

The earthbender expresses a bitter-sweet smile.

SHAHAR (quietly): When I was a child, I told myself that it was my purpose to come to Ba Sing Se and make something of myself. I loved doing that. I loved becoming a Kimono Agent and serving the realm. But... the more I think about it, the more I realize that Yue and you were my purpose here.

Click! The door opens unceremoniously as the two girls enter, shutting it behind them.

The lab has a massive, elevated ceiling, with red stone floor beneath. Two large cylinder kettles are boiling, processing the different chemical substances as they cook over an oven, a mechanism appearing to be fueled by waterpower, most likely somewhere behind the stone walls. Dozens of little bottles of green and purple and other liquids line up in shelves protected by glass.

As Shahar admires the setup, Mai is still flashed by her earlier words.

MAI: Thank you.

The earthbender turns around, her head no longer staring into the ceiling above.

SHAHAR: For what?

MAI: For being my partner, working together with me for months. Also... for being my friend.

Deep below the city, inside the crammed chemistry lab, Shahar sees what is perhaps Mai's most honest and thoughtful expression ever.

SHAHAR: It was an honor. Let's finish it with a bang.

As Shahar continues searching the lab for any blasting jelly, Mai ponders the girl's words a bit closer. What will she do when she sees Sokka again?

---

विशुद्ध

Sound

---

The Eastern Air Temple's Sanctuary is very different from the one he knew from the South. It's a square room showcasing historically important Air Nuns throughout the centuries, many of them Avatars. Most notably, once again, Yangchen is the center piece attraction, absolutely massive stone shaped like her in a meditative position. Aang had always wondered if the airbender necklace around her neck was the same one Monk Gyatso wore. Despite having endured a hundred years of neglect, the blue color in her tattoos is still visible.

PATHIK: The fifth in the chain is the Sound Chakra, located in the throat. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies.

For a brief second, seeing it through a blue filter, Aang relieves the moment he lied to Katara and Sokka about being the Avatar. That moment is very quickly overshadowed by dozens of others, the period of time early in his travels with Azula, Zuko, and later Ty Lee.

AANG: I lied to them for so long.

For a second time in his chakra journey, Aang recalls telling Azula first.

AANG: I lied to her too. I kept it to myself because I... I thought I wanted to protect them.

Pathik emits a patient sigh.

PATHIK: You must also confront the lies you tell yourself.

Aang digs deeper.

AANG: I lied because it was easier. Because I didn't want to be hurt again.

As he allows those words to be spoken, a memory he encountered earlier reveals itself. Up on Appa above Dibuang with Adithya. Her smile as she blushes now causes a bigger reaction that he had allowed himself to feel before.

AANG: I liked her... more than I wanted to admit to myself.

With one memory fading away, the scene of Azula and him talking after their dance resurfaces.

AANG: And I lied to her too. I've been lying to myself for a while now...

He didn't want to like her, ever. From the moment he stumbled over this new Azula, he hated the thought of even having to be near her. But with every new adventure, she... opened up. Showed him that she can be more. Showed him that... he can see her as more. The fierce, direct, honest, intelligent, ruthless, focused, caring firebender girl that in one world he knows to fear, here... she is so much more.

But how can he accept this? His feelings for Katara are still ever present but now... feelings for someone else are present too. Although, in reality, they have been present for a long time. It is only now that Aang can finally accept it, see the truth for what it is.

PATHIK: Life is often a mess. We create lies in our head as a way to deal with it, but in reality, those lies merely cover up the mess, making it worse. It might seem like a lot, but choosing to listen to yourself, abandon these lies and taking the world for what it is, is the only real way of dealing with that mess.

With those words, Aang's mind clears again. He can't possibly deal with all these things now, but he can't lie about them either. Another gong sound echoes through his mind as he finds a shred of peace.

---

Sneaking around the palace wasn't as hard as Kenora had assumed, though in reality, it wasn't like some Water Tribe vessel, or a ridiculously stacked fortress in the Earth Kingdom. The guards here are more servant than soldier. That becomes pretty clear as Kenora, on her way down a hall decorated with fur and blue light crystals, stumbles over one right outside the weapons chamber. She prevents the young man from screaming via freezing his head, knocking him out clean with a kick to the face. She makes sure to drag his unconscious body into the room before freezing over the door handle. There's even a window here in case she needs to make a quick escape. Brilliant!

She stumbles over a few random things, confiscated swords and spears and knives and daggers. Mostly those last two. After another second of looking around, she finds her yellow coat just... on the floor. Not folded or anything, just... smacked there like egg yolk.

KENORA (mumbling): Guys, come one, that was expensive...

Granted, she didn't pay for it. But still. It's about principle.

As she picks her piece of wardrobe up, she scans it for any damages, inside and out. No cut or scratch from the Blue Spirit's katana. That's good. This is when she is reminded of the fact that her coat has barely noticeable pockets on the inside-

This is also when she notes something is off. Or... shut. Crude stitches keep the inner pocket on the right closed. Has she really only noticed this now? Suppose she only uses the pockets located on the outside, but still.

With an investigative yearn for answers and a curious pout, she bends up water from one of her pouches, which were placed a bit nicer, slicing open the stitches as her hand digs inside.

The sensation of paper raises yet more questions. Kenora decides to sink down, taking out these unexpected items while sitting on the floor.

A letter, sealed. A note, not sealed. And a... round... thing? After taking another look, she makes it out to be a Pai Sho piece, one depicting a flower or... something. Odd.

She proceeds to read the note first. The girl makes a guess that she has at least some time before someone figures out she escaped her prison.

---

亲爱的凯诺拉，

Dear Kenora,

万一今晚我出了什么事，请务必将这封信送到大酋长那里。 不要告诉其他女孩这件事。

In case anything should happen to me tonight, please make sure this letter gets to the Great Chief. Do not tell the other girls about this.

很抱歉对你使用了血缚。 我希望我们能以一种更好的方式分手。 尽管一切都很混乱，但我仍然很高兴有你在身边。

Mi dispiace about using bloodbending on you. I wish we could've parted in a nicer way. Despite it all being a mess, I still enjoyed having you around.

