A/N: I never learned you should stop loving fire because you got burned. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

The Ghost

[Fall/Winter 128 AG]

"Kodo will see you now."

Three defeated benders look from one to the other before rising. They follow the messenger with bowed, revenant heads into a stone building located at the north most point of Gaxia Island, which sits a quarter day's riding distance away from Linlhao Island, when taking a speed boat anyway. They had returned battered and broken. Binh's broken arm took round the clock healing to fix up. Keisuke's cut lips had blistered but ultimately healed over, however without a healer he was due for a nasty scar, possibly for the rest of his life. Everyone who saw Kallik was stunned; no one could understand why he appeared the worst for wear, when he was the most reserved of the group. A deep handprint scar ran across his face, causing all who saw it to pause. Now that they have been home a few days, they go before the Conqueror to explain themselves.

They enter his chamber, his back to them. The room is incredibly small, all things considered. There's a war table with a map of all of the islands that the Children of the Fifth Nation occupy and offer protection. This takes up the majority of the space, but a large stone fireplace and mantle takes up the rest of it. Finally, desks and a few chairs, the room filled with columns of papers reaching towards the ceiling. Everything in the room is cramped and tight, except for the distance between the Conqueror and his young soldiers. The gap between them might as well be galactic. The three are silent, knowing better than to speak before being spoken to.

He stares at a flickering flame as he says, "Am I to believe that the Watchkeeper did this?"

Keisuke keeps his head bowed as he replies, "No, sir. Not the Watchkeeper. We disposed of him with ease. It was someone else. A woman. She could bend fire and lightning, but it was unlike anything we've ever seen. She didn't have to move her arms to bend, it didn't make any sense."

"And she was strong, so strong. She broke my arm!"

Kallik remains silent, as does Kodo, who is deep in thought trying to remember some long forgotten words. He asks them, "What did she look like?"

"Like any Child of Ozai, a Fire Nation bitch through and through. Gold of eyes and black of hair. And she had blue fire!"

"Blue?"

"Blue!"

"Tall?"

"No."

"Did she have a name?"

"No," Keisuke replies. "She just called herself a protector of the village, or something like that. But she's never been there before. We would know! If she-"

Kodo the Conqueror knows of this woman. The Children of the Fifth Nation were raised to know their history of these waters and the sands beneath them. Most believe the legends of the Faceless Demon to be nothing more than tall tales told to youths to convince them to act right. Kodo knows better though, as his rise to power was thanks in large part to the Faceless Demon's annihilation of the rival Koh's Disciples. In spite of all of his success, he will not tempt the same fate that had once destroyed his enemies. The Demon has existed in these waters once before, and now she has resurfaced. Kodo makes up his mind.

"I've heard enough," he interrupts Keisuke. "The offering from Lonlhai wasn't good enough to begin with, now that they have a protector, we will cut ties entirely."

All three of the defeated benders are stunned.

"C-cut ties? I don't understand. If they're under prote-"

"It's not your place to understand, boy. Your place is to gather offerings. Mine is to decide."

"But Lonlhai is-"

"Not a threat and not particularly useful. It is an out of the way village that's more trouble than it's worth."

"We can't just leave them alive!"

Kodo spins on the spot and swings his arms. Water rings appear around all three young adults, forming sharp icicles that stretch towards their throats.

"Do you wish to Challenge for the Mantle?" Kodo commands.

Keisuke is quiet. Kallik looks between the two.

In a hushed, quiet tone, Keisuke replies, "No. Never."

"Then understand when I say that Lonlhai is no longer our concern. You should be on your hands and knees thanking me for my mercy that I not only allow you to live, but do not offer you punishment."

"Yes, Conqueror. Of course." Binh starts quickly.

"We are not worthy." Keisuke adds. All of them bow their heads in respect, icicles still stretching towards their throats. "We will never be worthy."

