A/N: This chapter goes deep into the field of psychology. I've done my best to explain what's going on for non-psychologists in the end notes, but when you go this deep into any field trying to explain it to a layman requires a loooong explanation. So, heads up: there is a LOT of bold text at the end of this chapter. It's not strictly necessary to understand the story; you can get the gist of what's happening without reading all of that. It is there for anyone who's curious and wants to know more.

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As Zuko made his way through the city along his usual route, he decided that he wasn't going to visit the Avatar tonight. Nothing about their deal specified a timetable. He was going to have a nice talk with Iroh, with Kalika's help, about how he could ride the surging waves of his mind. Zuko felt great. I actually have a plan for once? Amazing. If only I could do this every day!

He saw a dark shadow moments before it darted into his path. "Hi, Lee."

"Riri?"

"I know it's late, and you're probably on your way to dinner, and I shouldn't keep you, but - but I just had to tell you. What you said, it really made a big difference for me."

Oh no. Everything I said to her was wrong. I gave her my worst advice. He felt sick again.

Riri giggled. "You were right, Lee. I was doing so much work to try to make people like me, but I shouldn't have. When I relaxed and stopped trying to police other people's feelings, nothing changed. I was doing all that work for nothing."

But it's not for nothing. If you don't do that work, you'll become lazy and irresponsible and a burden on everyone around you.

"I've actually gotten some compliments. I'm a lot funnier when I'm not trying so hard to hide who I am, apparently."

Being funny is bad. It's a waste of time that you could spend being useful instead.

"You were totally right. There really is nothing wrong with me. I didn't deserve teasing, or mean gossip, or anything else. I'm…" She took a deep breath. "I'm a good and worthy person." She shivered after saying that. Her eyes filled with tears.

You can't be. You haven't earned those words.

"Thank you, Lee."

Fairness is a lie told by the weak.

Zuko blinked at her. She was done speaking; he should say something now. But what? As she looked at him, waiting for his reply, Zuko discovered that he could not speak. Two voices warred within him, and their combat was so fierce that he could not let just one of them out. He only had one mouth, so he could not let them both out. He could only stay silent.

Riri's smile faded. "Lee?"

Zuko massaged his forehead with both hands. What I believed two days ago is the exact opposite of what I believe now. His grip tightened, squeezing harder and harder in an effort to keep his brain from exploding. Now that she's repeating it back to me, I remember saying it. I remember thinking it. I can almost believe it. But I also believe the opposite. How?

"Lee? Did I say something wrong?" Her voice cracked.

The sound of it made him lower his hands. Only one of the voices inside him could comfort her. "No, you didn't. I've just been dealing with some stuff lately. Hearing you repeat what I said is like hearing myself from two days ago speak to me, if that makes sense."

"You mean… Oh. You're now like I was then. You need to hear this, just like I needed to hear it."

"Kind of."

Riri gave him a hug. "Oh, Lee! I came here to thank you for your help, and instead I'm helping you. It's funny how it turned around on me! Listen to yourself, Lee. Take your advice. It's good advice."

"I'll try," Zuko muttered. "I'm glad you're doing better." His voice sounded numb and hollow. He pushed her away gently and walked on.

You don't deserve any of the bad treatment you've gotten. You've done nothing wrong.

You are a burden on everyone around you. Other people fed you and sweated for you and spent money on you. You've got to pay them all back.

Which me should I listen to?

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The preparing of dinner was very stressful. Tension still thickened the air, and Kalika could only hold it back for so long. "That's what your problem is, Sokka," Katara finally snapped. "I know when I don't know things. You always think you're right about everything, and you dismiss anything that could prove you wrong."

"You always make everything too complicated," Sokka shot back. "Remember when we were camping, and you wanted to put up the tarp even though there were no clouds in sight? You can't stop obsessing over every little thing. I know how to prioritize the biggest, most important things."

"Like your stomach? Was a full belly worth getting chased by those spider creatures?"

"We got out of the canyon safely, didn't we?"

"We nearly got killed! You think I'm the one being irresponsible and ignoring obvious danger? You're the one who shrugs at almost certain death just because it's unlikely!"