真挚地

Sincerely,

-佐拉克

-Zorak

---

Now this gets her jaw to drop. The apology at first, then... the rest.

Apparently, he... suspected something. No, not just suspected - he knew. He was waiting for the Blue Spirit to show up. Did he plan on defeating it? Maybe the letter was his contingency plan in case, well, things would turn out the way they did.

But... how did he know it was going to happen?

Going against his direct wishes, she immediately and with zero grace rips open the unmarked letter.

---

尊敬的伟大酋长，

Dear Hakoda,

当我第一次收到你邀请我训练卡塔拉的信时，我欣喜若狂！ 我最喜欢打破女性水师的残酷刻板印象并最终做出改变。

When I first got your letter asking me to train Katara, I was ecstatic! I loved nothing more than to break the cruel stereotype of female waterbenders and finally make a change.

不幸的是，你撒谎了。

Unfortnately, you lied.

这个任务只是为了分散注意力。 如果卡塔拉开始使用她的水术的话，这是一个让它变得可信的策略。 她当然知道—不久前我亲自训练过她。 我应该预料到，当你向我提供这个蒙面孩子时，他不仅仅是一个随机的陌生人。 你向我保证这绝不是出于任何不正当的目的，尽管我现在知道那也是一个谎言。 你怎么能？ 把你女儿变成杀手？ 她有没有以你的名义干掉目标？ 她有没有以你的名义干掉目标？你太无耻了！

This mission was merely meant to be a distraction. A ploy to make it believable, should Katara ever start using her waterbending. Of course she knows it - I trained her myself not long ago. I should've expected that when you offered me this masked child, that it wasn't just some random stranger. You assured me it was never meant for any devious causes, though I know now that that was also a lie. How could you? Turn your daughter into a killer? Have her take out targets in your name? Vergognatevi!

我感觉到你让黑暗在你的孩子身上蔓延太久了，以至于现在无法控制她了。 我已经向其他国家的朋友发出了消息。 有一天你会因为这种残忍行为而受到审判。

I sense that you let that darkness fester in your child for too long to control her now. I have already sent word to friends I have within the other nations. You will one day stand trial for this cruelty.

你只是应该让她这样。 相反，你把她变成了一个怪物。 我很后悔帮助了你，我很后悔现在才看穿你的谎言。

You simply should've let her be. Instead, you made her into a monster. I regret deeply having helped you, and I regret deeply that only now I can see through your lies.

我真的希望事情不必这样结束。 但必须如此。

I really wish it didn't have to end like this. But it must.

愿神灵怜悯你。

May the spirits have mercy on you.

-你以前的朋友，佐拉克

-Your former friend, Zorak

---

Her features are frozen. Wrapped in expensive gloves, Kenora's hands shake as she lowers the letter again. The girl hasn't realized this until now, but she did hold out hope. She was secretly begging that it wasn't Katara, that it was some other thing that did all those horrible things. Yet now the lie has been lifted.

There's no going back.

---

आज्ञा

Light

---

Another ledge, this time the stairs leading up to the highest plateau of the Eastern Air Temple. By now the clouds that have plagued Aang on earlier levels have sunken below, allowing him to see far into the horizon. Not a metaphor by the way, I'm describing the scenery. The boy takes yet another breath as he gazes into the distance, mountainous pillars and peaks swallowing up the sun.

PATHIK: The sixth pool of energy is the Light Chakra, located in the center of the forehead. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion. The greatest illusion of this world is the illusion of separation. Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same.

An indigo filter as Aang pictures his world in form of a map. Then, in contrast to this, the map of the reality he currently resides in.

AANG: Like the two worlds?

Unlike the last time he went through this, his response now is formulated with insecurity.

PATHIK: Of course. All the worlds.

The two maps blend together, forming a harmonic merger.

PATHIK: You cannot expect this world to act exactly like yours. But, in truth, we are all the same. Just not in a literal sense. More like-

AANG: We're all connected.

Pathik nods with a satisfied expression.

AANG: I used to compare my new friends to my old ones.

PATHIK: That is not wrong in it of itself.

In Aang's vision, a collage of his new friends appears.

PATHIK: Expecting your friends to act exactly like their other versions is not healthy for either of you. But, finding the similarities, discovering how they connect to each other in unexpected ways, is a powerful way of breaking apart their perceived separation.

Aang pictures each individual person as he talks.

AANG: Like how Zuko doesn't act like the Prince Zuko I know. But he is still determined, driven by justice, and has endless kindness in him. Sokka on the other hand never acted like Prince Zuko, despite also being the person hunting me down. He was more guided by his guilt and need to prove himself, like the Sokka I know.

He unravels the thought even further.

AANG: Kenora is more like Zuko in my world. So perhaps...

The boy ponders it for a moment.

AANG: Perhaps she can be redeemed as well.

PATHIK: Seeing the potential in good for others is more powerful than being tricked into thinking that they can never change. It's an illusion to assume that people are static, much like it is to think the elements are. They evolve steadily, and bring forth new forms that we could never have seen coming.

Aang smiles, wondering if Bandit would ever achieve Toph's mastery, including her metalbending.

Finding his spirit renewed and accepting, the gong announces that only one chakra is left now.

---

For now, Shahar is standing by the door while Mai goes through all of the chemistry equipment scattered throughout the room. In her hand she holds a notebook, skimming through it at a rapid pace. Her focus is briefly redirected as Shahar performs a janky bending move.

MAI: What was that?

The earthbender points down below. A tiny, rectangular bump acts as a door stopper now.

MAI: Smart.

Shahar crosses her arms as Mai keeps reading.

SHAHAR: So... what exactly are we looking for here? I didn't find any blasting jelly and I doubt they would store it in here.

MAI: We need to find out how much they've made so far. Based on that, we could determine what they're planning.

The kimono girl nods.

SHAHAR: And... we know how much they've made based on...

MAI: The process is described in detail here. We can calculate with the right variables.

SHAHAR: Right. But for that we'd have to know when this network started operating.

MAI: Easy.

