This one, again, took longer than I thought. November and December were kinda busy but now I have my Christmas break so I plan to finish the next chapter before the new year. I've also made up my mind that I'll need to get some of the character arcs really sorted out so I'll do that either while writing the next chapter or afterwards. I already have a general plan for the characters and that is still the basis but their is some parts of their characterization that I want to get down better and I want to make sure that I put more emphasis on that from now on than the plot. characterization and character arc are really more important to me (my favorite stories, Oregairu and March comes in like a lion, are basically entirely character focused with only basic plot) so that is what I want to focus on.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and as always.

"It's huge." Katara gaped. "It's almost like it was carved right out of the mountain top."

"They have buildings that don't melt or burn"

"Isn't it amazing?" Aang laughed at Katara and Sokka's astonishment. "Welcome to Omashu. The Earth Kingdom's second largest city." Aang hopped off Appa's head. "I used to come here all the time 100 years ago. It's nice to see at least this place hasn't changed too much."

"As nice as it is to look at, what are we doing here?" Sokka said with a grunt as he let himself drop from Appa's back and dusted off his clothes. Momo jumped from the saddle onto Sokka's head.

They had landed on a small plateau overlooking Omashu with a deep gorge cutting them of from the city. A path led down a slope to the side ending in a massive earthen bridge that looked too smooth to be natural.

"Well, the city is barely a detour, and we are running low on food again anyway, so I thought, 'why not drop by for a bit?'," Aang said with a sheepish smile.

"Are you serious? The region is crawling with Fire Nation Soldiers. We can't stay here. It's way too dangerous."

"Oh, come on Sokka. We won't stay long. One of my best friends used to live here and I really wanted to by my respects." Aang said with an exaggerated frown.

"Aang, I know it's hard for after being stuck in that Iceberg and missing your old friends, but Sokka is right." Katara said before climbing of Appa herself. Aang grabbed her at the waist to help her down. "We have to get to the North Pole as fast as possible. You should visit after we have defeated the Fire Nation, or at the very least wait until after you have learned Water Bending." Katara put her hand on his shoulder. "Besides. Remember what happened the last time we stayed at a place. What if the Fire Nation finds out and they attack again?"

Aang grinned. "Don't worry Katara. I actually have the perfect idea to deal with that issue." He grabbed a handful of Appa's fur, pulled it out and then made a makeshift wig out of it to put on his head. "See. Now my arrow is covered, and no one will know that I'm an Air Nomad, much less the Avatar." Aang grabbed his stave and began walking down the slope. "Come on guys. It'll be fine. We won't stay long. We'll just get some supplies, have a look through the city and then we can leave. Appa, make sure to hide while were gone."

Katara and Sokka sighed behind him but reluctantly followed. The slope was broad and gradual and the packed earth ground was almost perfectly smooth. The bridge that cut through the chasm was straight as an arrow and lead directly to the wall. On the other side were two guards and a merchant with a cart.

As they crossed they could here the guards shouting something. One of the guards stomped his foot into the ground, shooting the cart into the air and down the cliff.

"MY CABBAGES." The man knelt at the side of the cliff, tearing at his hair with tears streaming down his face. He sniffed and rubbed his eyes before standing up and running past Aang, Katara and Sokka.

"Next." One of the guards said, his face as stoney as the element he manipulated.

"Good day, sir." Aang said with a big smile on his face.

"Names and reason for the visit."

"My name." Aang paused for dramatic effect. "Is Bonzu Pipinpetalobsucopolis III. And those are my cousins."

The Guard looked at him with a deep frown and he could feel Sokka's frustrated stare burrowing into the back of his head.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. My name is June Pipinpetalobsucopolis. And that is my brother, Yi." Katara jumped in before the guard could say anything. "We are just on the way through because we want to reach the North Pole and we thought why not stop by." Katara smiled at the men and fluttered her eyelashes. The second guard gulped.

"Fine, but behave yourselves." The first guard whispered something to the second who smiled and nodded. "Step back." He went into a wide stance. His hands balled into fists he thrust them towards the ground. The bridge started shaking as part of the wall slowly disappeared into the earth.

Aang stepped through and Katara and Sokka followed after him.

"Pipinpetalobsucopolis? Really? You couldn't have thought of a more believable name?" Sokka groaned after they were out of earshot of the wall. His head was buried in his hands.

"Oh come on Sokka. Don't worry so much. We got in, didn't we?"

"Yeah, barely. Let's just get those supplies and leave people get even more suspicious of us."

"We will, but first I want to show you around the city for a bit." Sokka sighed. "I'll make sure that we are out of the city by the evening."