"So what, I'm supposed to waste my time and energy chasing down every little possibility? No thank you."

"That's not what I'm -" Katara growled. "This is what I was trying to tell you earlier! We're different kinds of people. We have different values. It is wrong for you to insist that I can't follow my own values. I will never think like you."

"And I'm never going to be like you! So stop expecting me to agree with you about everything!"

"I don't expect you to agree with me about everything! Just give me my own space and stop expecting me to agree with you about everything!"

"We are traveling together," Sokka growled. "I can't give you your own space."

"We're not traveling right now," Katara said. "You could leave and have dinner somewhere else, instead of complaining about me inviting him over."

"No, I can't. Being here still counts as traveling together. Going out to eat dinner alone would be weird."

Katara looked down. "Please stop telling me I'm being wrong and stupid. That's all I ask. You're my brother. Family should support each other, not tear each other down."

"I'm not tearing you down," Sokka protested. "I'm just trying to remind you of what's important."

"What's important to you. You've never asked me what's important to me."

Sokka's shoulders slumped. He stared at her in baffled pain. She glared at him, then turned away. Kalika checked to see how Mushi was reacting. He looked absolutely stunned. As well he should! Kalika's hand itched to take notes.

"Sokka," Princess Yue said. She wrapped her arms around one of his. "Family is the most precious thing in the world. Don't let it go. Ask her what's important."

"Okay," Sokka said. "Where do I start?"

"Just ask, and listen to the answer."

"Okay, I'll do that," Sokka promised. "Just ask and listen." He swallowed. "So, Katara -"

He didn't finish the question.

Kalika was sitting with her back to the door. She heard someone enter, and she saw the wave of tension that swept over everyone else. Every other person, including Mushi, assumed a more defensive position as soon as they saw who it was. Kalika turned around, half expecting to see the Firelord himself. Instead, she saw Lee.

Lee stared at the unexpected visitors. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking. He only stared blankly at them, then sat down between his uncle and Kalika. He held out a hand for tea. Mushi gave him a cup. He drank it.

Kalika looked to her right. The people there were filled with high emotion. At the slightest provocation, they would go off. She looked to her left. Lee was in no state to handle conflict. This was a dangerous situation. She had to intervene before disaster happened.

She also had to decide what to do. Her position was much more critical than she had thought. Lee's problems didn't just affect him and his uncle; through indirect means, they were also causing chaos among the Avatar's friends. Family was being set against family, and even the princess had gotten involved. Kalika saw now that she did not have the luxury of waiting. She had to explain Lee's situation, however imperfectly, before conflicting explanations split the Avatar's party. If she waited, she would endanger the fate of the world. The pressure on her was immense. But there was a reason Yagoda had entrusted her with her own practice.

Kalika cleared her throat. "Lee. I have some questions to ask you."

She expected that he would go upstairs, as they usually did. There, safely separated from the others, she would ask him her questions. The process of asking and answering would soothe him and work him into a friendlier state. Once their business was concluded, he could be led downstairs with a much reduced risk of explosive conflict.

But Lee did not do that. He put his cup down and stared into the fire. "What are your questions?"

Kalika's heart skipped a beat. Quickly, she thought up a new plan. She would demonstrate to the others how to use the rhythm of questions and answers to calm Lee. This would be a valuable lesson; clearly, just asking questions wasn't enough. There had to be a special technique to it. Her authority as a doctor would hopefully prevent them from speaking up during the process, and once she was done Lee would be in a much better state. Explosion averted. Hopefully.

She took out three scrolls, unrolled them and fixed them in place with ice, got out her charcoal and prepared to write. The three scrolls were labeled Body, Mind and Spirit. Lee's answers to the questions written on them would hopefully allow her to diagnose him with a rare condition that explained his behavior perfectly. There was a chance she was wrong; if he failed to answer Yes when asked about a key symptom, or he answered Yes to one of her trip-up questions that corresponded to a different condition, she would have to start over and find another explanation for his behavior. She really hoped she wasn't wrong.

She cleared her throat again to announce the beginning of the session. "Do you ever feel as though something or someone else has taken control of your body?"

"Yeah. All the time."