The three former members of the Lonlhai Village are seated together near the living quarters. It's been a few hours since their puzzling meeting with the Conqueror. They've whispered amongst themselves trying to piece together what happened and what their next steps will be for Lonlhai. Keisuke and Binh have been stomping around like adolescents who were scorned by their crush. Kallik, on the other hand, has been calm. He is unmoved by the decision or the voraciousness with which it was rendered. Keisuke knows with his water bending friend this is just the calm before the storm; and he feels confident that a tempest is coming.

They huddle up and their de facto leader explains, "Lonlhai can not be left alone."

"Yes." Binh nods.

"If this 'protector' has a chance to grow, if the village is given time to realize it is free?"

"There will be no turning back!"

Kallik finally speaks, a grave tone in his voice. "The woman must die. The Spirit of Death commands it so. All of Lonlhai must die."

A little perturbed by the 'Spirit of Death' thing, but wanting to encourage the rage, Keisuke chirps, "Well said, friend."

"So when do we leave?" Binh whispers the traitorous question. "When do we burn it to the ground?"

Fraught with careful concern, Keisuke answers, "At first sunlight."

"Not me," Kallik replies. Both benders turn to him. He adds, "I will meet you at the top of the hill. I must convene with the Spirit of Death tonight first, so I will depart now to complete that under the moonlight, and then head to the island."

The three agree to make for Lonlhai and figure out a plan of attack when they arrive. They come to the realization that razing the village and returning with the protector's head on a pike will force the Conqueror to accept them back in, and add Lonlhai to his list of conquests.

The sun has been in the sky for about an hour now when Ty Lee finally boards her boat. She sits in idle silence with her hefty bags of belongings. She had ultimately decided to keep her home on Kyoshi rather than sell it. She didn't really need the coin, and if she ever did, she could always change her mind.

What's more is that if things go south, and the wives need somewhere to duck and hide, they will always have a home in Kyoshi Island. In the meantime, Ty Lee brings many of her most important essentials. She figures her wardrobe will change in the Southern Water Tribe and her color palette may as well. If she needs anything else, she can return to Kyoshi within a few days, no problem.

Suki had been curious but not overbearing in asking where she was leaving for. Ty Lee assured her it was somewhere nondescript and that they would simply fade from existence.

"That's all fine and good, but don't go up in fire and smoke, now. We may need you back here eventually." She recalls Suki telling her.

The boat kicks to life as the engine sputters. Ty Lee holds on tight. It's a three hour ride and Azula had sent her detailed instructions on the hour-long trek across the island from the port to the village. Apparently no such instructions were given to her and if Ty Lee was reading between the lines, Azula was most displeased with her attempt to navigate the island without direction.

Four hours away. It seems like so much more than it actually will be for her. It's such a large amount of time and yet so insignificant as well. Not much more separates Ty Lee from her bride, her partner, her wife. She has waited miles and moons and missions for this moment. She can wait for four more hours.

Suffice it to say that Ganzaya and Azula had gotten off on the wrong foot initially. The swordsman is unaccustomed to strangers taking up residence in his homeland, and the way of life of the Southern Water Tribe village also lends to a certain amount of defensiveness. Nevermind that within moments of her regaining consciousness, he coincidentally was beaten to a pulp by some former mentees. When they finally crossed paths in the village via the Guru, he was not in a very welcoming mood, while she was too beleaguered to rightfully introduce herself.

Given how Azula eventually announced her arrival before the village, it's fairly moot. Any kind of greeting or 'get to know you' questions would've been irrelevant the moment she brutalized the trio of benders trying to raid their home. As a result, approximately three days after Senna was born, in the waning days of the year, the two are finally sitting down to their first real conversation. It's high noon and Guru Achak has convinced them to meet at a fire pit outside of The Watchkeeper's home.

It is here where On Jin strides up to when she watches him lodge his longsword into the ground beside the pit. He gets on his hands and knees to set to work on preparing a fire. She comes to a stop above him, watching him struggle to scrape rocks together above some firewood. She observes for a few moments before offering to intervene.

"I can he-"

"Don't."

The Watchkeeper keeps at it for several more seconds. The time that elapses becomes awkward and tense. Azula lets it go on for far too long and then twirls her fingers. A tiny baby flame appears and with a flick of her wrists it soars across the distance and explodes onto the wood. The Watchkeeper doesn't jump back, doesn't react, he just stops what he's doing and stares down at it with seething frustration.