Shahar is indeed intrigued by the quick rebuttal.

MAI: Tamao and I had an interesting conversation the day of the Earth Ball...

---

TAMAO: Not even with the Northern Princess?

The knife girl snaps out of it.

MAI: No. It's pointless to drag her into it when she was never meant to be here.

TAMAO: That's the part I put into question.

As the idea begins to form, Mai's features loosen up pretty quickly.

MAI: You're saying...

TAMAO: It may be possible that her presence in Ba Sing Se is by design.

---

The eyes of the earthbender widen.

MAI: Yue being here was an accident. But, it got me thinking...

Shahar can already put it together in her head, though voices it regardless.

SHAHAR: The attack on Ba Sing Se was a false flag.

MAI: And we thought the actual goal was rescuing Sokka.

SHAHAR: That's what Yue said as well.

Mai nods affirmatively.

MAI: Apparently that was an afterthought, or false flag as well. Their real goal was sneaking in a bunch of Water Tribe soldiers through the sewers.

SHAHAR: Very shortly after so many sewage workers quit. They've probably been replaced by people on the inside who are aiding the Tribe.

MAI: And helped keeping up their cover, while providing resources to make blasting jelly.

SHAHAR: And communicate with Yue.

MAI: Which they stopped when they realized she wasn't willing to help.

The sheer mention of her name makes Shahar uneasy enough, although it might be nicotine cravings.

SHAHAR: Let's head back. This notebook is enough to use as evidence and to figure out their plan.

HAI SEN: What are you two doing here?

Having focused on the main door, the girls never paid attention to a smaller door on the other side of the room. They stare in shock at a man in his early fifties, bald, with a goatee and glasses, hunched over and moving his joints in stiff motions. He also wears a blue onesie, probably some kind of coat protecting his real clothes from the chemicals.

MAI: Our dads work here. We snuck into the city months ago.

Not buying the story, Hai Sen shakes his head dismissively.

HAI SEN: You don't look like you're Water Tribe. This one looks like she's from Si Wong. And how did you get into my lab?

SHAHAR: Well, you see we-

Before she can finish, Hai Sen takes on a threatening stance, bending the contents of several glass containers and vials above his head. Mai slides the notebook into her pocket before reading her weaponry.

SHAHAR: Be careful with that stuff! You don't know what it could do!

HAI SEN: Of course I know what it does. I run this laboratory! This entire operation is futile without me!

MAI: Put down the chemicals. You're putting all of us in danger, including yourself.

Hai Sen's features freeze up into a cold stare as he looks down on Mai with a calculating glance.

HAI SEN: I am not in danger - I am the danger! Now tell me who you are and-

Within the blink of an eye, daggers fly out from Mai's sleeve, piercing the glass shelf behind Hai Sen and mixing the colorful contents together at random. A green cloud forms, engulfing the man, who drops his own chemicals in the process, creating even more of a mess. He starts coughing uncontrollably as the girls step back.

MAI: We need to get out of here.

SOLDIER (muffled, from behind the main door): Hey! What's going on in there? Open the door!

The portal starts jamming at Shahar's stopper. The girls are now forced to go for the other one that Hai Sen entered through. Unfortunately, this one is closed as well.

Not fiddling around for too long, Shahar simply bursts it open with a bending motion much less graceful than her usual style. The girls gasp for air again, having held their breath as they passed through the colorful Hai Sen gas, rushing down a hallway, trying to find their way back to the entry.

SHAHAR: The canteen was that way!

They take a sharp turn left. To their misfortune, a handful of soldiers is already expecting them, chasing down towards the girls with their weapons drawn.

SHAHAR: Shit!

Before they can reach the two, the kimono girl is already quick to bend up a wall of stone from below, shutting off their only way out.

MAI: What are you doing?! That's our way out!

SHAHAR: You wanna fight a hundred soldiers on your own? Go ahead!

With a grumpy expression Mai follows Shahar down a few other hallways, their sense of direction being pretty much to pick the path with the least amount of soldiers. In one corridor, Mai disarms a singular club guy before Shahar knocks his brains out with a rectangular rock pillar from the side.

MAI: We need to follow the gross smell! That'll get us back to the actual sewers!

SHAHAR: Do you hear that?

Mai listens closely, her heart jumping a hopeful beat.

SHAHAR: Water! That means-

They stop at a clear water stream running down a hall, much like a canal in the North Pole would. Two soldiers stop loading wooden crates, having just dropped one into the water, allowing it to be carried downstream at a remarkable speed.

Shahar doesn't screw around for too long, knocking both men out with earth chunks she grows from the wall.

SHAHAR: Help me get one of these covers off!

MAI: Are you crazy!? I am not getting on a wild river boat ride with you!

Her arms crossed, Mai quickly undoes the stance again as she looks into the hallway they came from, two dozen soldiers running down with battle screams.

MAI: Only because it's clean water.

With a cracking sound, the lid is removed. After dumping its contents into the stream (carrots and turnips) Mai and Shahar proceed to hop into it, the earthbender at the helm.

SHAHAR: This thing is a lot faster than I thought!

Their make-shift boat takes a sharp turn before speeding down a slope, getting the girls half wet.

MAI (grumpy): Great.

She looks back, her make-up not ruined yet. A second boat loaded with five soldiers is now pursuing them closely.

MAI: We're getting company.

SHAHAR: Hold on!

Their crate smacks into a wall, before being dragged to the right by a new current. Any sidewalks you could jump onto earlier are now missing completely.

MAI: I think I would've preferred fighting all those guys over this.

SHAHAR: Then you should get ready...

She gulps, a massive drop ahead. Mai sighs with toxic levels of spite.

MAI: We should've sent Caraman...

At a steady 25-degree-angle, the crate carrying two girls increases in speed massively, both holding on for dear life as they rush down this sewage tunnel. As Shahar keeps her eyes on the road ahead and Mai looks back, she spots their pursuers speeding up at a rapid pace, one of the men apparently utilizing his waterbending to do so.

MAI: Shahar...

SHAHAR: HOLD ON!

A janky turn to the right, then another to the left.

MAI (angry): Who built this?!