"Do you ever find yourself unable to initiate a movement?"

Seconds passed. Lee did not move. "I'm trying to look at you. It's not working."

"Conversely, do you ever find yourself moving in ways you did not intend?"

"Yeah."

"Do parts of your body become paralyzed for no reason?" This was a trip-up question. If he said Yes, his symptoms might be explained by mind-body confusion.

"No."

"Does your whole body become paralyzed for no reason?" This was also a trip-up question. A Yes would indicate some form of catatonia, which could only be treated by medicine, not by spiritual healing.

"...Not yet. Sometimes when I'm really stressed, I feel like I could be on the verge of that."

She switched to the Mind scroll. "Do you ever get the impression that your thoughts are not your own?"

Now Lee looked up at her. "That's not an impression, it's a fact."

"Do you ever feel as though someone else is looking through your eyes?"

He raised a hand. "Hold on. This doesn't have anything to do with the rest of your questions."

She lowered her scroll. "Elaborate."

"Everybody has someone else looking through their eyes. How do you think the elements keep track of what's happening in the world? They don't have eyes or ears of their own."

Kalika blinked. "Do you ever feel as though someone else is looking through your eyes, and it's not part of a completely normal natural phenomenon?"

"No." As she wrote this down, he said, "Well, kind of. Not really. Eh, forget I said anything."

She wrote down everything he said word for word. "Do your thoughts change in unusually drastic or rapid ways?" Here it was: a key symptom.

Lee's whole body relaxed. He stared at her. It was a while before he spoke. "Every few days, my thoughts reverse. I think exactly the opposite way now as I thought two days ago. Is that a thing? Can you explain it?"

"Not yet," she said, raising a hand. "I have to finish my questions first." She wrote down everything he had said, ignoring the eager way he leaned toward her. "Do you hear voices that tell you to do things?" This was the last of her trip-up questions. If he said Yes, he was losing his grip on reality and needed a different kind of help than she could provide. If he said No, she could safely assume his problems were because of the rare condition she was looking for and not because of stress, a medical problem in his brain or going crazy.

Lee carefully thought about it. His eagerness to participate was so strong it was practically visible. "You know how most people describe their conscience as a little voice in the back of their head that whispers at them when they do something wrong? My conscience is a big voice, in the front of my head, that yells at me. It's loud enough to drown out my thoughts. Its voice isn't mine, and it does come and go on its own, but it's just an overactive conscience. It's not like something a crazy person would have. I wouldn't even mention it, except you seem to be looking for weird stuff to help me with, and sometimes it's a little overbearing."

Kalika tried her hardest not to smile as she wrote this down. An answer that was neither a Yes nor a No, which left her unable to safely assume anything; that was just like Lee!

She switched to the Spirit scroll. "Would you describe yourself as a person living a life?" she asked, emphasizing the a's.

"...Not really, no."

"Would you describe yourself as multiple people?"

"Not really."

Kalika had prepared a question to be asked only if he answered No to both of the previous ones. She was glad to use it. "Can you describe yourself, and if so, how?"

Lee made movements with his hands as he thought. "I would say that…that…" She smiled at him and raised a hand, reassuring him that he could take as much time as he needed to answer. He smiled back. "I feel like a shapeshifter. Like I can become whatever I need to be."

She wrote this down. "Last question. Have you ever had two or more personas overlapping, and if so, what was it like?" The records didn't actually talk about this. She was just curious.

"When I was coming back here, just now, I met someone who I talked to two days ago. That girl I told you about. She thanked me for my advice. When she reminded me what I said, I remembered how I thought back then. I believed my own words. But I also believed the things I believe now, which are opposite." He gripped his head. "It hurt. I was so confused. And I couldn't respond to her, because I didn't know which response to have. I couldn't do or say anything."

Fascinating! Kalika wrote it all down. Then she thought about what to do next. "Lee? I just got a crazy idea. This isn't standard procedure." She switched back to the Body scroll. "But your ability to think about and answer my questions seems a lot higher now than it was at the start. Would you like to add onto some of your earlier answers?"

He nodded. "Read me back the questions and my answers, and I'll elaborate."