After a few seconds he finally steps away from the fire. He doesn't growl or give On Jin an angry expression. He just watches the flames. This goes on for another awkward length of time before he finally stands back and squats down onto a log, eyes never leaving the fire. At last he turns to the raven haired woman still standing nearby. When he speaks, it is a strained, gravelly voice, which seems to pour out of his mouth like lava from a volcano: slow, deliberate, but never stopping.

"Are you waiting for something?"

She screws her face up in confusion, as it was he who has been delaying and staring out into space. She wants to argue with the older man, but decides it's immaterial and so she simply sits down as well. His eyes remain locked on her, having taken the attention away from the fire. She pretends to not notice him studying her features. Finally she raises her eyes to meet his, in an effort to ward him off. Instead he just looks into her eyes now.

He speaks again, "What are you missing?"

"Come again?" She seeks clarification.

"What do you need?"

On Jin furrows her brow now, as she believes he has asked two different questions. She tries to answer, "I don't need anything. I'm in a good place, if the Warden will have me."

He growls now, which confuses On Jin. He was unphased when she lit the fire despite his insisting she not; but when she tries to answer his questions he gets mad.

"The Warden is a man in leader's clothes. But under them he is just as any other."

Azula looks now at the fire instead of the man to avoid further strange eye contact. Nothing he is saying is making sense, and she isn't doing anything to clearly communicate either. They may have started with odd beginnings, but this interaction is compounding the matter. She wonders if the two of them will ever understand each other.

He breaks the silence with another question, "Does recognition become you?"

She scoffs, finally understanding the question he is asking. "I've been known before. I like a life of obscurity better."

"The villagers have given you a nickname already, have they not? They whisper your name with reverence in their living rooms and toast to a stranger at their dinner tables." He speaks his most words consecutively to her yet.

"I'd prefer they didn't." She retorts.

"We don't get to decide that."

The Watchkeeper is incisive and insightful. He knows more than he lets on, so Azula decides to try and extract some of what he doesn't let on.

"And what do they say about you? What do you wish they'd say?"

He looks away from her and the fire and looks out into the distance. Stacks and stacks of hills leading out of the village, overcast skies giving a grey-blue tint to everything around them. The smoke from Azula's fire billows quietly and quaintly. It provides warmth and light. The Watchkeeper speaks as slow as the time ticks by.

"Some call me a 'Savior.' I prefer 'Teacher,'" he explains. Finally his eyes turn to her. He conveys a grim, intense resolve in his golden eyes. He teaches, "Lesson number one: Redemption? There is no such thing. There is only repentance for our transgressions, and hope that the Spirits take us."

This quote and this moment hangs between them as a moment frozen in time. Azula absorbs it into her memory, letting the quote become tattooed onto her mind. A man wishing to be viewed as a teacher giving a lesson on redemption to a woman who is closer to a spirit than a person and who wants to fade from existence into anonymity. The soft crunch of snow is barely audible as a third party approaches.

"Ganzaya is always so overly melodramatic, I hope he's not scaring you off?" Guru Achak laughs as he approaches.

Taken from her vexed state, Azula turns to the Guru who stands over her, smiling down.

"No, no." She replies numbly.

Unconvinced, the Guru pivots, "Well, On Jin, there's a new face in town. A brunette woman who claims she's in search of you."

It's shortly after noon as the boat finally creaks to a stop at the northern dock. Binh disembarks quickly and goes to examine the other boat already docked. She looks it up and down while Keisuke secured their own vehicle. She notices evidence of multiple parties. She wonders if Kallik had stolen a vehicle from somewhere else before making his way here.

"He must be here already." She announces.

Keisuke finishes his work and starts walking towards her, "C'mon. He said he would meet us at the top of the hill."

Her boyfriend begins walking away. Binh steals one last glance at the other empty boat at the dock. She feels uneasy about this, without seeing Kallik herself. The boy has a history of erratic behavior. Nonetheless, Keisuke forges onward, so Binh runs to catch up.