"It's okay Sokka." Katara said. "As long as we don't stay more than a few hours the Fire Nation shouldn't catch wind of us being here and to be honest, now that we're inside, I really want to see the city too."

"Fine. Let's just get this over with. The sooner we start the sooner we can leave."

Azula cut through the forest with a blade of concentrated blue flame coming from her fingertips, branches falling before her. All day the scar on her cheek had been itching furiously. She wanted to be out of this area as fast as possible.

"Uncle, where in the spirits names are you?" she shouted into the forest.

"I am over here princess" She heard him from directly in front of her.

She cut through another patch of dense foliage and stepped onto a clearing. Several pools, stacked like steps, were buttressed against a formation of rocks. A small stream of water was flowing through the cracks into the pools. She found her uncle inside of the largest and bottom most pool, lazily leaning against the rim, his arms handing over the sides and his fat belly sticking out of the water. The pool was steaming while the rest seemed cold. His clothes were folded on a smaller rock.

"You should join me and relax, princess." He said, his eyes closed and his face flushed and sweaty. "You have been so tense recently. Pick a pool and heat it. It would do you some good to unwind from time to time. All this stress is unhealthy for you."

"We are leaving. Pack your things so we can go." Her uncle put his palms against the side of the pool and started to push himself up. "If you stand up right now I will boil you alive inside your tub. Wait until I have left."

Iroh leaned back down. "You know, I would really like to stay for a bit longer. Chances to relax are so rare these days and this little hot tub helps with my aching old bones."

Azula glared at Iroh. "No, we will leave now. I do not want Zuzu to find out I'm here and the longer we stay the higher the risk that he decides to drop by on a little family visit."

Iroh reheated his tub and sighed. "Just a bit longer."

Azula groaned and turned on her heal. "Fine. But be at the ship in an hour or we will leave without you." She knew the crew would never leave without him.

"Of course, princess. Thank you for you generosity."

Azula scoffed and left.

"Isn't the city great?" Aang said, his arms spread wide as they wandered around aimlessly. They had been wandering through narrow streets through residential areas on the lowest level, past houses made of perfectly smooth stone. Every now and then they reached small, open squares or larger marketplaces. When they came across a place Aang recognized he would start telling them of his earlier visits. "Some parts changed here and there but most of it still the way I remember it."

"What's that?" Sokka said, pointing at a large chute that ran over the city on giant pillars."

"I'm so glad you asked Sokka." Aang said with a smile on his face. "This is actually my favorite part of the city and what makes it so unique and interesting. This is Omashu's system for transporting goods. Crates filled with stuff get brought down with gravity and earthbenders can bring them up again with an elevator system. This also is the biggest reason why I wanted to come here."

"Look Aang, I'm glad you're so happy about this but we really shouldn't stay for too long." Katara said. "We've seen the city now, it really was beautiful and interesting but I think it would be best if we bought the stuff we need and left."

"We can do that soon but there is one more thing I wanted to do and it's the most important part."

He led them up to one of the higher layers of the city. Crates and barrels were stacked on top of one another in the open and the only buildings present were a ring of large warehouses built flush against the backwall of the layer. Workers were piling goods onto carts and shifting them around. Some were pushing carts down one of the many slides beginning on this layer while other were pulling them up with bending.

"Here we are. This is what I wanted to show you. The origin point of the Omashu postal service. This is the highest place in the city that we are allowed to go. Anything above this point is restricted to the King, his guards, bureaucrats and those invited."

"Ok. And what are we doing here." Sokka asked, panting and frustrated after walking up so far.

"You'll see." Aang said. "First, lets go to a place that isn't this busy. We wouldn't want to disturb any of the workers."

They found a relatively secluded spot and Aang grabbed an empty cart and brought it to one of the chutes. "As I said, one of my good friends used to live here and one day, when we were kids, he came up with a brilliant idea." Aang smirked at them and positioned the cart over the precipice. "He thought, instead of using the postal system to transport goods, you could also use it to transport people. And so we are going to do just that. As tribute to my old friend Bumi."

"Aang. I don't think this is a good idea. Those slides look really steep and we don't know where they are going." Katara said as she looked over the edge of the cities layer.

"I'm with Katara. I'm not about to go flying over the edge of the wall and go splat on the ground. No thank you."

"Come on guys. Just once. For me." Aang said with seal puppy eyes. "I've done this dozens of times and nothing has ever happened before. I promise it's safe. This postal system wouldn't work if stuff could just go over the edge that easily."

Katara looked at Sokka before hesitantly stepping into the cart and sitting down in the front with Aang stopping the cart from falling off by leaning on the back.

Sokka sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this." He sat down behind Katara.

"You'll see. This is going to be so much fun." Aang said before pushing off and jumping in behind Sokka.