"I asked you, 'Do you ever feel as though something or someone else has taken control of your body?' You said, 'Yeah. All the time.'"

"My anger," he said. "I can't control it. Someone does something to set me off, and before I know it words are leaping out of my mouth and I'm swatting Uncle's hand away when actually it feels nice and I'm getting ready to fight when really, I don't… Like, when Sokka and I are having a really bad argument, I'm not thinking of how good it would feel to punch him in his stupid face. I'm shaking because it's like something inside me is trying to get out, and I know that if he says one more thing I'll have to fight. I won't have a choice anymore."

"Are you saying that much of your behavior when you're angry is involuntary?"

"Yeah. This is also why I said yes to your third question."

"What about my fifth question? I asked, 'Does your whole body ever become paralyzed for no reason?' You answered, 'Not yet. Sometimes when I'm really stressed, I feel like I could be on the verge of that.'"

"It happens when I'm alone. Sometimes I feel terrible, and if anyone else was around I would lash out, but there's nobody to lash at. There's nothing I can do. So since I can't be angry, I just..." His voice trailed off. He looked sick. Kalika imagined being overwhelmed by despair and not having a single coping mechanism to help. She would be paralyzed, too.

Wait. Hold on. No she wouldn't. Kalika caught herself thinking metaphorically. Lee did not speak metaphorically. If she was overwhelmed by despair, she might not want to do an activity, but she would still be able to cry and rock back and forth and move her head and arms. If he used the word paralysis, he meant he couldn't do any of those things. There was more for her to find. "Go on."

"I can't be angry," he repeated. "But I am. It just doesn't have anywhere to go. It can't get out of me. It's like I'm choking on it."

"So this is a variant of your anger taking control of your body?"

"Yeah."

Kalika added the elaborations and checked over all her scrolls. She applied binding agent, made sure the charcoal was fully preserved, and rolled them up. Then she faced Lee. "Based on your answers to these questions, I diagnose you with medical-grade identity disturbance. This means your identity is complicated enough that you would benefit from the help of a trained spiritual healer. It does NOT mean you require one, and it does not mean you are helpless to figure yourself out. All it means is that if you try to figure out your identity the same way ordinary people do, it will be much more difficult and cause you a lot more stress. I recommend the assistance of a trained healer in order to bring the difficulty and stress of that task back down to normal levels. Do you have any questions?"

Lee's brow furrowed. "I do. What about my answers was unusual?"

Kalika blinked. Then she blinked some more. "Uh…" Was he serious? "Lee, most of my questions concerned things that ordinary people do not experience ever. Not once in an entire lifetime. For example, it is not usual to be unable to move. It is perfectly normal to experience indecision, to hesitate, to not move because you don't know which way. But to have every intention of making a specific movement, to try to move, and not be able to? It is not normal to experience that in the absence of serious injury."

"I could have moved my head if the part of me in charge of my head wanted to. The part of me that wanted to look at you wasn't in charge. That's all."

He could not be serious. "Why did you get so excited when I asked you about your thoughts drastically changing? I thought you understood how abnormal your answer was and you were excited to find someone that could explain it."

Lee shrugged. "I'm just flaky with a bad tendency to obey the last person to tell me anything."

He was serious. Kalika blushed. And here she had just announced that he had a condition known to cause rapid changes in beliefs and opinions. "Lee. Listen to me." She waited until he looked at her. "You are not flaky. You are a shapeshifter. It is normal for a shapeshifter to use their powers. You are not an ordinary person with shameful defects. You are a perfectly healthy shapeshifter. There is nothing for you to be ashamed of."

Lee stared back at her blankly. He scanned her face. Seeing she was serious, his face twitched in several different ways. It looked like he couldn't figure out how to react. She wasn't surprised when he gripped the sides of his head and groaned.

"Do you need help choosing a belief, Lee?"

"No, I'll just do what I usually do when I feel like this." He lowered his hands and stood up. "Escape into a third belief." He crossed the room, snatched up his pack from the corner nearest his bed, and took it upstairs. "Bye."

Silence descended after he left. Kalika sighed. Now that the session was over, she was tired. Speaking with a patient was invigorating, but also hard work.