On Jin is led to the entry of Lonlhai by Guru Achak, the Watchkeeper deciding to stay behind. Azula is reasonably sure that she'll be met by her wife, but nonetheless it is a relief when they come around a corner and the tall Kyoshi Warrior is on the other side, making idle conversation with the man On Jin has come to know as Thaki, the Warden of Lonlahi. He is a small man with dark skin and blue eyes. Ty Lee doesn't see her coming so she announces herself.

"Welcome to where you're going."

The grey eyed beauty knows these words from anywhere. She turns on the spot and squeals loudly. She quickly erases the distance between them.

"Oh! On Jin!" She stresses the name. She smiles and waves an arm to the Warden as she says, "I was just talking with Warden Thaki about you! I told him how we have been together since childhood. On Jin and Rangi against the world!"

'Rangi? I guess she got sick of Ty Lin?'

"I was surprised a woman of Rangi's appeal could spend such time with, ahem, you." He replies.

On Jin turns to Thaki and nods. With a broad smile she tells him, "It's true. We've spent many moons and moonlit nights together."

A man's voice speaks outside of her peripheral, but walks up and into her view as it does. "I don't remember you being so crass, On Jin?"

"Huh - AHHHH!" Azula screams as loud as she possibly can at the sight.

A short and stout man strides up to her. A spirit from beyond. A ghost from her past. Smaller now than before, his hair greyer, his once defined muscles withered away from years of imprisonment. She leaves her wife's side and instantly envelopes him in a bear hug, which he gladly responds to, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. He laughs heartily and Rangi smiles from ear to ear at the sight of the old friends reunited.

Amongst the rabble rousing she whispers in his ear, "What name do you use?"

He quickly whispers into hers, "I'd never change it."

On Jin leans back, still gripping the man as if he may disappear for years if she ever let go. Loudly, voraciously, with great glee in her voice, she greets him, "Lin!"

They hold one another and stare at the other. They take in every inch, every deformity, every crack. The new lines etched onto their face, the new sprinkles of salt in their hair, the new bags under their eyes. Each tries to memorize the details so they can remember them fondly. Whether they want to admit it or not, they both had dark moments in the last few years where their faith did waver and their belief did fade. It was not certain that they would ever see one another again. Now they share a glorious moment of being reunited.

"Come," Azula tells her old fisherman. "We have much to discuss!"

They excuse themselves despite the protests of Thaki. They head someplace where they can talk in private. While the three of them have spent very little time all together, they each have their own history together that goes back lifetimes and transcends names and places.

"Ukiuk, look! It's them!" A small girl's voice squeaks with panic from their position of concealment.

Ukiuk is a seven year old nonbender who lives with his mother, Yatah, and younger sister, Yakaro, amongst the hills of Lonlhai. Their home is near the very top of the slope that leads down into the main village. Many of Ukiuk's forebearers were sentries, guards, brave men who stood at the metaphorical and symbolic gates to the village and stood fast against dying light and a steady supply of treacherous enemies. Generations who would roll over in their graves if they could see their descendants now. Terrified of his own shadow.

"There's nothing we can do about that, Yakaro! They're strong, we are not!"

Yakaro, enough courage for the both of them, rolls her eyes. She gets up from behind the boulder and runs away, headed down the long hill. She runs to the village center to warn them. She calls over her shoulder, "Come on, Ukiuk!"

Against his better judgment, the young boy leaves his safe space in hiding to chase after his six year old sister. They are gone and out of sight by fractions of a second when Binh and Keisuke reach the plateau above the village. They gather together at the top and look down and all around. They had expected to find another.

"He's not here?"

"But we saw his boat."

"Well, we saw a boat."

"What do we do?"

"I say we give him a few minutes and see if he's around somewhere. But it doesn't feel right. He should've beat us here."

"Fine. No complaints here. In the meantime, let's create our plan of attack for if and when he does arrive. Shit, even if he doesn't show up."