As the kimono girl looks back at her drenched counterpart, she too spots the second crate coming ever so closer. With a swift drag, she bends a rectangular rock pillar from the side, blocking their path. All the men scream comically before smashing against it, their crate shattering as they go flying.

MAI: Did Tamao teach you that move?

Shahar chuckles, before her eyes are directed back ahead. For once, one of the sharp turns actually flows away from a hallway. The girl gets ready.

SHAHAR: Alright. This is going to be interesting...

With nervous anticipation, the earthbender readies herself while Mai's heart beats faster every second. At the exact right moment, the girl finally punches her fist up, grunting at the same time. A slope of stone rises from the ground, again, at a perfect 25-degree-angle, though this time it is reversed. Their crate slides up this slope, driving for a few more seconds before coming to a grinding halt, some of the wood parts shattering and breaking off. A few seconds pass where the girls are allowed to catch their breath.

SHAHAR: Well, that wasn't so-

She looks back to a very unhappy Mai, whose mascara has started melting off, giving her the appearance of a sad bride.

SHAHAR: Oh.

MAI (matt): Let's go.

Mai is first to jump out, racing to the end of the hall, which houses a ladder going up. Shahar follows suit right after. The Crescent Warrior didn't even bother using the ladder, having waited for her partner to arrive, turning the ground like a bottle cap, removing a round platform, and raising them upwards. Cleary this cost her a lot more strength than it should've, as, when the two girls reach the top, Shahar simply drops the rock piece back down, a shattering noise echoing after two seconds. The girl takes a breather as Mai runs ahead. This time around, they stumbled into a tall room full of pipes going in all kinds of different directions.

MAI: Come on, Shahar! We need to go!

The earthbender is leaned over and gasping for air. Clearly her last few bending tricks cost her more energy than stuff she has done in the past.

SHAHAR: Just... a second...

Before Mai can roll her eyes or cross her arms or... say something nice, she is crudely smashed in the side with a sudden rock pillar, smacking against a horizontal pipe.

SHAHAR: Mai-

Before she's allowed to finish, a water jet hits her in the front, letting her smack against a stone object in the back. Two shadows jump from pipe entries above. Both wear conical hats and long robes, though one is clad in green, while the other is blue.

The earth-/ and waterbender Dai Li agents approach the girl cautiously as she gets back up. They raise their rock and ice gloves respectively.

Shahar grunts as she rubs the back of her head. She needs to think fast now. What if she-

Thinking of bending some rock behind her, she turns her head in awe. At first, she felt like the object she smacked against was made of stone. But, yet again, it wasn't.

A metal pipe. On impact, she could feel it. It tricked her into thinking it was rock, the little impurities inside the material, scattered like hundreds of little stars in the night sky.

She punches the metal pipe a few more times, letting her chi connect with it. Every punch makes the material seem clearer and clearer.

The earthbending Dai Li agent has had enough, throwing his rock gloves, which Shahar can burst apart easily. In the cover of dust, she finally smacks her fist with a powerful bending motion agains the metal pipe. What should break her wrist actually bends the material. She does it again before grabbing it, ripping the coating open in a quick jolt and an uncomfortable metallic screech.

Apparently the pressure inside that pipe was pretty high, as a burst of aquatic justice pummels the earhbending Dai Li agent in the stomach, casting him across the room and knocking him out, possibly worse. The waterbending Dai Li agents tries redirecting the stream back to Shahar, who, in one swift motion, rips off the metal piece for good, dodge-rolls, and finally shoots her fist forward, letting the steel thing fly against her attacker's face, knocking him out as well.

Several moments pass where Shahar takes some time get her breath back, as well as evaluate what just went down. She admires her hand, finding it slightly bruised. Granted, it was her first time metalbending.

Wait... metalbending? A smirk grows on her as she realizes that that's exactly what she just did.

A groaning nose alerts her back to her serious state. She runs over to Mai, helping her back up as the girl recovers from her sucker punch.

MAI (weak): Were those... Dai Li agents?

SHAHAR: Yes. I've read reports of a waterbender subdivision, though it hasn't been comfirmed. Until now, I guess.

She helps Mai walk over to the metal door at the very end of the room.

MAI (weak): How did you beat them?

The earthbender shrugs.

SHAHAR: Luck.

As her hand reaches for the handle, she is unable to open it.

SHAHAR: Shit.

MAI (weak): Locked again?

Shahar nods, Mai sighs.

MAI (weak): Fine...

SHAHAR: Wait.

Mai puts back her knife, the kimono girl taking a deep breath. Remembering an earthbending exercise in which you dig yourself into rock with quick jabs, Shahar repeats the motion multiple times. The result is a crude reshaping of the metal in front of them, a screeching sound accompanying every blow. The lock mechanism finally (literally) bent apart, Shahar opens it politely.

MAI (weak): And you let me fiddle around with that other door for like a minute?

The earthbender gives her friend a quick hug before helping her down the hallway leading Bendigo knows where.

---

Act III. - The shadow

---

Akari takes a deep breath, trying to calm her mind in the turmoil of her situation. Meditation has never been something she attempted in the past, let alone liked. Although in the past few days, she felt drawn to it. Sitting in front of her bed in her humble palace room, she tries to clear her mind from the disruptive winds that-

Cermaic vase smashing sound. The athlete's eyes snap open as she finds the source of the ruckus, a clumsy waterbender girl with a yellow coat that climbed through her window, landing on a little table decorated with flowers. Akari sighs as she gets up.

AKARI: You could've just knocked.

To her discomfort, Kenora seems anything but receptive to her quip. The girl gets up with an aura that rages like a storm, her breath just as uncontrolled.

KENORA: It's her. Katara is the Blue Spirit.

Akari's heart drops to the floor as she gnashes her teeth in discomfort.

KENORA: I know it for a fact now. Zorak found out, that's why she killed him.

Immediately, the airbender's mind wanders over to Suki as Kenora continues, her voice distressed and echoing with endless dread.

KENORA: She was manipulating me from the start. She knew about me and Yue. She got her along so that I would go mad. She provoked me deliberately, made everyone hate me so that she could take charge. She used me as her... her... her hound! And I fell for it! How could I have?!