Katara started to scream as they went over the edge and immediately started to pick up speed. The wind was whipping them in the face. They went into a bend and Aang leaned into it to pick up more speed. They came up next to a cart with a rack of spears running on a chute parallel to theirs.

"See guys. They have so much confidence in their system that they are even transporting weapons on it." Aang said as they passed it.

"Aang we have a problem. The lines are merging." Katara yelled from the front in panic.

Aang pushed his chest forward into Sokka's back. The spears grazed his robes as the lanes connected.

"I'm on it." Aang yelled. With a few quick movements of his hand he created a stream of air that pushed them forward and the spear-rack back. The headwind whipped around them furiously. Katara's hair escaped from her bun and whip Sokka in the face.

Sokka nudged Aang in the ribs and pointed at a bend around a house up ahead. "Aang, slow us down. We are going way to fast to make that corner"

"I can't. If I slow down again the spears will come back and skewer us. Don't worry. I have everything under control. I promise I will get us down safe and mostly unharmed."

"Mostly?!"

Aang leaned into the curve and pushed Sokka to do the same. The cart knocked into the wall of the chute. Part of it crumbled, but it held. Sokka sighed in relief. A second curve in the opposite direction twisted downward. It came before Aang could react. They crashed through the boundaries of the chute and fell. Katara and Sokka screamed and clutched the sides of the cart.

Aang created a cushion of air underneath the cart as they crashed onto the roof of a building. A pained yelp escaped Sokka who was rubbing his chin and Katara was rubbing the back of her head. Pieces of rooftiles flew up around them as they continued to slide.

They dropped over the edge. Aang pushed the cart onto to the side onto the roof of another building. The rooftiles started to slow them down. The cart edged towards the eaves. It leaned over. Aang leaned back to counterbalance. The cart tipped over the edge. Aang tried to push them to the next roof. They grazed the house wall and fell into the market below. Aang tried to cushion them again, but they crashed through a merchant's stall.

"MY CABBAGES," a familiar voice cried in despair.

They groaned as they slowly stood up from the wreckage. Someone grabbed Aang by the wrists. "You are under arrest for entering the city under false pretenses, misuse and disruption of the postal system, destruction of property and suspicious of espionage." One of the armed guards that surrounded them said while binding his hands together.

They were lead up the layers of the city, past the barrier of the restricted area. Curious bystanders had followed them up until this point but only the merchant whose stall they had hit was allowed to enter. They were pushed further, past large administrative buildings and residences of bureaucrats.

The final layer only had one building, a grandiose palatial structure, half built into the earth and hugging the entire mountain. They were lead inside, into a long hallway with columns of perfectly smooth green stone running along each side. Guards were patrolling up and down and staff scrambled back and forth with stacks of various papers in their arms.

"This place is huge. It's almost as big as Suki's entire village." Sokka whispered. Momo chirped in agreement from Aang's shoulder.

"I know, right? I've never been in here either. I've only ever seen it while flying into the city with Gyatso."

"Aang, Sokka. Behave. We are in serious trouble right now and all you can think about is how great the palace is?" Katara whispered. She looked around. "Well, it is pretty nice."

"Silence." All three went rigid.

At the end of the hallway, at the center of the mountain they reached a large door that reached all the way to the ceiling. One of their escorts stopped and saluted to his colleagues standing guard. "We have apprehended a group of criminals to be judged by the king."

The guards nodded and moved to the side in a low stance. They reached out their fists for the door and pulled them back. With an earth-shaking rumble the door slowly opened. The throne room was vast and almost entirely empty. The buttressed walls were adorned with lamps, casting the room in a green glow and emitting an earthy scent.

At the opposite end was a large throne with an old man seated on it. He has his arms rested lazily on the armrest, slumped back, with rings covering all his fingers. His robes were large and blocky as if a simple piece of fine cloth that had been haphazardly thrown over his body and on his head was a crown with long feathers sticking out to the side. His face was odd, his left eye permanently squinting, and long bushy eyebrows drooped slightly at the sides. He looked strangely familiar to Aang.

The guards bowed and Aang, Katara, Sokka and the merchant did the same. "Your Majesty. We have apprehended these three criminals." The guard who seemed to be the leader pushed them forward. The king's eyes seemed to stay on Aang for a bit longer than the others.

"Alright. Tell me the charges," the old king croaked is a scratchy voice. "But make it quick. I still have to groom my dear Floppsy. The poor thing has been so lonely recently."

"Okay …," the guard sighed. "These three have entered the city under a false identity and toured through the city in detail. It should be assumed that they are Fire Nation spies. They also sabotaged the mailing system."

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting something?" The merchant that had entered with them said.

The guard rolled his eyes and sighed again. "Right. During the sabotage action they also destroyed one merchant's cabbage stand."