"Where did you get those questions?" Katara asked. Her eyes were wide.

"I invented them based on some records Yagoda gave me. I told her what I told you, about him having different personas. I didn't realize it could be part of something more serious. She did."

"That's really…weird," Sokka said.

Kalika turned to him. "You and your sister don't need to fight. Thinking differently is good. It means you can watch each other's backs. Focusing on the most likely situations is practical and it helps you most of the time. But you also need to keep an eye out for unlikely possibilities, since rare and unusual things do happen. Don't blame her for wasting her time. Thank her for freeing up yours."

Sokka and Katara looked at each other. "I was wrong," he admitted. "I didn't know what was really going on."

"I should have asked for your opinion before changing our plans," Katara admitted. They shook hands.

"You're an amazing doctor." Kalika turned to see Princess Yue gazing at her with awe.

"I was," she replied. "Now I'm exhausted. Mushi, you paid attention to how I asked my questions, right? Figure out what you did wrong. I'll see you and Lee in the morning."

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A/N: Here be explanations. As I live in America, I am using as my official source the DSM 5. The DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, lists and defines all psychological disorders that are officially recognized by the APA (American Psychological Association). Many of the people who read this story are not from America, so I will provide a short explanation of each reference.

Mind-body confusion - this is the Avatar universe's name for what the DSM would call Conversion Disorder. This is that condition where people are stressed, and the stress is acted out by their body. Hysterical blindness and glove paralysis are examples of conversion disorder. A fun bit of trivia about glove paralysis: due to the way the nerves of the arm and hand are arranged, nerve damage cannot possibly paralyze your hand but leave the rest of your arm mobile. You would either lose use of the whole arm or nothing. So all cases of glove paralysis, where only your hand is paralyzed, are conversion disorder. Glove paralysis was common among Victorian women.

Catatonia - having strange and involuntary reactions in response to the world. A brief Google search tells me there are multiple different forms of catatonia. The form Kalika is asking about is the most well known one, where a person is awake but can't move. I'm pretty sure this form of catatonia is usually medical. Other forms might not be, but if you're asking about unusual movements it would be irresponsible NOT to rule out a movement-based form of catatonia. A more rigorous diagnostic procedure in this world would probably have more questions related to all the different kinds of catatonia, not just one, but the Avatar universe isn't so hyped up on rigid categorizations. In fact, the other forms of catatonia, which look completely different, have different names in the Avatar universe. So she's operating with a much narrower focus.

Medical-grade identity disturbance: the DSM would call this Other Specified Dissociative Disorder. In order to explain what that is, I'll start with its better known cousin, the condition popularly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. MPD (which was renamed to DID) is that condition you see in movies where it's like two people are living in the same body. They switch back and forth, with different personalities being in charge of the body at different times, and there's amnesia involved so that one personality can't remember things that happened while the other one was in charge. OSDD is basically that, but not quite. (I'm sacrificing technical accuracy for ease of understanding here)

OSDD exists as a dump category for people that don't quite meet the standards to be diagnosed with any other dissociative condition. It includes people that have some symptoms of DID, but not enough of them, or the symptoms they have aren't severe enough. Zuko experiences no amnesia and his different personas, while fairly distinct, aren't distinct enough to go by their own names and have their own voices or opinions like true alters do.

And now to go off on a bit of a tangent...

There exists an online community of people who have identities more complicated than "I am an individual person." It is called the plural community. A great place to find out more about the plural community is Pluralpedia dot org. Pluralpedia is, as its name suggests, a Wikipedia-style website that has articles about terms used by the plural community. By exploring this site, I learned how the community talks about itself, about people outside of the community, about their experiences. In their parlance, Zuko would be called a median system. I'm not sure what I would be called. Probably some relative of a dreamway system.

The reason I bring this up is to get away from all this talk of disorders and symptoms, which portrays these conditions as Bad and Wrong and Must Be Cured. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with having an atypical identity structure. It may cause problems, yes, the same way being very short causes problems. That doesn't mean being very short IS a problem. That's why Kalika goes on to explain what her diagnosis does and doesn't mean. This is a story of acceptance.