Akari frowns ever so slightly as she tries to comfort her.

AKARI: In all fairness, she didn't turn you evil, you were already an asshole. She just... made it worse.

KENORA: And used me to do all her dirty work.

Venom sounds in her voice as Kenora scoffs.

KENORA: That's why she didn't want to go back to save Yue. She never cared. About any of us.

Her ramblings finally all bled out, the waterbender walks back over to the window. Nighttime has almost reached them by now.

AKARI: Where are you going?

KENORA (without turning around): To finally deal with the bitch.

AKARI: Wait!

Kenora stops just as her hand touches the window sill. As she turns to Akari, her face is one singular, anger-focused grimace.

AKARI: You really think you can take on the Blue Spirit by yourself?

Another scoff from Kenora, this time far more arrogant in nature.

KENORA: I used to think the answer was no. But now that I know it's just Katara? She is going down. I won't let her hurt Azula, her friends, or you ever again.

The Pirate Princess is halfway outside as thunder rumbles in the distance, storm clouds creeping closer to Omashu.

KENORA: This ends tonight.

A swift motion and the sound of waterbending announces Kenora's departure. Akari doesn't know what to make of any of it, though no amount of meditation could help her find her inner peace after having it confirmed. There's only one person she needs to see now.

---

सहस्रार

Thought

---

Nighttime. The top of the plateau. Mountains and clouds in the distance. Aang sits a few feet away from Pathik, taking a deep breath.

PATHIK: You are worried.

He appears like it indeed.

AANG: I don't know if this will allow me to control the Avatar State.

PATHIK: I can't tell you what will happen. But, opening your final chakra will allow you to connect to your Avatar Spirit more than ever before.

Aang still seems hesitant.

PATHIK: Your fate as an Avatar from another world carries many question, some you may never get the answer to. But you can start by accepting whatever truth this will show you.

Finally, the airbender nods.

AANG: Let's do this.

Pathik nods back, both closing their eyes.

PATHIK: The Thought Chakra is located at the crown of the head. It deals with pure cosmic energy, and is blocked by earthly attachment. Meditate on what attaches you to this world.

Without thinking too much about it, images of Azula appear. Her confident smirk as she helps him out, her determined spirit as she strives for perfection, her kind gaze as she allows herself to open up. She struggles with that one a lot, much like he does. He pictures her innocent face, bangs waving in the wind as he wakes up from his slumber.

PATHIK: Now, let all of those attachments go. Let them flow down the river, forgotten.

Despite her, despite all that he loves and cherishes in this distorted reality, Aang... lets go. The visions colored in a deep purple disappear and he pictures himself somewhere else.

The planet beneath him, he looks to the stars. Hovering in nothingness, he searches eagerly for the image of himself in the Avatar State, a purple Aang that he had to reach last time, and failed to do so, causing all this suffering.

Yet this Aang is no where to be seen. It is just him. As he looks below, the spherical planet appears to be shrinking, smaller and smaller, until he has nothing left but the endless void of space. Then, he feels like drifting, falling. His fall is never stopped, never slowed, never accelerates. It is infinite and it is horror.

Aang snaps his eyes open in a frantic state, breathing with heavy gasps as he finds himself back on the plateau.

PATHIK: Calm your mind, Aang.

Anger starts to boil within him.

AANG: Why didn't it work? I let go this time. Why didn't it achieve anything?

Pathik shakes his head, which only further infuriates the boy.

PATHIK: You didn't let go of your earthly attachments, you let go of everything.

AANG (angry): That's not what I'm supposed to do?!

The dreadful anxiety that this whole charade is nothing but a waste of time crawls back into Aang's system. This somehow enrages the guru enough to talk in a slightly more stern voice.

PATHIK: It is not about letting go of everything you know, otherwise, you would have nothing to fight for!

As Aang seems to calm down, so does Pathik sound kinder again.

PATHIK: Letting go of earthly attachments doesn't mean that you are to shut off your heart. It means that you must be ready to let go of the fear of losing.

Azula's image reappears as Aang ponders his words.

PATHIK: Let her go. Don't abandon her. Don't force yourself to separate yourself from your love for her. But you can't let that stop you from fulfilling your own destiny. Let her go so that you can be your own person, Aang.

Instead of Azula bluntly dissolving, she instead grows brighter and brighter, after which she turns into a shining star in the cosmos.

A transparent, purple platform appears below him, and Aang steps upon it. As he looks ahead, he sees it. Himself. A massive Aang, a massive Avatar. Cosmic energy penetrates his skin, sinking into his body with every step he takes. After what feels like seconds and minutes, Purple Aang lowers himself, his palms holding an orb exactly the size of the boy. With palpitations, he reaches his hand out for it.

His heart skips a beat. He touches it, tries letting the energy surge through his body. But... his hand won't pass. The sphere is impenetrable.

The boy takes a step back as Purple Aang starts to vibrate, buzzing with static problems. Finally, it morphs into a gelatinous shape, before reappearing as a shadow in front of him. He stares at this shadow for a long time. He can't make it out but... it feels familiar. Touching the sphere, feeling its cosmic energy, he felt it before.

With a gong sound, Aang opens his eyes.

PATHIK: Congratulations. You have opened all your chakras.

Aang doesn't know what to feel. He wants it to be anger, feeling the need to express his discomfort at this wasted day.

But alas... it wasn't. It wasn't a waste. He feels more in balance with himself than he ever has before. Warmth, serenity, love - the energy of the cosmos passes through his veins, his digestive track, his heart, his lymphatic system, his head.

He opens his eyes, staring with clarity at the old guru.

PATHIK: Did you find what you were looking for?

Aang blows a tiny amount of air from his nostrils.

AANG: I wasn't able to go into the Avatar State. I can't fully connect to my Avatar Spirit anymore.

Pathik actually frowns at this.

PATHIK: You seem very calm at this realization.

The boy gets up with a satisfied expression.

AANG: I can't because it's not my Avatar Spirit. It's someone else. And I think I can only connect to it if I find out who the real Avatar in this world is.