"Off with their heads. One for each head of cabbage!" Momo ducked behind Aang's back.

"Your Majesty, please. This is all just a misunderstanding," Katara said.

"I have heard enough." The king said, his voice level. He straightened in his chair and stared at the three. "Throw them," He paused. He looked Aang straight in the eye squinted even more than he already was. "A feast." He started laughing.

"WHAT!" The cabbage merchant yelled and ripped at his hair.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider."

The king snorted out a final laugh and wiped a tear from his eye. "I said what I said." He clapped his hands. "Now hop, hop. I am quite hungry and I'm sure our guest must feel the same."

"I could use something to eat." Sokka said. Aang, Katara and the guard stared at him. "What. We've been walking around a lot so I'm hungry."

The screaming merchant was dragged out after he was handed a small bag of coins as compensation and a few minutes later they were led to a large hall with a long white marble table at the center. The scent of various foods filled the air and made Aang's mouth water. The guards seemed to try their hardest not to look.

They were lead to three cushioned stone chairs at one end of the table. From the other side of the hall the King entered. Slowly, he walked to his chair and sat down. "Don't be shy. Dig in." He snorted.

They started eating and an awkward silence started to fill the room.

After a while the King looked at Aang, a pig chicken leg in his wrinkled hand. "Bald Boy. You should try some of this." He waved the piece of meat. "It's very delicious."

Aang shook his head with an awkward smile. "I'm sorry. I don't eat meat."

"What about you, Ponytail?" He pointed the leg at Sokka, who had been shoveling down beef pork, and snorted a laugh. "You seem like a boy with a healthy appetite for meat. You should try some of this."

"Oh yeah. I'd love some." Sokka said, his mouth still stuffed with food.

"Sokka. Manners." Katara smacked him in the back of the head.

"Catch!" The King launched the chicken leg at Aang. On reflex, Aang caught it in a ball of air.

The King smiled mischievously. "As you can see, we are in the presence of an Airbender. And not just any Airbender. Isn't that right, Avatar Aang."

'How does he know my name. Did a guard tell him.' Aang stood up and slowly backed away to the door. "It's has been an honor, but we really should get going now."

Sokka and Katara looked at him and followed.

"Yeah. We really need to get to the north pole." Sokka with an awkward laugh.

"But thank you for the food. It was very good." Katara said.

The king rose to his feet. "I am very sorry, but I can't let you leave just yet. I have important matters to discuss but it would be better for you to get some rest before that." He pointed at one of the guards. "Bring them to their chambers."

"Your Majesty. The good chamber or the bad chamber."

"The newly refurbished chambers."

"I'm terribly sorry. Which ones were that again."

"The chambers that were once the bad chamber. Until we refurbished it that is. We've been calling them the new chambers, but we really should number them." The king snorted a laugh and started coughing. "Regardless. Send them to the chambers that was once bad."

They had been escorted down long, gently sloping corridors. Hundreds of feet of earth separated them from the outside world. The lighting and the size and high walls of the hallways made the atmosphere far less oppressive than Aang would have thought. The ventilation system caused a constant fresh breeze to caress Aang's skin.

The guard led them deep within the bowels of the underground palace complex and halted in the middle of the hallway. The walls next to them seemed to be nothing but the same empty flat surface they had been following but as Aang looked closer he could see a marked outline between the lamps.

"Those are prison cells." Sokka said, more as an accusation than a realization.

"His Majesty fears that you would try to sneak out of your rooms so this is purely a precautionary measure. These rooms are meant for political hostages and should satisfy all your needs." With the motion of the guard's hands, the marked part of the walls slowly lowered themselves into the ground. "Avatar, you will be summoned by his Majesty in two hours. Now rest until then."

"I guess we have no choice," Katara said and stepped inside her room.

Aang entered his room and with a soft rumbling sound the door closed behind him. The air was filled with the scent of lavender. At the opposite side of the room a curtain separated his cell from what he assumed to be a bathroom and on the right side, underneath a hole for ventilation, a large bed with green sheets was pushed against the wall. In the center of the room was a large table with an assortment of food spread across it. All of it vegetarian. Momo jumped from his shoulder, glided onto the table and grabbed a peach. He bit into the fruit and its juices immediately started flowing down his fingers and chin.

Aang walked to the bed, leaned his stave against the wall and let himself drop onto the mattrass. It was soft. Almost too soft for him, though he suspected that Sokka was already snoring if he wasn't preoccupied with stuffing his face again.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The candles flared and dimmed with her every breath like the beating of a heart. The scent of incense filled her nostrils as it drifted up towards her from two burning sticks. The only sound in the room other than that of her breath was that of the groaning metal ship as it was gently rocked back and forth by the waves.