"After she saved me on the pier, I began working with the RCPD. Most of them still didn't believe me, but even if Toph didn't believe me, she still wanted him put away. So I helped them locate more of my fellow escapees. Our collective testimonies are what did him in." Lin explains.

Ty Lee cuts in, "I heard through Suki that it became apparent that they couldn't tie the human trafficking charges to Yakone, only his underlings. But all of the blood bending talk really brought it home."

"And they asked about your background with me? Or should I say, Suki did?"

"Indeed. And I'm sorry to say that I traded my freedom for many of your Empire's secrets. Including what happened when you fought him."

"Water under the bridge, old friend." She assures him with a smile and hand on his shoulder. "I was counting on so much happening. How is Ai Zhou? The children?"

"They are grateful that I'm alive. I am…crushed. I missed years of their lives. They searched for me and tried to go through proper channels. Unlike a man who once lost his boat though, they had no up and coming Empress to turn to."

Azula smiles at the nicety, but mostly she is furious. "I wish I could've done more. For you and for them."

"You sent a woman to topple Yakone and in doing so set me free. I trust you did what you could. My faith in that never wavered."

"I'm just glad you weren't there for the sentencing," Ty Lee pivots back to the main topic. "If the rumors are to be believed it was quite frightening."

"Yes, yes. But enough about me!" He waves her off. He turns to the woman now known as 'On Jin.' He motions with his hand and says, "Tell me everything!"

The three gather in Miki and Aklaq's home. No one is around so they are able to speak freely, use their own names and such. Azula recaps her life over the last few years. She outlines in great detail how his letter, using their special coded language, arrived just in time to warn her of impending doom. She was able to depart from Lanxi before the Kemurikage could find her, ducked into the Nokizo Village Island hideaway for a bit, then bummed it in a temple in Gaoling. After being dubbed the 'Lady in Red,' she left and joined a Sandbenders Clan in the Si Wong Desert. She briefly became a bounty hunter for a few days to a woman known as 'The Widow.' Azula and Ty Lee then reunited on Kyoshi, where they spent almost half a year living together before Azula finally moved to Ba Sing Se. She worked as a librarian in Ba Sing Se before becoming an Equalist Icon and getting swept up into a completely different empire of the Lower Ring.

"No dear, you have to tell it in order," Ty Lee interrupts her. "You became a part of Mama's empire and then I convinced you to become an Equalist Icon."

"That's true," she concedes. "After a couple of years, I outplayed the Red Lotus and completed a hostile takeover of the First Bank of Ba Sing Se."

Lin marvels, leaning back and drinking some water, astonished at how much she accomplished the last few years. Azula then takes them through her trip to Huwan and how someone dressed as one of her Kemurikage found her and tried to kill her. Ty Lee, learning the intimate details of this for the first time, fusses over her very much alive wife. After that, Azula finally parlays the story of her origins in the village. This final story incurs many questions, about the villagers, the background, and the benders who attacked.

The three are discussing the next steps, the future of what Azula, Ty Lee, and Lin will be and where they will go. Ty Lee glows about the idea of being able to settle down together at long last. The mood is positive when the door to the hut blows open. A small child runs into the house, a small boy follows her, and finally Aklaq follows behind both looking frantic.

"Guardian! Guardian! We need you!" She screams out.

All three stand up quickly and come to the door. Azula looks down at the girl, mouth agape, trying to discern what's going on.

"Sorry!" Aklaq apologizes. "I couldn't stop them."

"It's fine," she waves him off. She turns her attention to the small girl and boy, "What's the meaning of this?"

"They're back! They're back! We saw them!" She cries, reaching up and grabbing On Jin's hand.

The child tries to pull On Jin towards the door, but just as she does the room shakes, and explosive noises can be heard from outside. Everyone staggers to avoid falling down. Collectively everyone goes back outside to see what is happening.

The sight is terrifying. Giant boulders fly through the air one at a time, crashing into homes. They originate from the top of the hill, the bottleneck entry point to low valley village. This is not the only point of concern though, as a small figure flies through the air with fire feet and rains fire down upon the village. Massive waves of fire come down and burn homes and people alive. The group goes running as the flames spread out across the village. The figure comes to a stop and screams out above the village.