The guru smiles at this, appearing similarly satisfied.

PATHIK: Very good. You have taken a huge step closer to achieving balance. Not just in the world, but within yourself as well.

Aang bows with respect as he turns to the stairs, intent on finding Appa and returning home.

PATHIK: How will you find them?

The airbender turns around halfway.

AANG: I'm not sure. But I do know that it's someone I know.

---

Fighting with fans requires Suki to rethink her entire approach, including her center of gravity. As she practices yet another swing with one metal and one wooden fan, Akari is suddenly standing in the door.

SUKI: Hey?

Akari shuts the door with a quick airbending swoop, her eyes piercing the swordfighter with a kind of coldness that Suki has not yet seen in the athlete.

AKARI: How long?

SUKI: What?

AKARI: How long have you known?

The girl shakes her head, putting away her weapons on a dresser before turning back around.

SUKI: Can you please talk to me instead of asking weird half-questions?

AKARI: You knew Katara lied.

This shatters her poker face into a million tiny specs.

AKARI: I felt it. Felt how you tried holding yourself together in Kaofu, on the carriage. You know Katara was lying because you know she is the Blue Spirit.

Expecting, no, hoping to get a confession, Suki reacts via crossing her arms and laughing quietly.

AKARI: How long have you known?

She could tell that Suki's reaction was trying to hide her real emotions. The airbender can finally feel and see those as the swordfighter's expression morphs, very slowly and meticulously, into one of shock, then fear, then... utter, complete and apparent despair.

Suki sheds tears as Akari awaits her next words, darkness filling up the room.

SUKI (cold): What do you think you know?

---

A palace. Worthy of a king. Or a Fire Lord.

It's the same courtyard Azula stood in before... or... maybe. No. It's not real. She had her vision here of being a master firebender and performing for an estranged Fire Lord. But mostly, she remembers...

The sky turns blood red as it appears, coiling itself around the pillars of the courtyard as Azula's blood freezes. She grabs ahold of her necklace, reading herself.

AZULA: Come on, let's not waste any more time.

The Blue Dragon snarls as it continues to slither around her. A pearl of sweat runs down the girl's forehead.

AZULA: Come on, show yourself!

She doesn't know what to expect, though thinks that provoking it for a while might give her a clear shot. She could try her lightning again, seeing as it appears to be her most powerful attack.

As she eyes the shadows of the palace, a strange noise unnerves her. It sounds like melting, like flesh splattering about, collapsing, falling apart before merging back together.

From a pillar to her right appears a shadow.

It walks like a person, two arms, two legs, and a head stuck to a torso. But other than that, she cannot make out what it is. As the figure approaches, Azula snaps.

With grunts and screams, she casts forth fire after fire, though the shadow successfully blocks all strikes - not even dodging them, just... catching them, rendering it all useless. As Azula's barrage continues, her flames eventually turn red again, the last few attacks futile against her opponent. The girl falls to her knees, almost out of breath.

AZULA: Tell me what you are...

The figure stops, crossing its arms.

THE SHADOW: Isn't it obvious?

It's otherworldly tone and cadence does seem familiar to her.

THE SHADOW: I am your mirror. The best version of yourself, the potential you could achieve if you would listen to me.

As Azula looks up in horror, the lack of color fading just slightly, a slow process that reveals its image piece by piece.

THE SHADOW: You have been lied to, forced to believe that the other Azula is your enemy, that she is what you should strive not to be. But you are wrong.

Though able to tell much earlier, now the shadow has lost its color.

Crimson-gold, no pink. Scaly armor worthy of a royal. A keen glare and the headpiece of the Fire Lord. Honey colored eyes stare down at her with a sinister smile.

OTHER AZULA: I am... your destiny.

Chime.

AZULA: No... I can choose my own path. I am no monster.

Her grip on her necklace becomes even tighter. The other Azula pouts with dismissive arrogance.

OTHER AZULA: You seem to be under the impression that this is a discussion - it is not. More of a... demonstration...

A snap of her finger and several wooden stakes appear with puffs of smoke. On each, a person is tied to, their mouth gagged.

It is Zuko, Ty Lee, Sokka, Aang, and Kenora. Her friends all make nervous mumbling noises as their desperate gazes wander over to Azula, visual screams of help.

AZULA (teary): No...

OTHER AZULA: You need to learn to understand that these people... your "friends" are nothing more than tools. You'll need them to get things done, but don't ever think that they matter.

The raven-haired girl shares a desperate gaze with Kenora in particular.

OTHER AZULA: Oh, and that whole thing is obviously not gonna last. Not with me in charge at least.

Tears stream down her face as Azula tries showing some semblance of defiance.

AZULA (teary): I will never let you control me. I will never let you take her away from me.

The other Azula coldly shrugs.

OTHER AZULA: Yeah, again, not a discussion, which means that you don't have a choice. Your only choice is whether you'll accept it or feel all the pain as it happens.

Annoyed eyebrows meet a determined face, glaring back with a kind of strength that the shadow will never know.

Chime!

OTHER AZULA: Very well. You wanted this. But no need to be sad, it'll be over shortly.

Another snap of her finger and Azula's friends are set ablaze. The girl averts her eyes as she hears the muffled screams. It can't be... there's something she needs to do. She can't let them die. That's when her necklace comes to mind again. It is real. What it represents is real. None of this is.

Azula reveals her last resort - screaming at the top of her lungs.

---

Ty Lee's eyes snap open as she hears her scream. Zuko rises to the occasion as well, the two clad in pajama and night gown racing through the nightly camp and over to Azula's tent, where a certain prince almost stumbles on the muddy ground, rainfall having engulfed Omashu and the surrounding areas. Sokka doesn't mention it, though he was also briefly stunned by seeing Ty Lee without her eyepatch.

The three enter the tent, finding her torch burning with blue fire as the raven-haired girl is twisting and shuffling in her bed, sweat covering her face as she winces with pain uncontrollably.

Ty Lee acts first, stepping behind her bed and hugging her from behind.

TY LEE (quietly): It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay.