With the flick of her wrist, Azula extinguished the candles. She took a candlesnuffer from a silken bed and did the same with the incense. Azula rose to her feet. She popped her joints with a satisfying sound and stretched to get her blood flowing after meditating for so long.

It had been almost three hours and her lazy uncle had yet to return from his little spa day. She gnashed her teeth, scratched her itching scar before stepping out of her room and walking down the stairs towards the upper deck. She couldn't tell the helmsman to simply make them leave Iroh behind. It was his ship. His crew.

She opened the door and stepped into the late afternoon sun. On the upper deck soldiers and crew were lounging around playing Pai Sho or sparring.

"Is he still out?" she asked.

"Yes, Princess Azula, he is. General Iroh hasn't come back." One of the crewmembers said. She didn't know who he was. Azula hadn't bothered to learn their name and rank.

She balled her fists, sharpened nails biting into her palms. "I will get him. Prepare the ship for departure. We leave the moment I return with Iroh. If the ship is not ready by then, I will hang three random people among you out from the bridge in a storm." It took them far too long to start moving to their posts.

Her scar stared to itch again. Furiously. "I am happy to see you again, Azula." Azula's eyes widened as she turned to her brother who was standing at the top of the gangway. Behind him were two rows of soldiers of the royal guard. Her crew and soldiers stopped in their tracks and dropped to their knees to bow but Zuko simply waved them off with a smile. "It has been far too long since we have spoken with one another."

"Drop the pleasantries, Zuzu." Azula said, glaring at him. "What are you doing here."

"I see I've caught you at a bad time." Zuko chuckled. "I simply heard that uncle's ship had anchored here, and I thought I'd drop by on a cup of tea." Zuko said and looked around the deck. "Where is uncle anyway. Is he currently out?"

"He decided to go for a walk. I was just about to go and get him."

Azula tried to move past her brother onto the gangway.

"Before you leave, there is something I want to talk to you about." Zuko said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Can't this wait until later?"

"No. I will have to return to my headquarters very soon. I can't stay and wait until you are back." Zuko said.

Azula sighed. "Fine Zuzu. But make it quick."

Zuko nodded. "I would like you to join me as my number two," he said, his affable smile turning serious. "I could use someone I can trust on my side. Zhao is too problematic. Let's take Omashu together. Don't you think father would be overjoyed if we could present him the city while standing side by side?"

Azula scratched her chin, pretending to think about the issue seriously. "I'm so sorry Zuzu but I can't. I have another way that I can serve our nation."

"Someone else can take the hunt of the Avatar. He is a child, as far as I've heard. It will take years before he can master the other elements. If we can defeat the Earth Kingdom before that happens, then there is nothing he can do anymore"

"The avatar is not a child. He is roughly my age." Azula shot back. "You have Omashu, and I have the Avatar. They are both important and we shouldn't leave them in the hands of people like Zhao. I cannot help you take the city. You seem to be doing fine on your own." 'I will not be a footnote in your list of accomplishment.'

Azula scratched her scar.

"It still bothers you." Zuko said with a slight frown and hesitated for a second. He continued in a softer tone "Don't you think father would be happy if his children presented him the great city of Omashu, united as one?"

"I think father would be happier if his son gave him the second greatest city in the Earth Kingdom and his daughter delivered to him the single biggest threat to the Fire Nation."

"I see that I sadly won't be able to sway your mind." Zuko said. He put his hands on her shoulders. Her scar was itching profusely. "Do take care of yourself sister. You seem pale."

Azula pushed his hands away and moved past him and his guard off the ship. He heard her brother call to them to move off.

Zuzu was trying to make her into a background character. He simply wanted the credit for Omashu and the Avatar. She wouldn't let him. The Avatar was hers.

Azula moved up the small mountain path through the forest she had used earlier, following the trail she had cut.

Zuko won't take Avatar Aang from her. Nobody will.

"Uncle. You have tested my patience for long enough." She said as she stepped out into the clearing. But it was empty. Iroh was gone. In the pool he had used the earth had been pushed up, jagged edged rocks moving towards an open center point.

"That moron got himself captured." Azula examined the area. After a moment, she found a crack in the ground that ran from the rock formation off to the edge of the clearing on another side. A mass of boot prints mixed with tracks of ostrich-horses followed town a thin animal trail.

Azula shook her head and groaned. 'I will burn a hole through his stomach when I find him.'

He was awoken again by the rumbling of the door opening. Momo, startled, jumped on his face before hopping of the bed and hiding underneath the table. Aang groaned and sat up. The king stood in the doorway, this time clad in a purple robe.

"What do you think of my new outfit? Snazzy, isn't it?" The King snorted a laugh and turned once.