"PROTECTOR! Show yourself!"

He crashes down to the ground and then flames raise up again towards the sky. The group comes from out of protective cover just as a building begins to collapse. On Jin reaches both hands up and bends the fire away to prevent further structural failings, but the damage to the village is done.

Everywhere they turn there are horrors. The village burns around them. Children and livestock are burned. Villagers try to put the fire out on their homes and on their neighbors. It is devastating and heartbreaking for the brunette from Kyoshi Island who just moments ago saw this place as a great new starting point. The woman now known as Rangi can't comprehend the amount of damage being done to the village and people here. She grows furious with angry tears. Ty Lee turns to Azula, a grim tone about her. She whispers to her wife so the others do not hear.

"We're fighters, Azula. It's what we do. It's what we've always done," she says, wiping tears away. She summons her strength as she tells her, "Whether it was the Earth Kingdom army or Koh's Disciples or the Avatar or each other or these people now. We fight."

On Jin nods at Rangi. Azula agreed with Ty Lee. She tells her, "They already tried to kill me once. They won't stop until we're dead."

The ground shakes as more rocks crash into buildings and people. The village is ablaze around them. It melts all doubt from Ty Lee's mind.

"I know what I told you in Lanxi. But if this is going to be our home, we have to fight for it," she pauses as she measures her words. They are indelible. "We might even have to kill for it."

Azula doesn't reply. But there is a look in their eyes. There is an understanding that passes between them. They nod their heads. Ty Lee gives her orders.

"You go take care of the rocks. You can fly up there faster than I can run. I'll take care of the Fire Bender."

On Jin nods before jumping into her own fire feet and zooming off towards the village entrance. Rangi barks commands at Aklaq to protect the children. Unlike everyone else running from the flames, she runs towards them - just as she always has in her life.

Binh goes to chuck another rock out into space but just as it starts to fly through the air it is struck by lightning and explodes into rubble. A figure zooms through the air and quickly lands on the ground a few feet away from the girl. Binh's eyes bulge as she is confronted with the woman who broke her elbow just a few days ago. She quickly gets into a fighting stance, not wanting to be caught off guard again.

Azula looks around the clearing for any signs of anyone else. In the few seconds it took for her to fly up here she wondered if there were more of them; if reinforcements had been brought along, or if they had just returned alone. She is both appalled and surprised to see it is just the girl. Azula yells at the teenager.

"You've killed these people. We let you all live…and you wasted it!"

She zaps lightning, which misses and hits a tree nearby. The bark explodes, Binh raises up a piece of earth to shield herself from the hail of wood, and Azula dashes forward.

Ty Lee arrives on the scene and from about thirty feet out she watches a fight unfold. The fire bender is in hand-to-hand combat with an old man. She runs forward as she watches the fire bender rip the man's sword from him.

Keisuke sends the Watchkeeper to the ground and stands above him. He grabs the longsword with both hands and drags it along the ground. He growls at the man beneath him, "No more mercy. No more lessons. No one left to save you!"

"Are you sure about that?" Rangi speaks to the open battlefield.

He looks up in surprise and doesn't recognize her. He steps away from the Watchkeeper, stepping on the man's ribs as he pulls the sword towards the woman before him.

"Another protector?" He marvels, rage in his voice.

She approaches and stops a few feet from him as he lifts the blade up to fight. She shrugs.

"Something like that."

Azula and Binh bend elements at each other, Azula surprisingly on the defensive. She is using her fire to redirect projectiles from the young girl. Binh finally sees an opening and bends the earth beneath Azula, sinking her feet into the ground. Binh uses a bit of earth to reach up and grab Azula's left hand. The firebender looks down into her right palm and sees her scar. She balls the fist, but before she can shoot fire out the Earth reaches up and grabs her hand. Her fingers are pulled apart so she can't form a fist.

Azula turns to look at the girl, concentrating with all of her might. She has left herself completely exposed if Azula could just get something off. So she changes her focus. She thinks not of the fire in her heart, but of the lightning in her body. She sends the mental command. From her outstretched fingertips, lightning cracks and strikes the earth bender right in the torso. She flies backwards through the air.