Her frantic breath slows down a tiny but, though her manic state does not subside. A random guard dares to peek inside.

GUARD: What's going-

ZUKO: GET OUT!

The boy barks the order with the fury of a thousand eruptions. The young soldier quickly backs off, the walls of the tent continuing to flap with the winds of the storm.

SOKKA: What's going with her? Is she sick?

As Azula is covered in sweat and tears and a heartbreaking expression, Ty Lee takes on some of those features too, her right arm still firmly around the girl while her left hand is holding her head, a soft touch trying desperately to help her.

TY LEE (teary): Her aura is all wrong, Zuko! There's something trying to take her over!

Zuko and Sokka share a quick glance, both boys coming up with the same thought.

SOKKA: It's got to be a spirit.

ZUKO: Search her body! We need to find the spot first!

Ty Lee continues to stroke Azula's head, trying to ease her pain as she whispers "It's going to be okay." over and over into her ear. Zuko is busy with the upper body as Sokka freezes, one hand holding up her blanket.

SOKKA: Uh...

The raven-haired boy walks over, his blood freezing at the sight.

Azula's left leg is pulsating uncontrollably, a weird, fleshy something crawling inside like a parasite. Ty Lee tries her very best to hold back her gasp.

SOKKA: Found it.

Zuko takes a few short, audible breaths, before a film of red fire engulfs his hand. As he lets it slide over his sister's leg, it jolts back in an instant.

AZULA (in pain): AAARRRGGGHHH!

TY LEE (teary): You're hurting her!

ZUKO: Sokka, hold her leg!

The prince follows with a hint of hesitation. As Zuko tries the same trick again, the pulsating gets worse, as does Azula's scream.

AZULA (in immense pain): AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!

TY LEE (teary): STOP! STOP! STOP! ZUKO, PLEASE!

Her brother gasps with fear, horror displayed as he backs off, alongside Sokka. He remembers Huu's words, his insight on how to deal with spirit possessions.

Then, remembering a random anecdote from that day...

---

HUU: Whell, purple eyes means it was only one of 'em Onibi causing a little trouble. It could've been something worse like an Onryō. Now, those buggers can get real nasty. You might need to cut 'em out if they're too big, which is pretty painful.

---

...he sprints outside, disappearing for a few moments. Sokka meanwhile joins Ty Lee at Azula's head, her expression still one of immense suffering. He decides to reach his hand out for hers, Ty Lee holding the other.

SOKKA: It's going to be okay. You're strong. You're... the most powerful person I've ever met. Whatever this is, whatever it tries to do with you, you can fight it. You can win!

Shortly after saying those words, Zuko reemerges from outside, his hair and clothes slightly wet.

In his right hand, he is holding one of his broadswords, glowing red from a controlled amount of heat.

TY LEE (teary): Zuko?

ZUKO: You have to trust me. Please!

Ty Lee and Sokka nod, though neither gesture seems to carry an ounce of conviction.

The brother walks over to the other side of her bed, kneeling down as he stares at her infested leg.

ZUKO (teary): I'm sorry, sis.

His descent with the heated blade is slow and excruciating. As he begins to cut, blood streams from it. Azula howls again, though this is the weakest of her three screams thus far. As he is almost across her leg, a black something starts dripping from it.

Zuko backs off just in time for the shadow to slip out, no longer able to remain in her body under the pressure. It was way more goop than last time. The sentient substance launches itself across the room, smacking against the dirt as Azula's leg bleeds at a normal level and her frantic state subsides slowly. Even the torch burns with regular color again.

Zuko gets up cautiously, dropping his blade and raising his arms.

SOKKA: What the actual-

Before the black sludge can jump at anyone, a fast dart of red flame pierces through the thing, making it bounce to the ground. His second move is anything but cautious - a continuous stream of fire that engulfs the creature like a flamethrower. A few seconds pass before it has been reduced to ash, its color having switched from a pure black to grey. Zuko refuses to lower his arms as he stares down at it. Sokka meanwhile grabs some bandages from Azula's nightstand, disinfecting and then patching up her wound. The girl winces slightly at it, though remains asleep otherwise, having calmed down pretty much all the way by now.

SOKKA: How did you know that was going to happen?

Zuko finally turns around after being 100%-convinced that the goo is dead.

ZUKO: I didn't. I just remembered what the swampbender told me. That this is how you deal with an Onryō.

Ty Lee flinches at the word.

ZUKO: He said that it needs to be cut out-

TY LEE: Say that again.

The airbender wipes off her tears, though remains firmly at Azula's side.

ZUKO: What?

TY LEE: What did you call it, Zuko?

The boy tosses her a worried glance.

ZUKO: An Onryō. That's what he called it.

Sokka is the one to figure out the implications of Ty Lee's question.

SOKKA: Do you know what an Onryō is?

Her eyes stare down into nothing, dread crawling up inside her like nasty heartburn.

TY LEE: I-in the library. In the Magnetic Palace. I-I read this book that named all these different spirits. I... I saw it there.

The illustration haunts her to her deepest core.

ZUKO: And? What is an Onryō?

She gulps as her voice quivers. Finally, her eyes meet his again.

TY LEE: The Spirit of Vengeance.

---

Katara's door opens slowly, with a quiet squeak. Of course she got the fanciest room in the place, even better than the governor, whoever that is. It took her until nightfall to get here, a heavy storm raging outside as she enters, closing the door as quietly as possible.

Katara isn't here, obviously, so much Kenora figures. She decides instead to snoop around a bit, opening some drawers and a wardrobe and finding nothing of any real use. After getting around her ridiculously fancy bed on one side of the room, she opens yet another drawer to find... nothing. Again.

A strange noise makes her flinch. She realizes it came from beneath her bed, forcing Kenora to duck down at first, then crawl under it. Once she is under it fully, she makes the noise out to be a small metal cage.

It's the one Zorak used in Kaofu. One of the hedgehog bunnies stumbles around a bit, appearing full of energy, as its nose wiggles back and forth a bunch.