"It's great." Aang said before getting of the bed. He grabbed his glider and walked out of the room. Momo scurried after him before the door closed. They were alone; not another soul up and down the hallway as far as he could see. "Where are my friends?" Aang stared down at the King.

"Don't worry, Aang. I've had my guards escort them through the city to buy the supplies you came for. On me, of course." The King chuckled. He started walking further down the corridor, deeper into the belly of the mountain. "Follow me. There is an important place I need to show you."

Aang followed the King down, deeper into the mountain. The lamps that clad the corridor became more and more sporadic until they reached a point where the smooth walls of the hallway transitioned into the rough surface of a natural cave tunnel. They were probably below the lowest level of the city itself by now.

The King produced a torch form under his robe and lit it in a burning brazier before they continued further. Down here the air became more and more stale. Drops of water would periodically drop from the ceiling onto Aang's head.

After 10 minutes of walking, they reached an old, wooden door. The King placed the torch into a bracket and slowly opened it.

Aang's breath caught in his throat. Behind the unassuming wooden door was a gigantic cavern lit by dim, naturally luminescent rocks and tens of thousands of fireflies. The walls were covered in vines, and grass, flowers and trees grew from the ground. A small stream flowed in on one side and crossed the entire room before disappearing into the wall again. In the middle was a circular, raised platform with steps carved into the sides.

"This is beautiful." Aang gasped. "What is this place?"

"This is what I wanted the show you." The King said. His voice was uncharacteristically calm. "It is a very spiritual place. One of very few in the entire world. Before the city of Omashu existed, there were constant wars fought to control it. Tell me Aang. Have you ever made contact with one of your past lives?"

"I haven't." Aang shook his head, still lost in a stupor.

"You must contact Avatar Roku. Only he can tell you all that you need to know to defeat the Fire Lord and end this war which has ravaged the world for the last hundred years." The King pointed at the platform. "Go and meditate in the center of the room. There you will be able to enter the spirit world. The winter solstice has almost come, so it should be even easier for you."

Aang nodded and walked into the room and climbed the steps up the platform. At the top was a large surface of grass with a pool of water in front of its center. Every few seconds, a drop of water fell from the ceiling and hit the pool perfectly in the middle, creating a constant ripple of concentric waves.

Aang sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes. A warm, powerful feeling filled his body, radiating out from his chest. He took a deep breath and started to meditate.

After what felt like an hour, he opened his eyes again and frowned. Nothing had changed. He still sat in the middle of the cavern.

'Why is this not working?'

He stood up and climbed down from the platform. At the door, he found the King, slumped against the wall and snoring loudly. Every so often a snort and a giggle would escape from his mouth.

"I've been meditating for an hour, and it just isn't working." Aang said as he sat down next to the King, but he got no reaction. "Hey. Mr. Majesty. Wake up." He leaned over and looked at the Kings face. He really did look familiar. Aang put his hand on the Kings shoulder. Underneath the robe he felt surprisingly muscular. Aang tried to shake him but the moment he applied pressure his hand started phasing through the Kings body.

Aang flinched back and checked his hand. It was see-through with a slight bluish tint. Aang looked back to the platform. His body was still there, perfectly silent and in meditation. Momo was swiping at his face and jumping back, expecting a reaction. 'It worked. I'm in the spirit world.' A broad smile crossed his face. 'Now, how do I contact Avatar Roku?'

"Avatar Roku! Can you hear me?" No response. 'Maybe I should go outside.'

Aang turned. The face of a giant, translucent dragon stared at him. Aang jumped back and pushed his arms out, but the air didn't move. He reached the ground faster than expected and stumbled, falling on his ass. 'I can't bend in the Spirit World?'

Slowly, the dragon crept towards him. One of his whiskers started to move. Aang slowly crawled backward. The whisker stretched towards Aang. It touched his forehead. A bright, white light flashed in front of his eyes. He saw the image the dragon flying though a cloudy sky, Avatar Roku riding on his back.
"You were Avatar Roku's animal guide." The dragon nodded. Aang pushed himself to his feet. "Can you tell me where I can find Roku? I need to talk to him."

The dragon bent its long neck and gestured to his back.

"You are going to bring me too him?" The dragon nodded again.

With a smile, Aang climbed onto the dragons back. It flapped its wings and slowly lifted slightly off from the ground but there was no evidence of any air being moved.

"Wait. What are you doing?" Aang asked, slightly panicked. "Shouldn't we go through the hallway? Why are you taking off already."

The was no response. Roku's dragon shot through the room like and arrow. Aang screamed as the rough, solid stone wall of the cavern approached. He closed his eyes and braced.