Ty Lee doesn't need to go to Keisuke. He comes to her all on his own. He dashes forward with the blade. The Watchkeeper and the few onlookers trapped by circumstance watch from afar at their dance. It is a breathless display of evasive maneuvers by the tall, brunette woman. Keisuke can't land a single blow. Every fire blast, wave, punch, kick, or jab of the sword is avoided. As if she's some sort of spirit, or the wind, or like she's not even there; almost as if she is a ghost.

Finally, after letting him exhaust himself, she tires of playing with her food. He lunges forward with the sword and his arm is momentarily fully exposed. She quickly strikes him twice, dislodging the blade from his grip, and then squats to sweep his feet out from under him. He hits the ground square on his back and loses his breath.

Azula stands over her opponent, defeated and struggling to breathe. She looks down at her and asks her.

"Do you have any remorse? The people you've hurt? The irrevocable damage you've done?"

Binh still thinks she can win. Still thinks there's a way out of this. As there has always been in her life to this point. She shakes her head as much as she can up at her conqueror.

"I'd do it all again." She replies with a nasty smile.

Azula pauses. Lightning crackles from her hands as she considers the life before her. She sighs with a heavy heart but certain.

"I believe you."

Lightning blasts forth and all Binh sees is white. Then she sees nothing.

"Do you yield?" Ty Lee asks the man on the ground.

The strange woman stands directly above him. Keisuke inhales a huge breath and then takes advantage of the position. He opens his mouth and spits fire up at her.

"Ahhh!"

Ty Lee jumps back and away, her arm partially on fire. She falls to the snow and smacks at the arm, rubbing it in the icey mess on the ground as the young man next to her cackles. When the fire is out she grows angry and rises up. She looks at the sword she knocked out of his hand and walks over to it. She pulls it up and lifts it up onto her shoulder with relative ease. She returns to the fire bender and then wields the sword over his motionless body. She delivers a speech to the boy.

"I used to believe that killing was wrong. Period. There was never any purpose for it other than to continue to further the cycle of death. But what you've done?"

She looks around at the charred corpses.

"Children? Little children? Burned!" She shouts, the sword dangling over him. "There's no reforming you. There's no saving you."

He does not fear her. He does not believe her.

"You're just like everyone else that comes to this Agni-forsaken village," he chides her. "Weak of will and weak of body. You couldn't live with yourself if you killed me."

Ty Lee scowls as she pushes the blade right through his gut. He screams out in pain. She twists the blade with force and it rips his insides apart. His scream dies down until it is silent. She replies.

"I learned to live with it a long time ago."

Somewhere north of the Linlhao Island, a few dozen miles into the Earth Kingdom, a young sixteen year old water bender sits in a dark tavern by himself. He eats a hearty meal and enjoys himself, alive and well. He knows that his childhood friend and boyhood crush are likely gone by now. He plans for a trip to Republic City. He is seeking out a man who, if the rumors and headlines are to be believed, can help him. A man who can teach him how to hone his rare bending ability under the light of a full moon.

No one comes near him or sits beside him. He brings no friends on this journey. The other patrons stay away, quietly whispering how odd it is that the teenager in the corner keeps mumbling to himself.

"They're dead because they were fools," the 'Spirit of Death' rations to him.

"They were our friends, but they were foolish. Going against The Conqueror's orders? Returning so quickly when they had no backup, no additional training?" He replies to himself.

"They rushed headlong into my waiting arms. We will not make that same mistake." He says.

"When we return, we will be so powerful that neither The Conqueror nor The Woman will be able to stop us."

He eats his food in the dark and plots for the travels ahead, chasing after a man called 'Yakone.'

Night gathers and Lonlhai comes together, against Warden Thaki's direction. He wanted to take stock of the dead, account for their losses, give time to mourn. Azula and Ty Lee felt differently, and that was enough for The Watchkeeper to agree with her. The Guru was the final straw, as he represented the spirit of the village, and even he fell on the side of gathering. Warden Thaki was not present, protesting the show and making it publicly known that he did not agree with the meeting.