The other one is dead. What killed it Kenora can't tell, though there are no outside wounds that could-

With a quiet squeak, the door opens, then closes. Boots that are all too familiar trample inside, shin protectors over it. Kenora readies herself, waiting for the right moment.

A strange sound makes her reconsider. It sounds like a liquid or... something viscous. Only seeing her boots and legs, she almost gasps out loud as they... disappear, dissolving into... black goo, leaving a princess behind.

Finally Katara takes off her mask, placing it on her dresser, on a pedestal where it can face her.

THE MASK: You've been doing a fine job, princess.

Kenora places her hand in front of her mouth as her entire nervous system feels like it's switched off. Her eyes widen as her breath becomes heavier than it should. The hedgehog bunny meanwhile digs its face in its paws, remaining timidly in that position for good.

KATARA: Only because of your guidance.

Katara bows slightly.

THE MASK: Yes. Guidance that you seem to put into question...

His (its?) tone sounds inquisitive, carrying the raspy qualities of an older man.

KATARA: Kenora can still be turned. All she needs is the right motivation. Give me some more time and-

THE MASK: You saw her yourself today. She and the firebender have teamed up. She is here to destroy your legacy alongside the Avatar.

The Crown Princess reacts with genuine concern.

KATARA: Once the firebender is dead, that won't be a problem anymore. Let's lock her up somewhere and-

THE MASK: No. She is an obstacle. Has been for too long. She must perish, just like the Avatar. Just like the firebender girl.

Kenora can't take it any longer. In one quick swoop, she rises from beneath the bed, reading herself.

As Katara looks at her, Kenora only has eyes for the mask. It's the same one, the same blue grimace that tried to kill her countless times. She hesitates for a moment.

She expected to find Katara tonight. Confront her. Stop her. Leave. That was the plan. But this...

This is not right.

KATARA: Kenora, I can explain-

In a hectic rush, Kenora rips open the door and rushes outside. Katara waits for a few more seconds, her expression one of disappointment.

Within the blink of an eye, it switches to a cold, lifeless stare. The black goo drips from within her, covering her skin and clothes slowly, piece by piece, until her entire body is hidden beneath. Her hair floats as if underwater for a few seconds before getting engulfed itself. Her black cover finally materializes into fabric, imitating clothing, an appendage on her back forming a sharp katana inside a sheath.

Katara finally grabs the mask, putting it on her face. The voice rings inside her head again, the same one that had been guiding her since the day she killed the man that took her mother.

Kill her.

---

Boots trample through the halls of Omashu's palace, no real concern or want to be undetected. All Kenora needs right now is a window, which she gets after a few seconds.

She stumbles outside, her heart still racing as she runs across a balcony and towards a water slide. She stops for a moment, trying to make out where this particular slide leads to.

Lighting strike behind her. Briefly, a silhouette is illuminated in the darkness. Kenora can feel that it's there - that she is there.

Kenora can gather just enough water to push Katara back the moment she tries to strike. She manages to push her back further with another attack, before gathering an ungodly amount of liquid between her hands. As Katara tries going for another slash, Kenora launches it with full force, Katara forced to block the counter with her own bending, dispersing the orb and shattering it into a thousand water drops, which then immediately freeze to form projectiles, all shooting at her. Katara blocks or dodges these strikes, approaching Kenora closer with every single one. The waterbender ducks beneath a deadly swing before finally kicking a monstrous stream of water against the attacker, its width roughly the size of a car. As Katara recovers, she can catch a glimpse of Kenora as the girl falls below, landing on a different water slide on which she traverses down the city. Immediately, Katara rushes after her, dropping even further below than the Pirate Princess dared to.

---

Kenora hectically navigates every single possible direction she should go down towards. Whichever way leads her out of the city the fastest - it doesn't matter-

A kick to the face and Kenora goes flying against a rooftop, smacking onto a balcony. Apparently Katara managed to catch up on a different slide, drawing her blade as she lands next to her on the balcony.

Both girls stops as they look to the side. A young girl was staring out into the night and happened to stumble across these two. Tears start appearing as Uviquiq slowly steps back with fearful eyes.

Attack the girl.

Katara doesn't hesitate for a second, it's blade almost piercing the little girl's face as she screams of the top of her lungs. Luckily, it was stopped.

Having no time to form ice gloves, Kenora grabbed onto the blade itself, her palms now carrying a nasty cut that grows ever so deep. Using some water on the balcony, Kenora kicks the blade out of her attacker's hand, before charging for an attack. Instead of bending anything, Kenora opts to clench her bleeding fists and just punch her in the face, over and over again, rage burning inside her as bright as Azula's blue flare. Her barrage crescendos as the mask now carries a second scratch and is covered in blood. Kenora has started to howl with anger as she performed this attack.

In an instant, Katara blocks Kenora's umpteenth hit with her left, her right hand landing a precise jab into Kenora's throat. The waterbender gasps for air before a spin kick clocks her in the face and knocks her over the balcony, against a neighboring rooftop, then the other wall, then some crates that curb her crash by a tiny bit. Kenora finds herself surrounded by barrels filled with rainwater, her breath working in gasps, desperately trying to fill her body with oxygen as she gets back up.

Katara lands down the street, blade back in her hand. Practically chocking, Kenora still manages to produce a thick fog from all the surrounding liquid, shielding herself as her attacker makes one final charge, one last strike to take out its target.

As her blade slashes, she stops. Kenora has long left.

Following a trail of blood, Katara comes to the realization that the girl made it to a nearby water slide, disappearing somewhere into the city below. She readies her-

Halt.

Katara stops immediately.

I thought about it... we need to let her live. We'll go with the other plan.

Katara simply nods and accepts.

You have done well though, princess. Be proud. You endeavors will soon bear fruit...

The girl puts the sword back in its sheath as she begins her ascent back up to the palace. Katara is glad that the mask didn't command her to kill the little girl up ahead. Though she would've done it if it ordered her to. She has no reason to mistrust it.

She stops briefly at the edge of a corner, staring back below into the city.

Don't ever forget - I am your guidance. I am your sword of justice...

Katara continues to stalk the night, becoming a shadow as she returns back to the palace.

...I am your vengeance.