They flew into the wall and came out the other side and into the gorge that surrounded the mountain the city was built into. The dragon circled around and in serpentine movements ascended into the sky before flying due west. They were flying faster than he ever could on Appa or with his glider. Yet he felt no air trying to hurl him from his mount. As he looked down, mountains turned to hills and forests.

On a path along a steep slope, he saw a group of Earth Kingdom soldiers escorting a half-naked prisoner. Iroh looked up at him. Aang smiled and waved, and the old man smiled back. 'Azula's Uncle really is interesting.' Aang thought with the shake of his head.

A moment later he saw Azula who was running after Iroh, following the footsteps of the Soldier's mounts. She looked up as he passed her, as if she too had noticed him. She looked around in the sky for a second before she turned back around and disappeared from view.

Aang couldn't tell how much time had passed. They had left the Earth Kingdom behind. There was only ocean, as far as he could see even form the dragons back. They flew past two lines of ships, steaming alongside each other in both directions.

Soon an island appeared on the horizon. It was barely more than a large volcano, growing out from underneath the waves and stretching into the sky. On the side of the mountain, half buried inside, a red tower rose from the earth, two streams of lava flowed around it on either side, which were crossed by a bridge.

The dragon descended and flew in through the door before turning straight upwards. Aang held onto its large scales to not fall from its back. They passed through the ceiling and reached a large room. It was almost entirely empty, except for a giant golden statue of Roku that rested against the back wall. A beam of red light, reflected from a ruby that was imbedded in the wall above the door to the room, fell on half of the gilded face.

Aang jumped off and turned to the dragon. "And how can I now talk to him?"

The dragon lowered its head and reached out its whiskers again. Images flashed before his eyes. Night and day and night, cycling faster and faster. The beam of red light crossed the wall towards Roku before it covered his entire face. Then, a ball of flame raced across the sky.

"I can talk to Roku here on the day of the solstice?" Aang asked and the dragon nodded. "But that's tomorrow. And what is that last thing you showed me about?" The dragon simply lowered its back for Aang to climb on again, seemingly done answering questions.

Aang sighed in frustration but followed the beast's instruction. The dragon took off. The ground underneath them raced past even faster than before. Within minutes the had reached the Omashu again and were back in the cavern. The Dragon crashed into the platform in the center of the room and Aang's spirit merged back into his body.

Azula had been tracking the ostrich-horse tracks for over an hour. On her way she had found one of her uncles' sandals, discarded on the ground. As if she wouldn't have known to follow the tracks by herself.

She followed the path until the hills became taller and steeper. Her scar tingled. Not the usual horrendous itch but rather more pleasant. Something flashed above her. Azula looked up. The sky was empty. She could have sworn she had seen something out of her periphery. She scanned the sky but found nothing but clouds.

Azula shook her head. She had to leave the area, or she would go mad. But for that she needed to find her uncle.

She continued to follow the trail as it became thinner, cutting through the side of a hill. The mounts could have only moved through in single file.

She almost ran into the ostrich-horses as she rounded the corner. Four of them stood on the path, wearing armor and saddlebags slung across their backs. They weren't tied down and yet they didn't run the moment they saw her. 'Well trained beasts.'

Grooves, the size of a hand, were torn into the side of the hill. At the bottom, 30 feet below, were four Earth Kingdom soldiers and Iroh, who was chained to a boulder, his arms stretched across the surface. His almost naked body was covered in cuts and bruises. One of the soldiers, a captain judging by the larger hat, lifted a second, large boulder into the air.

Azula undid her hair and grabbed her metal crown. She jumped down the almost vertical cliff, digging the piece of metal into the rock. She put her feet against the cliff face and pushed with a burst of flame.

The boulder hovered over Iroh's outstretched arms. The captain released his control and the rock dropped. Azula flipped and kicked it into one of the soldiers, knocking him out.

"What?" The captain shouted.

He ripped a large rock from the ground and flung it at her. One of the other soldiers did the same. Azula bent her upper body backward. The captains attack passed over her. With the momentum from bending backwards she kicked out her leg and set the second rock flying into the air.

Azula turned and charged at the soldier behind her. The man stumbled back and shot up a wall in front of her. She flipped over it and kicked back. A torrent of blue shot from her foot and tore the wall apart. A shower of debris hailed on the captain directly behind her.

Azula rolled of the ground and jumped. She struck her fist out. A ball of fire shot at the soldier who blocked it with a stone shell. From the air, Azula boosted herself towards the shell and smashed through it with her iron soled, flame powered boot. Her foot landed at the back of the soldier's head. His face smashed into the ground with a satisfying crunch.

"Azula! Watch out!" Iroh yelled, still chained to the boulder.