A large pillar of fire burns in the center of the village, where much of the damage was done. It lights up the dark with its sheer power and brilliance. The survivors in Lonlhai crowd and quietly whisper to one another, many crying and comforting. They work through their grief and fighting to not collapse under the weight of their pain.

Lin sits on the outskirts of the crowd, away from prying ears, as Ty Lee sits down beside him. She settles into the chair. Her eyes scan the dozens and dozens of people and families. Her mind flashes to the man she killed, the one she later learned was named 'Keisuke.' Her mind pans to how Azula used to put bad men like Keisuke in the ground often. How her life has boomeranged back to this. Almost as if on cue, Lin comments.

"When she was younger, her detractors had a saying. 'Everywhere she goes evil men die and they applaud her for it!'" He laughs. "They said it as if it was a bad thing that evil men died. I warned her against digging three graves. She took it to heart. But this?"

"This was different."

"Mhm." He agrees.

"She didn't seek this out. It wasn't a personal slight or attack on an empire. They came to us and we doled out justice."

Azula can be seen beside the fire, consoling Miki who is cradling her newborn. After she puts an arm on her, Miki then nods in acknowledgement and finally departs with baby Senna.

"She's not the Dragon Empress. Not anymore." Lin replies.

On Jin jumps up onto a makeshift stage.

"Call it what you want," Ty Lee agrees. "But she's a hero to these people."

On Jin stands before everyone who has gathered. She garners their focus. She seizes control of everyone. She screams loudly, for everyone to hear, no matter how close or far they may be.

"I AM THE GUARDIAN!"

The quiet whispers become revenant silence.

"The fire of the dragons runs in my blood! The lightning of the skies courses through my veins!"

They feel a sense of wonder. They watch with rapt attention. She makes a promise.

"And I swear to you, that those who would wish to harm you will die screaming!"

"You used to scream so loud!" Katara jokes.

"No I didn't, Mom!" Kya retorts.

Aang and his wife burst out laughing at the expense of their twelve year old daughter. This humiliation does nothing good for the mood of the pre-teen who now feels her cheeks singe with embarrassment. They had been discussing Tenzin's crying as a baby and how his screams haven't changed even as he's aged. Kya made a baseless statement that she never screamed as a child, and was rebuffed. Now she grows irrationally angry at her mother. Her little brother does not help the matter.

"Yeah, Kya! I bet you did!" The nine year old says.

"You shut up!" She demands.

"Hey! Kya!" Aang interrupts.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." She apologizes, even if it's not sincere.

Kya would like nothing more than to get up from the table, storm off, and make a scene. However, as the daughter of the Avatar, there is a certain expectation that weighs on her to be a type of way. She feels that pressure right now and keeps her head bowed, focused on her food. She must not step out of bounds, she must remain in her box. Unaware of this internalized pressure are her parents sitting across from her.

Katara is pleased with her life. She eats her meal in tranquility, the distant rolling waves crashing into Avatar Island providing a natural background noise for them. Theirs is a beautiful life filled with peace and comfort. She briefly reflects on the terrors of her youth. The Fire Nation on the hunt, her battle against them. She was once a fearsome fighter, an undefeated warrior, a super power all unto herself.

That was her youth. Now there is no need to be such violence. She doesn't need to be a fighter or to go to war with great power. Her worst battle anymore is with her adolescent children and homelife, mundane issues. She worries for her son, Bumi, the twenty year old who no longer lives at home.

Such is the life of the Avatar's wife. She has nothing to prove anymore. Stay at home, give the best life to her children, support her husband. It's everything anyone could ever want or dream of in life. There is surely nothing she wants for, nothing she has to do. She tries not to think that her life is now defined by her motherhood. It barely crosses her mind. She's too busy with the big problems in life, like the screams of her children and how loud they did or did not used to sound.

A/N: This chapter's OST is "Seize the Power" by YONAKA.

Love always. Tyzula forever.

Notorious