Azula ducked two attacks from the other soldiers and turned to the captain. Azula pushed off the ground, fire from her hands and feet hurtling her towards the captain. He sent another boulder at her. Azula twisted her body in the air. Her foot shot around; her steel capped toes smashed into the boulder. It flew towards the other standing soldier, shattered a smaller rock he had been sending her way and smashed into him. His metal hat flew off his head as he was knocked back, unconscious.

Azula shot a fireball at the captain. He formed a wall of large rocks in front of himself, deflecting the attack. He sent stone after stone from the wall at her. Azula ducked and weaved between them. One hit her breast plate and knocked her back.

Azula rolled off her and boosted herself at him again. Another rock flew at her. Azula kicked it back, through the hole that now gapped in the middle of his protection. The captain grunted as it hit him in the chest.

He raised the ground beneath her. Azula jumped off from it. She coated her arm in fire and punched at his face. He ducked and tried to hit her in the stomach. Azula twisted past his fist. She pirouetted; her leg flew out in a wide arc at the captains' stomach. He jumped back. Azula lunged at him again, her fists still burning.
She hit him in the mouth. A tooth cracked under her hand. His head was knocked back and he fell to the ground.

Azula dusted herself off and walked over to Iroh. She lifted her leg high and kicked her heal onto the chain, breaking it.

"Thank you for the rescue, princess." Iroh said, shaking his hand after removing his shackles. "You came just in time." His voice was calm, despite his arms having been only moments away from being crushed.

"The dragon of the west, captured by a ragtag bunch of measly soldiers." She sneered. "Disgraceful." Azula turned around and started climbing the small cliff.

She pulled herself back onto the path. The Ostrich-horses still stood there. They looked at her as if nothing had happened. She climbed on the back of the closed one and started to ride back to the ship.

Aang jumped from the platform and across the room to land in front of the King. He put his hand on the Kings surprisingly muscular shoulder and shook him. "Your majesty. Wake up!" He shouted.

Slowly the King opened his eyes. "Welcome back, Aang. Did you have a fruitful discussion with your predecessor?".

"Not yet, but I know where and how I can. But I need to leave the city a soon as possible. Get me to my friends."

The king rose to his feet and nodded. "Very well then. Follow me." He began to move back up the long corridor. "I gave them some money and had my guards escort them to buy all the supplies you'll need."

They walked the way back to the surface in almost complete silence. It took them almost half an hour before Aang saw sunlight again. Just as he stepped outside of the palace doors, he found Appa landing in the courtyard. Three soldiers slowly climbed from the saddle. Their legs were wobbly when they reached the ground.

"Hey Aang. Are you finished with the thing you were doing with the king?" Sokka said.

"We weren't really informed what was going on, but the king was really generous, and we were able to stock up a lot. And we still have money left to last us for a while." Katara said with a big smile as she held up a sack full of vegetables.

"Yeah, we are done but we have to leave right now." Aang said, ready to jump onto Appa's head but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Before you go, I have one last little test for you, Aang," The king said. "What … is my name?"

'His name? How would I know? But he wouldn't ask if he thought I couldn't figure it out.' Aang closed his eyes to think. 'He knew my name even though I don't think I told him and he talked to me in such a familiar way. He also looks like someone I know but I can't …'

A huge grin spread across Aang's face. "You really do like messing with people, don't you, Bumi?" Aang said as he pulled the king into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you again, Aang. You haven't changed a bit. Literally."

"You too." Aang said as he released Bumi from the hug. "You should have told me sooner. Then we would have had time for you to catch me up on the last 100 years I've missed. Next time I'm here we should go down the slide together." Aang laughed.

"Oh, is he the old friend you mentioned you wanted to pay your respects too?" Katara asked.

"He is." Aang said before jumping onto Appa's had and grabbing the reigns. "Thanks for everything Bumi. I promise we'll come back soon." Aang flicked the reigns with a 'Yip Yip' and Appa lifted off as Bumi waved with a smile.

"So, what were you and the king up to while we were shopping?" Sokka asked.

"He brought me to a place to try and get in contact with Avatar Roku. It didn't work but the good news is that I now know how I can make it happen."

"And is there also bad news?" Katara leaned over the saddle with a worried frown.

"Well … the bad news is that I can only make it work tomorrow." Aang hesitated for a moment. "And the worse news is that we'll have to go to the Fire Nation for it."

Sokka groaned in the back.

Aang looked down toward ground. They had reached the coast by now. On a small dock a Fire Navy vessel was anchored. The Princess stood on deck and stared right at him with smile. She shouted something and her crew immediately scrambled to follow them.

Thanks for reading. Comments really are the biggest booster for motivation so I'd be really grateful if you could give some feedback. Other than that, until next time.